An Honest ConvertKit Review from a Long-Term User

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Businesses justifiably obsess over ROI (“return on investment”), with just small percentage gains bringing in promotions and perks to managers and staff.

But what if I told you that, in 2016, email marketing had an ROI of 4,400%? That means for every $1 spent, the average person received $44 back.

And as of 2019, the stats show email use is only growing.

So you could say that getting email marketing right is pretty vital for pretty much all businesses.

But as for the “business of blogging”, most still exclusively use the old free choices of MailChimp and Aweber.

And for a lot of these bloggers, this is a HUGE mistake. Why?

Because if email marketing really can earn you $44 for each $1 spent, free services are not going to give you all the firepower you really need.

You can use these free services to send out emails reliably to a limited number of people, but forget email automation and all the other features you’ll need to earn that $44 for every $1.

Now I’m not saying you need to go out and get a subscription with Infusionsoft or another expensive (but extremely comprehensive) piece of email marketing software.

But you at least need something with a bit of firepower to tap into the power of email marketing and automation.

And what’s the best choice for doing that without going over budget?

ConvertKit.

Unlike Infusionsoft or any other expensive email marketing software, ConvertKit is not hard to use…at all. In fact, it’s really, really easy and intuitive.

You do NOT need to be a tech whizz to use it!

ConvertKit has taken the blogging world by storm in the last 4 years and we’ve been using it for the majority of its lifespan.

So, without further ado, here’s our full ConvertKit review.

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ConvertKit Review: Table of Contents

• Our Background
• What Is ConvertKit?
• What Does ConvertKit Do?
  • What Is Email Marketing?
  • What Makes ConvertKit Unique?
• What I like Most About ConvertKit
• What I like Least About ConvertKit
• A Review of ConvertKit Features
  • A/B Testing
  • Analytics & Reports
  • Automation
  • Email Templates
  • Form Building & Landing Pages
  • Integrations
  • Support
  • Tags & Segments
• ConvertKit Pricing
• Is ConvertKit Right For You?
• ConvertKit Alternatives
• More ConvertKit Info
  • Is ConvertKit a CRM?
  • Where Does ConvertKit Store My Data?
• Summary of Our ConvertKit Review
• What to Do After Signing up for a Free Trial

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Our Background

If you’re not interested in reading our background, skip it by clicking here.

When me and my husband Silas first started having blogging success after launching Chasing Foxes in 2016, there was so much feedback and questions coming our way from people wanting to do the same thing we’d done.

We knew we had to start an email list.

But we weren’t that techy (at least back then.)

So I (Grace) snooped around other blogging sites and found people highly recommending ConvertKit.

I was left scratching my head a bit at first since there were free alternatives out there whereas ConvertKit was a premium service. (Anyone whose stuck around here long enough will know I love saving money.)

However, after looking into it further, these free alternatives such as MailChimp had steeper learning curves, were less intuitive, and had way fewer functions on offer.

Not to mention the free services like MailChimp stop being free after a while. (E.g. for MailChimp, it stops being free if you have over 2,000 contacts or send over 10,000 emails per month or 2,000 per day.)

I wanted something not too pricey, easy enough to operate, and wouldn’t consume all my time, while STILL being able to offer me powerful email automation.

I recognized that “free” loses out to great ROI every time. So I went with ConvertKit.

What Is ConvertKit?

ConvertKit is an email service provider that includes a powerful automation tool and an intuitive, easy-to-use design.

It enables businesses and content creators to build an email list, send out bulk emails, and automate the whole process—saving time, making money, and nurturing the relationship with their readers.

But compared to the crowded market of email service providers, ConvertKit is pretty new to the scene.

The first-ever version of ConvertKit was released in March 2013 by Nathan Barry who started out his career designing websites and selling iPhone apps.

It was a side project for him until, in late 2014, he made it his top priority after experiencing his own frustrations using MailChimp as a blogger, but while also being disappointed with the poor design and user-experience of super-powerful services like Infusionsoft.

Seeing a gap in the market for an email marketing software designed just for authors, publishers, and bloggers, he crafted ConvertKit specially and gave it the following description:

The power of Infusionsoft, but easier to use than MailChimp.

Since then, ConvertKit has become a huge player in the email marketing world, expanding to a team of 46 people across 37 cities.

They’ve become known as a powerful yet cost-effective option for content creators who are looking to ramp up their email marketing success.

Moreover, they’re now helping thousands of content creators in their email marketing efforts, including the likes of big names in the blogging world such as Suzi Whitford from Start a Mom Blog, Pat Flynn from The Smart Passive Income Blog, and many others.

