GetResponse review: email marketing and automation priced by list size, with a course creator built in 

What is GetResponse and who is it for?

GetResponse is an email marketing and automation platform that has grown well past sending newsletters: the pricing page’s own pitch is “for teams that drive repeat revenue,” and the feature list on every plan now includes AI content generators, landing pages, signup forms and popups alongside email, with the top plan adding webinars, a website builder, a course creator and paid newsletter subscriptions. The company states it serves 350,000+ businesses worldwide on the pricing page, with customer quotes citing a 72 percent turnover increase and a single automated campaign generating $13,000 in sales.

The buyer this suits is a marketer, solo creator or small ecommerce business that wants one platform for the list-building, selling and content side of a business rather than email alone. This GetResponse review reads the pricing page’s plan cards and FAQ, and 1,141 reviews on G2, and prices three rivals, all on September 9, 2026, to lay out exactly what each tier includes, how the price grows with your list, and where GetResponse’s own users say it falls short.

How much does GetResponse cost?

The pricing page on September 9, 2026 shows prices in euros for this reading, net of tax, with a slider that recalculates every plan’s price as you change your list size, and a Monthly or Yearly toggle marked “-18%” for the annual option. At the default 1,000-contact list size: Starter is €16 a month (€13.12 paid yearly, saving up to €35 a year), Marketer is €54 a month (€44.28 yearly, saving up to €117 a year), and Creator is €62 a month (€50.84 yearly, saving up to €134 a year). Enterprise is custom priced through a demo call. The FAQ itself states a US dollar anchor figure: “Monthly payment plans are bracketed by list size, starting at $19 per month for unlimited messages to 1,000 subscribers,” which is the Starter plan’s US entry price on a monthly (non-discounted) term.

From the GetResponse pricing page on September 9, 2026, list size set to 1,000 contacts. The FAQ separately states a $19/month US dollar figure for Starter’s monthly plan at the same list size.

How the price scales with your list size

Every plan’s price rises as the list-size slider moves, and this is the number a buyer actually needs before signing up, not the headline 1,000-contact price. Reading the same three plans at four list sizes on September 9, 2026:

From the pricing page’s list-size slider, read at each step on September 9, 2026, yearly billing.

Starter’s price roughly quadruples between 1,000 and 10,000 contacts, while Marketer and Creator, which start much higher, grow more slowly in percentage terms because a smaller share of their price is the list-size component. A list that will grow fast makes Starter’s early cheapness misleading: budget for where your list will be in a year, not where it is today.

Starter, Marketer and Creator: what actually changes

The FAQ answer to “which pricing plan should I choose” is more precise than the plan cards themselves. Starter allows 3 users, ecommerce integrations, and 1 automation workflow, with AI tools limited to 3 uses. Marketer unlocks unlimited marketing automation workflows, unlimited landing pages, and full ecommerce tools (abandoned cart recovery, sales funnels, promo codes and revenue reports), for up to 5 users. Creator adds everything in Marketer plus a course creator (up to 500 students), a website builder, webinars for up to 100 attendees, and paid newsletter subscriptions, also for up to 5 users. Enterprise includes everything in the three plans plus SMS marketing, AI product recommendations, mobile push notifications, a dedicated sending domain and IP, SSO and unlimited users.

From the pricing page FAQ on September 9, 2026.

The jump that matters most for most buyers is Starter to Marketer, since Starter’s single automation workflow is a real limit the moment you want more than one welcome sequence running, and Marketer’s unlimited workflows and ecommerce tools are what most “grow your list” businesses actually need.

Enterprise: the Pilot Program and what it adds

Enterprise is quoted individually and, per the FAQ, aimed at businesses with large contact lists that want a dedicated Customer Experience Manager, Professional Services (GetResponse’s own team building campaigns for you, a paid add-on), a choice of shared or dedicated sending IP, and every feature across the three standard plans plus SMS marketing, mobile push and AI product recommendations. Unusually, GetResponse offers a 30-day Pilot Program for Enterprise: full platform access, dedicated support and automation strategy input, booked through a demo call, which is a genuine way to test the top tier before committing to a custom contract.

Start the 14-day trial on GetResponse’s own pricing page to test Starter, Marketer or Creator directly, or book the Enterprise Pilot Program if your list and needs are bigger than the three standard plans.

