A free AWeber alternative with 4 times more contacts

For pure email marketing, AWeber and systeme.io are both solid choices. AWeber has been in the email space since 1998 and has strong deliverability. Where systeme.io pulls ahead is in what surrounds the email tool: unlimited emails on every plan (AWeber's free plan caps at 3,000/month), built-in funnel builder, course hosting, and affiliate management all connected to your email list without integrations. If you only need email newsletters, AWeber works. If you want your emails connected to funnels, purchases, and automated enrollments, systeme.io is the better fit.

Systeme.io includes a drag-and-drop sales funnel builder with A/B testing and one-click upsells, online course hosting with student tracking, built-in affiliate program management, a booking calendar, CRM pipelines, SMS marketing, online communities, evergreen webinar automation, and a full website and blog builder. AWeber is focused on email newsletters and basic automation. It does not have a funnel builder, course hosting, or affiliate management. To replicate systeme.io's feature set alongside AWeber, you would need to add ClickFunnels, Teachable, and an affiliate platform separately — adding $150–$250/month to your stack.

Yes. AWeber lets you export your subscriber list as a CSV from the Subscribers section. You can then import that CSV into systeme.io under Contacts and map your fields, including custom fields and tags. Email campaigns (follow-up sequences) need to be rebuilt in systeme.io's automation builder — the logic is similar (trigger email, wait, send next email), though the interface is different. AWeber broadcast newsletters can be recreated in systeme.io's email editor. The migration typically takes a few hours for a standard setup. Users on systeme.io paid plans can request the free done-for-you migration service.

Systeme.io's free plan includes email marketing with unlimited sends, 1 automation rule, 3 sales funnels with up to 15 steps, 1 online course with unlimited students, 1 custom domain, affiliate program management, and 2,000 contacts — all at $0, permanently. AWeber's free plan caps contacts at 500 and email sends at 3,000/month, and doesn't include funnels or courses. systeme.io's free plan is the most complete free marketing platform available for online entrepreneurs who want automation, funnels, and email in one place.

The most common reasons are:

(1) AWeber's pricing grows quickly with list size — at 10,000 subscribers, AWeber Pro costs around $69/month for email only, while systeme.io's Webinar plan at $47/month covers 10,000 contacts plus funnels, courses, and affiliates;

(2) marketers who sell products or courses need a funnel builder and course platform that AWeber doesn't provide, requiring expensive add-ons;

(3) AWeber's free plan reduced its contact limit to 500 in recent years, while systeme.io's free plan includes 2,000 contacts and unlimited emails. For marketers who want their email platform and selling tools in one place, systeme.io eliminates the need to stitch together multiple subscriptions.