When it comes to email marketing and landing page software, two giants stand above the rest – HubSpot and AWeber. With powerful features for building email lists, creating campaigns, designing landing pages, and tracking results, these platforms help businesses connect with customers in impactful ways. However, choosing the right software for your needs is crucial.
In this comprehensive HubSpot vs AWeber comparison guide, we will evaluate both platforms across key criteria to help you determine the best one for your business. We will look in-depth at market position, ease of use, customization options, functionality like blogging, SEO and analytics, website performance, customer support, pricing, and reputation.
By evaluating this software side-by-side, you’ll understand the strengths and weaknesses of each and make an informed decision on which solution fits your goals and budget.
1. Understanding the Basics
Founded in 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot is one of the leading inbound marketing, sales, and CRM platforms. With over 121,000 total customers in over 120 countries, HubSpot holds significant market share and brand recognition.
AWeber, on the other hand, got its start back in 1998 from Tom Kulzer as primarily an email marketing solution. Now with over 250,000 customers, AWeber has expanded into landing pages and email marketing automation as well.
Both companies boast very active user communities on Facebook. HubSpot’s Inbound Community for marketers and sales professionals has over 2,1M followers, while the AWeber Customer Community manages over 9,000 members in its Facebook group. These groups allow customers to interact, share best practices, and get feedback.
For enterprise organizations, HubSpot provides a full inbound stack. For small businesses just needing email and landing pages, AWeber’s simplicity appeals to many.
2. Features and Functionality
Email Marketing Automation
HubSpot
HubSpot offers a visual workflow builder to create customized email automation workflows and sequences for your email marketing campaigns without code. You can trigger email series based on time delays, specific user actions, or other app events.
Pre-built templates exist for common flows like welcoming new contacts, engaging inactive subscribers, event promotions, and more. You also have granular segmentation tools to personalize your approach.
The platform makes it easy to set up lifecycle stages for contacts that evolve based on their interactions and engagement over time.
For instance, you may have a lead nurturing track focused on downloading an eBook that transitions them to a sales-qualified lead when they request a demo. Workflows keep your messaging timely and relevant.
With A/B testing for emails, social posts, and landing pages built directly into HubSpot, you can experiment to optimize your automation performance without additional tools. It also offers drag-and-drop email editors, personalized subject lines, and content for more targeted outreach campaigns.
Overall, HubSpot provides robust options for both marketing and sales teams to create intelligent engagement paths customized to their audience and goals.
AWeber
AWeber provides an automation center to build sequences through an intuitive series of drag-and-drop blocks representing different types of emails, delays, and decisions/conditions.
You choose from pre-made templates or create flows completely customized to your business across welcome series, lead nurturing, event promotions, abandoned cart recovery, and more.
With 360-degree customer view, you can leverage subscriber engagement data and lifecycle stage to segment contacts and automate highly personalized, dynamic messaging tailored to individual interests and needs.
AWeber’s automation is also deeply integrated with webinar and landing page performance which is helpful for activation upon conversion events. Additional features like split testing, deals, and Google Analytics integration optimize your automation success.
For simpler needs, you also have a more basic timed email series you can activate. While you have to customize and code HTML templates yourself in AWeber rather than use a drag-and-drop designer, all automation capabilities are still visual and easy to adjust for non-developers.
Winner: Tie
Both HubSpot and AWeber offer excellent visual workflow automation with drag-and-drop convenience, making it accessible even for those without technical expertise.
While HubSpot provides a wider array of pre-built templates and a more intuitive editor, AWeber matches it in customization flexibility and integration with other marketing tools.
For most use cases, both platforms can provide robust, personalized automation without the need for developers or code. Given the parity of key capabilities, we declared this category a tie. The power of each platform aligns closely with marketers at any skill level.
Email Templates
HubSpot
HubSpot offers hundreds of professionally designed email templates covering a wide variety of business needs like welcome sequences, product announcements, event promotions, newsletters, and more.
Templates are mobile optimized and easy to customize with different colors, fonts, and design elements to match your brand.
The drag-and-drop editor makes building from scratch simple as well, with a WYSIWYG interface, support for images, GIFs, videos, dynamic content blocks, and personalization tags.
You can also code templates directly in HTML and CSS if desired. Sections let you standardize structure across emails like headers, footers, and calls to action.
HubSpot also provides A/B testing capabilities to experiment with different template variations, subject lines, content, designs, send times, and segments to optimize your approach.
Templates are set up for easy replication, allowing you to spin up tailored versions for different campaigns, audiences, and languages quickly.
Overall, HubSpot focuses heavily on design and personalization in its templates to drive engagement and results.
AWeber
In AWeber, you have access to hundreds of professionally designed, mobile-friendly email templates categorized by industry and campaign goal. While you can’t edit templates directly, you can use them as inspiration to build your emails through the blank canvas editor or HTML coding capabilities.
The editor offers easy custom fonts, colors, content blocks, images, videos, and dynamic fields. You can create sections like headers and footers to maintain consistency. While AWeber lacks drag-and-drop convenience, its open HTML access allows significant design flexibility.
For testing, AWeber integrates directly with Google Analytics for email and Facebook Pixel to understand how template variations influence subscriber actions. You can also A/B test subject lines to optimize open rates.
While template editing itself lacks the immediacy of HubSpot, sophisticated users have the control to deeply customize emails through HTML and sync tracking for optimization.
Winner: HubSpot
With its drag-and-drop editor, a wider array of templates, and built-in testing capabilities, HubSpot wins for easier customization in maximizing the impact of email templates for users of all skill levels.
AWeber provides greater open-ended flexibility for HTML coders but lacks the intuitive WYSIWYG editing that makes creating beautiful, branded email templates simple for beginners. So HubSpot takes the prize in terms of accessible design.
Segmentation
HubSpot
HubSpot enables dynamic list segmentation based on detailed contact record attributes, engagement data, lead scores, lifecycle stage, profile data, past conversions, and more. You can create manual lists using filters or build smart lists that update automatically based on specified criteria.
Segmenting options include email engagement metrics, content downloads, landing page views, form submissions, event attendance, number of sales conversations, custom field values, and hundreds of combinations therein.
Lists automatically sync across marketing, sales, and service for a unified approach.
HubSpot also facilitates behavioral targeting and personalization. Send contextually relevant content based on individual interests. Customize messaging for contacts at various stages of the lifecycle. Tailor emails, landing pages, ads, and website experience to match audience segments.
With robust profile data and activity tracking across channels, HubSpot empowers a granular, customized segmentation strategy.
AWeber
In AWeber, you create segments by setting up filters based on over 50 contact fields from basics like name and email to detailed metrics on open rates, link clicks, social profiles, webinar registration, purchase history, and much more.
Filter based on combinations like “Opened last 3 emails” AND “Clicked a link in Email #2”. Segments automatically update as subscribers meet or fail to meet criteria. You can even integrate with 3rd party apps through Zapier to incorporate external data into segmentation logic.
For behavioral targeting, AWeber lets you customize subscriber journeys through your email designs, content recommendations, dynamic fields and more based on attributes and past engagement. Personalize messaging based on known interests and context.
While segmentation capabilities are robust, they live primarily within the email platform itself. Less connectivity across other marketing channels in AWeber vs HubSpot if not using those modules.
Winner: Tie
Both AWeber and HubSpot make it easy to create dynamic, intelligent segments while also enabling granular behavioral personalization without the need for technical resources.
Given the nearly identical scope of strong segmentation features tailored around enriching engagement with the subscriber base, we declared this category a tie. Either platform provides the tools needed to turn simple email lists into customized audience clusters.
Analytics
HubSpot
HubSpot provides comprehensive reporting on email campaign performance, lead activity, contact engagement, landing page visitors, ad metrics, and more.
Monitor opens, clicks, unsubscribes, spam complaints, links, and downloads across campaigns. Analyze by the campaign, segment, content type, and other filters over customizable date ranges.
Drill into individual contacts and see their site activity, sales interactions, web visits, etc to understand the subscriber journey. Track lead scoring and lifecycle stage evolutions over time. Attribution reporting shows the impact of each channel and marketing effort through the purchase process.
Integrations with Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Segment, and others give expanded insights beyond the core platform.
