Mailchimp might have been great for you at first. But you’ve outgrown it and are looking at similar programs now. Many Mailchimp rivals will give you more bang for your buck.
In this article, we’ll cover all about other email services like Mailchimp — its rivals and competition, both free vs. paid, that will help you pick the best email service provider for your business. So stay with us to learn how these alternatives to Mailchimp can help save you thousands of dollars every year or earn your business more revenue!
Why Consider Alternatives to Mailchimp?
While Mailchimp remains a popular email marketing solution, many Mailchimp users complain about the lack of features, advanced automation workflows, and several other problems.
Here is why you should also consider looking at Mailchimp alternatives if you’re serious about email marketing:
- Lack of features. Mailchimp lacks critical features complementing email marketing, such as SMS messaging capabilities, advanced marketing automation, and more. As a result, you need to use other solutions to make the most out of email opportunities;
- Increasing costs. Mailchimp pricing starts at $60 monthly for up to 2,500 contacts. If we compare it to Sender, which charges $15 a month for the same number of contacts, Mailchimp is up to 6x costlier.;
- Restrictive free plan. Mailchimp offers fewer features on the lower plans and has a limited free version — it provides basic segmentation, only one-step automation workflows, and restrictive sending limits;
- Complicated user interface. With a growing demand for a user-friendly Mailchimp alternative, Mailchimp appears dated and complicated. The simplest tasks take too much time to set up, the templates are pretty basic, the UI is rudimentary, and the features are limiting, especially on lower plans;
- Limited automation feature. With Mailchimp, you can send emails to only one list at a time. You don’t have the choice of sending emails to multiple subscriber lists simultaneously, defeating the whole purpose of automation in the first place.
13 Best MailChimp Alternatives: Competitors Compared
If you’ve been searching for the best email marketing services and email marketing platforms like MailChimp, look no further. Here are Mailchimp rivals and contestants that will give you better results (and control) over your email marketing campaigns:
- Sender
- HubSpot
- Klaviyo
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
- DRIP
- GetResponse
- ActiveCampaign
- SendGrid
- Mailjet
- Constant Contact
- Flodesk
- Newsletter Plugin
- ConvertKit
Let’s look at each of these alternatives one by one.
1. Sender — Better Than Mailchimp for Email Campaigns
Best for:
- Small and medium-sized businesses;
- Ecommerce & retail;
- B2B businesses.
Sender is an email marketing tool that helps small business owners get the most out of their email marketing campaigns. With a clean and intuitive UI, Sender reduces email and SMS marketing hassles.
It also offers lead collection features such as behavioral popups, a powerful drag-and-drop builder, and an automation builder, making it one of the most powerful Mailchimp alternatives out there.
You get robust email and SMS campaign automation capabilities for upselling, cross-selling, and follow-up campaigns that help increase revenue and strengthen customer relationships.
Sender’s exceptional service, even with the free plan, ensures you’re geared up for success right from day one. Plus, its drag-and-drop builder and library of customizable email templates help you create appealing designs without sweat.
Advanced segmentation and audience management tools empower you to plan dynamic campaigns for hyper-targeting your subscribers. This way, your messages resonate well with subscribers from a particular demography, interest, or preference.
Sender is a full-fledged marketing automation platform with a robust automation builder that supports behavioral triggers and multi-step flow creation capabilities, even on the free plan. Thus, you can fully benefit from your marketing automation efforts to engage the audience and guide them through the entire buyer’s journey.
The best part – Sender costs a fraction of MailChimp and gives you greater control over your growth plans.
Sender Features
- Automated email campaigns;
- SMS marketing integration;
- Advanced segmentation and personalization;
- Detailed analytics and reporting;
- Intuitive drag-and-drop email builder.
Explore the complete list of features now
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
User-friendly interface | No landing page builder (yet) |
Cost-effective | |
High deliverability rates |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Free Plan | $0/month | Up to 2,500 contacts and up to 15,000 emails/month |
Standard Plan | starts at $15/month | Up to 2,500 contacts and up to 30,000 emails/month |
Professional Plan | starts at $29/month | Up to 2,500 contacts and up to 60,000 emails/month |
With Sender, send up to 15,000 emails per month to 2,500 contacts without any cost. This plan includes access to an intuitive drag-and-drop email builder, automation workflows, and segmentation features, among other valuable tools.
