iContact: Email marketing platform
iContact is an Email marketing platform. Starting at $9/mo, it targets long-tenured accounts on a 2003-era platform whose REST API still authenticates with four proprietary headers. Our verdict: A named account manager, at a price point where nobody else offers one. Watch for: A 20-year customer reports 1,800 individual downloads to cancel. Rated 5.8/10 overall across ease of use, deliverability, and pricing value.
What is iContact?
iContact was founded in 2003 by two UNC undergraduates, Ryan Allis and Aaron Houghton, and traded as IntelliContact until it shortened its name on 5 June 2007. It reached its present owner by a long chain: Vocus bought it in February 2012, GTCR folded Vocus into Cision in 2014, and Cision sold it on to j2 Global, now Ziff Davis, for around $49 million in January 2019.
Two oddities survive that history. iContact LLC, not its parent, was the named acquirer of Moz in June 2021. And its REST API still authenticates with four proprietary headers, API-AppId, API-Version, API-Username and API-Password, rather than OAuth.
Explore iContact on SMTPedia
Frequently asked questions
Is iContact worth it in 2026?
Our full editorial review covers pricing, deliverability, ease of use, support quality, and API/MCP maturity. Read the iContact review →
How much does iContact cost?
All pricing tiers, hidden fees, refund policy, and the true cost per email are broken down in the pricing tab. See iContact pricing →
What are the best alternatives to iContact?
iContact compared with its closest competitors by use case, pricing, and switching cost. See alternatives →
What are the SMTP settings for iContact?
Hostnames, ports, authentication, rate limits, and DKIM/SPF configuration for iContact. See SMTP settings →
Does iContact have an official MCP server?
Our API tab covers iContact's REST API version, SDKs, rate limits, and MCP server support (official, community, and commercial wrappers). See API + MCP →
This review follows our email infrastructure testing methodology. We disclose affiliate relationships in our editorial independence policy.
