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The short answer
- Choose Kit if you're building an audience around a newsletter, and you want to grow to thousands of subscribers before paying anything.
- Choose AWeber if you're new to email marketing and want simple tools and cheap paid plans once you need them.
Side by side
| Kit | AWeber | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Up to 10,000 subscribers | Up to 500 subscribers |
| Free automations | 1 sequence, 1 visual automation | 1 automation |
| Free landing pages | Yes | 1 landing page |
| Integrations on free | No | Limited |
| Branding on free | Kit branding | AWeber branding |
| Cheapest paid plan | Creator, $39/mo for 1,000 subs | Lite, $15/mo or $12.50/mo yearly |
| Best for | Creators, newsletters | Beginners, small businesses |
Prices and limits as of October 2026. Both companies change plans from time to time, so check their pricing pages before you commit.
Free plans
This is Kit's biggest advantage. Its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, so you can build a sizable list before spending anything. The catch is that you get only one email sequence and one visual automation, no integrations with other apps, and Kit branding on your emails.
AWeber's free plan stops at 500 subscribers on a single list, with one automation and one landing page. That's enough to get started and learn, but a growing list will reach the limit sooner.
Winner: Kit, by a wide margin.
Paid plans
The picture flips once you pay. AWeber's Lite plan costs $15 a month, or $12.50 a month billed yearly, and removes its branding. Kit's Creator plan starts at $39 a month for 1,000 subscribers.
If you need paid features early, like integrations with your online store or several automations, AWeber is much cheaper.
Winner: AWeber.
Ease of use
AWeber has been around for decades and is designed for people who've never sent a marketing email. Its editor, templates and setup steps are straightforward. Kit is also clean and simple, with a minimal editor built around plain, newsletter-style emails rather than heavily designed templates.
Winner: tie. AWeber suits people who want templates; Kit suits people who like simple, text-focused emails.
Automations
On free plans, both are limited to roughly one automation, which is enough for a welcome sequence. Kit's visual automation builder is built around creators' needs: tagging subscribers by interest and sending different sequences to different groups. Both tools expand automations considerably on paid plans.
Winner: Kit for creator-style audience building.
Who should choose which
Choose Kit if…
- The newsletter is the core of your business.
- You expect your list to grow past 500 subscribers quickly.
- You want to stay on a free plan as long as possible.
Kit: best free plan for audience builders
- Good
- 10,000 free subscribers, creator-focused automations
- Watch out
- Paid plans cost more
Choose AWeber if…
- You're new to email and want the easiest setup.
- You'll need paid features soon and want a low monthly cost.
- You like ready-made templates.
AWeber: best for beginners on a budget
- Good
- Easy to learn, cheap paid plans
- Watch out
- Free plan stops at 500 subscribers
Common questions
Can I switch from one to the other later?
Yes. Both let you export and import your subscriber list. You'll need to rebuild forms, automations and templates, so it's worth choosing carefully at the start.
Are there other options?
Plenty. Our comparison of email marketing tools also covers Systeme.io, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, MailerLite and Mailchimp.
Prices and limits checked October 2026. Confirm on each company's site.