GetResponse vs. ConvertKit.
Both of these options are marketing automation and email marketing tools. They will help you achieve similar core goals. They both can help you grow your email lists, nurture contacts, and, ultimately, sell more products or services.
To avoid any biases, we won’t tell you which email list one to pick – we’ll guide you to make your decision yourself.
Since you’re in the best position to make the right decision for you and your business needs — you need to be the one making the call.
So, in this piece, we’re offering you a detailed comparison between the two tools and their features.
Without further ado, here are features you should consider when trying to pick between GetResponse & ConvertKit!
To provide you with the best insights, we’ll be going over each key feature one by one.
In a hurry? Here’s a summary of key features available on both platforms.
TL;DR: Both ConvertKit and GetResponse are powerful marketing tools. While ConvertKit focuses on content creators, GetResponse is a better fit for B2B and ecommerce companies. If you’re looking to run automated email campaigns, either of the platforms will help you and your business achieve your goals. But if you want to launch multichannel marketing campaigns using webinars, paid ads, live chats, and web push notifications, GetResponse is the better choice.
Ready to take GetResponse for a spin? Start your free account today!
1. GetResponse vs. Convertkit: marketing automation
GetResponse
GetResponse user dashboard.
GetResponse dashboard
One of GetResponse’s most important features is its suite of marketing automation tools.
If you have an existing contact list with another marketing platform when you first start using GetResponse, you can easily import your contacts using either a CSV file or integrating GetResponse with that other provider.
Then, you can use our suite of automation features to build email campaigns immediately.
Our main dashboard has two options: “quick actions,” which help create slick, professional email marketing campaigns using pre-built templates and triggers, or the main menu to take advantage of all the communication and growth tools in the suite.
And if you need ecommerce integrations, GetResponse has you covered. Our marketing automation workflows allow you to send abandoned cart sequences, transactional emails, and even product recommendations to customers automatically using triggers – the perfect combination for any sales-oriented business.
If you are new to automation, you can start an interactive tutorial and quickly learn how to use the conditions, actions, and filters. There are also a few pre-designed automation templates to choose from.
Pre-designed marketing automation workflows in GetResponse.
Of course, you can build your workflows from scratch at any time.
For example, if a customer abandons their cart, the automation workflow will trigger an abandoned cart email to be sent to them:
Cart abandonment marketing automation workflow in GetResponse.
Cart abandonment workflow in GetResponse.
You can also add elements and conditions to these automation settings using the drag-and-drop feature, making it one of the easiest ways to build custom automation parameters based on your needs.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is also equipped with a range of marketing automation tools that aim to keep complex workflows simple.
Like GetResponse, ConvertKit has a drag-and-drop builder to help you build your follow-up emails and marketing campaigns. And if you aren’t sure where to start or what your automation should look like, you can use one of the pre-made templates:
ConvertKit automation templates.
For example, if you wanted to set up an evergreen newsletter, here’s what the pre-made template looks like:
Automation workflow in ConvertKit.
If you want to change an event, action, or condition, you can easily customize the path and automation rules.
The difference between the tools is that while both have a range of marketing automation capabilities, GetResponse Marketing Automation is more robust and lets you create more personalized workflows. You can use it to nurture your contacts across the entire customer journey using email, SMS, and web push notifications.
2. Do they let you tag subscribers?
GetResponse
You can automatically segment leads and tag subscribers based on their behavior using GetResponse.
If one of your subscribers is opening certain kinds of content or clicking links about a specific product, you can program GetResponse to tag them and automatically send out follow-ups that reflect their behavior:
Assigning scoring points and tagging contacts automatically.
Example of a marketing automation workflow that assigns scoring points and tags recipients based on their behavior.
This level of segmentation helps you target leads based on their behavior and helps you boost your chances of turning them into customers.
ConvertKit
You can also tag subscribers and create rules for your subscribers in ConvertKit.
If you want to send out a specific offer to a certain group or make sure people who subscribed to an earlier course get a discount on their next one, you can.
Tagging in ConvertKit.
Once the tags are added, they’ll show up in your contact feed:
Tagging in ConvertKit.
3. What do the workflows look like?
GetResponse
GetResponse’s visual workflow builder allows you to map out email automations using triggers.
You can create a sequence that targets frequent customers or people who have attended an earlier webinar and didn’t convert.
Here’s what the workflow builder looks like:
GetResponse Marketing Automation workflow builder.
Inside the workflow builder, you can add “triggers” based on conditions. So if someone has just subscribed to your email list, the workflow could look like this:
Simple workflow.
You can also add “triggers” for events like:
new subscribers
email opens
clicks on links
abandoned carts
product purchases
product upgrades
URLs visited (i.e., pricing pages)
You can use these triggers to create and customize your onboarding sequences, reactivation campaigns, and cart abandonment campaigns to boost engagement and sales.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit also comes equipped with workflows you can customize based on triggers.
The workflows allow you to structure automations around three scenarios: events, actions, and conditions.
For example, an “events trigger” will send out an email at a certain time, no matter where the subscriber is, whereas an “action trigger” will be set off if a subscriber clicks a link or call to action.
Here’s what ConvertKit’s workflows look like:
Welcome sequence in ConvertKit.
ConvertKit makes it easy to customize the content inside these workflows. If you click on a trigger or email, the content editor allows you to edit it without taking you to another screen.
4. Landing page capabilities, anyone?
GetResponse
You can use GetResponse’s Landing Page Creator to build a page from scratch or, if you need help, customize one of the 100+ ready-made templates.