2. HubSpot — Best Mailchimp Alternative for Marketing Automation
Best for:
- Mid-market companies;
- Startups;
- Agencies.
HubSpot provides services similar to Mailchimp. It has an in-built sales CRM system useful for any business requiring advanced lead nurturing sequences and a complex sales funnel. It comes with an enterprise-grade email marketing and CRM solution. Manage everything — from sales to operations, marketing to CMS, from a single dashboard.
HubSpot’s shared inbox feature includes free tools for live chat, Facebook Messenger, chatbots, and team email. It also has a universal inbox that gives sales, marketing, and helpdesk teams one place to view, manage, and reply to all conversations, regardless of their messaging channel.
HubSpot Features
- In-built CRM system;
- Unified management of sales, operations, marketing, and CMS;
- Comprehensive email marketing automation;
- Shared inbox with tools for live chat, Facebook Messenger, chatbots, and team email;
- Instant integration with other marketing suites.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Comprehensive all-in-one platform | Can be expensive, especially at higher tiers |
Seamless integration with CRM | Steeper learning curve for beginners |
Extensive and flexible reporting tools | Some features may be too complex for small businesses |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Free | $0 per month | — |
Starter | $18 per month | Up to 1,000 subscribers and 5x tier contact limit for email sends; |
Professional | $800 per month | Up to 2,000 subscribers and 10x tier contact limit for email sends; |
HubSpot’s free plan includes 2,000 email sends monthly with HubSpot branding and free tools for marketing, sales, service, CMS, operations, and commerce.
3. Klaviyo — Best Alternative for SMS & Email Marketing Services
Best for:
- Bloggers;
- Freelancers;
- Small businesses.
Klaviyo is a robust email platform like Mailchimp for ecommerce store owners who want to build solid customer relationships. It’s also for enterprises that want to experiment with what works and what doesn’t when driving sales through omnichannel marketing campaigns across emails and SMS.
The full-featured marketing platform helps you build email-based customer experiences and connect with customers based on how they interact with your brand. Klaviyo also provides growth workshops for marketers, empowering them with the knowledge and skills required for success.
While it has powerful email marketing features, Klaviyo also offers solutions to build landing pages and signup forms. The platform has an intuitive design so that you spend less time learning and more time working on it.
Klaviyo Features
- Advanced segmentation;
- Automation workflows;
- Integration with popular ecommerce platforms;
- Detailed analytics and reporting;
- Advanced A/B testing;
- Customer profiles;
- Forms and popup builder.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Advanced segmentation options | Steeper learning curve |
Strong integration with ecommerce platforms | Can be expensive for large email lists |
Powerful automation capabilities | Can be complex to set up |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Free plan | $0 per month | Up to 250 contacts and 500 emails per month; |
$35 per month | Up to 500 contacts and 5,000 emails per month; | |
Email + SMS | $60 per month | Up to 5,000 monthly emails + 1,250 SMS/MMS credits per month. |
Klaviyo’s free plan offers a starting point with a monthly email send limit of 500, 150 free monthly SMS/MMS credits (plus applicable carrier fees), and email support for the initial 60 days.
4. Brevo (Sendinblue) — Best Alternative for Web Push Notifications
Best for:
- Freelancers;
- Entrepreneurs;
- Startups.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) primarily focuses on ecommerce store owners. It focuses on a unified communication approach covering emails, SMS marketing, web push notifications, and live chat.
Brevo also offers a unique shared inbox feature. So, you can see all the conversations across channels with a single contact (subscriber) from a single screen. The good thing is that you’re not charged based on contacts but on the number of emails you send monthly. Plus, its web push notifications feature can be used to engage smartphone users via push notifications.
Brevo Features
- Email and SMS marketing;
- Advanced marketing automation;
- Transactional emails
- Signup forms builder;
- Landing page builder to create landing pages;
- Detailed reporting
- Facebook Ads management with budget control and performance tracking;
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Competitive pricing | Limited templates and design options |
Easy-to-use platform | Slower customer support response times |
Good automation and segmentation | Email sending speeds can be slow |
Pricing & Free Plans
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Free | $0 per month | Unlimited contacts and up to 300 emails per day; |
Starter | $25 per month | Unlimited contacts and up to 20,000 emails per month; |
Business | $65 per month | Unlimited contacts and up to 20,000 emails per month + marketing automation features |
Brevo’s free plan includes unlimited contacts, the ability to send up to 300 emails daily, customizable email templates, a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, and support for transactional emails, SMS, and WhatsApp campaigns.