We ourselves at Chasing Foxes have been using them for a few years now and would back up ConvertKit’s three main claims…which are:

1. ConvertKit is a powerful email marketing software for content creators. ✓
2. ConvertKit is easier and more intuitive to use than alternatives such as MailChimp or Infusionsoft. ✓
3. ConvertKit is more cost-effective for content creators than more expensive alternatives like Infusionsoft. ✓

You can read the full story about ConvertKit’s history here.

What Does ConvertKit Do?

If you’re already familiar with the concept of email marketing, skip this section by clicking here.

So I just described what ConvertKit is (it’s an email marketing solution for content creators), but what exactly does ConvertKit do?

And for people unfamiliar with the concept, what exactly is email marketing and automation? How does this all this stuff actually work? And what makes ConvertKit unique?

What Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is the act of sending commercial messages to a chunk of people via email using software designed especially for that purpose.

It’s also about automating that process (i.e. making a task automatic rather than manually doing it yourself each time) so that emails are sent at the right time, to the right person, and with the right message.

But most of us, at one point or another, will have received spammy emails trying to sell us things we don’t want from companies we’re not even familiar with.

This usually happens when an entity or business who knows your email address sells it to someone else who then reaches out to you, or when you give your email away to a company without really knowing what you’re signing up for.

This was great for marketers but irritating for the average joe. So, in recent times, stricter email marketing laws have been passed to crack down on this annoying and spammy behavior.

Meaning that these days, if you’re receiving an email from a business or content creator, it’s most likely because you signed up for it with full knowledge and consent.

Usually, content creators and businesses entice people to sign up to their email lists by offering exclusive deals, inside information, or other incentives so that they can market themselves straight to their audience’s inboxes.

And this is powerful stuff. How come?

• In 2019 the total number of active email accounts are expected to pass 5.6 billion. (Source)
• 59% of marketers say email is where they see their biggest ROI. (Source)
• Over 50% of those surveyed in the U.S. check their emails over 10 times per day, and it’s easily their preferred way to receive updates from companies. (Source)
• The average open rate of email is a bit under 22%. (Source)

Moreover, a study found that for 2,000 email subscribers, 2,000 Facebook followers, and 2,000 Twitter followers:

• 435 email subscribers will read your email.
• 120 Facebook followers will read your message.
• 40 Twitter followers will read your message.

They’re all some pretty revealing stats.

What Makes ConvertKit Unique?

In terms of what ConvertKit actually does, it isn’t unique at all.

The email marketing industry is crowded with many other premium email marketing services that enable people to send out bulk emails, collect email addresses, and automate the whole process.

And in fact, there are many free companies too that enable people to send out bulk emails and collect email addresses (though automation is usually exclusively a premium feature.)

It’s the unique blend of streamlined power, tailored customization, ease-of-use, and cost-effectiveness that makes ConvertKit the go-to for SO many content creators out there.

But what makes ConvertKit unique is its focused design for content creators and bloggers.

It offers all the things you’d expect from a free service that offers bulk email deliveries and email collection services, but it’s all been tailored in a way that makes it great for content creators to use.

It also comes with automation tools that are specially designed just for content creators and are super user-friendly and intuitive.

That, in essence, is all ConvertKit offers which is why it’s cheaper than more comprehensive tools such as Infusionsoft that offer everything with a broader focus, thus compromising on cost and user-friendliness.

It’s the unique blend of streamlined power, tailored customization, ease-of-use, and cost-effectiveness that makes ConvertKit the go-to for SO many content creators out there.

What I Like Most About ConvertKit

But before I start breaking down and reviewing ConvertKit’s features one-by-one, I wanted to give you a simple overview of what I personally like most about ConvertKit (followed by what I like least).

1. A great balance of power and cost

ConvertKit is powerful enough for content creators yet so much cheaper than more powerful and comprehensive offerings like Infusionsoft.

To give an idea of comparison, for an email list of 5000 subscribers, Infusionsoft costs $299 per month, whereas ConvertKit costs $64 per month (if billed annually) or $79 per month (if billed monthly).

Infusionsoft offers additional features such as CRM, e-commerce & extensive sales features, income reports, numerous integrations, and much more, but they both offer email marketing and automation.

For smaller businesses and content creators, ConvertKit offers enough good stuff to give you the bang for your buck.

2. Super easy to switch

Already have an email list with someone else? ConvertKit makes it super easy to switch over to them no matter what email marketing software you’re currently using.

All you have to do is click on the right link depending on who you’re migrating from and you’ll be presented with all the help and info you’ll need.

Here are those links:

• Switching from MailChimp
• Switching from Aweber
• Switching from Infusionsoft
• Switching from Drip
• Switching from Active Campaign
• Switching from MailerLite

3. Very intuitive and easy to use

As stated a few times already, ConvertKit is very simple to learn and use.

This makes it perfect for content creators who want to get started on growing their email marketing without having to first learn lots of complicated jargon and processes.

