Mailchimp alternatives now cost less than Mailchimp at most list sizes. Since 2022, Mailchimp has cut its free plan from 2,000 contacts to 250, removed free automation, and kept counting unsubscribed contacts toward your bill until you archive them. At 10,000 contacts, Mailchimp Standard costs $135 a month.
Between July and September 2026, I tested 10 services like Mailchimp, each on a named plan (Sender Standard, Omnisend Standard, Brevo Standard, Klaviyo Email, GetResponse Starter, Kit Creator, Constant Contact Standard, ActiveCampaign Starter, Moosend Pro and MailerLite Comfort) with the same 1,000-contact list.
I then priced each one at 1,000, 2,500, 10,000, 25,000, and 50,000 contacts on monthly billing, checked in October 2026.
At 10,000 contacts, Sender costs $69 a month, 49% less than Mailchimp, and Moosend and MailerLite cost about a third less. Klaviyo, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, and Kit cost more than Mailchimp at that size. Sender, Brevo, Omnisend, Klaviyo and MailerLite include some automation on their free plans; Mailchimp’s has none. For a wider field, see our roundup of email marketing services.
Why People Leave Mailchimp (With Real Numbers)
People comparing Mailchimp with other email marketing services usually cite three changes: higher prices at mid-size lists, billing that counts contacts you no longer email, and a free plan cut to 250 contacts with no automation. The Mailchimp pricing figures come from its own pricing page (checked October 2026) and labeled third-party sources.
The Pricing Escalation Problem
At 10,000 contacts, Mailchimp Standard costs $135/mo, Sender Standard $69 (49% less) and MailerLite Comfort $89 (34% less; EmailToolTester, August 2026); Brevo bills by emails sent instead. EmailToolTester (third-party, March 2026) also reported an 11–13% increase for pre-May 2019 accounts from April 13, 2026.
Mailchimp Standard Plan Monthly Price by List Size
Mailchimp Standard costs $45/mo at 1,000 contacts and $135 at 10,000, priced in contact bands rather than per contact. Ranges and prices come from mailchimp.com/pricing, checked in October 2026.
| Contacts | Mailchimp Standard (monthly) |
| 0–500 | $20 |
| 501–1,500 | $45 |
| 1,501–2,500 | $60 |
| 2,501–5,000 | $100 |
| 5,001–10,000 | $135 |
| 20,001–25,000 | $310 |
| 40,001–50,000 | $450 |
The steepest step is the first one: passing 500 contacts moves you from $20 to $45 a month, a 125% jump for 1,000 extra contacts. From 5,001 to 10,000 contacts, you pay $135, and at 25,000 you pay $310.
Each band is priced for the top of its range, so a 2,600-contact list pays the same $100 as a 5,000-contact list. Smaller lists also get no annual discount, since it starts at 10,000 contacts. Our Mailchimp pricing breakdown covers Essentials and Premium as well.
The Contact-Counting Problem, Explained Concretely
Mailchimp bills on every contact stored in your audience. Subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts all count, and so does the same address held in two audiences. Archived, cleaned and deleted contacts don’t count.
A list of 3,000 subscribers, 400 unsubscribed contacts and 200 non-subscribed contacts is billed as 3,600. Archiving is manual, and the interface doesn’t prompt you to do it, so many users only notice after their price band has changed, which makes email marketing costs on Mailchimp hard to predict.
Other platforms count differently. MailerLite bills on active subscribers, and unsubscribed or bounced contacts don’t count (mailerlite.com/pricing, checked October 2026). Brevo doesn’t bill by contacts at all; it bills by emails sent each month.
Sender sizes every plan, including the free plan, by active subscribers, so unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-reporting contacts drop out of the count.