5. DRIP — Affordable Email Marketing Automation Service
Best for:
- Small to medium-sized businesses;
- Information product creators;
- B2B companies.
Drip is an email service like Mailchimp – a user-friendly omnichannel marketing platform that helps businesses engage their audience. Drip’s automated marketing extends to omnichannel communication across email, website, and SMS, making it a solid choice for ecommerce businesses.
Unlike MailChimp, Drip offers deeper customer engagement capabilities. You can craft personalized messages based on customer actions and preferences, thanks to customer segments. Plus, Drip’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to design emails and popup forms. You can also segment your list based on customer behavior and engagement to create personalized campaigns.
DRIP features
- Multichannel marketing;
- CRM for ecommerce;
- Workflow automation;
- Detailed analytics and reporting;
- Customizable forms and pop-ups.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Advanced automation capabilities | Higher cost compared to some alternatives |
Detailed segmentation and personalization | Steeper learning curve |
Comprehensive analytics and reporting | Limited template design options |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Basic | $39/month | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited emails sends |
There’s no free plan, but there’s a 14-day free trial.
6. GetResponse – Best Email Marketing Tool for Sales Funnels
Best for:
- Small and medium businesses;
- Online entrepreneurs;
- Marketers.
GetResponse is a great Mailchimp alternative designed to help you manage sales funnels. Its standout feature, “Autofunnel,” streamlines end-to-end marketing funnel creation.
Other noteworthy features include the ability to host webinars. GetResponse also stands out with multilingual support, a multimedia center featuring stock photos, and QR code generation, enhancing its versatility and usability.
GetResponse also seamlessly integrates with popular ecommerce platforms such as WooCommerce and offers support for content management systems like WordPress.
GetResponse Features
- A/B Testing
- Email analytics
- Marketing automation workflows
- Ecommerce integration
- Behavioral targeting
- CMS integration
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Wide range of features | Interface can be complex for beginners |
Good automation and segmentation | Limited templates for landing pages |
Competitive pricing | Some features lack depth compared to specialized tools |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Email marketing | $12 per month | Up to 1,000 contacts, unlimited monthly email sends |
Marketing automation | $40 per month | Up to 1,000 contacts, unlimited monthly email sends |
Ecommerce marketing | $78 per month | Up to 1,000 contacts, unlimited monthly email sends |
GetResponse doesn’t have a free plan but offers a 30-day free trial.
7. ActiveCampaign — Email Marketing Service with Advanced Analytics
Best for:
- Content creators;
- Small to midsize businesses
- Service-based businesses.
ActiveCampaign offers a feature program like Mailchimp and is known for its robust marketing and sales automation capabilities. If you run a Squarespace website, Shopify store, or B2B business looking to nurture leads through a long funnel, you should look at ActiveCampaign.
The platform is an excellent weapon in the arsenal of an ecommerce marketer or business owner. It helps you visualize your conversation funnel and check the probability of conversion, too. Other sales automation features like contact scoring and deal win probability are also great for B2B use cases and businesses. With over 500+ pre-built automation recipes involving email marketing and CRM automation, ActiveCampaign is uniquely positioned as one of the most comparative Mailchimp competitors.
ActiveCampaign’s Features
- Advanced contact segmentation;
- Automation workflows;
- CRM with sales automation;
- Dynamic content;
- Event tracking;
- A/B testing.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Advanced automation capabilities | Can be complex for beginners |
Comprehensive CRM integration | Higher cost compared to some rivals |
Strong segmentation and personalization options | Limited template designs |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Lite | $29/month | Up to 1,000 subscribers |
Plus | $49/month | Up to 1,000 subscribers |
Professional | $149/month | Up to 2,500 subscribers |
Enterprise | $259/month | Up to 2,500 subscribers |
ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free plan but offers a 14-day free trial.
8. SendGrid — Email Marketing Platform with SMTP Feature
Best for:
- Event management companies;
- Educational institutions;
- Nonprofits.
SendGrid is a powerful email marketing platform that promises amazing deliverability and ensures your emails land in your subscriber’s inbox. SendGrid comes with integrated email tests, spam testing, and email validation features, significantly enhancing your email system delivery success rates by enabling you to test and optimize your emails before hitting send.