4. The email deliverability rate is high

Multiple tests have shown that your emails sent with ConvertKit have a great chance of reaching your reader’s inbox compared with other email marketing software.

ConvertKit provides helpful info and downloadable guides (here and here) on how to improve email deliverability from your end of the equation, but from their end, they seem to have done everything possible to make sure your emails actually reach your readers.

5. The “Resend to unopens” button

ConvertKit possesses a great little button that lets you resend your email to anyone who did not open it the first time around.

This is a clever way to increase readership without annoying the rest of your email list who’ve already opened the email.

This handy button is found when looking at the stats of your sent emails from the “Broadcasts” heading.

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What I Like Least About ConvertKit

1. It’s expensive for newbies

I know it’s kind of weird to mention cost in what I like most and least about ConvertKit, but nonetheless $29 per month for your first 1,000 subscribers is still quite a lot of money for newbies.

But remember, great ROI beats “free” any day of the week…so don’t stay stuck on free services like Aweber or MailChimp once the ball starts rolling—you’ll regret doing that later on, trust me.

And a redeeming factor for this “con” is that using my special link here, you can start a 14-day FREE trial with ConvertKit! That literally might just be the first push you need to get the ball rolling…You’re welcome!

Click here if you want me to guide you on learning the ropes of ConvertKit after signing up for your free trial.

2. Not powerful enough for serious marketers

While the balance of power and price is perfect for content creators, ConvertKit is not powerful enough for the serious marketers out there.

If you have a very large email list and require lots of automation and customer management, ConvertKit simply isn’t the tool for you.

We have a 50,000 strong email list and have been using them for 3 years and ConvertKit still remains ideal for us. But for content creators who grow excessively large, ConvertKit’s lack of certain features will start becoming a hindrance.

3. The email editor can be a bit glitchy

We’ve noticed that the editor when crafting your email can be a little bit glitchy at times.

For example, you could set your text to be a certain font size and then hit “preview” only to find your font size has mysteriously changed (specifically when using certain email styles such as “modern” or “classic” – but not the “text only” style).

It’s more of a little nuisance than a big problem and we’ve always coped just fine, but it’s nonetheless a small con of ConvertKit.

A Review of ConvertKit Features

A/B Testing

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Let’s get the worst feature out of the way first!

Basic A/B testing is an important step for most email marketers to help them know what’s working and what isn’t.

ConvertKit offers a super basic A/B functionality where you can test one email’s subject name against another to see which one performs best.

This is done under the “Broadcasts” heading when setting up a new broadcast to send out to your email subscribers.

Trying two different email titles can really help you see what kind of wording your readers respond to.

But let’s try it out now ourselves for real…

Here we have two different titles for the same email, title A’s “30 HIGH VALUE Blog Post Ideas (+ EXAMPLES!)” and title B’s “30 Blog Post Ideas FREEBIE (+ Examples!)”

Let’s send out the email and come back in 2 days to see which title brought in more email opens and link clicks! *Drumroll*

And the winner was… Title A!

These useful stats can be viewed under the “Broadcasts” heading after a reasonable amount of time has passed since you sent your email.

Now for us, title A only narrowly beat title B with 0.3% more email opens than what title B got.

Also, when viewing which title won, you’ll see the top links clicked inside your email (if you included any). Which is pretty handy if you want to know what your readers are interested in.

Analytics & Reports

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ConvertKit provides lots of essential stats that make it easier to track and adapt your email marketing without sinking hours into organizing and analyzing data.

They offer graphs that map out your subscribers which you can filter by date and segment, as well as graphs showing all the total signups to your email sign up forms, and stats for your individual forms, broadcasts, and sequences.

It’s nothing too in-depth (sorry data nerds), but for the average user, the stats give you a quick yet fairly comprehensive overview of how you’re doing.

The graph below shows our total subscribers, followed by a graph showing our net new subscribers for each day.


As mentioned above, you can also filter your graphs by date, which is a pretty standard feature but nonetheless useful!

Moving over the “Forms” heading, you can get a quick overview of how many signups you’ve had to your email list from your forms in total, the past 30-days, 7-days, and today.

What’s also pretty neat is that you can see exactly which email list people have signed up for by simply moving your cursor over each segment within a bar.

A small box pops up indicating which list it was and how many were added to it during that day.

Moreover, ConvertKit provides some basic stats for individual forms (first picture below) and sequences (second below) so you can get a feel for how things are going on a micro-level too.


ConvertKit also provides stats for each one of your sent emails (ConvertKit calls them “Broadcasts”) under the “Broadcasts” heading.

These stats include your Open Rate, Click Rate, and the top links clicked in that email.

It’s not particularly Google Analytics in terms of depth, but in the 3 years that I’ve been using ConvertKit I’ve never actually needed more stats than what is provided.

