AWeber vs Drip
Email Marketing pricing comparison · 2026
AWeber pricing ranges from $0–$899/month, while Drip ranges from $39–$1199/month. AWeber is typically 89% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
AWeber and Drip are both established email marketing platforms, but they serve different markets and have diverged significantly in their feature focus. AWeber is a general-purpose email marketing tool for small businesses and solopreneurs, with a free plan for up to 500 subscribers, Lite at $15/month, Plus at $30/month, and an Unlimited plan at $899/month. Drip is an e-commerce-focused marketing automation platform starting at $39/month for 2,500 contacts — over twice AWeber's Lite entry price — with no free plan. The price gap reflects Drip's investment in e-commerce-specific automation and revenue attribution tools that AWeber doesn't offer.
AWeber is one of the oldest email marketing platforms (founded 1998) and its strength is breadth over depth: 700+ email templates, an AI-powered template designer, RSS-to-email automation for bloggers, AMP for Email support, and a robust autoresponder system that predates modern automation builders. Its deliverability track record is strong, backed by 25 years of sender reputation management. Drip doesn't compete on template variety or longevity — it competes on revenue attribution, behavioral automation depth, and e-commerce platform integration. Drip shows you which email flows generate actual sales; AWeber shows you opens and clicks.
The automation gap is significant at equivalent price points. AWeber Lite ($15/month) includes basic automation sequences. AWeber Plus ($30/month) unlocks split testing and more advanced segmentation. Drip's $39/month plan includes everything — cart abandonment, browse abandonment, product recommendations, post-purchase sequences, revenue-attributed campaign reporting, and Facebook/Instagram audience sync — with no feature gating across plans. For e-commerce stores that need behavioral automation tied to purchase data, AWeber's automation at any tier cannot match Drip's e-commerce-specific workflow library.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | AWeber | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free /month | $39 /month |
| Lite | $15 /month | $89 /month |
| Plus | $30 /month | $449 /month |
| Unlimited | $899 /month | $1.2K /month |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
AWeber
6 scenariosDrip
3 scenariosMarket Intelligence
AWeber
- Median annual cost
- $360
- Average negotiated discount
- 94%
Drip
- Median annual cost
- $5,388
- Average negotiated discount
- 92%
Our Verdict
Choose AWeber if you're a small business, blogger, or solopreneur who needs reliable email marketing with strong template variety, RSS-to-email automation, and a free entry point for up to 500 subscribers. AWeber's 25-year deliverability track record, AMP for Email support, and phone support availability make it the safer, more accessible choice for businesses that don't need e-commerce-specific automation.
Choose Drip if you run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and want email automation tied directly to revenue data. Drip's cart abandonment sequences, revenue attribution dashboards, and social ad audience sync are specifically designed for e-commerce businesses that treat email as a revenue channel. At $39/month minimum it's more expensive, but for stores where email drives meaningful sales, Drip's conversion-focused analytics justify the premium over AWeber's more general-purpose tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Does AWeber have a free plan that Drip doesn't?
Yes. AWeber's free plan supports up to 500 subscribers with up to 500 emails per month at $0 with no time limit. Drip offers a 14-day free trial but has no permanent free tier — the minimum paid plan is $39/month. For very small lists just starting out, AWeber's free plan eliminates email marketing costs entirely, which Drip cannot match.
02 Why is Drip more expensive than AWeber?
Drip's pricing reflects its e-commerce-specific feature set: revenue attribution dashboards that show which email flows generate actual sales, native Facebook/Instagram custom audience sync, deep Shopify and WooCommerce behavioral data integration, and purchase-event triggered automation. These are more complex data integrations than AWeber's general email marketing toolkit. Drip's minimum of $39/month also comes with all features unlocked — AWeber's comparable feature depth requires the Plus plan at $30/month without the e-commerce-specific tools.
03 What unique features does AWeber have that Drip doesn't?
AWeber offers RSS-to-email automation (automatic emails when you publish a new blog post), AMP for Email support (interactive email experiences), 700+ pre-built email templates, and an AI-powered template designer. AWeber also has phone support available on paid plans — rare in this price range. Drip focuses on e-commerce automation and lacks these content-publisher and template-focused features.
04 Which platform has better deliverability?
Both platforms maintain strong deliverability, but AWeber's 25+ year track record gives it an established reputation with major ISPs. AWeber has dedicated deliverability infrastructure and is an accredited sender with recognized industry organizations. Drip's deliverability is strong for e-commerce senders, but it doesn't have the same length of established reputation. For businesses where inbox placement is the top priority, AWeber's track record is an advantage.
05 Does Drip track revenue from email campaigns and AWeber doesn't?
Yes. Drip's core differentiator is revenue attribution — it connects email engagement data to Shopify/WooCommerce order data, showing which campaigns and automation flows generated actual sales. AWeber tracks email performance metrics (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) and supports conversion tracking via integration with Google Analytics, but it does not have Drip's native revenue attribution dashboard that shows dollars earned per automation flow.
06 At what point is Drip worth the extra cost over AWeber?
Drip becomes worth the premium when email-attributed revenue exceeds the cost difference meaningfully. If Drip costs $50/month more than a comparable AWeber plan, and Drip's cart abandonment and behavioral automation generate $300/month in recovered revenue that AWeber's automation wouldn't capture, the ROI is clear. For Shopify stores generating $200K+ in annual revenue where email drives 15-20% of sales, Drip's e-commerce optimization and revenue tracking typically justify the cost. For stores under $100K annual revenue or non-e-commerce businesses, AWeber's lower price and simpler toolset are usually sufficient.