Its API-centric nature makes it an adaptable solution for developers wanting to integrate email functionality into their apps or websites. Besides, it offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, email automation builders, and reporting dashboards for a comprehensive email marketing experience.
SendGrid Features
- Exceptional deliverability rate;
- Integration API for developers;
- Email tests;
- Spam testing;
- Email validation;
- Drag-and-drop editor.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Scalability for large volumes | Complex for beginners |
Strong deliverability rates | Limited email design tools |
Detailed analytics | Can become expensive at higher volumes |
Pricing & Free Plans
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Free | $0 | 6,000 emails/month, 2,000 subscribers |
Basic | $15/month | 50,000 – 100,000 emails/month, 7,000 subscribers |
Advanced | $60/month | 100,000 – 1.5 million emails/month, 15,000 subscribers |
SendGrid has a free plan for sending 6,000 emails/monthly to up to 2,000 subscribers.
9. Mailjet — Best Alternative for Transactional Emails
Best for:
- Non-profits;
- Marketing agencies;
- Media and publishing companies.
Mailjet is an easy-to-use platform for designing, sending, and monitoring email newsletters and automated email campaigns. It natively integrates with ecommerce platforms like Drupal, making it an excellent alternative for ecommerce platforms.
You can create emails without coding with its email editor. Also, it provides reliable transactional email functionality and good reporting capabilities.
More importantly, Mailjet is GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified, offering users the highest data security and privacy levels. This is governed by their overarching Data Processing Agreement (DPA), promising 100% compliance with EU Data Protection Laws.
Mailjet Features
- Drag-and-drop editor;
- GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified;
- Supports over 80+ integrations, including WordPress, WooCommerce, Prestashop, Magento, and Google.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Affordable pricing | Limited integrations |
User-friendly interface | Basic automation features |
Reliable email deliverability | Less advanced reporting compared to competitors |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Free | $0 per month | Unlimited contacts and up to 6,000 emails per month; |
Essential | $15 per month | Unlimited contacts and up to 15,000 emails per month; |
Premium | $25 per month | Unlimited contacts and up to 15,000 emails per month + marketing automation; |
MailerJet’s free plan includes the ability to send up to 6,000 emails per month, manage up to 1,500 contacts, and access features such as APIs, SMTP Relay, and Webhooks.
10. Constant Contact — Email Marketing Software like Mailchimp for Nonprofits
Best for:
- Online retailers;
- Marketing agencies;
- Non-profits.
Constant Contact is an all-in-one digital marketing platform that helps small businesses automate email marketing and SMS campaigns. While it’s a powerful solution for all types of companies, it’s designed for ecommerce store owners wanting to grow via omnichannel marketing.
You can use Constant Contact to run effective email marketing campaigns, create engaging e-commerce promotions, design landing pages and websites like Mailchimp, manage social media activities, and access a library of templates for consistent branding.
Finally, Constant Contact simplifies your marketing efforts by automating lead generation and lead scoring through autoresponder workflows.
Constant Contact Features
- All-in-one digital marketing platform;
- Automation of email marketing and SMS campaigns;
- Website and landing page design capabilities;
- Social media activity management;
- Automation of lead generation and lead scoring through autoresponder workflows.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
User-friendly interface | Limited email automation capabilities |
High email deliverability rates | Higher cost compared to some rivals |
Comprehensive reporting and analytics | Limited customization options |
Pricing & Free Plans
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Lite | $12 per month | Up to 500 contacts and 12x contact tier allowance; |
Standard | $35 per month | Up to 500 contacts & 12x contact tier allowance |
Premium | $80 per month | Up to 500 contacts and 24x contact tier allowance |
11. Flodesk — Best Email Builder and Beautiful Templates
Best for:
- Small to medium-sized businesses;
- Service-based businesses;
- Ecommerce businesses.
Flodesk is a powerful email marketing platform that has a generous pricing model. For a flat monthly fee, it offers an email marketing solution with unlimited contacts, emails, forms, landing pages, etc.
Flodesk promotes itself as an integrated solution that can promise a seamless experience for the end user. This means all your landing pages, emails, and checkout pages will offer a standardized user experience. There are in-built tools to nurture prospects and drive checkouts using an advanced yet easy-to-use automation builder.
