AWeber vs Zoho Campaigns
AWeber and Zoho Campaigns are both popular choices in the email marketing platform space. AWeber has been around since 1998, giving it a 14-year head start over Zoho Campaigns (founded 2012). Zoho Campaigns is the more affordable option at $3.5/mo — that's $11.5 less than AWeber's $15/mo entry point. Both offer free plans to get started. AWeber stands out with landing pages and advanced analytics, while Zoho Campaigns offers SMS marketing.
Quick Verdict
AWeber wins on deliverability, integrations.
Zoho Campaigns wins on price, rating.
Best for most users: Zoho Campaigns (small businesses already using zoho crm or zoho one).
AWeber
Powerfully simple email marketing
AWeber is one of the original email marketing platforms, serving small businesses since 1998. It offers the largest template library (600+) and an impressive integration ecosystem. While its automation isn't as advanced as newer competitors, its reliability and excellent affiliate program make it a solid choice.
Zoho Campaigns
Affordable email marketing deeply integrated with the Zoho ecosystem
Zoho Campaigns is the email marketing arm of the Zoho ecosystem, launched in 2012 and designed to work directly with Zoho CRM, Zoho One, and 45+ other Zoho products. Its standout value proposition is extraordinary affordability — starting at just $3.50/month with unlimited email sends — making it one of the cheapest full-featured email marketing platforms available. For businesses already invested in Zoho's suite, the native CRM sync eliminates the data silos that plague multi-tool setups.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | AWeber | Zoho Campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Starting Price | $15/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Free Plan | 500 subscribers | 2,000 contacts, 6,000 emails/month, 5 users |
| Founded | 1998 | 2012 |
| Email Templates | 600 | 50 |
| Integrations | 750 | 40 |
| Deliverability Rate | 97.8% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| A/B Testing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✕ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| SMS Marketing | ✕ | ✓ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Language | ✕ | ✓ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✓ | ✕ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✕ |
AWeber: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +600+ email templates (largest library)
- +750+ integrations
- +Established and reliable (since 1998)
- +Free plan available
- +Excellent affiliate program (up to 50% recurring)
Cons
- −Interface feels dated compared to newer tools
- −Automation capabilities lag behind competitors
- −Free plan is limited
- −Lite plan restricts automations to 3
- −No SMS marketing
Zoho Campaigns: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Native two-way sync with Zoho CRM auto-updates email lists when contacts become customers, eliminating manual data transfers
- +Exceptionally affordable starting at $3.50/month for 500 contacts with unlimited emails — one of the lowest entry points in the market
- +Forever Free plan includes 2,000 contacts, 6,000 emails/month, and 5 users, generous for small teams getting started
- +Professional plan includes 25+ workflow automation components with contact scoring, cart abandonment, and optimal send-time optimization
- +14-day free trial with full feature access and no credit card required lets users test all capabilities before committing
Cons
- −Email deliverability is inconsistent with users reporting emails failing for no clear reason and higher-than-expected bounce rates
- −Interface design feels dated compared to modern competitors with slow loading times that impact daily workflow productivity
- −No built-in landing page builder — a significant gap when competitors like Mailchimp and MailerLite include this feature
- −Third-party integrations outside the Zoho ecosystem are limited to around 40 native connections, requiring middleware for most external tools
- −Reporting lacks real-time insights and advanced customization, falling behind competitors on campaign performance analytics depth
The Verdict
AWeber and Zoho Campaigns are closely matched — both score within 0.1 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, AWeber reports 97.8% compared to 95% for Zoho Campaigns — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | AWeber | Zoho Campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $15/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 97.8% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.2/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 750 | 40 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose AWeber if…
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You need advanced analytics
- + You're a small businesses
- + You're a solopreneurs
Choose Zoho Campaigns if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($3.5/mo)
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You're a small businesses already using zoho crm or zoho one
- + You're a budget conscious startups needing email marketing under $10/month