The Free Plan Degradation Timeline
Mailchimp’s free plan has shrunk from 2,000 contacts and 10,000 emails a month in 2022 to 250 contacts and 500 sends in 2026, with no automation. Each revision removed something the previous version included.
| Year | Mailchimp Free plan |
| 2019 | Up to 2,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month, single-step automations, landing pages, basic segmentation |
| 2022 | Up to 2,000 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, scheduling removed (January 2022), Mailchimp branding on all sends |
| 2023–2024 | 500 contacts, 1,000 emails/month, automations removed, no A/B testing, no scheduling, Mailchimp branding |
| 2026 (current) | 250 contacts, 500 sends/month, 250 sends/day, no automations, no A/B testing, email support for the first 30 days |
A business that joined the Mailchimp free plan in 2021 with 2,000 contacts now gets 250, an 87.5% cut. Monthly sends fell from 10,000 in 2022 to 500, with a new cap of 250 sends a day, so a full 250-contact list can receive only two campaigns a month before the account hits its limit.
Mailchimp also retired its Classic Automation Builder. Existing classic workflows, including welcome flows, reminders, and win-backs, stopped running and had to be rebuilt by hand in the newer builder, and the current free plan has no automation at all.
How We Evaluated Each Platform
Hands-on testing ran from July to September 2026, with each platform on its entry-level paid plan or the tier closest to Mailchimp’s Essentials plan.
All ten used a standardized 1,000-contact list that had interacted with a newsletter in the last 90 days; no contacts were purchased or scraped. For Omnisend and Klaviyo, we connected that list to a Shopify test store so cart and purchase triggers could fire.
| Platform | Plan tested |
| Sender | Standard |
| Omnisend | Standard + Shopify test store |
| Brevo | Free, then Standard |
| Klaviyo | Email + Shopify test store |
| GetResponse | Starter, then Marketer |
| Kit | Creator |
| Constant Contact | Standard |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter |
| Moosend | Pro |
| MailerLite | Comfort |
What we evaluated: the email builder; automation depth (trigger types, conditional logic, branching); list and segment management; forms and landing pages; deliverability; support responsiveness on the entry-level plan; customer reviews; and the pricing model.
Deliverability: In February and March 2026, we ran GlockApps seed tests in-house, sending identical plain-text and HTML emails from a warmed domain with no spam history and recording inbox placement across Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail, then cross-checked spam placement and domain reputation against EmailToolTester benchmarks. One test period; inbox placement varies with sender reputation and list quality.
Ratings: Overall rating = average of G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot scores, checked October 2026. For sentiment, we read patterns across many recent reviews on those sites and Reddit, weighing positive and negative feedback equally.
Pricing: Monthly list prices in USD, checked October 2026 unless a third-party source is named, at 1,000, 2,500, 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000 contacts. Annual discounts are noted separately; check each pricing page before you buy.
Not tested: enterprise features (SSO, dedicated IPs, custom SLAs), SMS at volume, and transactional email beyond basic SMTP. This review is for SMBs, creators and agencies with lists up to 50,000 contacts.
Where your data is stored: Sender, Brevo, MailerLite and Moosend host customer data in the EU; ActiveCampaign assigns accounts to US, EU or APAC data centers; GetResponse’s privacy policy places processing mainly in the EEA; Klaviyo and Constant Contact store data in the US; Omnisend and Kit name no hosting region.
Capterra, G2, Trustpilot, and Reddit to create an objective evaluation. Learn more about our review methodology
Mailchimp Competitors at a Glance
Across the 10 Mailchimp alternatives in this table, monthly prices at 1,000 contacts run from $15 (Sender) to $55 (Constant Contact). It excludes enterprise suites such as HubSpot Marketing Hub, which are priced for a different buyer.
