GetResponse vs. iContact

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
GetResponse
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
GetResponse is an online marketing platform optimized for use by small businesses. It provides tools which support email marketing, autofunnel, landing pages, marketing automation, webinars, autoresponders, and enterprise marketing needs.
$0
per month Up to 500 contacts
iContact
Score 6.8 out of 10
N/A
iContact is an email marketing solution that was acquired by Vocus in 2012. The product is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and is aimed at SMBs with unlimited sending as a key feature.
$15
per month
Pricing
GetResponseiContact
Editions & Modules
FREE
$0
per month Up to 500 contacts
Email Marketing
$19
per month Up to 1,000 contacts
Marketing Automation
$59
per month Up to 1,000 contacts
Ecommerce Marketing
$119
per month Up to 1,000 contacts
MAX and MAX²
Custom (contact sales)
per year
1500 Users
$15.00
per month
2500 Users
$25.00
per month
5000 Users
$45.00
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GetResponseiContact
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GetResponseiContact
Features
GetResponseiContact
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
8.9
Ratings
16% above category average
iContact
6.6
Ratings
19% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Dynamic content8.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content8.70 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Landing pages9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
A/B testing9.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Mobile optimization9.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting10.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
List management9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences8.20 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
9.0
Ratings
14% above category average
iContact
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
9.0
Ratings
20% above category average
iContact
-
Ratings
Event/webinar marketing9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
9.0
Ratings
18% above category average
iContact
-
Ratings
Social profile integration9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
9.7
Ratings
28% above category average
iContact
8.0
Ratings
4% above category average
Dashboards10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Standard reports10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Custom reports9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
8.3
Ratings
11% above category average
iContact
-
Ratings
API10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
GetResponse
-
Ratings
iContact
7.0
Ratings
13% below category average
URL Validation00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Link Tracking00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Image Validation00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Inbox Display00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Spam Testing00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Email Previews00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GetResponseiContact
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.9 out of 10
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Emma by Marigold
Emma by Marigold
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GetResponseiContact
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
3.4
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GetResponseiContact
Likelihood to Recommend
GetResponse is good for marketing automation newbies that want a powerful platform without a steep learning curve. It appears to have a strong set of tools for creating automated sequences, but it's not your solution for large enterprise usage. Also, seeing as how competitive the market's become, while it's not expensive per se, it is a bit on the pricey side relative to some.
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iContact is a great option for small businesses. It doesn't have enough features to create the demands of a large corporation. Of course the price goes up exponentially with more subscribers, which would also make it beneficial for small businesses. If you have too many lists to add people to it can get a little crazy too.
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Pros
  • If you understand coding the ability to use dynamic content based on smart searches was very useful.
  • The drop and drag workflows were very easy to create and use
  • Allowed for simple automation and nurture campaigns to occur off of events
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  • Customer service is wonderful! They are always helpful, guiding and available for any odd question, even if those questions are training for a newbie to the email world.
  • Building forms for data collection and the code generator the for the site is very easy.
  • Ensuring double opt-in is extremely straightforward.
  • Including unsubscribe on every message automatically means we never have to worry about CAN-SPAM.
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Cons
  • Lists are rejected on baseless grounds.
  • They recommend a service to clean lists and even after being cleaned, emails and lists are rejected.
  • They purged 80% of our email list because they were not interacting regularly enough with our emails.
  • Their drag and drop editor is set up poorly, if you have similar look and feel emails there is no way to know which you are in.
  • Often email templates do not save and you have to start over.
  • Sometimes scheduled emails don't even send.
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  • Every time you edit or sometimes open an email it brings it to the top of the list. I would prefer my email to go to the top only after I send it out to my subscribers.
  • When I add a new contact I sometimes copy and paste the email. This is not allowed sometimes and I have to manually type the email in.
  • LinkedIn will not allow you to add pictures anymore when sending emails out.
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Likelihood to Renew
As I mentioned before. I believe that the platform is easy to use. Simple and easy process from start to finish. Email efficient and get to the client quickly. Catch errors that would prevent getting to where i need it to go. Overall great experience and would renew without question
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After 4 years of using iContact we finally cut the cord. It was hard to justify staying with them when it seemed like they had some of the most outdated software in the industry, some of the worst deliverability, and were in general extremely lacking in customization. They are a decent ESP for a great price point, so if that is your main concern it may be worth it, but if you want to have your emails you are paying for hit inboxes (not spam folders) then look into someone else that guarantees great deliverability.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
I rate iContact as an easy to use program due to its user friendly dashboard and user interface. Most companies of small to medium size do not have a dedicated marketer, therefore it is someone multitasking who may or may not have this kind of experience. iContact makes it relatively simple and can actually expand one's knowledge in the area of business promotion.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
iContact is regularly up and running. Only once has it been unavailable for maintenance, which is to be expected and even desired for optimal performance when needed.
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Support Rating
Excellent general support. However, in case of an escalation, their turnaround time over email (follow through) can go higher
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They have always been responsive to any issues or concerns that have arisen with our account. Our customer account manager participates in our monthly county-wide communicators meetings via telephone to ensure that we are getting the most from the service. He also analyzes our lists to help us weed out inactive contacts.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
The templates are difficult to customize, and they don't render well in email platforms
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money
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Alternatives Considered
Over the years we have worked with quite a few email platforms. We feel that GetResponse is a solid competitor. The CRM side is not as strong as a product like Keep but we don't expect it to be. If we are really being fair and comparing apples to apples, then GetResponse is as good as any of these other products. Especially in the area of the visual builder, I honestly think it is just about as good as Keep. And it is better than some of these other products. Again, keeping in mind the cost and the niche GetResponse fills, it stacks up very well against the other products we have used.
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We selected iContact because it was available at the time, and in our price range. I inherited it at the school. If it had been the program it is now back then, I would not have chosen it. At the moment, we are too busy to fully vet another program, so we are stuck with this one. It does get the job done. It is great for a small business with small needs, but once you start expanding and having more intricate needs, it does not compete with others like MailChimp
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
iContact stays the same with the number of users added or taken away. It certainly remains reliable despite increased usage, and so, can be considered scaleable in that aspect.
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Return on Investment
  • Our marketing emails have been much more professional, scheduled, beautiful, and manageable since switching AWAY from GetResponse, so in that sense the platform did not provide the kind of ROI we'd prefer.
  • For delivering our regular daily newsletter, GetResponse has served us well and has delivered at an above-average rate to our mailing list.
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  • Increased Employee Efficiency - once a template is created, it is very easy to edit the content within the template with minimal or no assistance from developers.
  • Domain Reputation - if you aren't careful, it is very easy to hurt your domain reputation when using iContact. Make sure the person in charge of email marketing knows the risks of email marketing or is willing to closely work with iContact's customer service to follow best practices.
  • Increased Lead Conversion - through the use of automated email functionality, you can stay in the forefront of your customer's minds. This increases conversions by reminding customers that you are there to provide the goods or services that they may need periodically or in the future.
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