It’s great having them so accessible too. As always, ConvertKit keeps it simple and straightforward so you don’t need to be a tech genius or devote time to analyze a ton of data.

Automation

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Automation is the main feature ConvertKit offers on top of its basic capacity to send out bulk emails and sort and build your email list.

And, to be honest, it makes sense!

Any email marketing software that doesn’t offer automation these days isn’t much of an email marketing software!

But what makes ConvertKit great is that they do this better than anyone else.

ConvertKit allows you to visually automate your email flow with rules that are super easy to set up. Seriously, this is what sets ConvertKit apart…

Let’s check out their visual automation builder!

Here is the super clean “Automations” page.

As you can see, there are 3 automation chains I’ve previously made.

Let’s check out the middle automation chain “Cold Subscriber Re-engagement” to get a closer look at how easy and intuitive setting up automation is with ConvertKit.

This chain shows a simple automation created to help weed inactive subscribers out of an email list.

It starts with automatically tagging inactive subscribers with the tag “Cold Subscriber Re-engagement” after they’ve not opened any emails in a while, and then leads to an automated email being sent to them asking if they still want to remain on the email list.

Then, after one week, if they responded to the last email, the automator tags them with “Re-activated: DO NOT DELETE!”, but if they did not respond, “Cold Subscriber: Delete”.

This makes it easy and possible to know who to delete from your email list later on.

As you can see, this is all pretty intuitive and easy to set up. There is a small learning curve, but nowhere near as much compared to using another email marketing software such as Drip or Infusionsoft.

There are NO separate menus or screens to work with. Setting up all your rules, emails and forms happens right here in this visual builder and you can easily see how many subscribers have moved throughout the chain.

Seriously, making this automation was so simple, quick, and dare I say…even a little bit fun?

Had I written this article a few years ago I may have mentioned that a negative was the lack of event, action and condition options you can trigger when you click on the plus (+) signs on the visual builder, but they’ve added more options recently while keeping things simple.

Just below I’ve taken screenshots of all the options available to experiment with when you click on one of those tempting plus signs…

While the options may not be as numerous or as comprehensive as what Infusionsoft or ActiveCampaign offers, there’s still a good chunk on offer that is quick and easy to set up.

Email Templates

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There’s not a great deal to be said here and it was quite hard even assigning a “grade” for this feature.

Simply because whether you like this feature or not depends on what you’re looking for in an email marketing software.

ConvertKit, as you may have already noticed, loves keeping things simple. And when it comes to email design, we wholeheartedly agree with this approach.

As ConvertKit writes about in their blog here, there is a lot more that can go wrong if your emails are complex.

From your email turning up into your subscriber’s inboxes looking strange, or from emails not being received at all, there’s a reason why the best email marketers simply use plain text for their emails. It’s definitely better to keep things simple.

That’s why ConvertKit only comes with 3 default template designs: “Text Only”, “Classic”, and “Modern”.


All 3 are simple and clean-looking, with “Text Only” not containing any design features and just shooting out raw text, and “Classic” and “Modern” both containing a simple, sleek design.

So let’s shoot out some test emails using each template to see how it appears in my email inbox.

As you can see, the “Text Only” template looks as you’d expect—simple and raw. Whereas the “Classic” and “Modern” templates center align the text within the email and also changes the font style and size.

For most marketers, this will suffice fine for your email marketing strategy.

However, if that isn’t enough, ConvertKit allows you to create your own custom email templates. All you need to know is a bit of code.

Once you click on the “New Email Template” button you come to an editor that features handy Variable codes on the side that you can use to make your emails dynamic and change depending on who is reading it.

Once you’ve chosen a template out of the 3 provided or made your own, you can choose a default which means you don’t have to keep selecting a template for each new email you make. Lifesaver!

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Form Building & Landing Pages

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Every email marketer needs a form—how else will people signup to your email list?

Like most other email marketing software, ConvertKit lets you build forms that you can then embed into your site wherever you please.

In fact, ConvertKit also lets you create your own custom landing pages too.

But for now, let’s just click on “Form” and see what’s on offer.

First of all, ConvertKit lets you choose whether your form will be inline, modal or slide in. Clicking on one of these options will reveal pre-made templates for each format. We’ll click on “Modal”.

When Modal is selected we can choose from 5 different templates to customize (there are 4 templates each to choose from for “Inline” and “Slide in”.)

Let’s choose the top middle template and see how much we’re able to customize it.

In all honesty, there’s not as much customization as some would want, but the options are adequate for the average user.

You can click on the form itself to edit text, button styles, and to add new fields—basically all the simple customizations you’d expect.

But there are also 4 options on the top right that are “Settings,” “Incentive Email,” “Styles,” and “Advanced Settings” that allow deeper customization.

This deeper customization includes editing what happens next when someone signs up, under what condition the form displays in general, how it displays depending on the device you’re using, changing the background color or adding a background image, and tweaking the form’s settings for when already subscribed visitors are on the site.

