AWeber review: pricing by subscriber band, features and verdict (2026)
AWeber is a dependable sender with dated automation, and it now costs more than the newsletter tools it sits beside. Our check of aweber.com on 13 June 2026 recorded a free plan to 500 subscribers, Lite from $15 a month, Plus from $30 and Unlimited at $899. That evidence is four months old and we have not re-verified it.
The short answer
Buy AWeber Buy AWeber Plus if you want phone support and selling built into the same tool that sends your email, and your list is small. Plus was $30 a month, or $20 billed annually, when we checked aweber.com on 13 June 2026, which works out at $240 across a year on the annual rate against $360 on the monthly one.
Skip it if you are building a newsletter as a business. The growth tooling is thin, the free plan stops at 500 subscribers, and MailerLite at $12 a month on Comfort, verified 1 October 2026, covers the same sending job for less money.
Where AWeber fits
AWeber is an email service provider that has been doing the same job for a long time, and that is the honest description of where it fits. It sends reliably, it answers the phone, and it has a template library and an integration list long enough that whatever you already use is probably on it. What it does not have is the set of audience-growth features that the newer newsletter platforms are built around.
The metering is by subscriber count, which is the normal shape in this category. Our 13 June 2026 check of aweber.com recorded four tiers: a free plan for up to 500 subscribers with a cap of 3,000 emails a month, Lite starting at $15 a month, Plus starting at $30 a month, and Unlimited at $899 a month with no subscriber or send ceiling.
Read the word starting carefully on Lite and Plus. Both tiers scale with how many subscribers you hold, and our check recorded only the entry rate for each. The price you are quoted at 5,000 or 25,000 subscribers sits in a band we have not verified, so the $15 and $30 figures are a floor rather than a budget.
The free plan is tighter than it looks because of the second meter. Three thousand emails a month against 500 subscribers is six sends to a full list, which is 3,000 divided by 500. A weekly newsletter needs four or five sends a month, so the free tier works for a weekly letter to a small list and breaks the moment you add a welcome sequence on top.
On the annual rates, Lite was $12.50 a month billed annually against $15 monthly, and Plus was $20 against $30. Across a year that is $150 against $180 on Lite, a saving of $30, and $240 against $360 on Plus, a saving of $120. The snapshot describes the annual saving as roughly 15 to 20 per cent, which is an approximation and does not match the Plus figures: $20 off a $30 rate is nearer a third.
Against the category, AWeber is mid-priced and light on newsletter features. MailerLite was $12 a month on Comfort, verified 1 October 2026. Kit was $33 a month on Creator on the same 1 October 2026 check and has a creator network attached. Beehiiv was $43 a month on Scale, also verified 1 October 2026, and is the one built for growing and monetising a newsletter.
The thing to hold on to is the date. This pricing was last verified on 13 June 2026, four months before this review was written, and AWeber is a vendor that has changed its prices and removed grandfathered rates in the recent past. Read the current rate card before you commit. The newsletter platforms category holds the alternatives with their own check dates.
AWeber pricing
AWeber prices by subscriber count across four tiers. Every figure below comes from our check of aweber.com on 13 June 2026 and has not been re-verified since, so treat it as a starting point for your own check rather than today's price.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month. Basic email features |
| Lite | from $15/mo | $12.50/mo billed annually. Scales with subscriber count above the entry band |
| Plus | from $30/mo | $20/mo billed annually. The fuller feature set, also scaling with subscriber count |
| Unlimited | $899/mo | Unlimited subscribers and unlimited sends, one flat rate |
Two meters run here, subscribers and emails sent. Five things set what you pay:
- Subscriber count, which is the primary meter on Lite and Plus. Our 13 June 2026 check recorded the entry rate for each tier and no higher band, so the number you are quoted at a larger list size is not something we can confirm.
- Whether your list is clean. Our product notes record that unsubscribed contacts still count toward the subscriber limit, so a list you have not pruned pushes you into a band you are not reaching anyone from.
- Billing period. Lite was $15 monthly against $12.50 billed annually, and Plus was $30 against $20, on the same check. The snapshot calls the saving roughly 15 to 20 per cent, which is approximate and runs low for Plus.
- The email cap on the free plan. Three thousand emails a month across 500 subscribers is six full-list sends, and automated sequences come out of the same allowance.
- Whether you sell through AWeber. Its own ecommerce carries a transaction fee of 0.6 per cent on top of Stripe's processing charge of 2.9 per cent plus 30 cents. That fee is in our product notes rather than in the dated rate card above, so confirm it separately.
AWeber pricing against the newsletter platforms
AWeber's entry paid tier is not the cheapest and its top tier is the dearest flat rate in this category. MailerLite was $12 a month on Comfort and $25 on Power, verified 1 October 2026. Moosend was $9 a month for 500 subscribers, verified 13 June 2026, the same date as ours. Buttondown was $9 a month on Basic for up to 1,000 subscribers, also verified 13 June 2026. Mailchimp was $13 a month on Essentials and $20 on Standard at the entry contact band, verified 10 June 2026. Three of those four dates are within days of ours, which makes the comparison unusually like for like; MailerLite's is four months newer and therefore the more current figure.