Flodesk Features
- Intuitive design interface;
- A vast library of templates;
- Advanced segmentation;
- Workflow automation;
- Form builders;
- Brand consistency options.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
User-friendly interface | Limited advanced features |
Unlimited subscribers and emails | Basic analytics |
High-quality templates | Limited automation capabilities |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
$38/month | No email or subscribers limit | |
Email + checkout | $64/month | No email or subscribers limit |
Flodesk doesn’t have a free plan or trial for users to try it out.
Also read: 15 Free Email Template Builders (HTML + Drag-and-Drop Editor)
12. Newsletter Plugin — Best Alternative for WordPress (WP) Users
Best for:
- WordPress users;
- Content-based businesses;
- Educational institutions.
Newsletter Plugin is a dedicated plugin for WordPress websites for sending newsletters and email campaigns directly from the WP dashboard.
Compared to other MailChimp alternatives on this list, Newsletter Plugin is simpler and only supports a WordPress website. The plugin can be installed via your WP dashboard and help you manage subscriptions, set up automation, build an email list, create a visual email, etc.
It also offers solid integrations with other tools like Gravity Forms and Elementor and supports multiple email delivery options. With over 3M+ downloads, Newsletter is the perfect option for a WordPress blog looking to grow an email list and email marketing campaigns.
Newsletter Plugin Features
- Subscription form creation;
- List management;
- Automated newsletters;
- Statistics and reports;
- Customizable widgets;
- SMTP support;
- Extensions and add-ons.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Easy integration with websites | Complexity for beginners |
Advanced segmentation and personalization | Limited features in free versions |
Automation and scheduling | Deliverability issues |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Basic | Free | Basic features with no autoresponder, detailed analytics, etc. |
Blogger | $69 per month | All features for 1 website; |
Agency | $269 per month | All features for up to 3 websites. |
Newsletter Plugin has a free plan with very limited features.
13. Convertkit — Email Marketing Platform for Creators
Best for:
- Content creators;
- Influencers;
- Artists.
ConvertKit is designed for creators and artists and offers useful tools for building a community via email marketing. The simple interface and email template library make it easy for non-geeky people to start using the platform for building and growing their email lists.
You can use its landing page builder to start capturing leads on your website and then use the automation features to nurture your audience. All standard features, such as segmentation, form builder, and template library, are also available to manage entire email marketing operations.
ConvertKit Features
- Email automation;
- Customizable templates;
- Visual automation builder;
- Subscriber management;
- Landing page builder.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Simple user interface | Expensive for large email lists |
Advanced tagging and segmentation | Limited integrations |
Responsive customer support | Basic email builder |
Pricing & Free Plan
Plan | Cost | Limitations |
Up to 300 subscribers with access to all features except advanced reporting and scoring, and referral features. | $0/month | Up to 1,000 subscribers, with no access to automation builder or sequences |
Creator | $9/month | Up to 300 subscribers, with access to all features except advanced reporting and scoring, and referral features. |
Creator Pro | $25/month | Up to 300 subscribers, with access to every feature on the platform |
ConvertKit’s free plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers and offers unlimited forms, broadcasts, and landing pages. Users also get an option to sell digital products and subscriptions on the free plan.
Best Free Mailchimp Alternatives
In an ideal world, no one would care about price tags. Unfortunately, we live in a world where running a business costs a lot. Therefore, if you’re looking to bring down costs and searching for a cheaper Mailchimp replacement, you’re likely not alone.
Maybe that’s the primary reason you’re here—to save money without compromising on a great feature set. So, here are a few cheaper alternatives to Mailchimp to save money on email marketing:
Sender — Most Generous Free Plan
We covered Sender above and shared how it’s an affordable Mailchimp alternative. With monthly plans starting at $15 for up to 2,500 subscribers, Sender is one of the best free Mailchimp alternatives out there.
You can use its forever free plan to send up to 15,000 emails to 2,500 contacts every month for life.
Isn’t it great? Well, if you’re swooped already, hear more. This free plan is equally powerful and includes advanced automation, which is usually unavailable with free plans on other email marketing tools.
- Advanced automation workflows and SMS marketing features;
- Built-in drag-and-drop email builder and email marketing templates.
- Free forever plan with all advanced features for up to 2500 subscribers;
- Cheap monthly plans start at just $15 per month.
Still waiting to switch and migrate? Get your feet wet with the FREE forever plan and join us when you’re ready for supercharged email marketing campaigns that don’t break the bank!