The more tech-savvy will be pleased to know located in the “Styles” option there is a Custom CSS box that allows you to make more in-depth design changes.

I mentioned there was also the option to create your own landing pages too within ConvertKit, so let’s now check that out!

First of all, there are quite a few more templates to choose from for landing pages than forms (29 landing page templates in total).

Though this makes sense since landing pages can be used in more varied ways than forms. ConvertKit’s menu at the top reflects this fact by showing several different categories such as “eBook”, “Event” and “Newsletter” for their different varieties of templates.

Once a template is chosen, it must be said that the editor is more or less identical to the forms builder editor, however, there is another options menu called “SEO & Analytics” that you can fill in so that your landing page can easily be indexed by search engines.

Finally, on the main “Forms” page itself there is a graph that lets you view who signed up for what email list on each day—this often comes in handy!

All you have to do is hover over a bar with your cursor to see what each little rectangle within it represents. In this photo above, the little rectangle I hovered over with my cursor shows me that 5 people signed up to my “General Money Section” email list on May 27^th.

Integrations

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What can make an email marketing software improve tenfold is how well it can connect and integrate with other powerful software.

We saw just above that ConvertKit can integrate with Instapage, but what other integrations does it support? Since ConvertKit has been a full-time project since late 2014, you might expect them to be pretty well integrated by now.

The answer? Well, check out their integrations page!

ConvertKit is really well integrated as of 2019. In fact, I counted 88 integrations in total, with one of them being Zapier which, in turn, adds hundreds of more integrations.

You can have integrations with Gmail, PayPal, Stripe, Facebook, Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, MailMunch, OptinMonster, WooCommerce, Shopify, EasyWebinar, Teachable, and so much more.

You can check out the full list of integrations here.

Support

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When it comes to the support and customer service that ConvertKit offers, not many can beat them.

First of all, let’s start with the first email they send.

We got this great little welcome email when we signed up to ConvertKit in 2016. This set the tone right away and the last 3 years of us using ConvertKit has shown their customer service to be consistently top class.

Since they offered it freely, we scheduled a time to call them and before long we were up and running using ConvertKit like pros!

People signing up to ConvertKit these days apparently also receive a personalized welcome video made just for them! (Not jealous…Ok, I am a little.)

Aside from being nice, this video, to use the words of ConvertKit’s COO Barrett Brooks, “includes information to make it easier to onboard based on the tools we can ascertain they’re currently using.”

Translation: they’re looking out for you and going to help you adapt quickly to ConvertKit and use it in a way that’ll benefit you most.

There are also many support channels available for users of ConvertKit and each of them comes with impressive stats.

The support channels include live chats, emails, calls, online workshops, and articles written to help users learn how to use ConvertKit and troubleshoot.

For live chats, Barrett Brooks claims that their “live chat support time has never been higher than 30 seconds over a one week measurement period.”

However for us over the past 3 years the average waiting time has been 12 minutes (yes, we actually calculated it.) Which, to be fair, is still pretty incredible for a 3 year time period.

ConvertKit also claims that their average email response time is 1 hour and 14 minutes…however call me cynical, but I suspect that’s actually more like 5 or 6 hours.

Again, still pretty incredible.

By the way, in case you were wondering, that long image of text is a screenshot of a quick reply we received from a ConvertKit employee that helped us out with a brief email deliverability issue we were having.

That was a 293-word reply loaded with helpful information and an offer to dig deeper into reports together! Seriously, these guys care about you.

But this wasn’t just a one-off. We’ve also included some screenshots below of our chats with other employees of ConvertKit who’ve all helped us solve problems over the past 3 years.

I can honestly say, what a bunch of helpful, hard-working and friendly people!

Moreover, if 12 minutes of waiting time is just too much for you, the chatbot will automatically suggest pre-written articles related to your problem. You can often find the answer to your problem there.

In short, ConvertKit = good documentation.

But wait, there’s more!

If you want to master ConvertKit, there is a training page dedicated to signing up for free online workshops that also contain live chat assistance from members of their team.

Their external/community support is also very impressive!

They have a dedicated Slack support channel as well as Facebook groups such as The ConvertKit Family, ConvertKit Affiliate Family and ConvertKit Beginners! that you can join to troubleshoot, ask questions, bounce off ideas, and grow to become a pro user of ConvertKit.

Also, check out how active The ConvertKit Family Facebook group is!

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Tags & Segments

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Having a way to track and analyze the behavior of your readers is a major ingredient in the secret sauce of email marketing.

ConvertKit lets you apply “tags” to your pre-existing email subscribers based on their behaviors and then group these tagged subscribers into “segments” that you can send emails to.

This means that specific emails will be sent to the right people leading to more sales and conversions.