AWeber billing terms worth knowing
The two meters and the unsubscribed-contact rule are what catch people out, in that order.
- Free plan
- Up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month, as recorded on 13 June 2026.
- Lite
- From $15 per month, or $12.50 billed annually. $180 or $150 across a year at the entry band.
- Plus
- From $30 per month, or $20 billed annually. $360 or $240 across a year at the entry band.
- Unlimited
- $899 per month, which is $10,788 across a year, for unlimited subscribers and sends.
- Annual saving
- $30 a year on Lite and $120 a year on Plus, from the rates recorded on 13 June 2026.
- Subscriber scaling
- Lite and Plus both rise with list size. We hold no verified figure above the entry band.
- Check date
- 13 June 2026. Not re-verified since, so confirm before buying.
AWeber offers four tiers: a free plan for up to 500 subscribers, Lite starting at $15/month, Plus starting at $30/month, and Unlimited at $899/month. The free plan includes basic email features with a 3,000 email/month cap. Annual billing saves roughly 15-20%. Pricing scales with subscriber count on Lite and Plus plans.
The figures above are four months old and given with their date for that reason. If AWeber's current rate card differs, the rate card is right and this page is behind it. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a year of email once you have the band your list sits in, and the AWeber pricing breakdown carries the longer version.
What AWeber gives up
You give up the growth layer. There is no referral engine, no recommendation network and no ad marketplace, so every subscriber arrives through work you did somewhere else. That is the single clearest reason a newsletter-first creator ends up moving to Beehiiv, which was $43 a month on Scale when verified on 1 October 2026.
Automation is basic by current standards. You get autoresponders and tag-driven sequences, and you do not get the branching logic and conditional waits that the newer tools treat as table stakes. For simple welcome and nurture flows this does not matter; for anything shaped like a funnel it does.
Unsubscribed contacts counting toward your limit is a real cost rather than an annoyance. Because the price band is set by held subscribers, a list with a long tail of dead addresses charges you for people who will never open anything, and you have to prune deliberately to stop it.
The free plan is narrow on both meters at once. Five hundred subscribers and 3,000 emails a month is enough to see the product and not enough to run on, which is a weaker offer than MailerLite's permanent free tier to 1,000 subscribers, verified 1 October 2026.
Prices have moved and old rates were not kept. AWeber raised what it charges and ended grandfathered pricing, so being an old customer buys you nothing here. We hold no verified figure for what the increase was, and we are not going to supply one, but it is the reason our June snapshot should be treated as perishable.
Our pricing evidence is from 13 June 2026 and it only covers the entry band. That is the weakest part of this page: we can tell you what Lite and Plus start at and we cannot tell you what either costs at 10,000 subscribers, which is the number most people reading this want.
The Unlimited tier is a cliff rather than a step. Going from Plus at $30 a month to Unlimited at $899 a month is a jump of $869 a month on our 13 June 2026 check, and nothing in between, so the tier only makes sense for a list large enough that the per-band price has already passed it.
How AWeber compares
The three tools below are the ones weighed against AWeber, and the axis is reliable sending against newsletter growth features. Each price is that vendor's own published rate with the date we checked it, and those dates differ, so read them with that in mind. The rest of the field sits in the newsletter platforms category.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWeber | Small businesses that want phone support and selling in one tool | Free to 500 subs, from $15/mo Lite (June 2026) | Basic automation; unsubscribed contacts still count toward your band |
| MailerLite | The same sending job for less money | Free, $12/mo Comfort (Oct 2026) | Support is not phone-first |
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | Creators who want a network and stronger automation | Free, $33/mo Creator (Oct 2026) | Dearer at the entry tier |
| Moosend | Automation on the smallest budget | $9/mo Pro at 500 subs (June 2026) | No free plan after the 30-day trial |
What to test on the AWeber free plan
The free tier gave 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month on our 13 June 2026 check. Confirm those two numbers first, because they are four months old and they are what the whole plan hinges on.
- Read the current rate card on aweber.com before anything else, and get a quote for your own subscriber band. Our figures are from 13 June 2026 and cover only the entry band on Lite and Plus, so this is the step you should not take on trust.
- Import your real list and look at what the subscriber counter says. If unsubscribed contacts are included, prune them before you price a tier, because they set your band.
- Send a real newsletter to the full list and count the emails against the 3,000 a month cap. Six full-list sends is the ceiling at 500 subscribers, so decide whether a welcome sequence fits inside that.
- Build the one automation your newsletter needs and see whether the builder reaches it. This is where AWeber is weakest and it is cheaper to find out in week one.