Sendpulse
Sendpulse is another Mailchimp substitute you can consider. You can send up to 15,000 emails but only to a maximum of 500 subscribers. The free plan also supports one landing page per account but no segmentation. Automation capabilities are also severely limited.
If you really like the tool, consider going in for one of their monthly paid plans starting at a mere $6.4 per month for up to 500 subscribers, which is one of the things that’s good about this platform. Comparable to MailChimp on the features front, Sendpulse offers the following edge:
- A great free plan for sending up to 15,000 emails per month to 500 subscribers;
- Amazing chatbot and web push functionality and features;
- Powerful learning module for creating courses on the same platform.
Benchmark Email
Benchmark is one of the underrated email programs. It supports email marketing campaigns, automation, and landing pages and offers integrations with 1500+ popular services.
Their free plan supports unlimited email contacts but limits the number of emails you can send out per month to 3,500 emails. Their monthly premium plan starts from $9.99 for up to 500 subscribers.
- In-built AI tools to create contextual email content and achieve high deliverability rates;
- User-friendly and responsive email template library;
- Supports advanced conditional logic and marketing automation flows;
- A great free plan that can store unlimited contacts.
Mailchimp Alternatives: Price & Feature Table
Sender | Mailchimp | Constant Contact | Klaviyo | HubSpot | GetResponse | Brevo (Sendinblue) | SendGrid | MailJet | ActiveCampaign | Flodesk | Newsletter Plugin | DRIP | ConvertKit |
|
Contacts | Up to 2,500 | Up to 2,000 | Unlimited | Up to 250 (free plan) | Up to 1,000 (free plan) | Up to 1,000 | Unlimited | Not specified | Up to 200 (free plan) | 100 Contact (free plan) | Unlimited | Up to 1,000 (free plan) | Up to 2,500 (Starter Plan) | Up to 1000 subscribers |
Emails | Up to 15,000 | Up to 10,000 | Up to 900 | Up to 500 | Up to 2,000 (free plan) | Unlimited | Up to 900 | Up to 50,000 | Up to 6,000 (free plan) | 100 emails (Free plan) | Unlimited | Not specified | Unlimited | Not specified |
Daily limits (Free account) | Unlimited | Up to 2,000 | 300 | – | 500 per day | – | 300 | 100 per day | – | – | – | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified |
Support | 24/7 Live Chat | Email-only, first 30 days | Email-only | 24/7 Live Chat + Email | Email and Live Chat (free plan) | 24/7 Live Chat + Email | Email-only | Email and Live Chat | Email, Social, Phone & Chat Support | Email and Live Chat | Email Support | Email-only | Email Support | Email Support |
WordPress Integration | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + |
Email Automation | + | Basic | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | Basic | + | + |
Email Templates Library | + | Basic | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | – | + | + |
Advanced Segmentation | + | Basic | Basic | + | + | + | Basic | + | Basic | + | + | Basic | + | Basic |
Email Scheduling | + | – | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | – | + | + |
Advanced Reporting | + | – | – | + | Basic on Lower Plans | + | – | + | – | + | + | – | + | Basic |
Geography & device reporting | + | – | – | + | + | + | – | + | – | + | – | + | – | – |
Heat map reporting | + | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Advanced open & click stats | + | – | – | – | Basic on Lower Plans | – | – | + | + | + | + | Basic | + | + |
Multi-user access | Unlimited | Limited on Lower Plans | 1 | N/A | – | 1 | Limited on Lower Plans | 1; up to 1,000 on Pro and higher plans | Yes | 3 Users | – | – | – | Limited on lower plans |
Pricing | $15 per month for 2,500 subscribers and up to 30K emails per month | $9.36 per month for 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails per month | $12 per month for up to 500 contacts | $20 per month for up to 500 contacts | $18 per month for up to 1,000 contacts | $12 per month for up to 1,000 contacts | $25 per month for sending up to 20K emails/month (No restriction on subscribers) | $15/month up to 1,000 contacts | $15/month for up to 15K emails | $29 per month for 500 subscribers | $35 per month up to 14K subscribers | $79 per year | $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers | Paid plan starts at $9 per month, that supports only 300 subscribers |
Mailchimp Insights
Before you decide, let’s compare everything and see what you’ll gain (or lose) when you go for an alternative to Mailchimp.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
User-friendly interface | Limited free plan |
Comprehensive templates | Steep learning curve |
Robust analytics | Higher cost at scale |
Automation capabilities | Limited advanced features |
Integrates with many apps | Occasional deliverability issues |
Good customer support |
Pricing
As your subscriber list grows significantly, Mailchimp’s pricing can become relatively more expensive compared to other platforms. Additionally, some advanced features may require a higher-tier plan, which could be a consideration for businesses with specific requirements. Take a look:
Plan | Subscribers limit | Emails per month | Price per month | Features included |
Free | Up to 1,000 | 12,000 | $0 | Basic email features, limited support |
Essentials | 1,001 – 2,500 | Unlimited | Starts at $13 | All free features, live chat support, advanced features |
Advanced | 2,501 – 5,000 | Unlimited | Starts at $20 | All growing business features, advanced automation, dedicated support |
Premium | 5,001 and more | Unlimited | Starts at $350 | All advanced features, custom reporting, dedicated account manager |
Historical Changes to Mailchimp Pricing Plans
Mailchimp hasn’t kept its prices consistent despite being a widely used email marketing service.