For example, a subscriber clicking on a specific link in your email could make them automatically be tagged for later on, meaning you’d be able to specially target them in future emails.

As you can see from the image, we’re inserting a link to our website’s homepage on the words “let’s get tagging!” and if an email subscriber clicks on it, they’ll be automatically tagged as one of the “Link clickers”.

I could then put the tag “Link clickers” into a segment and optimize my emails just for this audience!

One way to optimize my emails for this audience is to insert “Subscriber’s tags” into my emails.

This is just a piece of code that’ll change the wording of your email depending on which tagged person is reading it. Same email, just different versions for different tags!

The other way is to sort your tags into segments and just send separate emails to each segment.

What’s even better is that ConvertKit has a WordPress plugin that, among other things, allows you choose which tag to automatically tag subscribers with when they sign up to your email list using a form on a particular page or post.

That means you can track the behavior of website visitors and future email subscribers before they’re even on your email list. Which is…well, pretty awesome!

(Click here to learn what else the ConvertKit plugin can do on your site.)

ConvertKit Pricing

So how much does ConvertKit cost?

ConvertKit cost per month	No. of subscribers
$29 ($24 if paid annually)	0 – 1,000
$49 ($41 if paid annually)	1,000 – 3,000
$79 ($64 if paid annually)	3,000 – 5,000

For lists larger than 5000 subscribers they offer custom plans.

ConvertKit’s full pricing page can be viewed here.

Is ConvertKit Right For You?

It’s time for the ultimate question! Is ConvertKit the right choice for you?

As I see it, the answer to this question depends on two things.

1. What you want out of an email marketing software
2. Where you’re at as a content creator

You’ll have noticed that ConvertKit’s main strength is simplicity, ease-of-use, seamless automation, and a decent number of powerful features.

It, of course, can not compete against other software that offers more (but at a much higher price), but it can get you very far for what you’re paying for.

ConvertKit can cater to a broad range of people—from newer to experienced content creators.

With all that in mind, here are the 10 kinds of people who I think would benefit the most from using ConvertKit:

• Bloggers in general (since ConvertKit was built specifically for bloggers)
• People who are still a bit inexperienced with email marketing
• People who are visual learners/thinkers
• People who aren’t very tech-savvy
• People who think they might need a good level of customer support
• People who want to take the first step in taking email marketing seriously
• People who prefer quick results and convenience over depth
• People who plan to use email marketing as just one other ingredient in their strategy
• People with limited time
• People near to hitting MailChimp’s free subscriber limit of 2,000

But here are the 10 kinds of people who I don’t think would benefit from using ConvertKit:

• People who are already very competent at email marketing
• People who are tech-savvy and stay ahead of the learning curve
• People who want as much customization options as possible
• People who want a comprehensive software that provides a ton of additional features
• People who have large budgets available to them
• People who love to mine and analyze data
• People who can devote a hefty chunk of time into email marketing
• People who rely heavily on A/B testing

As I’ve said already, I’ve been using ConvertKit now for over 3 years. We have a list of nearly 50,000 subscribers and we send about 3 to 4 emails per week. The fact that we’re still happy with using ConvertKit says a lot!

So many people “overbuy” thinking they need hundreds of extra features and comprehensive packages— but I’d say 90% of the time you need less than what you think.

If you’re interested in giving ConvertKit a try, then click here to start a 14-day free trial.

But if not, check out these ConvertKit alternatives below!

ConvertKit Alternatives

If you’re not interested in checking out alternatives to ConvertKit, skip this section by clicking here.

ConvertKit vs MailChimp

Is ConvertKit better than MailChimp? For what we use email marketing for, I’d say yes. But here are a few general pros and cons I could think of.

Pros of MailChimp:

• Integration with Facebook and Instagram ads
• More features available
• More detailed analytics
• Easier to run multiple businesses on the same account because it is list-based
• They offer a free account for newbies

Cons of MailChimp:

• Sacrifices email deliverability for design
• Multiple price tiers where you have to pay more to unlock features
• Being list-based, they treat every new signee on a list as a brand new subscriber even if they’ve signed up to another one of your lists already (meaning you’ll probably accidentally spam them)
• The extra features may feel overwhelming for content creators
• Lack of ability to tag people on what products they bought from you

ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign

If you’re an author, content creator or someone who sells digital products, I’d recommend ConvertKit over ActiveCampaign. However, for more sales-focused businesses, I’d recommend ActiveCampaign.

Pros of ActiveCampaign:

• More comprehensive and includes more features such as CRM
• More A/B testing options available
• More detailed analytics
• A Lite subscription can work out a bit cheaper than ConvertKit
• They have a Gmail extension

Cons of ActiveCampaign:

• Multiple price tiers where you have to pay more to unlock features
• Has a steeper learning curve
• The interface is slower to run meaning you waste more time using ActiveCampaign
• The interface is less user-friendly
• A Small Business subscription is more expensive than ConvertKit

ConvertKit vs AWeber

For years AWeber was the go-to for email marketing, but this has changed recently with so many new faces arriving on the scene. But can AWeber see off all the new competition?