HubSpot also offers predictive lead scoring to help optimize targeting, journeys, and experiences. With customizable dashboards and reporting automation through scheduled exports or Slack alerts, you control the data.
AWeber
In AWeber, reporting covers subscriber engagement, open and click rates, unsubscribe rates, spam complaints, link/download performance, revenue tracking, and more.
Analyze data by campaign, segment, and content type with the ability to compare metrics across categories. Integration with Google Analytics for deeper website engagement insights.
Subscription dashboards provide graphical snapshots of top stats and trends while campaign reports give you list and individual subscriber perspectives over time.
Access to raw data and metrics through API and code integrations. Monetization reports connect email performance directly to online store sales data for ROI.
While core metrics are very comprehensive, most of AWeber’s advanced analytics require the use of their separate Analytics 360 add-on at extra cost for more robust behavioral and predictive capabilities.
Out of the box, reporting is more focused on immediate campaign performance vs long-term optimization.
Winner: HubSpot
With deeper drilling into subscriber engagement, automatic lead scoring, and predictive analytics included as standard with any plan, HubSpot provides more advanced analytics focused on understanding customer journeys and optimizing experiences.
And with view-level data, they facilitate granular multi-channel attribution. While both platforms deliver excellent campaign performance reporting, HubSpot’s native analytics gives that extra edge.
Unique Features
HubSpot
Beyond core email marketing capabilities, HubSpot offers an array of built-in tools to expand functionality without third-party apps including:
Landing Pages – Create customized landing pages and funnels with drag and drop editor, templates, and integrated analytics. No coding is required.
Website Builder – Build a customized HubSpot CMS website with 150+ modular templates. Integrates natively with blogging, lead flows, and analytics.
Chat Bots – Create chatbots for lead gen, support, e-commerce, and more. Leverage AI for natural language conversations.
CRM Platform – Manage contacts and companies in one place with a timeline view of subscriber interactions and lead activity across all departments and channels.
Marketing Hub – Access a wider suite of marketing tools like social media publishing, SEO optimization, meetings scheduler, and more to amplify the brand.
With the whole growth stack bundled in one connected ecosystem, HubSpot makes expanding from just email and landing pages efficient and affordable. Their breadth drives a major competitive advantage.
AWeber
In terms of unique capabilities beyond core email marketing and landing pages, AWeber offers:
Webinars – Host one-time and recurring webinars integrated with email and landing pages for funnel generation. Live streaming capability.
Surveys – Create and publish surveys then integrate subscriber responses automatically into follow-up emails, scoring, and segmentation.
Signup Forms – Embed customizable lead capture forms on your website, social media, and anywhere else to grow your subscriber list.
Shopping Carts – Built-in carts and buy buttons to sell products directly from campaigns and access monetization reporting.
While the feature set is not as extensive, AWeber pairs its tools closely to complement email execution for highly segmented, personalized subscriber journeys tied directly to monetization.
Winner: HubSpot
With its Marketing Hub ecosystem, free CRM, and a wider array of built-in tools, HubSpot takes the lead in terms of expanding functionality beyond just core email marketing. The unified platform approach makes cross-channel amplification simple and affordable.
3. Ease of Use
HubSpot
HubSpot provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface across its email, landing pages, website builder, and design tools. The visual editor makes content creation and page building simple even for those with minimal experience. Template sections facilitate consistency while still offering creative flexibility.
With pre-built templates, automated workflows, and AI optimization features, first-time users can quickly launch campaigns that leverage best practices. Yet with granular personalization and custom CSS/HTML access, experts have unlimited room for sophistication.
Ongoing use is also streamlined through unified platform dashboards monitoring engagement across channels, built-in analytics, centralized reporting, and automated alerts if issues ever arise. The connected ecosystem facilitates productivity.
While the breadth of HubSpot’s tools can overwhelm brand-new users, investment in ramp-up pays dividends in amplified results.
AWeber
AWeber prioritizes ease of use with a clean, distraction-free interface focused specifically on core email marketing and landing page needs.
Simple menu navigation, logical workflow constructions, and drag-and-drop design minimize the learning curve so first-timers can start building subscriber communications quickly.
