MessageGears vs. VerticalResponse

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
MessageGears
Score 9.1 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
VerticalResponse
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
VerticalResponse is an email campaign management software and services platform from Deluxe. In addition to providing email marketing tools, VerticalResponse offers fully managed email marketing services from campaign launch and management to reporting and analysis.
$9
per month
Pricing
MessageGearsVerticalResponse
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic
$11.00
per month
Pro
$16.00
per month
Pro Plus
$196.00
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MessageGearsVerticalResponse
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Features
MessageGearsVerticalResponse
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
MessageGears
3.3
3 Ratings
84% below category average
VerticalResponse
9.9
8 Ratings
20% above category average
WYSIWYG email editor1.62 Ratings10.07 Ratings
Dynamic content3.83 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content2.33 Ratings10.04 Ratings
A/B testing2.73 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Mobile optimization8.01 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting3.83 Ratings10.08 Ratings
List management2.13 Ratings10.08 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences2.33 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Landing pages00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
MessageGears
1.1
3 Ratings
150% below category average
VerticalResponse
10.0
9 Ratings
26% above category average
Dashboards1.23 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Standard reports1.23 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Custom reports1.03 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
MessageGears
3.7
3 Ratings
79% below category average
VerticalResponse
10.0
1 Ratings
16% above category average
URL Validation1.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Link Tracking2.93 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Image Validation7.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Inbox Display7.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Spelling and Grammar Check6.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Spam Testing1.02 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Email Previews1.12 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
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MessageGearsVerticalResponse
Small Businesses
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
VerticalResponse
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 8.6 out of 10
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User Ratings
MessageGearsVerticalResponse
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(3 ratings)
10.0
(28 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(19 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
User Testimonials
MessageGearsVerticalResponse
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
Read full review
VerticalResponse
For businesses requiring advanced email marketing features like sophisticated automation, in-depth analytics, and extensive customization, VerticalResponse might fall short due to its limited featuresVerticalResponse is ideal for small businesses or freelancers who need a simple, straightforward email marketing tool. Its ease of use and basic features make it suitable for those without extensive technical expertise in email marketing
Read full review
Pros
MessageGears
  • The MessageGears Support team is very helpful.
Read full review
VerticalResponse
  • I love the ease of list builder because we often times have a lot of data to import. It would be simply impossible without this tool, considering the amount of customer data we have for any one given email.
  • We really enjoy the ease of use of the HTML wizard as well. It helps even a novice be able to make a beautiful and attention grabbing email.
  • The dashboard is functional and easy to find when you need with a quick search.
Read full review
Cons
MessageGears
  • Multivariate testing
  • WYSIWYG email builder
  • SQL audience error report
  • Native reporting
Read full review
VerticalResponse
  • The type face is small. Not sure if this is to avoid overwhelming the reader, but I could see this being an issue with vision-impaired people or people who don't see small print well.
  • Sometimes I find it takes multiple clicks to make one simple change. I wish there was a search field at the top of the screen that allowed me to jump directly to a client's entry to update it there.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
MessageGears
No answers on this topic
VerticalResponse
Product is easy for both technical and non-technical people to use. A cost effective solution for sending out large number of messages. We can manage unsubscribes by individual accounts, so we can have multiple multiple accounts combined to maximize our buying power on credits. Effective API for sending/receiving data makes tool a valuable asset.
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Usability
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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VerticalResponse
I truly love this product. We are moving to an all-in-one system next year and my greatest fear in doing so is how much I will miss this platform. Although we are excited for things ahead, I will always keep Vertical Response in my back pocket incase I don't love the new platform as much
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Reliability and Availability
MessageGears
No answers on this topic
VerticalResponse
Never had an issue with uptime
Read full review
Performance
MessageGears
No answers on this topic
VerticalResponse
No issues
Read full review
Support Rating
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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VerticalResponse
At Vertical Response the help desk associates are courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. You can tell they enjoy what they do. And clearly, they are well trained because most times, the first point of contact is able to resolve any issue you may have. There have been very few times where an associate has needed to get back to me or escalate me to a supervisor
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Online Training
MessageGears
No answers on this topic
VerticalResponse
Basic functions and online help...we used what was needed, at the time, and will continue to explore other online trainings as our functional needs expand
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Implementation Rating
MessageGears
No answers on this topic
VerticalResponse
Salesforce integration never worked right. We had to abandon.
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Alternatives Considered
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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VerticalResponse
In addition to using Vertical Response personally I also manage email marketing for clients that already use Mailchimp, Robly and Constant Contact. While most of these platforms all offer similar features I choose Vertical Response first if the client does not have a platform in place. Typically I am also teaching the client how to use this tool and the Vertical Response visual interface is very easy for me to teach a client how to navigate and create their own campaigns.
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Return on Investment
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
VerticalResponse
  • We were able to blast out promotions our company was having to customers which created an increase in business.
  • By blasting out any service issues, it keeps our customers informed so that they are not wondering what is going on.
  • Allows us to store unsubscribed emails so that we are not constantly pestering people who do not want to be emailed.
Read full review
ScreenShots