Mailchimp vs iContact

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Our analysts compared Mailchimp vs iContact based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Marketing Automation Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

iContact Software Tool

Product Basics

Mailchimp is a web-based marketing platform that specializes in email marketing, sending, monitoring and personalizing communications. Given its pricing point, it’s great for small or medium businesses who want a fully-featured marketing implementation.

Standout features include an intuitive website builder with a drag-and-drop interface, an integrated database, as well as robust landing page builders for web and social media traffic. It also facilitates the creation of digital ads as well as physical postcards to reach customers via postal services.
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iContact is an email automation and marketing tool geared towards small and medium-sized businesses running Windows, MacOS and Linux. It offers several standard features, with a distinct focus on email features and easy-to-use technology. These include templates, a drag-and-drop editor, automation, A/B testing, list segmentation and campaigns.

It also comes bundled with a handful of additional features to support marketing and sales activities, such as reporting, landing pages, sign-up forms and a free email lookbook.
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$13 Monthly, Freemium
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Tailored to your specific needs
$8.50 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
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Android
Chromebook
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Cloud
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Product Assistance

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Live Online
Videos
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Videos
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Email
Phone
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Free Version: A free version includes features such as an audience dashboard, tags, segmentation and more.
  • Multivariate Campaign: Test up to eight campaign variations and send improvised emails every time. View the impact of small changes to email campaigns on subscriber engagement.
  • Mobile App: Access reports, manage audiences, create campaign content and work on email campaigns on the go using an app for iOS and Android devices.
  • Retargeting Digital ads: Retarget website and landing page visitors when they use Facebook and Instagram, in order to bolster revenue and stay in constant contact with customers.
  • Website Builder: Build websites for free without coding skills, saving time and money. A built-in sign-up form and an option to claim a custom domain name enhance branding.
  • 24/7 Support: Support team and resources are available 24/7. Unlimited access to tutorials and marketing guides, as well as assistance in contact management, template design and website development are available.
  • Account Security: Leverage two-factor authentication that includes Mailchimp’s login credentials and a one-time passcode via text message, ensuring system security and authentication.
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  • Automate Funnels: Streamline all levels of the marketing funnel, taking the work of a whole marketing team and automating it. 
  • Manage Subscribers: Easily access and manage contacts list, facilitating healthy relationships with the right leads. 
  • Boost Sales: Nurture leads and pass them along to sales with included CRM integrations. 
  • Unlimited Users: Onboard unlimited new users at no additional cost. 
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  • Audience Dashboard: Store contact data and track trends to understand the audience better. Clickable sections in the dashboard help instantly launch campaigns based on that data.
  • Segmentation: Ready-made segments based on campaign activity, purchase history and more are offered to send campaigns. Enable up to five layers of segmentation filtering, and update data automatically. Add a set of nested conditions facilitating different combinations of data collected such as purchase activity, gender, age range and more.
  • Behavioral Targeting: An API enables pulling custom event data or actions performed by users, to send targeted messages based on specific activities, such as downloads or account renewal.
  • Lookalike Audience: Works with social ads and postcards to reach more people. Find new people similar to contacts using marketing CRM data and an audience network. Create Facebook and Instagram ads, and target people interested in the company’s products.
  • Content Studio: Stores assets such as photos, documents and other files. Upload or sync assets, edit them directly in the content studio and use them for marketing.
  • Templates: More than 100 predesigned templates are available. Customize templates to launch campaigns.
  • Email Builder: Create posts for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter directly from the email builder. Also add photos, write copy and share the post after the email is sent.
  • Landing Pages: Create a place for contacts or potential contacts to land on when they click through from an email, ad, social post or other location on the web.
  • Email Automation: Automate welcome messages after user subscription, and emails based on dates and events. Drag and drop RSS content into any template to pull in the latest posts.
  • Schedule Campaigns: Send a campaign or schedule it for a specific date and time. Includes: 
    •  Send time optimization, which recommends a time for subscribers based on click time activity. 
    •  Timewarp to send campaigns to recipients based on their time zone. 
    •  Batch delivery to send campaigns in timed batches. 
    •  Ability to pause campaigns. 
  • Reporting: Monitor trends and track performance. The growth, engagement and revenue reports facilitate viewing who’s interacted with marketing, along with their clicks, buys and downloads. Compare open, click and unsubscribe rates to industry peers.
  • Real-Time Analytics: Keep tabs on all marketing campaigns including emails, automations, social ads and more. Manage marketing budget using real-time stats. Track sales from a campaign to purchase by finding out who made a purchase after opening the campaign, viewing what they bought and seeing the money earned by the campaign.
  • Integrations: Integrates with apps and web services including Xero, Zapier, Square, LiveChat and more.
  • A/B Testing: Test up to three variations for campaign and build a working strategy.
  • Security:Includes data center security, protection from data loss or corruption, application-level security, internal IT security and more.
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  • Email Builder: A no-code interface is included, making it easy to build effective emails without any programming experience. 
  • Automatic Email: Running without user intervention, it can accurately deliver emails on time. 
  • Scalable Templates: Built to be delivered efficiently, effectively and to display correctly on mobile or desktop platforms. 
  • Time-Based Campaigns: Create and map out time-based campaigns in a short amount of time by utilizing multiple email templates and building platforms.  
  • A/B Testing: Test content performance and customer reception by splitting email campaigns into groups. 
  • Email Lookbook: Select from 55 prebuilt email designs, free of cost, that have been proven to generate high ROI.
  • List Segmentation: Send relevant and personalized emails using audience segmentation, increase subscription chances by creating and targeting audience lists based on defined conditions, and send dynamic content by incorporating merge fields into messaging. 
  • Reporting: Stay informed with updates about campaigns through dashboards, make informed business decisions with real-time reports, and track and analyze data using granular reports. 
  • Integrations: Integrates with major platforms such as Google Forms, HubSpot CRM, Salesforce, PayPal, Zoho CRM, WordPress, Zapier, Magento, Shopify, LeadsBridge and more. 
  • Sign-Up Forms: Create forms quickly using an easy interface and embed them on a website or business Facebook page.  
  • Salesforce Mass Email: Gain insights into campaign effectiveness through reports and dashboards, send personalized emails using templates, track opens and clicks, and explore customers’ response to email campaigns. 
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Product Ranking

#20

among all
Marketing Automation Software

#17

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Marketing Automation Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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AI-Based Capabilities Campaign Management Compliance And Data Security Dashboard And Reporting Email Campaign Management Lead Generation Lead Management Lead Nurturing Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Social Media Campaign Management Text Campaign Management 86 90 83 83 93 82 100 83 93 100 100 55 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 41542 reviews
Great User Sentiment 2227 reviews
88%
of users recommend this product

Mailchimp has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% when considering 41542 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

86%
of users recommend this product

iContact has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 2227 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

4.3 (10702)
4.1 (1069)
4.48 (15519)
4.48 (548)
4.5 (13246)
4.5 (521)
4.5 (222)
3.8 (4)
4.1 (1853)
4.0 (85)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Mailchimp and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Lead Management, Platform Capabilities, Social Media Campaign Management and Integrations and Extensibility.

Lead Management Award
Platform Capabilities Award
Social Media Campaign Management Award
Integrations and Extensibility Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Easy to Use: The platform has a simple interface and can easily be understood by anyone with basic knowledge of email marketing, observe 95% of reviewers referencing this feature.
Easy Email and Templates: It’s easy to create and understand emails using templates, send professional email flyers, and run campaigns automatically, according to 83% of users who mention this feature.
Email Marketing: Everyone referencing this aspect thinks it’s a comprehensive email marketing tool with features like campaign management, customer journey, transactional email, integrations and more.
Customization: Almost 80% of reviewers who talk about this feature feel the built-in templates are easily customizable, and editing them doesn’t require graphic design experience.
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Email Automation: Equipped with every essential feature, the tool enables quick email sending, keeping track of delivered mails, mass emails, marketing campaigns and more, according to 97% of reviewers referencing it.
Ease of Use: The system is easy to learn, understand and use, note 96% of reviewers referencing user-friendliness.
Templates: Almost 75% of reviewers mentioning templates report that well-designed, customizable templates help save time and auto-answer templates help deliver emails designed for all devices.
Interface: A clear, pleasant and clean interface is a benefit to 81% of reviewers who mention it.
Support: Every user mentioning this aspect notes that customer service is fast and attentive.
Feature-Rich: Features like A/B testing, automation, email subscriber entity management, multi-user accessibility and a drag-and-drop editor are a plus, in the experience of every user referencing them.
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Paid Version: More than 85% users mentioning this aspect observe that the free version doesn’t include all features and the premium version is expensive compared to other email marketing services.
Email Spam: Every user talking about this feature mentions that sometimes clients' e-blasts end up in the spam folder for recipients.
Glitches: There are glitches such as difficulty signing in when logged in from another device, frozen modules, slow editing process, poor compatibility with Outlook and more, as every review on this feature mentions.
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Cost: It has a high cost for the few tools offered, and it’s also expensive to use large volumes of data, according to almost 80% of users mentioning pricing.
Limitations: Every user talking about this aspect mentions limitations such as limited storage and email customization, difficulty in fixing mistakes, deleting files, adding contacts and spell check.
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Stepping into the realm of email marketing, Mailchimp emerges as a prominent contender, captivating businesses with its user-friendly interface and extensive features. User feedback from the past year sheds light on Mailchimp's strengths and weaknesses, offering valuable insights for potential adopters. Mailchimp's intuitive design empowers users of all skill levels to craft visually appealing email campaigns. The platform's drag-and-drop editor and diverse template library simplify the creation process, enabling businesses to maintain brand consistency and engage their audience effectively. Affordability is another hallmark of Mailchimp, with tiered pricing plans catering to businesses of varying sizes and budgets. The availability of a free plan further enhances accessibility, making it an attractive option for startups and small businesses. However, Mailchimp's automation capabilities have drawn mixed reviews. While the platform offers basic automation features, such as welcome emails and abandoned cart sequences, some users find them to be less robust compared to competitors like ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo. Additionally, Mailchimp's segmentation options, while functional, may not provide the same level of granularity as more specialized email marketing platforms. Despite these limitations, Mailchimp's ease of use, affordability, and comprehensive feature set make it a compelling choice for businesses seeking a reliable email marketing solution. Its intuitive interface and extensive template library empower users to create professional-looking emails without extensive design experience. The platform's scalability ensures that it can accommodate the evolving needs of growing businesses, making it an ideal choice for those embarking on their email marketing journey.

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iContact provides email automation and marketing tools in an easy-to-use interface. It offers a wide range of features and offers a lot of options to make interesting designs and templates. It also has a prompt customer service team according to most reviewers. However, the pricing is on the higher side and there are certain limitations that prevent users from getting the most out of the solution. Overall, it has a lot to offer for email marketing, with use-friendly tools that are great for small and medium businesses, though there are more robust platforms available.

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