GetResponse Landing Page Templates
GetResponse Landing Page Templates
In either scenario, you’ll have access to our drag-and-drop editor, where you can customize text and images and add custom HTML, CSS, or Javascript code. And if you want to add external content like your Twitter feed or custom countdown timers, this feature lets you do it.
With the landing page creator, you can also:
structure your pages using sections
add content blocks for images, video, text, and buttons
add static and pop-up forms
add webinar registration forms
add a sense of urgency with countdown timers
collect payments thanks to our PayPal integration
add social sharing icons
add custom-code elements using HTML, CSS, or Javascript
preview your landing page to see what it looks like on a desktop or a mobile device
Like our other templates, our landing pages are mobile responsive, and you can hide or show elements just for mobiles or desktop devices.
We also make it easier for your landing pages to get found on search engines because you can edit every element from the page title to the URL:
Landing page settings in GetResponse.
Landing page settings in GetResponse.
Our integrations with analytical tools like Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager give your page a better shot at showing up in search results.
On top of that, we have built-in A/B test functionality to split-test your landing pages to see which lead magnet or call-to-action button is converting more leads.
Finally, because our marketing suite also includes tools like webinar software, the pages fully integrate with them, so you can use the landing pages as webinar registration pages and grow your email list even faster.
ConvertKit
Landing page templates in ConvertKit.
ConvertKit also has a landing page builder as well as pre-made templates. However, there are a lot fewer than GetResponse offers — about 50+ to choose from.
The difference between the two landing page builders is that while GetResponse’s is a drag-and-drop editor, ConvertKit has more of a static editor. You can still edit parts of the landing page, like colors, text, and images, but the elements can’t be moved.
But the templates are well built. If you find one you like, you can edit the elements side-by-side by merely using tags and drop boxes — no coding required:
Landing page editor in ConvertKit.
And if you don’t have a website, but you still want to collect leads, you can simply use these landing pages to build a contact list and sell products.
5. What about their email marketing capabilities?
GetResponse
The power of GetResponse comes from combining email marketing and automation. The tool makes it easy to create email campaigns and then put your lead nurturing efforts on autopilot.
The first way you do this is by creating autoresponders, otherwise known as email drip campaigns. You can create and customize these using our ready-made templates, and with the intuitive calendar view, it’s easier to visualize when these emails are hitting your subscriber’s inboxes:
Calendar view for the autoresponder.
Manage autoresponders tab in the calendar view — GetResponse.
Now, the cool part about GetResponse’s email marketing software is that it gets to know your contacts by their data.
If you’re not sure when to send out your campaigns or what time zone your subscribers are in, GetResponse has two features that will automatically adjust the send-time to your contact’s time zone or use their past-behavior data.
These are just a few examples that show why we label ourselves as the easiest and most comprehensive email marketing tool available.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit’s email marketing capabilities stand out because it sticks to the basics.
First of all, ConvertKit does not have many email templates. If you want to add extra elements, you can’t drag and drop. You are limited to an editor where you must add elements as if you were in a word processor like Google Docs.
You can also easily edit email marketing funnels just by clicking on them in the workflow:
ConvertKit – editing emails in a workflow.
As ConvertKit also has a landing page feature like GetResponse, it’s easy to tie in elements to get the most out of its email marketing tools. However, you have limited customization options.
6. Which one lets you run webinars?
GetResponse
GetResponse is the only major email service provider on the market that offers webinar software.
If you launch a webinar using GetResponse, you’ll have access to key features like:
design tools and interactive whiteboard
screen sharing/interactive chat room
recording (so you can remarket the webinar once it’s over)
surveys and Q&A session
moderated chat
multiple hosts
Facebook and YouTube streaming options
Like other tools in our suite, you’ll have different webinar room layouts and other features available to you:
GetResponse Webinars.
Once the webinar is ready, all you have to do is set the webinar’s URL, date, and time, and you’re ready to launch. And your attendees can see your webinars no matter what device they’re using.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit doesn’t have a dedicated webinar tool. Instead, it relies on integrations with tools like WebinarJam, WebinarNinja, and Crowdcast.
7. What about conversion funnels?
GetResponse
Here’s where GetResponse goes from merely being an email marketing software to a full-blown marketing machine.
Thanks to our Conversion Funnel tool, you can create a customized “conversion funnel” using all the tools in our toolkit, like:
Landing Pages
Stores
Facebook Ads
Instagram Ads
Sales pages
Payment processors
Follow-up/abandoned cart emails
All you have to do is pick a template, and it will tell you which elements you should be adding to each stage of your funnel. Even better, you can visualize it:
A list-building funnel in GetResponse.
Example of a simple list-building funnel created in GetResponse Conversion Funnels.
There is a whole range of conversion funnel templates you can use, and each step also comes with helpful templates. So, if you need to build a landing page and an email sequence, you can use the templates at each stage to create a funnel “from start to sales” without spending hours doing it.
Conversion funnels are such a helpful feature because you can track the complete customer journey from when a customer clicks on your ad or landing page to the moment they make a purchase.
Because you have a conversion funnel tracking every step, you can change up parts that aren’t working and optimize those that are.
In the past, you would need a suite of different marketing tools to make this happen. But with GetResponse — you can do it all under one roof.
ConvertKit
While ConvertKit has automated workflows, it doesn’t have a conversion funnel feature.
8. What’s their pricing like?
GetResponse
GetResponse has plans to suit everyone, offering four different pricing tiers (starting with Free) plus a MAX plan with custom pricing based on your list size.
Out of the plans, the Marketing Automation plan is the most popular, but you can choose the plan that offers all the features you need and fits with your budget:
