AWeber vs Brevo vs Drip

There is no single winner here because the three tools are built for different senders: AWeber suits general small-business list building with a long-standing…

AWeber

Free trial + paid plans · From $12.49/month (billed annually)

Best for: Small businesses and solopreneurs who want a mature, easy-to-use email platform with AI writing help, a large integration library, and the option to pay extra for a fully done-for-you setup.

Brevo

Freemium (usage-based on email volume for paid tiers) · From Free (paid plans from $9/month)

Best for: Cost-conscious teams with large or low-engagement contact lists who want unlimited contacts, SMS and WhatsApp alongside email, and a built-in CRM, starting from a genuine free plan.

Drip

Subscription · From $39/month

Best for: Ecommerce brands on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce that need purchase-behavior-triggered automation, revenue-per-workflow reporting, and every feature unlocked on the first paid plan.

At a Glance

 AWeberBrevoDrip
Primary categoryEmail MarketingEmail MarketingEmail Marketing
RatingNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFree trial + paid plansFreemium (usage-based on email volume for paid tiers)Subscription
Starting price$12.49/month (billed annually)Free (paid plans from $9/month)$39/month
Free planYesYesNot documented
Free trialYesYesYes
PlatformsWebWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesYesNot documented
Public APINot documentedYesYes

Standout Differences

Brevo bills by email volume, not contact count

Brevo is the only one of the three that offers unlimited contacts on every paid plan and charges based on emails sent per month, which can produce major savings for businesses with large but relatively low-engagement lists compared to AWeber and Drip, both of which scale price with subscriber or contact count.

Brevo, AWeber, Drip

Drip is the only tool with a flat, all-inclusive pricing structure

Drip charges purely by contact count and unlocks its entire feature set, including unlimited workflows and SMS, from the very first paid plan, while AWeber's Lite plan restricts lists and automations and Brevo gates automation and A/B testing behind its Standard tier and above.

Drip, AWeber, Brevo

Only Brevo has a real free plan

Brevo offers a free plan with 300 emails per day and up to 100,000 stored contacts. AWeber and Drip both rely on 14-day free trials instead of a permanent free tier.

Brevo, AWeber, Drip

Drip is purpose-built for ecommerce, AWeber and Brevo are not

Drip ingests order and product-catalog data directly from Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce to power revenue-attributed automations, a level of ecommerce depth that AWeber's general e-commerce and payments tools and Brevo's Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento integrations do not match.

Drip, Brevo, AWeber

Brevo is the only multi-channel platform with a built-in CRM

Brevo combines email, SMS, WhatsApp, and a sales CRM in one product, while Drip pairs email with SMS but has no CRM, and AWeber is primarily an email and landing-page platform.

Brevo

Feature-by-Feature

Core channels and automation

FeatureAWeberBrevoDrip
SMS marketingNot documentedAvailableAvailable
WhatsApp marketingNot documentedAvailableNot documented
Automation triggered by purchase or cart behaviorLimitedLimitedAvailable
AI writing or content assistanceAvailableAvailableNot documented

Ecommerce and integrations

FeatureAWeberBrevoDrip
Native Shopify or WooCommerce integrationLimitedAvailableAvailable
Built-in sales CRMUnavailableAvailableNot documented

Pricing and support

FeatureAWeberBrevoDrip
Permanent free planUnavailableAvailableUnavailable
All features included on every paid planUnavailableUnavailableAvailable
Priority or live chat support on entry-level paid plansAvailableNot documentedLimited

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

AWeber

Lite — $12.49/month billed annually (higher if billed monthly)
Plus — $19.99/month billed annually (higher if billed monthly)
Done For You — $20/month + $79 one-time setup fee monthly + one-time setup

Brevo

Free — $0 N/A
Starter — From $9/month monthly (annual discount available)
Standard — From $18/month monthly (annual discount available)
Professional — From $499/month monthly
Enterprise — Custom annual

Drip

2,500 Contacts — $39/month Monthly (annual discount available)
5,000 Contacts — $89/month Monthly (annual discount available)
10,000 Contacts — $154/month Monthly (annual discount available)
30,000 Contacts — $449/month Monthly (annual discount available)
100,000 Contacts — $1,199/month Monthly (annual discount available)