| Platform | Best for | Not ideal for | Price at 1,000 contacts (monthly list) | Free plan/trial | SMS | Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026) |
| Sender | Ecommerce and SaaS teams under 50,000 contacts that need behavioral automation | Teams that need a built-in CRM | $15 | 2,500 contacts + 14-day Pro plan trial | From Standard | 98.1% |
| Omnisend | Shopify and WooCommerce stores that want prebuilt ecommerce flows | Service businesses and creators without a product catalog | $20 | 250 contacts | Not on Free; off Standard for new accounts since May 2026; paid credits on Pro | 91.3% |
| Brevo | Large lists with low send frequency | Frequent senders with small lists | $35 (4 emails per contact) | 100,000 contacts | All plans; credits sold separately | 94.2% |
| Klaviyo | Shopify stores that use predictive analytics | Newsletters, B2B and budget-led teams | $30 | 250 profiles | Separate SMS plan, billed per message | 94.8% |
| GetResponse | SMBs that want landing pages, webinars and email in one tool | Teams that need several automations on the entry plan | $19 | No (14-day trial) | Enterprise plans only | 91.8% |
| Kit | Creators selling digital products and paid newsletters | Ecommerce and design-heavy brands | $39 | 10,000 subscribers (no email sends) + 14-day trial | Listed on Creator and Pro | Not in our test |
| Constant Contact | Nonprofits and event organizers | Cost-sensitive teams | $55 | No (30-day trial) | Add-on from $10/mo (US); 500/mo on Premium | 90.2% |
| ActiveCampaign | B2B teams building multi-branch automation | Beginners and budget teams above 5,000 contacts | $19 (Starter) | No (14-day trial) | Paid add-on | 93.5% |
| Moosend | Budget teams that want automation on the only paid plan | Teams that need SMS or a free plan | $16 | No (30-day trial) | No native SMS | 90.1% |
| MailerLite | Creators and small businesses that want an editor, landing pages and a website | Teams that need CRM features or SMS | $19 | 250 subscribers + 14-day premium trial | No | 95.7% |
Inbox placement: our GlockApps seed tests, February–March 2026; Mailchimp scored 89.5% in the same test.
10 Mailchimp Alternatives Reviewed
Each review covers what the platform does better than Mailchimp, where Mailchimp still leads, who should skip it, and a direct price comparison at four list sizes. The order is not a ranking: each tool fits a different use case, list size, and budget, so the right pick depends on which of those matters most to you.
Sender
Sender is the lowest-priced plan in this roundup at 1,000, 2,500, and 10,000 contacts, and its free plan runs automation for up to 2,500 subscribers; the trade-offs are fewer native integrations and no AI writing, send-time, or predictive features.
Best for: ecommerce and SaaS teams under 50,000 contacts that need behavioral automation.
Not for: teams that need a built-in CRM or native Salesforce sync.
- Price: Standard $15/mo at 1,000 subscribers (12,000 emails), $39 at 5,000, $69 at 10,000, $149 at 25,000, and $259 at 50,000. Professional from $15/mo at 500 ($20 at 1,000). Details on Sender’s pricing page.
- Free plan / trial: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month. Every new account also gets a 14-day Professional trial, no credit card (sender.net/pricing, checked October 2026).
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 98.1%
I tested Sender Standard with our 1,000-contact list, building welcome, abandoned cart, and re-engagement automations and sending a weekly newsletter. Automation with branching, segmentation, transactional email, and 24/7 email and live chat support are on every plan, including Free. A/B testing starts on Standard.
The feature I used most was custom events. You track specific actions on your site or app, such as “Watched 50% of a Video” or “Renewed Subscription,” and send that data to Sender in real time; each event can trigger a workflow or build a behavioral segment in the automation builder.
Sender also runs an MCP server on every plan, including Free, which connects AI assistants to your Sender account through Model Context Protocol. SMS campaigns start on Standard with credits bought separately; Professional includes free SMS credits equal to the monthly fee and adds a dedicated IP on 20,000+ subscriber plans.
Mailchimp vs Sender: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Sender (Standard) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $15/mo | $45/mo | $360 |
| 2,500 | $27/mo | $60/mo | $396 |
| 10,000 | $69/mo | $135/mo | $792 |
| 25,000 | $149/mo | $310/mo | $1,932 |
Where Sender Beats Mailchimp
Sender costs less at every size we priced: $792 a year less at 10,000 contacts. The free plan holds 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month with automation and branching; Mailchimp Free holds 250 contacts and 500 sends with no automation.
Plan limits count active subscribers, so unsubscribed contacts drop out. Transactional email is included on every plan, while Mailchimp sells it as a paid add-on.
Where Mailchimp Beats Sender
Mailchimp has features Sender doesn’t: predicted analytics (lifetime value, purchase likelihood), send-time optimization, an AI email writing assistant, multivariate testing on Premium, and comparative reporting.
