If you’re choosing an email platform for a client’s newsletter, AWeber and Kit (the platform formerly known as ConvertKit) keep showing up on the same shortlist for a reason: both are built around email first, not bolted onto a CRM or a course platform. The difference that actually matters for an agency isn’t features on a comparison chart, it’s how each platform prices as a client’s list grows, and how much automation complexity you’re likely to need. If you want to see AWeber for yourself, AWeber offers a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
What Each Platform Is Built For
AWeber has been an email-and-landing-page platform since 1998. It stays narrow on purpose: email, automation, landing pages, and integrations into the rest of a client’s stack, nothing extra tacked on.
Kit started as ConvertKit, built specifically for creators selling something, a course, a newsletter subscription, a digital product, direct to an audience. The rebrand to Kit in 2025 came with a redesigned automation builder (Visual Automations) and a sharper focus on monetization: paid newsletters, digital product sales, and audience segmentation are first-class features, not add-ons.
That difference in origin shows up immediately in who each platform fits. AWeber reads as the safer default for a client running standard newsletters and lead-gen. Kit reads as the better fit for a client whose business model is the audience itself.
Key Differences for Agencies
Pricing Model
This is where the two platforms diverge hardest, and it’s the part worth walking a client through before you pick one. Both price by subscriber count on a tiered scale, neither is a flat rate regardless of list size, but the tiers move at different speeds. AWeber’s published tier table runs all the way to 150,000 subscribers in fairly gentle steps. Kit’s public pricing page only shows the rate at 1,000 subscribers; past that, check Kit’s own calculator for the exact number, since we couldn’t confirm its higher tiers against an official source.
Automation
Kit’s Visual Automations are the stronger tool here: branching logic, tagging based on purchases or link clicks, and sequences built around a visual canvas instead of a linear list. AWeber’s automation builder handles welcome sequences and tag-based follow-ups well but is narrower for complex, multi-branch journeys, the same limitation noted in our full AWeber review.
Monetization and Landing Pages
Kit was built to sell things directly to an audience: paid newsletters, digital products, and subscriptions are native, not integrations. AWeber’s landing page builder is stronger for general lead-gen, 40+ templates across ecommerce, blogs, and lead capture, but it isn’t built around selling to the list the way Kit is.
Client Handoff
AWeber’s simpler interface makes it easier to hand off to a client’s in-house team later without a training curve. Kit’s automation canvas is more powerful but has a steeper learning curve for a client who isn’t going to log in often.
Pricing
| Plan | Price/Month | Subscribers | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Newsletter | Free | Up to 10,000 | 1 basic automation, unlimited landing pages/forms, unlimited broadcasts |
| Kit Creator | $32.50 (annual, at 1,000 subs) | Scales with list size | Visual Automations, paid newsletters, digital products |
| Kit Pro | $65.83 (annual, at 1,000 subs) | Scales with list size | Subscriber scoring, newsletter referrals, advanced reporting |
| AWeber Lite | $20.83 (annual, at 1,000 subs) | Tiered, up to 150,000 | 1 list, 3 landing pages, 3 automations, 3 users |
| AWeber Plus | $37.50 (annual, at 1,000 subs) | Tiered, up to 150,000 | Unlimited lists/pages/automations, custom segments, sales tracking |
Both platforms offer a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. Prices shown are per plan at 1,000 subscribers, billed annually, both platforms increase in tiers as a list grows.
Run the numbers at 1,000 subscribers and the picture is closer than it looks on the surface. AWeber Lite, at $20.83/month, is the cheapest way to run a straightforward newsletter. Kit Creator, at $32.50/month, actually undercuts AWeber Plus, at $37.50/month, once you’re comparing the two automation-and-monetization tiers head to head. The gap opens wider at Kit Pro, $65.83/month, nearly double what AWeber Plus costs for the same list size.
Where AWeber pulls ahead is scale: its full pricing table is published up to 150,000 subscribers, so you can quote a client’s cost years out with confidence. Kit doesn’t publish tiers past 1,000 subscribers on its pricing page, so budgeting for a fast-growing list means checking Kit’s calculator each time, not reading one table once.
Where Kit Wins, and Where AWeber Wins
Kit wins on automation depth and monetization, and at 1,000 subscribers it does that for less than AWeber Plus costs. If a client’s newsletter is the product, Visual Automations and native paid subscriptions make Creator the obvious pick over Plus, automation aside. The free Newsletter tier is also a solid way to onboard a client with a small list before committing to anything paid.
AWeber wins on the cheapest entry point, Lite, for a client who just needs newsletters and lead-gen, and on pricing transparency at scale: its full tier table is public up to 150,000 subscribers; Kit’s isn’t. Neither platform has a built-in CRM, so a client who needs pipeline or deal tracking will need a second tool either way. See our full AWeber review for where that limitation shows up in practice.
Verdict
If the client’s list is going to be the main channel and the job is straightforward, newsletters, sequences, lead-capture pages, go with AWeber. Lite covers that at the lowest price on this list; step up to Plus once a client needs more than one list or automation running at once. If the newsletter is the business, go with Kit instead. Creator undercuts Plus at 1,000 subscribers and comes with monetization tools AWeber doesn’t offer at all. Kit Pro is worth the jump only once subscriber scoring and referral tools would actually get used, not as a default upgrade the moment a client can afford it.
If you’re not sure which describes a given client yet, start with the cheaper commitment: try AWeber free for 14 days against a real newsletter workflow before paying for either platform.