At the same time, with open HTML access, segmentation tools, automation flexibility, and analytics integration, experts have all they need to execute advanced campaigns.
Though some comparably robust options reside in premium add-ons, the core platform balances simplicity with customization for a range of skill levels.
Overall, AWeber cuts through the noise to offer just what most small businesses require. Straightforward tools fit common use cases without overwhelming them. Simplicity for sends limits feature bloat.
Winner: AWeber
While HubSpot provides unmatched capabilities through its integrated growth suite, the breadth also increases the complexity of onboarding. Many basic email marketers may never leverage the full power.
With its purpose-built, intuitive interface focused solely on the essentials, AWeber prioritizes approachability. Their simplicity perfectly aligns with “just email marketing” needs – so they take the ease of use crown.
4. Email Deliverability
HubSpot
HubSpot facilitates excellent email deliverability through dedicated IP addresses to protect sender reputation, automatic list cleaning to remove inactive emails, and integration with major ISPs for inbox placement.
Granular bounce management and predictive email targeting based on past engagement optimize future delivery. Users can also enable a deliverability toolkit providing real-time notifications on issues impacting mail success.
With a global infrastructure composed of top-tier data centers, email servers scale to demand spikes without impacting send reliability. And for maximizing ROI, A/B testing capabilities built into the platform identify best-performing content quickly.
HubSpot also offers premium IP and domain authentication like Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) setup assistance.
AWeber
For email deliverability, AWeber leverages proprietary technology like GraphicMail and ControlSuite to navigate major ISP filters for high inbox placement rates. Features like dynamic content caching handle surges in demand without hurting performance.
Within the platform, predictive sending selects the best times per subscriber while still meeting business send frequency needs.
Granular bounce triggers automatically remove non-viable addresses. A dedicated Deliverability Answer Squad also provides individualized IP and domain protection assistance as needed.
For maximizing open rates, ControlSuite tests multiple subject lines for each user based on past behavior, content preferences, and demographics. Whichever each contact engages most with then sends.
Winner: Tie
Both HubSpot and AWeber invest heavily in optimizing email deliverability through advanced targeting, list management, infrastructure redundancy, and partnerships with major ISPs.
They also facilitate inbox placement testing, authentication protocols, dynamic content caching, and other proprietary technologies to enhance reliability. With comparable scope of offerings, this category is a tie.
5. Customer Support and Community
HubSpot
HubSpot offers 24/7 customer support on all paid plans through email, live chat support, phone support, and support ticket access. Expect sub-1-hour response times around the clock with specialists covering sales, service, and technical issues.
They facilitate onboarding, setup, domain questions, troubleshooting, and general platform guidance. Tech support spans email deliverability, website, app integration, and analytics educational content as well.
As an inbound leader, HubSpot also focuses heavily on supporting customers through content and community. The Learning Center delivers best practice guides, templates, ebooks, webinars, and certifications.
Over 300,000 users also turn to the company’s Facebook community for advice, feedback, and networking. Between thought leadership and peer sharing, education resources abound.
AWeber
AWeber offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email support for all paid subscribers.
With the Deliverability Answer Squad, customers gain specialized assistance optimizing inbox placement rates through personalized IP and domain reputation management. Expect quality responses typically within minutes on common issues.
Educational support spans video tutorials, getting started guides, webinars, ebooks, and more across email, landing pages, and automation topics.
Over 180,000 engaged email marketers also participate in AWeber’s Facebook User Group to discuss tactics, templates, and platform questions. Between self-serve content and community sharing, users gain what they need to drive success.
Winner: Tie
Both HubSpot and AWeber invest heavily in round-the-clock technical support, onboarding education, and fostering user community connections.
With their respective Facebook groups boasting 300,000+ and 180,000+ members, users praise the collaborative help they receive from software specialists and fellow customers alike. Given extremely comparable offerings, we declared customer support a tie.
6. Integrations
HubSpot
As an ecosystem built around the marketing, sales, and service stacks, HubSpot offers 300+ built-in integrations with major apps commonly used by growing businesses. Connect your existing tools and centralize data seamlessly without involving developers.