Sender offers A/B testing only. Mailchimp lists 300+ integrations; Sender connects natively to Shopify, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop but reaches Salesforce and HubSpot only through Zapier. Reports by inbox provider require Sender Professional or Enterprise.
Who Should Skip Sender
Teams that run sales from a CRM: Sender has no built-in CRM or deal pipeline. Skip it too if you send WhatsApp or web push messages (Brevo and Omnisend do), or sell digital products or paid newsletter subscriptions from your email tool (Kit and MailerLite do). The free plan carries Sender branding and one user seat.
even on the free plan.
Omnisend
Omnisend gives Shopify and WooCommerce stores prebuilt ecommerce flows you switch on instead of building, and it costs less than Mailchimp at every size we priced; SMS now costs extra.
Best for: Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores that want prebuilt cart, browse, and post-purchase flows.
Not for: service businesses, creators or B2B teams without a product catalog.
- Price: Standard $20/mo at 1,000 contacts, $44 at 2,500, $132 at 10,000, and $282 at 25,000.
- Free plan / trial: 250 contacts and 500 emails/month, automation included, no SMS.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 91.3%
I tested Omnisend Standard with our 1,000-contact list connected to a Shopify test store, focusing on the prebuilt welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, and post-purchase workflows.
They connect to the catalogs of major ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce) and pull product images and prices into templates automatically. The Customer Lifecycle Map sorts contacts into groups such as champions, at-risk and lost based on purchase patterns.
Two billing details matter. Free has no SMS, Standard lost it for new subscribers on 4 May 2026, and Pro no longer includes SMS credits, which turns SMS campaigns into an added line item. Omnisend also bills for all active profiles, including non-subscribers and abandoned cart contacts, which can inflate costs on larger online stores.
Mailchimp vs Omnisend: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Omnisend (Standard) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $20/mo | $45/mo | $300 |
| 2,500 | $44/mo | $60/mo | $192 |
| 10,000 | $132/mo | $135/mo | $36 |
| 25,000 | $282/mo | $310/mo | $336 |
Where Omnisend Beats Mailchimp
Omnisend’s prebuilt ecommerce workflows took less setup in my test than building the same automations in Mailchimp. The Customer Lifecycle Map segments by purchase behavior without manual tagging, and native ecommerce integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce pull product data straight into templates.
The free plan includes automation; Mailchimp’s doesn’t. Omnisend is $300 a year cheaper at 1,000 contacts.
Where Mailchimp Beats Omnisend
Mailchimp nearly matches Omnisend on price as lists grow: the gap is $3 a month at 10,000 contacts, or $36 a year. Mailchimp fits a wider range of businesses, while Omnisend’s segmentation, ecommerce templates and workflows assume purchase data. Mailchimp’s content studio and template library are also larger.
Who Should Skip Omnisend
Omnisend doesn’t suit non-ecommerce businesses. B2B companies, content creators and SaaS teams don’t need its ecommerce tools and will get more from Sender, GetResponse or Kit. Skip it too if you rely on SMS marketing: with SMS off Standard and out of Pro’s included credits, running email and SMS together costs more than it did before May 2026.
Brevo
Brevo is the cheapest option in this roundup at 25,000 contacts if you send about four emails per contact monthly, because it bills by emails sent, not contacts; frequent senders with small lists pay more than on Mailchimp.
- Best for: businesses with large lists and low send frequency that want SMS and WhatsApp too.
Not for: teams emailing a list under 10,000 contacts more than four times a month. - Price: Standard $35/mo for 10,000 emails, $65 for 20,000, $75 for 40,000 and $129 for 100,000 (EmailToolTester, August 2026, third-party).
- Free plan / trial: up to 100,000 contacts and 300 emails/day, with automation for up to 2,000 contacts.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 94.2%
I tested Brevo’s Free and Standard plans with our 1,000-contact list across email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns. Automation on Free and Starter covers up to 2,000 contacts; unlimited automation starts on Standard (help.brevo.com, checked September 2026). The built-in CRM adds deal tracking and contact timelines.
