iContact vs. Litmus

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
iContact
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
iContact is an email marketing solution that was acquired by Vocus in 2012. The product is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and is aimed at SMBs with unlimited sending as a key feature.
$14
per month
Litmus
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
As a core component of an organization's marketing tech stack, Litmus allows users to create, personalize, test, review, and analyze every email sent.
$99
per month
Pricing
iContactLitmus
Editions & Modules
1500 Users
$15.00
per month
2500 Users
$25.00
per month
5000 Users
$45.00
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
iContactLitmus
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsLitmus offers different plan types to fit various needs, offering monthly and annual plans, as well as fully customizable Enterprise plans.
More Pricing Information
Features
iContactLitmus
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
iContact
6.6
26 Ratings
21% below category average
Litmus
5.2
296 Ratings
44% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor7.024 Ratings6.119 Ratings
Dynamic content7.021 Ratings8.011 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content5.021 Ratings8.5187 Ratings
Landing pages7.014 Ratings2.63 Ratings
A/B testing5.017 Ratings1.84 Ratings
Mobile optimization7.021 Ratings9.2288 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting7.025 Ratings7.6207 Ratings
List management8.025 Ratings1.82 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences6.015 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
iContact
8.0
26 Ratings
3% above category average
Litmus
6.8
190 Ratings
13% below category average
Dashboards8.026 Ratings5.610 Ratings
Standard reports8.025 Ratings8.2189 Ratings
Custom reports8.015 Ratings6.6130 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
iContact
7.0
1 Ratings
19% below category average
Litmus
8.2
285 Ratings
4% below category average
URL Validation7.01 Ratings7.7209 Ratings
Link Tracking7.01 Ratings7.9178 Ratings
Image Validation7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Inbox Display7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Email Accessibility Tools7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Spelling and Grammar Check7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Spam Testing7.01 Ratings8.1211 Ratings
Email Previews7.01 Ratings9.1283 Ratings
Best Alternatives
iContactLitmus
Small Businesses
Mad Mimi
Mad Mimi
Score 10.0 out of 10
Mad Mimi
Mad Mimi
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
iContactLitmus
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(45 ratings)
9.2
(308 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
3.4
(19 ratings)
9.7
(22 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(6 ratings)
9.8
(18 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(1 ratings)
7.4
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
9.9
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
1.0
(1 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(2 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(4 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.0
(1 ratings)
8.6
(6 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
iContactLitmus
Likelihood to Recommend
iContact
I would only recommend it if someone was a small business. I think they are the best suited for companies who will send out a coupon or offer here and there. The most recent updates made it more complicated to use for more complicated processes. It is easy to train someone on the program, and so quick to learn. But I would also only stick to the simpler things. I also think the colorful templates are great, and show great creativity. But again, it is hard to justify recommending the program when it isn't WYSIWYG.
Read full review
Litmus Software
It is nice to be able to double-check the HTML code easily. However, that being said, once we have the template structure and modules coded and rendered, we often do not feel that Litmus is as helpful because we have already verified that the HTML is functioning as intended.
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Pros
iContact
  • Contact management. iContact is really great for entering all your contact. You are able to put them onto different lists, and let them choose which lists they would like to be a part of as well. There are many data fields provided to fill in information.
  • Emailing. We use the email feature at least once a month. They are always improving and adding new features, which is very helpful in presenting content in a new and exciting way to our readers. There are many options with remade templates and themes, or you can add your own.
  • Insights. It is really helpful being able to have the data to see what is working and what isn't. It is nice to be able to go back and see how things went in the past compared to now. Opens, clicks, shares, etc.
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Litmus Software
  • Emulation of 100s of email clients by pasting HTML email code into their builder
  • The UI for navigating the build tools, analytics, and other functions are intuitive and easy to learn.
  • They have amazing weekly newsletters that go deep into email trends, benchmarks, and very practical tips. They are well-written.
Read full review
Cons
iContact
  • We also would like to send transactional messages which don't require an opt-out, this is a challenge with iContact. (May be a feature with pro?)
  • The regular version of iContact doesn't support event management or logic flows for automated messaging.
  • Custom form fields have limited field type options (can't build a drop-down).
Read full review
Litmus Software
  • It would be great if there was an integration where we could make necessary changes in Litmus and update Klaviyo.
  • A better understanding of ways to optimize - things may be good as is, but what are ways that we can improve it for a better-sending reputation?
  • Sometimes the app in Chrome is clunky.
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Likelihood to Renew
iContact
iContact has been a quick and easy way to send any announcements and news directly to email and social media subscribers. Its tracking and reporting capabilities turn a simple email into a marketing campaign that can be used as a tool to efficiently gauge reader response and customer satisfaction, and ultimately to reach potential customers. The consistency and excellent customer service is what makes this program a pleasant experience.