Out-of-the-box integrations include Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Shopify, Zendesk, MailChimp, Gusto, and hundreds more.
Segmented contact records and activity data flow between apps automatically through HubSpot. You also access apps directly within the platform interface for a unified experience.
Using APIs and webhooks, HubSpot also enables deep custom integrations to expand functionality with niche, homegrown, or emerging tools across different stacks.
Whether you desire lead intake applications, revenue analytics, or proprietary programs leveraging HubSpot data, flexible connections facilitate extensibility. If you’re an affiliate marketer, you can integrate affiliate networks to the HubSpot Marketing Hub platform.
Overall, integrations make the platform extensible for unique use cases while also streamlining workflows by centralizing mainstream applications already in place.
AWeber
For integrations, AWeber connects with over 750 popular applications used by email marketers including leading website builders, e-commerce platforms, Paypal, CRMs, webinar software, security, survey tools, and other sales and marketing stacks.
Instead of building native tools, AWeber leverages Zapier to enable plug-and-play connections between mutually compatible programs using templates for common workflows. However, beyond preset options, custom development work becomes necessary for unique needs.
Thus AWeber prioritizes breadth through a pre-defined ecosystem over depth in tailored experience.
This aligns well with supplementing complementary applications like WordPress, WooCommerce, ActiveCampaign, etc where pre-established templates facilitate productivity. However, substantial deviations require third-party help.
Winner: HubSpot
While both platforms are valuable when it comes to integrating extensively with popular web apps, HubSpot’s unified data platform, deep APIs, and developer-friendly customization ensure no ceiling exists on potential connections.
The ability to natively build apps within the ecosystem also facilitates extensibility. So HubSpot takes the lead in flexibility and customization.
7. Pricing
HubSpot
HubSpot offers two core email marketing packages. The Marketing Starter plan is priced at $20 per month when billed annually and supports up to 1,000 contacts and 50,000 emails per month.
Stepping up, the Marketing Professional package costs $800 per month billed annually for up to 120,000 contacts and 2.5 million emails monthly.
Both plans include unlimited users, templates, support, landing pages, workflows, reporting, and integrations. Higher tiers provide advanced customization, analytics, and premium integrations. The CRM platform also comes bundled at no extra cost.
As an ecosystem beyond just email, you can bundle email capabilities with other HubSpot modules. But for core email and landing pages, the base software tiers offer strong capabilities for the rates. HubSpot also provides volume discounts.
AWeber
AWeber has a free plan and offers four primary pricing tiers suited to small business needs. The Lite plan supports 500 subscribers for $12.50 per month. The Plus plan allows 2,500 subscribers and 12,500 emails per month at $20 per month.
All account plans include a free trial, unlimited emails, 24/7 support, landing pages, segmentation, and basic analytics.
Higher tiers offer more advanced functionality like templates, automation, integrated carts, and services like deliverability assistance. They also provide custom discounts for higher volumes. Their low rates make the tool very accessible to marketers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs.
Winner: Tie
Both platforms price competitively relative to capabilities. AWeber has a reasonable price which starts at lower costs to enable the smallest and mid-sized businesses, then discounts based on volume.
While HubSpot pricing is higher, the ROI comes from their seamlessly integrated tools and bundled CRM. Both are affordable for their targets, so we declared pricing a tie.
8. Reviews and Reputation
HubSpot
With over 121,000 customers, HubSpot garners over 3,500 online reviews averaging 4.4 out of 5 stars. On popular software review site G2, they hold leader badges for ease of use, meets requirements, best relationship, and best overall email marketing software.
Positive feedback across review sites highlights the excellent templates and design tools, unified platform capabilities, intuitive interface, educational resources, and phenomenal support. Users praise versatility spanning basic to advanced email needs.
Criticism centers around the considerable learning curve to leverage full suite alongside higher base pricing. But most agree that ROI justifies the investment.
As one of the top names in the inbound movement, HubSpot reassures users with its public brand track record and surpasses expectations with integration depth. For growing agencies to enterprise organizations, HubSpot instills confidence as a secure and extensible solution.