You manage customer communication across email, SMS, WhatsApp and web push notifications from one contact record, the setup multichannel marketing relies on. The 5,000-email Starter and Standard tiers store up to 500 contacts, so a larger list needs a higher email tier, which raises the effective cost. Removing Brevo branding on Starter costs $9/mo excluding tax.
Mailchimp vs Brevo: monthly list price at 4 emails per contact, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Brevo (Standard) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $35/mo | $45/mo | $120 |
| 2,500 | $65/mo | $60/mo | −$60 |
| 10,000 | $75/mo | $135/mo | $720 |
| 25,000 | $129/mo | $310/mo | $2,172 |
Where Brevo Beats Mailchimp
At 25,000 contacts sending four emails each a month, Brevo Standard ($129/mo) costs $2,172/year less than Mailchimp Standard ($310/mo). A free account stores up to 100,000 contacts at 300 emails a day. SMS, WhatsApp, and web push run from one contact record, and the CRM is included.
Where Mailchimp Beats Brevo
At 2,500 contacts and four emails each, Brevo Standard ($65/mo) costs $60/year more than Mailchimp Standard ($60/mo). Mailchimp offers predicted analytics (lifetime value, purchase likelihood) and a larger template library, and automation on Brevo Free and Starter stops at 2,000 contacts.
Who Should Skip Brevo
Brevo’s pricing works against frequent senders: if you email under 10,000 contacts more than four times a month, the bill can exceed Mailchimp’s contact-based pricing. Skip it too if you need automation on a large list from a lower tier, since unlimited automation starts on Standard.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo adds predictive analytics and order-level revenue attribution for Shopify stores on every paid plan; from 10,000 profiles up it costs more than Mailchimp, and its features assume ecommerce data.
Best for: Shopify stores with enough order history to use predictive segments and revenue attribution.
Not for: newsletters, B2B teams and budget-led SMBs.
- Price: Email plan $30/mo at 1,000 active profiles, $60 at 2,500, $150 at 10,000 and $400 at 25,000.
- Free plan / trial: 250 active profiles and 500 emails/month, with up to 3 automated messages live at once.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 94.8%
I tested Klaviyo’s Email plan with our 1,000-contact list connected to a Shopify test store, focusing on predictive analytics, flow branching and revenue attribution. Predictive analytics forecast lifetime value, churn risk and next order date for each contact. Flows branch on purchase history, browse behavior and predicted metrics, which supports customer segmentation by value.
Revenue attribution ties emails and SMS messages to specific orders. Klaviyo bills by active profiles, and any profile with at least one interaction counts, so costs can rise during peak seasons. At 10,000 profiles the Email plan costs $15 a month more than Mailchimp Standard; at 25,000 it costs $90 a month more.
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Klaviyo (Email) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $30/mo | $45/mo | $180 |
| 2,500 | $60/mo | $60/mo | $0 |
| 10,000 | $150/mo | $135/mo | −$180 |
| 25,000 | $400/mo | $310/mo | −$1,080 |
Where Klaviyo Beats Mailchimp
Klaviyo includes predictive analytics (lifetime value, churn risk, next order date) on every paid plan; Mailchimp limits predictive analytics to Standard and above.
Revenue attribution ties each send to specific orders with multi-touch reporting, flows support more branching conditions, and the Shopify integration syncs catalog, order history and browse events in real time. At 1,000 profiles, Klaviyo is $15 a month cheaper.
Where Mailchimp Beats Klaviyo
Mailchimp costs $180 a year less than Klaviyo at 10,000 contacts and $1,080 a year less at 25,000; at 2,500 both cost $60/mo. Mailchimp serves non-ecommerce businesses too, while Klaviyo’s features assume ecommerce data. Mailchimp’s template library is larger, and its editor gives more design control for brand-heavy campaigns.
Who Should Skip Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a poor fit for non-ecommerce businesses and budget-conscious SMBs. Its Email plan goes from $150 a month at 10,000 profiles to $400 at 25,000, and B2B companies, newsletter publishers and SaaS teams would pay for advanced ecommerce features they can’t use. If you want affordable pricing for general email marketing, Sender or MailerLite fit better.