The free trial, the free plan, and how billing works

Every new account gets 14 days of trial access to premium features with no credit card required, after which an unupgraded account drops to a permanent free tier rather than losing access outright. The FAQ is specific about the free tier’s limits: courses cap at 250 students and cannot be sold, premium newsletters can only be offered free, webinars are limited to on-demand recordings for up to 10 people, every message carries a GetResponse badge, landing pages are capped at 1,000 unique visitors a month, and marketing automation loses its dynamic segment filter. Support on the free tier is live chat in English and Polish, a 24/7 chatbot in all languages, and 24/7 email support in seven languages, backed by GetResponse’s own help centre for the how-to detail the FAQ does not cover.

Billing is monthly or 12-month for the three standard plans (Enterprise adds a 24-month option), charged automatically in advance; an annual plan is paid in full up front for the 18 percent discount. Upgrades take effect immediately and reset the billing cycle; downgrades, including annual to monthly, are not self-service and require a support ticket or live chat request, which is worth knowing before you commit to a year up front.

What users say on G2

On September 9, 2026 G2 shows GetResponse at 4.3 out of 5 from 1,141 reviews, a large enough sample to weigh with confidence. The dislikes are specific rather than generic. More than one reviewer describes the tagging system as inefficient and complicated to manage across lists, particularly inside automations. Another notes that DNS records for custom domains, TXT, CNAME, MX and DKIM entries, are not fully self-service and often require contacting support. A recurring theme is that some areas are “not as advanced as dedicated tools built for a single purpose,” which one reviewer frames as an acceptable trade for a simpler stack and another wants explained better, saying features exist that nobody walked them through. One reviewer’s only complaint on the free tier is the 500-contact storage limit, calling GetResponse otherwise “the best email marketing platform” they have used.

Read together, the pattern is a platform broad enough to replace several point tools, at the cost of depth in any single area compared with a specialist, and an admin experience (tagging, DNS) that benefits from support rather than being fully self-service.

How GetResponse compares with Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and Brevo

For this GetResponse review we read three rival pricing pages on September 9, 2026, in whichever currency each defaulted to for this session; treat the comparison as directional rather than an exact same-currency conversion.

From getresponse.com/pricing, mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing, activecampaign.com/pricing and brevo.com/pricing on September 9, 2026.

Brevo’s email-volume pricing is the structural outlier: a business with a small list that sends often can pay more on Brevo than on a contact-based tool, and vice versa for a large, quiet list. ActiveCampaign’s flat per-tier pricing, not scaled by contacts at the entry level, is the simplest to budget but its automation depth is generally regarded as the category’s strongest, which is the trade-off against GetResponse’s broader all-in-one feature set (courses, webinars, website builder) that ActiveCampaign does not attempt. Mailchimp’s contact-band pricing is closest in spirit to GetResponse’s list-size slider, and at the 1,000 to 1,500 contact range the two land within a few euros of each other for their mid tier.

Where GetResponse falls short

The first weakness is the list-size pricing itself: a fast-growing list means a rising bill on every plan, and Starter’s low entry price is the one most likely to surprise a buyer who does not check the slider at their expected size. The second is the tagging system, described by more than one G2 reviewer as inefficient and hard to manage across lists and automations. The third is DNS configuration for custom domains, which is not fully self-service and routes through support for records like DKIM and CNAME. The fourth is depth: GetResponse’s breadth, email, automation, landing pages, webinars, courses, comes at the cost of being less advanced in any single area than a tool built for just that job, per its own reviewers. The fifth is that downgrading a plan or switching from annual to monthly billing is not self-service and requires contacting support, unlike the immediate, self-service upgrade path.

Who should buy GetResponse, and who should not?

Scenario one: a solo marketer with a 1,000-contact list and one welcome sequence

Starter at €13.12/mo (yearly) or €16/mo covers 3 users and the one automation workflow most solo operators need to start.

Scenario two: an ecommerce business with cart abandonment and a growing list

Marketer at €44.28/mo (yearly, 1,000 contacts), for unlimited automation, abandoned cart recovery and sales funnels; check the price at your actual list size on the slider before committing.

Scenario three: a creator selling courses and a paid newsletter

Creator at €50.84/mo (yearly), the only tier with the course creator, website builder and paid newsletter subscriptions bundled with email and automation.

Scenario four: a large list needing SMS, dedicated IP or SSO

Book the Enterprise demo and ask about the 30-day Pilot Program before signing a custom contract.