Pros & Cons

AWeber

Pros

  • Long track record (founded 1998) with a mature, stable feature set
  • AI writing assistance included in paid plans
  • Large integration library (750+ tools)
  • Transparent tiered pricing based on subscriber count

Cons

  • Pricing scales up as subscriber lists grow, which can get costly at scale
  • Lite plan restricts lists, landing pages, and automations to three each
  • Advanced marketing-automation depth may lag newer, automation-first platforms

Brevo

Pros

  • Free plan and low-cost entry tiers make it accessible for small businesses
  • Bills by email volume, not contact list size, with unlimited contacts on all paid plans
  • Combines email, SMS, WhatsApp, automation, and CRM in one platform
  • Available in six interface languages, suited to international teams

Cons

  • Free and Starter plans include Brevo branding unless you pay extra to remove it
  • Professional tier pricing jumps sharply to around $499/month
  • Automation and personalization are less advanced than e-commerce-focused specialists like Klaviyo
  • Deliverability and support quality can vary by plan tier per user reviews

Drip

Pros

  • Simple, transparent pricing based only on contact count with no feature gating
  • Deep native integrations with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce
  • Combines email and SMS automation in a single workflow builder
  • 14-day free trial lets new users test the full feature set before paying

Cons

  • Focused specifically on ecommerce, making it a poor fit for non-retail businesses
  • Live chat support is limited to accounts on $99/month plans or higher
  • Pricing rises quickly as contact lists grow, which can be costly for large lists
  • Fewer advanced analytics and reporting options compared to some larger competitors like Klaviyo

Use Cases

Choose AWeber: Small businesses and solopreneurs who want a mature, easy-to-use email platform with AI writing help, a large integration library, and the option to pay extra for a fully done-for-you setup.
Choose Brevo: Cost-conscious teams with large or low-engagement contact lists who want unlimited contacts, SMS and WhatsApp alongside email, and a built-in CRM, starting from a genuine free plan.
Choose Drip: Ecommerce brands on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce that need purchase-behavior-triggered automation, revenue-per-workflow reporting, and every feature unlocked on the first paid plan.

AWeber

  • Small Business Email Newsletters — Sending regular newsletters and promotions to a customer list.
  • Automated Follow-Up Sequences — Building automated welcome and nurture sequences for new subscribers.
  • E-commerce Email & Payments — Selling products and collecting payments directly through email campaigns.

Brevo

  • SMB Marketing Consolidation — Small businesses combine email, SMS, and light CRM into one moderately priced platform instead of multiple point tools.
  • E-commerce Transactional & Marketing Email — Online stores use Brevo's Shopify/WooCommerce integrations and transactional API for order and marketing emails.

Drip

  • Cart abandonment recovery — Automatically trigger email and SMS sequences when a shopper adds items to their cart but does not complete checkout.
  • Post-purchase customer retention — Build automated win-back and loyalty campaigns to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers.
  • Multi-brand agency management — Agencies use unlimited sub-accounts to manage marketing automation for several ecommerce clients from one Drip account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of AWeber, Brevo, and Drip has a genuinely free plan?

Brevo is the only one with a permanent free plan, allowing 300 emails per day and up to 100,000 stored contacts. AWeber and Drip both offer 14-day free trials instead of a free tier.

Which tool is best for an ecommerce store specifically?

Drip is purpose-built for ecommerce, with native Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce integrations that power purchase-behavior-triggered automations and revenue-per-workflow reporting. Brevo also offers ecommerce integrations, but its feature set is broader and less commerce-specific, and AWeber's ecommerce tools are more basic.

How do the pricing models actually differ?

AWeber and Drip both scale price with the number of contacts or subscribers on your list. Brevo instead bills based on how many emails you send per month and includes unlimited contacts on every paid plan, which can be cheaper for large, low-engagement lists.

Do any of these platforms support SMS marketing?

Brevo and Drip both include SMS alongside email in their automation workflows. AWeber's published feature set does not mention SMS marketing.

Which platform offers a fully managed, done-for-you setup?

AWeber is the only one of the three with a dedicated Done-For-You plan, priced at $20/month plus a $79 one-time setup fee, where AWeber's team builds emails, landing pages, and workflows within 7 days.

Which of the three has the longest operating history?

AWeber, founded in 1998, has by far the longest track record. Brevo and Drip were both founded in 2012.

Read the full AWeber review · Read the full Brevo review · Read the full Drip review