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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    iContact

    Score6.8 out of 10
    N/AiContact 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

    MySQL

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AMySQL is a popular open-source relational and embedded database, now owned by Oracle.N/A
    Pricing
    iContactMySQL
    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
    iContactMySQL
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    iContactMySQL
    Considered Both Products
    iContact
    No answer on this topic
    Oracle
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Would buy again
    49 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    51 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    51 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    36 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    Features
    iContactMySQL
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of iContact and MySQL
    Feature
    iContact
    6.6
    26 Ratings
    19% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    WYSIWYG email editor7.024 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dynamic content7.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content5.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Landing pages7.014 Ratings00 Ratings
    A/B testing5.017 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile optimization7.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting7.025 Ratings00 Ratings
    List management8.025 Ratings00 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences6.015 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of iContact and MySQL
    Feature
    iContact
    8.0
    26 Ratings
    5% above category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards8.026 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports8.025 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports8.015 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-Send Testing
    Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of iContact and MySQL
    Feature
    iContact
    7.0
    1 Ratings
    15% below category average
    MySQL
    -
    Ratings
    URL Validation7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Link Tracking7.01 Ratings00 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 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email Previews7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    iContactMySQL
    Small Businesses
    Mad Mimi
    Score10 out of 10
    MariaDB Platform
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Campaign Monitor by Marigold
    Score9 out of 10
    PostgreSQL
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Emma by Marigold
    Score8.5 out of 10
    SQLite
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    iContactMySQL
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (45 ratings)
    8.5
    (146 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    3.4
    (19 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    7.9
    (18 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.9
    (9 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Online Training
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    iContactMySQL
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    MySQL is best suited for applications on platform like high-traffic content-driven websites, small-scale web apps, data warehouses which regards light analytical workloads. However its less suited for areas like enterprise data warehouse, OLAP cubes, large-scale reporting, applications requiring flexible or semi-structured data like event logging systems, product configurations, dynamic forms.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    • Stable - it just runs, with minimal downtime or errors
    • Fast - well-structured data is quickly written and read
    • Secure - MySQL is easy to keep data secure from people and applications that shouldn't see it
    • Easy to use - SQL is industry standard so no problems with adding, editing and reading data stored in MySQL
    Incentivized
    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).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    • Learning curve: is big. Newbies will face problems in understanding the platform initially. However, with plenty of online resources, one can easily find solutions to problems and learn on the go.
    • Backup and restore: MySQL is not very seamless. Although the data is never ruptured or missed, the process involved is not very much user-friendly. Maybe, a new command-line interface for only the backup-restore functionality shall be set up again to make this very important step much easier to perform and maintain.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Oracle
    For teaching Databases and SQL, I would definitely continue to use MySQL. It provides a good, solid foundation to learn about databases. Also to learn about the SQL language and how it works with the creation, insertion, deletion, updating, and manipulation of data, tables, and databases. This SQL language is a foundation and can be used to learn many other database related concepts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    I give MySQL a 9/10 overall because I really like it but I feel like there are a lot of tech people who would hate it if I gave it a 10/10. I've never had any problems with it or reached any of its limitations but I know a few people who have so I can't give it a 10/10 based on those complaints.
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Oracle
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Oracle
    We have never contacted MySQL enterprise support team for any issues related to MySQL. This is because we have been using primarily the MySQL Server community edition and have been using the MySQL support forums for any questions and practical guidance that we needed before and during the technical implementations. Overall, the support community has been very helpful and allowed us to make the most out of the community edition.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    iContact
    The templates are difficult to customize, and they don't render well in email platforms
    Read full review
    Oracle
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    iContact
    i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money
    Read full review
    Oracle
    1. Estimate your data size. 2. Test, test, and test.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Oracle
    MongoDB has a dynamic schema for how data is stored in 'documents' whereas MySQL is more structured with tables, columns, and rows. MongoDB was built for high availability whereas MySQL can be a challenge when it comes to replication of the data and making everything redundant in the event of a DR or outage.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Oracle
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Oracle
    • As it is an open source solution through community solution, we can use it in a multitude of projects without cost license
    • The acquisition by Oracle makes you need to contract support for the enterprise version
    • If you have knowledge about oracle databases, you can get more out of the enterprise version
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots