Your email list is growing, but manually sending emails and following up on leads is time-consuming. GetResponse is an all-in-one marketing platform that combines email marketing, automation, webinars, and landing pages. It is primarily aimed at small to medium-sized businesses that want to automate their online marketing without hiring an entire IT team.
Who is behind GetResponse?
GetResponse started in 1998 in an attic room in Gdańsk, Poland. Founder Simon Grabowski ran a travel agency called Travel Poland and had a problem: he had to constantly send the same emails to potential customers. Instead of manually emailing every day, he decided to build a system himself that could automatically respond to incoming requests. That’s how he developed the first autoresponder, a tool that is now standard in every email marketing platform.
What started as an internal tool grew into a full-fledged company. GetResponse S.A. has been completely bootstrapped, which means they never brought in external investors. They have grown profitably on their own strength, which is rare in the tech world where many companies rely on venture capital. The platform now has more than 400,000 customers worldwide and the company has offices in Poland, the United States, Malaysia, and Brazil. It remains a European company with Polish DNA, which is important to many users because of the strict privacy legislation within the EU.
Who is GetResponse for?
GetResponse is primarily aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, e-commerce entrepreneurs, and online marketers who want more than just sending newsletters. If you have an online store and want to activate customers with automated campaigns, or if you want to organize webinars without additional software, then this tool fits your workflow well.
The platform is less suitable for large enterprises that need complex CRM systems like Salesforce. Hobbyists who only want to send a newsletter occasionally without a budget should also look for simpler free alternatives. GetResponse sits in the mid-range: powerful enough for serious marketing, but not so overwhelmingly complex that you need a course to get started.
What can GetResponse do?
GetResponse combines multiple marketing tools in one platform. The free version offers basic functionality such as email marketing, autoresponders, and one landing page. For advanced automation, webinars, conversion funnels, and full e-commerce integrations, you need a paid plan. Here are the main features:
- Email Marketing and Autoresponders: The foundation GetResponse started with. You can design newsletters with a drag-and-drop editor, segment contacts, and automatically send follow-up emails. The autoresponder sends, for example, a welcome series when someone subscribes, without you having to look after it yourself.
- AI Email Generator: The tool generates email content and subject lines based on your input. You provide a brief description of what you want to communicate and the AI writes a draft. Useful when you’re stuck or want to quickly test multiple variations.
- Marketing Automation Workflows: Build visual workflows that trigger actions based on behavior. Someone clicks on a link? Send a specific follow-up email. Someone buys a product? Start a cross-sell campaign. This saves a tremendous amount of manual work.
- Webinars: A unique feature you won’t find with many competitors. You can host live webinars, offer on-demand webinars, and automatically follow up with participants via emails. Everything within the same platform, without needing Zoom or another service.
- Landing Pages and Website Builder: Create landing pages for campaigns or build a complete website without writing code. There are templates available, but the builder feels somewhat outdated compared to modern tools like Webflow or Framer.
- Conversion Funnels: Design complete sales funnels from landing page to thank you page, with automated email sequences in between. You can see where people drop off and optimize your funnel.
- Perfect Timing: A smart send option that analyzes when your contacts open their emails most often and sends the email at that moment. This can increase open rates without you having to guess the best time yourself.
- E-commerce integrations: Connect your webshop to GetResponse and automatically send abandoned cart emails, product recommendations, and post-purchase campaigns. Works with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and other platforms.
The platform also has mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing you to monitor and adjust campaigns on the go. Desktop apps for Windows, macOS, or Linux are not available, everything runs through the web browser.
How much does GetResponse cost?
GetResponse offers a free plan with up to 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters per month. You get one landing page and basic functionality, but emails contain GetResponse branding. For serious use, you’ll need a paid subscription.
The Email Marketing plan costs $ 1 per month (or $ 1.60 per month with annual billing). This gives you unlimited emails, multiple landing pages and removes the branding. The Marketing Automation plan costs $ 1 per month ($ 1.40 per year) and adds advanced workflows, webinars and ecommerce features. The Ecommerce Marketing plan costs $ 1 per month ($ 1.60 per year) and is designed for online stores with extensive segmentation and product recommendations.
Important to know: the price increases as your contact list grows. The mentioned rate applies to 1,000 contacts. With 10,000 contacts you’ll quickly pay triple the amount. GetResponse does offer a free 14-day trial for all paid plans, so you can test the tool before you pay.
What should you watch out for?
The biggest complaint from users is the price increase with growing contact lists. What starts as an affordable platform can quickly become more expensive than competitors like Brevo, which charges per email sent instead of per contact. If you have a large list but send few emails, you’ll pay relatively more with GetResponse.
The landing page builder feels outdated. Where modern website builders work intuitively with visual feedback, GetResponse sometimes feels clunky. The templates are functional but not exactly inspiring. For simple opt-in pages it’s fine, but for complex sales pages you’ll probably look for another tool.
Reports lack depth in the cheaper plans. You see open rates and click behavior, but for advanced analytics like cohort analysis or attribution you need to upgrade to more expensive plans. Those who want to work data-driven will quickly run into this.
The basic plan is quite limited. You do get access to email marketing, but many features that distinguish GetResponse from competitors are only available in the more expensive subscriptions. The jump from $ 1 to $ 1 per month is significant, and not everyone immediately needs webinars or complex automation.
GetResponse alternatives
GetResponse is not the only player in the email marketing world. Here are three alternatives you can consider:
- Mailchimp: More well-known brand and more user-friendly for absolute beginners, but quickly becomes more expensive as your list grows. Choose Mailchimp if you’re looking for a standard solution and need little automation.
- ActiveCampaign: Offers more powerful CRM functionality and more advanced automation than GetResponse. The learning curve is steeper and the price higher, but if you need very complex workflows and in-depth customer relationship management, ActiveCampaign is a better choice.
- Brevo: Formerly Sendinblue, charges per email sent instead of per contact. This makes it cheaper if you have a large list but send few emails. Choose Brevo if you have a limited budget and don’t send campaigns constantly.
Frequently asked questions
Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about GetResponse:
Is GetResponse GDPR compliant?
Yes, GetResponse is a Polish company and falls under European legislation. They fully comply with AVG and GDPR requirements. You can safely store and process contact details of European customers without legal concerns.
Can I change my subscription at any time?
Yes, you can always upgrade or downgrade. Upgrades take effect immediately and you pay the difference pro rata. Downgrades become active at the end of your current billing period, so you don’t pay for features you no longer use.
Does GetResponse offer support in multiple languages?
The interface is available in multiple languages, which makes working with the tool easier. However, customer support is mainly in English via 24/7 live chat. For complex questions you’ll need to be able to communicate in English.
Conclusion
GetResponse is a solid all-in-one marketing platform that works especially well for small to medium-sized businesses that want to combine email marketing with automation and webinars. The deliverability is strong, customer service responds quickly and the AI features save time when writing content. The price does increase with growing lists and some parts like the landing page builder feel dated. For those looking for a complete platform without having to connect multiple tools, GetResponse is a logical choice. If you mainly have a large list but send few emails, alternatives like Brevo are probably more cost-effective.