GetResponse
GetResponse bundles unlimited landing pages, webinars and a website builder into one subscription instead of separate tools and costs less than Mailchimp at every size we priced; the catch is that Starter allows one automation workflow and no A/B testing.
- Best for: SMBs that want landing pages, webinars and email marketing in one tool.
Not for: teams that need several automations on the entry plan. - Price: Starter $19/mo at 1,000 contacts, $29 at 2,500, $79 at 10,000 and $174 at 25,000; Marketer $69/mo at 1,000.
- Free plan / trial: no free plan; 14-day free trial.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 91.8%
I tested GetResponse on Starter, then on Marketer, because Starter limits you to one automation workflow and no A/B testing. Marketer unlocks the marketing automation features Starter lacks (unlimited automations, contact scoring and A/B testing), and I used scoring-to-suppression workflows to suppress low-engagement contacts automatically.
Landing pages are unlimited on all plans, with landing page A/B testing included, so a lead magnet page and its signup form don’t push you to a higher tier.
Other tools in this roundup include email A/B testing on entry-level paid plans (MailerLite Comfort, Sender Standard), so the Starter-to-Marketer jump is the main cost to plan for. GetResponse’s predicted demographics estimate each subscriber’s age range and gender, which you can use as segment conditions.
Mailchimp vs GetResponse: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | GetResponse (Starter) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $19/mo | $45/mo | $312 |
| 2,500 | $29/mo | $60/mo | $372 |
| 10,000 | $79/mo | $135/mo | $672 |
| 25,000 | $174/mo | $310/mo | $1,632 |
Where GetResponse Beats Mailchimp
GetResponse Starter costs less than Mailchimp Standard at every size we priced, $1,632 a year less at 25,000 contacts. Landing pages are unlimited on all plans, and webinars come built in, which no other tool in this roundup includes. Contact scoring and suppression workflows on Marketer keep inactive contacts out of sends without manual list cleaning.
Where Mailchimp Beats GetResponse
Mailchimp has a free plan; GetResponse offers only a 14-day free trial. Mailchimp’s predicted analytics estimate lifetime value and purchase likelihood, while GetResponse’s predicted demographics estimate age and gender. Mailchimp’s editor and template library offer more design options, and it lists more native integrations.
Who Should Skip GetResponse
GetResponse is the wrong pick for teams that want automation without paying for Marketer. One workflow on Starter covers a welcome series and little else. If you need automation for free, Sender’s free plan covers 2,500 subscribers. And if you only need core email marketing features rather than a digital marketing suite, you’d pay for bundled webinars and landing pages you won’t use.
Kit
Kit is built for creators who sell to their list: a 10,000-subscriber free plan, tag-based subscriber management and commerce tools for digital products and paid newsletters; automations require the $39/mo Creator plan, and the editor favors text over design.
Best for: creators and paid-newsletter publishers who sell digital products to their subscribers.
Not for: ecommerce brands and teams that send design-heavy campaigns.
- Price: Creator $39/mo at 1,000 subscribers, $59 at 3,000, $139 at 10,000 and $199 at 25,000 (kit.com/pricing, checked October 2026).
- Free plan / trial: 10,000 subscribers with landing pages and forms but no automations; 14-day trial.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): not tested; Kit joined this roundup later.
I tested Kit Creator with our 1,000-contact list, focusing on tag-based contact management, the Creator Network and commerce tools. Kit uses one list with tags instead of separate lists, so a subscriber never appears twice. The Creator Network lets Kit users recommend each other’s newsletters, and commerce tools sell digital products, paid newsletters and subscriptions to tagged segments.
Kit’s pricing rose in 2025, when Creator went from $29 to $39 at 1,000 subscribers. Sequences and visual automations need Creator, since the free plan has none as of September 2026. For more publishing-first tools, see our roundup of newsletter platforms.