To be honest, I personally feel AWeber is stuck in the past a bit with its list-based marketing as opposed to subscription-based (MailChimp also falls into this category.)

Nonetheless, here are the pros and cons of AWeber.

Pros of AWeber:

• Features a drag and drop email editor
• Has their own email delivery infrastructure rather than relying on a 3^rd party
• Has a mobile app
• Easier to run multiple businesses on the same account because it is list-based
• Base subscription costs are cheaper (caution: check out the corresponding con)
• Access to a stock photo library

Cons of AWeber:

• Being list-based, they treat every new signee on a list as a brand new subscriber even if they’ve signed up to another one of your lists already (meaning you’ll probably accidentally spam them)
• Often works out more expensive since AWeber counts unsubscribers and duplicates as part of your email list (that’s not good!)
• It’s hard to move subscribers from one list to another
• It’s hard to clean out your email lists and remove inactive subscribers
• ConvertKit is better designed than AWeber

ConvertKit vs Drip

Drip is a similar tool to ConvertKit in many ways and is a worthy option for content creators to consider. It’s more powerful and contains more features than ConvertKit but the negative is that it’s more expensive.

Pros of Drip:

• Better integration with Facebook
• More automation options
• Free account option supporting up to 100 subscribers
• Pre-made visual workflows
• A score calculated by Drip for each customer based on their engagement called “Lead Scores”

Cons of Drip:

• Steeper learning curve
• A bit more expensive
• Complex funnels can get a bit messy and confusing
• Arguably slightly less user-friendly
• Does not have a landing page builder (you need to use a third-party tool such as Instapage)

ConvertKit vs GetResponse

Where ConvertKit is better for smaller businesses and individual content creators, GetResponse is better suited to larger businesses who sell products and want to maintain optimal levels of customer satisfaction.

Pros of GetResponse:

• A subscriber score calculated by GetResponse for each customer based on their engagement
• Contains more features such as a CRM
• Possesses a high-quality webinar tool
• Better value for money than ConvertKit at the higher price tiers
• Automation functions with CRM and webinars too

Cons of GetResponse:

• Multiple price tiers where you have to pay more to unlock features
• Lesser value for money than ConvertKit at the lower price tiers
• Steeper learning curve
• The CRM tool is limited
• Designing your emails can be a bit awkward and time-consuming

ConvertKit vs Mailerlite

Mailerlite’s price point really is its best selling point and it’s a great tool for newbies.

Providing automation, embedded forms and more, Mailerlite impresses with how much it can offer at a low price. But it nonetheless comes across a bit like a reasonably priced everyman’s tool and is less specialized than ConvertKit.

Pros of Mailerlite:

• Free account option supporting up to 1000 subscribers
• Less expensive
• More basic features available than ConvertKit
• These features are also more customizable
• Easy-to-use interface despite containing more basic features

Cons of Mailerlite:

• A bit bloated by too many non-essential and basic features
• Lacking a few pro features
• The interface can be a bit slow to load
• You have to take time setting up your profile yourself and your application can be rejected
• Some reports of poorer email deliverability rates

ConvertKit vs Constant Contact

Constant Contact is another email marketing software that is better suited to agencies and enterprises than ConvertKit—in that respect, it’s a little like comparing apples with oranges.

However, I can say that, like Aweber, Constant Contact does come across as a little bit outdated compared to ConvertKit.

Here are a few more pros and cons.

Pros of Constant Contact:

• Less expensive and the first month is free
• More detailed data reports
• Good email deliverability rates
• Contains an event management feature
• Fairly easy to use interface despite containing more features

Cons of Constant Contact:

• You have to set up and get your account verified first, and it can get rejected
• Some of the features are not as intuitive or natural to use
• No A/B testing functionalities
• Despite being cheap, it’s expensive for the features you actually get in return
• Fewer automation features

ConvertKit vs ClickFunnels

Similarly to Constant Contact, the difference between ClickFunnels and ConvertKit is like the difference between apples and oranges.

ClickFunnels is more of an all-in-one email marketing tool with a special focus on sales funnels whereas ConvertKit is specialized for content creators who write and deliver content and/or sell digital products.

Pros of ClickFunnels:

• More features available
• More comprehensive yet still fairly easy to use
• You can get a free domain name
• Can create effective sales funnels quickly
• Access to stock images

Cons of ClickFunnels:

• Despite being an all-in-one tool, the CRM and email platform are limited
• The interface is slower to run meaning you waste more time using ClickFunnels
• Steeper learning curve
• Emails can look tacky and too “sales pitchy”
• More expensive

More ConvertKit Info

Here are some frequently asked questions in regards to ConvertKit, and our answers to them.

