Adestra vs. MessageGears

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adestra
Score 3.3 out of 10
N/A
Email automation software with optimized personalization to drive engagement.N/A
MessageGears
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
MessageGears is a hybrid email marketing service built around deliverability, actionable customer data, and audience segmentation and targeting.N/A
Pricing
AdestraMessageGears
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AdestraMessageGears
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Features
AdestraMessageGears
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Adestra
10.0
1 Ratings
20% above category average
MessageGears
3.3
3 Ratings
85% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor10.01 Ratings1.62 Ratings
Dynamic content10.01 Ratings3.83 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content10.01 Ratings2.33 Ratings
Landing pages10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing10.01 Ratings2.73 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting10.01 Ratings3.73 Ratings
List management10.01 Ratings2.23 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences10.01 Ratings2.33 Ratings
Mobile optimization00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Adestra
10.0
1 Ratings
24% above category average
MessageGears
1.1
3 Ratings
151% below category average
Dashboards10.01 Ratings1.23 Ratings
Standard reports10.01 Ratings1.23 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
Adestra
-
Ratings
MessageGears
3.7
3 Ratings
79% below category average
URL Validation00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Link Tracking00 Ratings2.93 Ratings
Image Validation00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Inbox Display00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Spam Testing00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
Email Previews00 Ratings1.12 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AdestraMessageGears
Small Businesses
ReachMail
ReachMail
Score 10.0 out of 10
ReachMail
ReachMail
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse
Score 10.0 out of 10
VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Emma by Marigold
Emma by Marigold
Score 8.6 out of 10
Emma by Marigold
Emma by Marigold
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AdestraMessageGears
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
AdestraMessageGears
Likelihood to Recommend
Upland Software
Small businesses with even smaller marketing budgets and no email marketing experience would be better off selecting a lower-end email marketing provider. However, Adestra will provide a growing company with every email marketing tool along the way.
Read full review
MessageGears
MessageGears can be a solid, inexpensive email solution and you can be able to send millions of emails per year. In 2020, we delivered over 235 million emails at a fraction of what that would cost with any other email service provider. We worked with MessageGears on a custom solution with our database.
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Pros
Upland Software
  • Adestra's "dynamic" list allows users to consolidate multiple lists in combination with data filters and exclusion lists. This implements segmentation and is a powerful marketing tool.
  • Adestra's MessageFocus API integration provides developer-tools for list, campaign or transactional automated requirements.
  • Campaigns can be sorted into project folders. This allows marketers to group campaigns together for management or reporting requirements. Moving or copying campaigns from one project to another is a simple process.
  • Data downloads via Reporting is available at every level, from overview to individual KPI.
  • Creating "core" tables helps marketers develop lists with similar attributes. Whether a list has many fields or simply the one required email address field, a "core" table helps to quickly map data labels from spreadsheet to online database. Creating data labels on the fly is a simple process, as well. The "core" table also groups similar contacts into one core database.
  • Any list can be quickly "emptied" for to manage refreshed data. The contacts within the "emptied" list would still be members of the "core" table and so the process does not negatively impact reporting.
  • Unsubscribes can be managed in one list (as a default) or individual lists. Creating individual unsubscribe lists -- dependent on business requirements -- would allow for a preference center, whereby recipients could be given a choice as to which campaigns they receive.
  • The Form tool creates signup forms, simple surveys and landing pages. These can be hosted via Adestra or otherwise on the web. The tool provides for branding and proprietary cascading stylesheets, with a number of actions available through a drag-and-drop interface.
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MessageGears
  • The MessageGears Support team is very helpful.
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Cons
Upland Software
  • As of this writing, there are at least 3 different editors available (a drag-and-drop, a WYSIWYG and HTML). However, only a small template library is available if requested through support. Those expecting to find ready-built templates for re-branding would find them through the third-party EDM Designer drag-and-drop editor.
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MessageGears
  • Multivariate testing
  • WYSIWYG email builder
  • SQL audience error report
  • Native reporting
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Usability
Upland Software
I have been self-trained on different ESPs for over 10 years, so my experience isn't comparable to most users. However, I've trained people on various email marketing platforms, and with some training, clients have a positive user-experience with Adestra.
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MessageGears
Our situation is unique so I believe we are working on a semi-outdated UI which needs a tune up / version upgrade. Similarly, our custom connection means that we do not have access to the full feature set so I've never experienced MessageGears' best functionality
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Support Rating
Upland Software
I have had campaign related issues solved very quickly. When there are technical issues, that involve more than one departmental, it may involve a longer turn-around and management.
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MessageGears
MessageGears support is always quick to respond when we have an issue, which is rare. Gail has been our main rep and she has been great. We don't have many issues so luckily, we don't need to lean on their customer support team much. That said, it would be beneficial to hear from upper management more.
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Alternatives Considered
Upland Software
For medium and large sized businesses, Adestra competes well with dotMailer. While many of the functions are available through either provider, creating campaigns, managing lists and reviewing metrics are somewhat different. As of this writing, dotMailer's drag-and-drop editor dominates that platform and performs well for low-end users with little-to-no HTML experience. Even high-end users will appreciate how quickly campaigns can be built via the drag-and-drop editor. While Adestra utilizes the EDM Designer drag-and-drop, the third-party functionality is not completely cohesive and lack of a template library gives dotMailer a bit of an advantage.
Read full review
MessageGears
MessageGears doesn't come close to Salesforce Marketing Cloud. We chose MessageGears based on how data was accessed. We never really got a good preview of how the system works or what was available, so we didn't know everything that it was lacking until we started using it.
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Return on Investment
Upland Software
  • For companies that focus on goals and analytics, Adestra provides all the necessary tools.
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MessageGears
  • Sending more email!
  • Onboarding handoff was a little rough
  • Great control on who we are sending to
  • Dynamic content is very easy!
Read full review
ScreenShots