AWeber
Operating since 1998, AWeber enjoys a longstanding reputation as a pioneer in the email marketing space. Of over 250,000 customers, the software nets 4.7 out of 5 stars on aggregate review sites.
Praise notes reliability stemming from years of ongoing refinement to the core platform aligned closely with user feedback.
Happy users underscore in reviews the quality deliverability, intuitive workflow, excellent segmentation capabilities, quality support, and clear pricing free of hidden gotchas.
Criticism acknowledges dependency on add-ons for expanded functionality like advanced analytics. But for email marketing essentials, AWeber is seen as a trustworthy staple.
As one of the early category leaders, AWeber benefits from substantial word of mouth over two decades alongside superb continuity updating offerings to match modern needs without overcomplicating. Their focused approach breeds confidence.
Winner: HubSpot
With leading scores across every major review platform, strong praise for support, and a wide range of needs covered, HubSpot edges out AWeber in overall reputation by offering everything growing marketing teams expect with cutting-edge email tools tightly integrated across complementary stacks.
9. FAQ’s
HubSpot FAQs
- Does HubSpot offer free trials?
Yes, HubSpot offers 30-day free trials on all of its paid software tiers, including email marketing packages, so you can test capabilities before subscribing. - Does HubSpot have email templates?
Yes, HubSpot provides hundreds of professionally designed email templates spanning different industries, campaign goals, holidays, and more. Templates are customizable. - Can HubSpot build landing pages?
Yes, landing page creation for lead generation is included with HubSpot’s email marketing and CRM software. You can make landing pages from scratch or customize pre-made templates. - Is HubSpot easy to use?
While HubSpot offers an intuitive drag-and-drop editor and interface across its tools, the expansive feature set does present a learning curve, especially for new email marketers. However, customer support and training resources help smooth onboarding. - Does HubSpot integrate with Salesforce?
Yes, HubSpot offers deep native integration with Salesforce allowing mutual contact and activity data flows between both platforms. This facilitates full visibility.
AWeber FAQs
- What is the cost of AWeber?
AWeber pricing starts at $12.50/month for up to 500 subscribers on its entry-level plan. Volume discounts are available for higher quantities under custom enterprise quotes. All core plans include unlimited emails. - Is AWeber simple to use?
Yes, simplicity and ease of use for small businesses are defining aspects of AWeber’s email marketing platform. The intuitive drag-and-drop builder, navigation, and workflows minimize the learning curve. - Can AWeber make landing pages?
Yes, lead capture landing pages are included with all of AWeber’s paid plans to help convert website visitors into email subscribers. Dozens of templates expedite creation. - Does AWeber offer support?
AWeber provides 24/7 customer support via chat, email, and phone. As a longstanding company, their expertise helps guide new users in leveraging tools effectively through onboarding and beyond. - What integrations does AWeber have?
Through 750+ Zapier app integrations, AWeber connects with all major marketing, sales, and web platforms for seamless cross-channel workflows between commonly used tools.
Final Thoughts
Choose HubSpot if…
With its full inbound platform spanning email, landing pages, CRM, websites, ads, and more, HubSpot suits rapidly scaling companies that desire an integrated suite supporting sophisticated segmentation, extensive customization, and advanced analytics under one ecosystem.
The array of functionality and extensibility through APIs streamlines the execution and optimization of comprehensive digital strategies with a unified view of engagement data. If you seek robust infrastructure capable of handling enterprise-grade complexity, HubSpot delivers.
Choose AWeber if…
For small businesses focused squarely on leveraging email marketing and simple lead generation pages to drive growth, AWeber’s focused, user-friendly platform excels.
Their simplified navigation and workflows lower barriers for solopreneurs and early-stage teams to activate campaigns quickly without an excessive learning curve or overwhelming feature bloat.
If you want uncomplicated, reliable email capabilities complemented by landing pages and basic automation, AWeber offers tremendous ROI.
When choosing marketing technology, assess your budget, business size, industry, functionality needs, and scalability requirements. The software aligned best to your unique goals and stage ensures efficiency fueling expansion.
We urge you to research all options thoroughly, try free trials of leading solutions, and ask us any questions in the comments below so we can offer tailored guidance. Choose what’s right for where you are now and where you aim to be in several years.