Is ConvertKit a CRM?

No. ConvertKit is focused solely on email marketing and automation (which is one of the reasons we like it so much since it isn’t over-bloated.)

But for those who don’t know what CRM means, CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management” and is a way of dealing with customer information so that the relationship between the business and client can improve and become more fruitful.

A “CRM” is usually a software that stores all the essential information about your customers, meaning that customer service can improve, sales can increase, and workflow can become more efficient.

Though for the average blogger or small business, we don’t feel CRM is necessary since it could become a bit too much.

However, if you’d like to check out an email automation tool with CRM included, try GreenRope, Infusionsoft, Jumplead or Pardot.

Where Does ConvertKit Store My Data?

ConvertKit stores your data using Amazon.com’s own cloud storage system called Amazon Web Storage (AWS) which has servers worldwide.

Basically, Amazon rents out their worldwide web storage to customers such as ConvertKit to save them money from building the data servers themselves.

ConvertKit’s email servers are with a company called Mailgun Technologies that has servers in Illinois, Virginia, and Germany.

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Summary of Our ConvertKit Review

Pros:

👍 A great balance of power and cost

👍 Super easy to switch

👍 Very intuitive and easy to use

👍 The email deliverability rate is high

👍 The “Resend to unopens” button

Cons:

👎 It’s expensive for newbies

👎 Not powerful enough for serious marketers

👎 The email editor can be a bit glitchy

Feature	Grade
A/B Testing	C-
Automation	B+
Email Templates	B
Form Building & Landing Pages	B
Integrations	A
Support	A+
Tags & Segments	A
Tracking & Reporting	B

ConvertKit cost per month	No. of subscribers
$29 ($24 if paid annually)	0 – 1,000
$49 ($41 if paid annually)	1,000 – 3,000
$79 ($64 if paid annually)	3,000 – 5,000

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In conclusion, ConvertKit offers is a robust option for various types of content creators at all different levels.

While it may not be suitable for the more serious marketers, it’s an affordable option for content creators that, despite its limited features, is powerful enough to get the job done without the stress of a steep learning curve.

Starting at $29 per month ($24 if paid annually), it can rival more expensive options such as Infusionsoft or ActiveCampaign while also making email marketing feel pretty straightforward and easy.

It’s an established company that is ambitious and seems to get even better with each passing year.

So, why not try it out for free?

 

PS – If you use ConvertKit for a time after the 14-day free trial but end up not liking it, there’s a 30-day refund policy. The refund usually takes about 4 days to process.

What to Do After Signing up for a Free Trial

So if you’re one of the people who took advantage of our special link offering a 14-day free trial, here’s some help to get you started with ConvertKit!

Either you can check out the video just below or scroll past it and see my written instructions instead.

The video below shows an older version of ConvertKit but the vast majority of the info is still applicable!

Step 1:

First thing’s first, setting up email list sign-ups. When you sign up for ConvertKit, you’ll see a few different tabs on your home page. The first one you want to click on is “Forms.”

A form is what a person is going to read when given the option to sign up for your newsletter. So for instance, “Sign up for my money newsletter email list!” (That was pretty bad I know) And then they’ll see a place to put their name and email and hit, “Subscribe.”

This is very easy to create; all you have to do is fill in what you want the title of the subscription form to say, the description, and what you want the subscription button to say.

(Real) Example Below:

Step 2:

Full Disclosure: If you click through one of my referral links for Bluehost web hosting and make a purchase, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep Chasing Foxes up and running and providing new content weekly.

Now once done with this, you just need to put this into your blog posts. Which (guess what?!) is also really simple!

When creating a form, you’ll see the option to click on a button that says, “Settings” which is one of the options in the right-hand corner.

When you click on this, choose the option (on the left) that says, “Embed.” If you have a hosted WordPress blog like mine (I’m hosted with Bluehost which sets up with WordPress for free), you’ll click on this option and copy and paste a link that looks something like this:

Once you’ve done this, you can insert this into any of your blog posts. Once the blog post is published, the link will show up as an actual signup form for readers to see.

Step 3:

Start creating weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly newsletters that provide great value to your subscribers!

You always want to make sure that you have them in mind. Make being subscribed to you worth their while. You want to build an audience that’s crazy about you and the advice and help you give them.

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I hope my review of ConvertKit was helpful to you—whether you’re about to become a user, or whether you’re just shopping around for the best email marketing software on the market.

Having been a long-term user of ConvertKit, I can vouch for it. But it’d be interesting to see if any of our readers who use ConvertKit feel the same way. Let me know in the comments!

And whether you end up using ConvertKit or not, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this review or anything related to email marketing.

God bless!