Who should not buy

A business whose primary need is deep, multi-channel marketing automation with predictive sending and premium segmentation, where ActiveCampaign’s Plus or Pro tiers are built for exactly that and GetResponse’s own reviewers say the platform is broader rather than deeper. Also skip it if you cannot predict your list size and want one flat price regardless of growth.

Common buying mistakes

Pricing only the 1,000-contact tier and not checking the slider at your real or expected list size. Assuming Starter’s single automation workflow is enough once a business has more than one funnel. Signing an annual plan without checking that downgrades require a support ticket. Confusing Brevo’s per-email pricing with GetResponse’s per-contact pricing when comparing the two.

GetResponse pros and cons

GetResponse

• List-size pricing with a live slider, so the cost is transparent at every size rather than hidden behind a sales call.
• Creator tier bundles webinars, a course creator and paid newsletters with email and automation, replacing several point tools.
• 14-day trial of premium features with no card, then a genuine permanent free tier rather than a dead account.
• A 30-day Enterprise Pilot Program to test the top tier before a custom contract.
• 4.3 out of 5 from 1,141 G2 reviews, a large and broadly positive sample.

• Price rises with list size on every plan; Starter’s low entry price grows fastest in percentage terms.
• Tagging system described as inefficient and hard to manage across lists and automations by G2 reviewers.
• DNS records for custom domains are not fully self-service.
• Broader than deep: reviewers say specialised tools go further in automation and segmentation.
• Downgrading a plan or switching annual to monthly requires a support ticket, not self-service.

Frequently asked questions

How much does GetResponse cost?

At 1,000 contacts on September 9, 2026: Starter €16/mo (€13.12 yearly), Marketer €54/mo (€44.28 yearly), Creator €62/mo (€50.84 yearly). The FAQ separately states a US figure, “starting at $19 per month,” for Starter’s monthly plan at the same list size. Enterprise is custom priced.

Is there a free plan?

Yes, a permanent free tier with real limits: 500 free contacts, a GetResponse badge on every message, landing pages capped at 1,000 monthly visitors, and no dynamic segment filter in automation. The 14-day trial gives full premium access before you land on it.

How does the price change with list size?

Every plan uses a slider from 1,000 to 100,000+ contacts; the price rises at each step. On September 9, 2026’s reading, Starter roughly quadruples from 1,000 to 10,000 contacts, while Marketer and Creator grow more slowly in percentage terms.

What is the difference between Starter, Marketer and Creator?

Starter has 3 users, 1 automation workflow and 3 AI tool uses. Marketer unlocks unlimited automation, ecommerce tools and 5 users. Creator adds webinars, a course creator, a website builder and paid newsletters on top of Marketer, also for 5 users.

Can I try Enterprise before buying?

Yes, through the 30-day Pilot Program: full platform access, dedicated support and automation strategy help, arranged by booking a demo.

Can I downgrade or switch from annual to monthly billing?

Yes, but it is not self-service. Upgrades happen immediately from your account; downgrades and annual-to-monthly switches require a support ticket or a live chat request to GetResponse’s Customer Success Team.

Is GetResponse cheaper than Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign?

At roughly 1,000 to 1,500 contacts, GetResponse’s Marketer tier and Mailchimp’s Standard plan land within a few euros of each other. ActiveCampaign’s Starter at $15/mo billed annually is cheaper at entry but does not scale features the way GetResponse’s Marketer and Creator tiers do; its strength is deeper automation, not a broader feature set.

Is this GetResponse review based on hands-on testing?

No. It is built from the GetResponse pricing page and FAQ, 1,141 reviews on G2, and the Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and Brevo pricing pages, all read on September 9, 2026.

Which should you choose?

The conclusion of this GetResponse review: choose it when you want email, automation, landing pages and, on Creator, courses and webinars in one platform, and you are comfortable checking the list-size slider at your real contact count rather than the 1,000-contact headline price. Start on Starter for a small list with one workflow, move to Marketer the moment ecommerce automation matters, and take Creator if content monetisation is part of the business.

Do not choose it if deep, specialised automation matters more than breadth, where ActiveCampaign is built for exactly that, and budget for the price to rise as your list grows on every tier. For the marketer or creator who wants one login for the list, the funnel and the content, GetResponse is a broad, transparently priced platform worth the 14-day trial.