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Email Marketing · head to head

AWeber vs Keila

AWeber logo

AWeber

Email Marketing

Email marketing and automation for small business

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Keila logo

Keila

Email Marketing

AGPL newsletter tool from Germany, self-hostable or hosted in the EU with no free plan

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWeber pricing varies based on subscriber count; must contact for exact rates; Keila there is no free hosted plan at all, stated as deliberate policy, so unlike almost every competitor there is no way to run a small list at zero cost without self-hosting it yourself.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWeber and Keila actually diverge.

Attributes where AWeber and Keila differ
AttributeAWeberKeila
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by emails sent
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AWeber

Nothing recorded that Keila does not also cover.

Only in Keila

  • Priced by emails sent
  • Bring your own sender
  • Self-hosting
  • EU hosting
  • Sign-up forms
  • Segmentation
  • Markdown and block editor
  • Multiple projects

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AWeber

  • Growing subscriber lists through landing pagesnot Keila
  • Automating follow-up sequences from behavior triggersnot Keila
  • Selling digital products through integrated storefrontsnot Keila
  • Processing payments in 100+ currenciesnot Keila

Keila

  • A membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times morenot AWeber
  • A European publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the EU under a GDPR-friendly arrangementnot AWeber
  • A technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing AWS SES accountnot AWeber
  • An agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional listnot AWeber

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AWeber

  • Pricing varies based on subscriber count; must contact for exact rates
  • Late payment charge of $25 plus 1.5% monthly interest on outstanding balances
  • Data deleted 20 days after payment due date if unpaid

Keila

  • There is no free hosted plan at all, stated as deliberate policy, so unlike almost every competitor there is no way to run a small list at zero cost without self-hosting it yourself.
  • Marketing automation is minimal, with none of the behavioural triggers, journey builders or e-commerce revenue attribution that Klaviyo, Brevo and Mailchimp treat as table stakes.
  • The self-hosted route puts deliverability entirely on you: reputation, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, warm-up and bounce handling are your problem, and a badly configured instance will land in spam folders.
  • It is a small project from a small company, so the integration ecosystem is thin and there is no partner network, template marketplace or large body of community expertise to draw on.
  • Email volume tiers step in fixed blocks, so an organisation whose sending is uneven across the year either overbuys at the annual peak or has to change plan repeatedly.

Pricing, plan by plan

AWeber

Free
  • Lite$15/month
    • Pricing varies by subscriber count
    • 14-day free trial
    • Email sending limit: 10x subscriber count per month
  • Plus$30/month
    • Pricing varies by subscriber count
    • 14-day free trial
    • Email sending limit: 12x subscriber count per month
  • Done For You Service$30/month
    • One-time setup fee: $79
    • 14-day free trial

Keila

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • AGPL-3.0-or-later licence with no fee
    • Official Docker image and sample compose file
    • You supply hosting and a sending backend
  • Keila XS$8/month
    • Two thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Send with Keila or bring your own email server
  • Keila M$32/month
    • Fifteen thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Sign-up forms and segmentation
  • Keila XXL$256/month
    • Two hundred and fifty thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Intermediate tiers at 16, 64 and 128 EUR for 5,000, 50,000 and 100,000 emails

Which should you pick?

Choose AWeber if

  • You want to start without paying.
AWeber review

Choose Keila if

  • You need priced by emails sent.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want bring your own sender.
Keila review

Questions people ask

Is AWeber or Keila better?
Neither clearly leads. AWeber starts at Free and Keila at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWeber or Keila?
AWeber starts at Free and Keila at Free.
Does AWeber or Keila run on more platforms?
AWeber runs on Web. Keila runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use AWeber for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWeber best used for?
AWeber is most often used for growing subscriber lists through landing pages, automating follow-up sequences from behavior triggers, selling digital products through integrated storefronts, processing payments in 100+ currencies. Of those, growing subscriber lists through landing pages and automating follow-up sequences from behavior triggers are not what Keila is typically brought in for.
What can AWeber do that Keila cannot?
Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Bring your own sender, Self-hosting, EU hosting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AWeber: How much does AWeber cost?

AWeber offers a free tier with unlimited basic access. Paid plans start at $15 per month for Lite and $30 per month for Plus, with pricing varying based on subscriber count. All plans include a 14-day free trial.

Source
Keila: Is Keila free?

The software is, under AGPL-3.0-or-later, if you self-host. The hosted service has no free plan by deliberate policy and starts at 8 EUR a month.

AWeber: What are the current promotions for AWeber?

AWeber is offering promotional pricing: $79 for email marketing launch (87% off regular $599 price) or $1 for setup (marked down from $599) for a limited time.

Source
Keila: How is the hosted service priced?

By emails sent, from 8 EUR for two thousand up to 256 EUR for two hundred and fifty thousand a month. Contacts and projects are unlimited on every tier.

AWeber: What fees and charges does AWeber assess for payment issues?

Returned check fee is $25. Late payment charge is $25 plus 1.5% per month interest on outstanding balances. Service interruption billing for spam violations is $50.00 per hour. Payment default occurs if unpaid within 20 days after invoice date.

Source
Keila: Can I use my own email provider?

Yes. AWS SES, Sendgrid, Mailgun, Postmark, generic SMTP or a personal inbox are all supported as sending backends.

Keila: Are there discounts?

Pentacent offers reduced rates to nonprofits and open source projects on request.

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