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Litmus Software
It's offering me more than any other email proof software I've heard of! I also really appreciate how Litmus gives back to the email development community via their content creation. I want better marketing and marketing email in the world, and Litmus is working towards that goal. So, yeah, they're good folks with a good product!
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Usability
iContact
I rate iContact as an easy to use program due to its user friendly dashboard and user interface. Most companies of small to medium size do not have a dedicated marketer, therefore it is someone multitasking who may or may not have this kind of experience. iContact makes it relatively simple and can actually expand one's knowledge in the area of business promotion.
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Litmus Software
Litmus has integrations that make the software an integrated part of my work every day. Being able to test right within my email builder is just brilliant. Daily I also use the web interface to review analytics and spam testing. Overall it is one of the pieces of software I use daily without any complaints or issues.
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Reliability and Availability
iContact
iContact is regularly up and running. Only once has it been unavailable for maintenance, which is to be expected and even desired for optimal performance when needed.
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Litmus Software
We have never had a problem with Litmus being unavailable so I would say their availability is fantastic. There might have been one time years ago that the site was down briefly but it also might have been a server issue on my end. Either way, Litmus was back up and running in a very short time
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Performance
iContact
No answers on this topic
Litmus Software
As with all technology, there are inevitably use-cases where you are unable to get to your original goal without some good old-fashioned experimenting. Some situations will (and are) more urgent which complicates an effective integration of a new process or a new team using an existing process but the "issues" are regularly resolved by re-starting the process specific to when Litmus is introduced to a project. If it doesn't come out the way you're anticipating, run it again and verify there is an issue before declaring all is lost
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Support Rating
iContact
They have always been responsive to any issues or concerns that have arisen with our account. Our customer account manager participates in our monthly county-wide communicators meetings via telephone to ensure that we are getting the most from the service. He also analyzes our lists to help us weed out inactive contacts.
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Litmus Software
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
iContact
No answers on this topic
Litmus Software
It was very informative one on one session for me. I was able to use Litmus without any issues.
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Online Training
iContact
The templates are difficult to customize, and they don't render well in email platforms
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Litmus Software
It has all the required information.
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Implementation Rating
iContact
i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money
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Litmus Software
It was quick and easy to get up and running. We were able to use the platform not long after getting it up and running.
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Alternatives Considered
iContact
I didn't have a say in the decision because I wasn't with the company at the time. I listed HubSpot here because I know we used it in conjunction with iContact for email automation, but HubSpot Email was only recently built-out to the point where it is today. Now, iContact and HubSpot are no longer integrated.
Read full review
Litmus Software
For more in-depth QA and personalization needs, Litmus is the way to go. I believe that Litmus should be used in conjunction with a product like Mailchimp or Constant Contact to support your email development efforts. I would not use any one of these by itself if you really want to create an end product that can provide the greatest ROI and use for your end consumer.
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Scalability
iContact
iContact stays the same with the number of users added or taken away. It certainly remains reliable despite increased usage, and so, can be considered scaleable in that aspect.
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Litmus Software
With our enterprise account, scalability is not an issue. I have not yet seen or heard of significant issues with user access, API connections for integrations etc. This includes down time for "Scheduled Maintenance" as some providers call them, Litmus has the technology backing to support a global team with a 24-hour workday across regions
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Return on Investment
iContact
  • We have a template for webinars that we send every month. We just edit it and send. This couldn't be easier (once you know where to find it).
  • We like the breakdown of statistics in the dashboard. They're easy to read.
  • iContact isn't a comprehensive solution, so it is only one of a few products we use for marketing.
Read full review
Litmus Software
  • Litmus has positively helped us to be able to measure email performance metrics and provide stakeholders insights on what email content is resonating with clients
  • Litmus has helped us to ensure our emails are error free by providing us with an overview of whether each email meets the requirements for optimal email performance and delivery
Read full review
ScreenShots

Litmus Screenshots

Screenshot of Litmus Personalize Essentials, with live polls to give subscribers a voice and drive email engagement.Screenshot of Litmus Email Guardian, featuring 24/7 link monitoring to safeguard emails.Screenshot of Litmus' integrated insights reports, that can automatically combine metrics from Salesforce Marketing Cloud with subscriber engagement insights from Litmus.Screenshot of campaign preview, available in 100+ popular email clientsScreenshot of Litmus' inbox previewing and feedback tools, that help users to spot and fix issues early.