- Test the support channel you are paying for. Phone and chat on the free plan is the differentiator, so use it once before deciding it is worth money.
- If you plan to sell, run a test purchase and total the fees: 0.6 per cent to AWeber plus Stripe's 2.9 per cent and 30 cents on each transaction, per our product notes rather than the dated rate card.
- Price the alternatives at your own list size. MailerLite at $12 a month on Comfort, verified 1 October 2026, and Moosend at $9 a month for 500 subscribers, verified 13 June 2026, are the two that will tell you whether AWeber is worth its premium, and the cost calculators will total the year.
AWeber questions buyers ask
How much does AWeber cost per month?
Our check of aweber.com on 13 June 2026 recorded a free plan for up to 500 subscribers with a cap of 3,000 emails a month, Lite starting at $15 a month ($12.50 billed annually), Plus starting at $30 a month ($20 billed annually) and Unlimited at $899 a month for unlimited subscribers and sends. Lite and Plus both scale with subscriber count and our check recorded only the entry rate for each, so the price at a larger list size is a band we have not verified and will not estimate. Plus is where the fuller feature set sits, including unlimited automations, A/B testing and ecommerce. Those figures are four months old, so read the current rate card before buying.
Does AWeber have a free plan?
Yes. AWeber's free plan supports up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month. It includes the drag-and-drop email builder, sign-up forms, landing pages, and 24/7 support including phone. The main limitations are a single email list, no A/B testing, and basic automation only. It's enough to test the platform but restrictive for regular newsletter publishing.
Who is AWeber best for?
AWeber works best for small business owners, coaches, and digital product sellers who want reliable email delivery, professional templates, and built-in payment processing. It's a solid choice if you value phone support and don't need complex automation. It's not the best fit for newsletter-first creators focused on audience growth. Beehiiv and Kit have stronger growth and monetization tools for that use case.
AWeber vs Mailchimp: which is better?
AWeber has 24/7 phone, email and chat support on every plan including the free one, a larger template library and lower ecommerce transaction fees. Mailchimp has stronger automation, deeper reporting and a larger integration ecosystem. On price, our 13 June 2026 check of aweber.com recorded AWeber Lite starting at $15 a month and Plus at $30, while our separate check of Mailchimp on 10 June 2026 recorded Essentials at $13 a month and Standard at $20 at the entry contact band. Both vendors meter by list size, so compare them at your own subscriber count rather than at the headline rate. For a small business that wants someone to answer the phone, AWeber is simpler; for advanced segmentation and analytics, Mailchimp has the edge.
What does AWeber integrate with?
AWeber integrates with 750+ third-party tools including WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, PayPal, Stripe, Zapier, Facebook, and dozens of CRM and ecommerce platforms. The WordPress plugin embeds forms without code. Canva is built directly into the email editor. For tools without native integration, Zapier connects AWeber to 5,000+ additional apps.
Is AWeber good for newsletter creators?
AWeber handles basic newsletter publishing well. The templates are strong, deliverability is reliable, and the editor is easy to use. But it lacks the growth-focused features that dedicated newsletter platforms offer. Beehiiv has referral programs, recommendations, and SEO-optimized web hosting. Kit has a creator network. AWeber's Newsletter Hub is a basic web archive, not a growth engine. If newsletters are your primary business, you'll likely outgrow AWeber's feature set.
Can I sell products through AWeber?
Yes. AWeber's built-in ecommerce lets you sell digital products, paid newsletter subscriptions, courses, and services with one-time purchases, recurring subscriptions, or payment plans. The platform takes a 0.6% transaction fee plus Stripe's standard processing fees (2.9% + 30 cents). You can create sales pages, checkout flows, and delivery sequences all within AWeber (no separate storefront needed).
Can teams collaborate in AWeber?
Yes, with limitations by plan. The Lite plan allows up to 3 users. The Plus plan supports unlimited users with role-based access. All paid plans include a brand kit for maintaining consistent colors, fonts, and logos across team members. For small teams of 2-3 people, Lite works. For agencies or teams needing more control, Plus is necessary.
Is AWeber worth the price after the 2024 increase?
That depends on what you use it for. If you rely on AWeber's ecommerce, phone support and template library, the increase may still be justified, especially if you are selling through the platform. If you mainly send newsletters and need only basic automation, cheaper options exist: MailerLite was $12 a month on Comfort when verified on 1 October 2026, and Moosend was $9 a month for 500 subscribers when verified on 13 June 2026, against AWeber's $15 a month on Lite on the same 13 June 2026 check. Each of those is an entry band rather than a flat fee, so run the numbers at your own list size before switching.
Can I cancel AWeber anytime?
Yes. AWeber has no long-term contracts, and you can cancel anytime from your account settings. If you're on a monthly plan, cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. Annual plans are non-refundable for the remaining term, so start monthly until you're confident AWeber is the right fit. Your data and contacts remain accessible for a limited period after cancellation.