According to public sources, Mailchimp increases its prices between 7-14% year on year. Over and above the regular price increase, the platform also increase the prices of add-ons from time to time.
All this has led to an increase in email marketing costs for many small business owners around the globe. Here’s how their pricing plans changed over the last few years:
- November 2023. Increased prices by 7% across all plans and tiers;
- March 2023. Reduction in free plan limits – 500 contacts and sending limit of up to 1,000 emails per month with a daily limit of up to 500 emails;
- February 2023. Increase in prices of the standard plan from $17/month to $20/month;
- August 2022. Free plan reduced to 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails, from 2,000 contacts and 10,000 emails previously;
- February 2022. Mailchimp increased its prices across all plans by 11%.
Mailchimp Alternatives FAQs
Now that we’ve looked at the best alternatives to Mailchimp, let’s review some of the most frequently asked questions:
What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?
There are many great alternatives to MailChimp. However, what’s better for your case might be individual, as it depends on the features you’re looking for in email marketing tools and pricing. If you cannot decide, Sender offers a feature-rich package for an affordable price.
What features are important in a Mailchimp alternative?
When searching for an alternative to Mailchimp, seeking out specific functionalities that can enhance your ability to create and oversee successful email marketing campaigns is essential. Here are key attributes to consider when evaluating email marketing software:
- Intuitive drag-and-drop editor: Look for a drag-and-drop editor that doesn’t require coding or design expertise. This feature simplifies customizing emails and ensures they look visually appealing.
- Template library: A robust library of pre-designed templates tailored to different industries and use cases can save you valuable time and effort by offering a starting point for your email designs.
- Split testing (A/B testing): The ability to conduct split testing on various email elements, including subject lines and content, lets you determine the most effective versions for improved open and click-through rates.
- Email automation: Effective email marketing software should provide powerful automation tools, including autoresponders, email scheduling, and the creation of automated email sequences triggered by user behavior or specific events.
- Landing page builder: An excellent email marketing solution should include a builder to craft custom campaign landing pages. Landing pages are critical in converting subscribers by offering a focused and tailored experience.
- Seamless integration with third-party tools: Look for the ability to connect with other software programs such as CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, and social media management tools. This streamlines your workflow and enhances the overall effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
- Advanced segmentation: Advanced segmentation tools empower you to divide your email list into smaller, more targeted groups based on specific criteria such as demographics, interests, or past behavior. This enables you to deliver more relevant and personalized content, increasing engagement rates.
- Comprehensive analytics and reporting: Robust reporting features are crucial for monitoring the performance of your email campaigns. The software should offer in-depth analytics on metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and other essential data, enabling data-driven decision-making and optimizing marketing strategies.
How much does Mailchimp actually cost?
Mailchimp’s pricing varies depending on your subscriber count, monthly email volume, and available features. For instance, you can send up to 1,000 emails per month to a maximum of 500 subscribers, but this comes with limitations on reporting, analytics, and available email templates. For a monthly fee of $13, you can expand your reach to 5,000 emails sent to up to 1,000 subscribers, although certain feature limitations still apply.
What are the disadvantages of using Mailchimp?
Mailchimp has drawbacks, such as restricted customization options in its free plan, the absence of built-in ecommerce capabilities, and a lack of industry-specific templates. Furthermore, some users might perceive Mailchimp’s pricing model as less competitive when compared to alternatives that offer more extensive features.