Mailchimp vs Kit: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Kit (Creator) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $39/mo | $45/mo | $72 |
| 2,500 | $59/mo | $60/mo | $12 |
| 10,000 | $139/mo | $135/mo | −$48 |
| 25,000 | $199/mo | $310/mo | $1,332 |
Where Kit Beats Mailchimp
Kit’s free plan covers 10,000 subscribers; Mailchimp’s covers 250. At 25,000 subscribers, Creator ($199/mo) costs $1,332 a year less than Mailchimp Standard. Tags remove duplicate subscribers, whereas Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts until you archive them. The Creator Network gives you built-in cross-promotion with no Mailchimp equivalent.
Where Mailchimp Beats Kit
Mailchimp’s editor supports richer visual designs, and its template library has more design-led options; Kit’s text-forward editor limits brand-heavy campaigns. Mailchimp is cheaper at 10,000 contacts ($135 vs $139/mo), its predicted analytics have no Kit equivalent, and it suits a wider range of business types.
Who Should Skip Kit
Kit isn’t built for ecommerce businesses, B2B teams or anyone who relies on visual, brand-heavy campaigns. Teams that want automation without paying should also look elsewhere, since Kit’s free tier has none. If you need conditional branching on purchase data or A/B testing beyond subject lines, Sender, Omnisend or Mailchimp fit better.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact suits nonprofits and event organizers who want RSVP tools and phone support in their email plan; it costs more than Mailchimp at every size we priced except 25,000, and branching automation requires Premium.
Best for: nonprofits and event-driven organizations that send invitations and track RSVPs.
Not for: cost-sensitive teams or anyone who needs branching automation on a mid-tier plan.
- Price: Standard $55/mo at 1,000 contacts, $75 at 2,500, $160 at 10,000 and $310 at 25,000.
- Free plan / trial: no free plan; 30-day trial with 100 sends.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 90.2%
I tested Constant Contact Standard with our 1,000-contact list, focusing on the campaign builder, automation and event email marketing tools. Invitations, RSVPs and attendee tracking are built in, the onboarding flow walks you through the first campaign, and the drag-and-drop email editor has a large template library.
Standard’s basic automation covers welcome series, birthday emails and re-engagement sequences. Advanced features (conditional branching and dynamic content) require Premium, so branching costs more here than on competitors’ mid-tier plans.
Mailchimp vs Constant Contact: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Constant Contact (Standard) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $55/mo | $45/mo | −$120 |
| 2,500 | $75/mo | $60/mo | −$180 |
| 10,000 | $160/mo | $135/mo | −$300 |
| 25,000 | $310/mo | $310/mo | $0 |
Where Constant Contact Beats Mailchimp
Constant Contact includes event management (invitations, RSVPs, attendee tracking) on every plan; Mailchimp has no equivalent. It also includes social posting and ad management. Phone support comes with Standard; Mailchimp reserves it for Premium, which starts at $350/mo.
Where Mailchimp Beats Constant Contact
Mailchimp is cheaper than Constant Contact at 1,000, 2,500 and 10,000 contacts ($45 vs $55 at 1,000; $135 vs $160 at 10,000 and 50,000 ($450 vs $460); both cost $310 at 25,000. Mailchimp has a free plan; Constant Contact doesn’t. Mailchimp’s automation is more flexible on Standard, and its integration list is broader.
Who Should Skip Constant Contact
Budget-conscious teams should skip Constant Contact: it costs more than Mailchimp at every size we priced except 25,000, and Standard automation has no branching. If you need conditional workflows without Premium pricing, Sender, Brevo and MailerLite include them on lower-priced or free plans. Its SMS add-on is also US-only.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign’s builder combines conditional branching, if/else logic, wait steps and goal tracking, and Starter undercuts Mailchimp at 1,000 and 2,500 contacts; above 10,000 contacts you must move to Plus, which costs $489/mo (monthly) at 25,000.
Best for: B2B teams building advanced automation workflows tied to a CRM pipeline.
Not for: beginners and budget teams with lists above 5,000 contacts.
- Price: Starter $19/mo (monthly) at 1,000 contacts, $49/mo (monthly) at 2,500 and $189/mo (monthly) at 10,000; Plus $489/mo (monthly) at 25,000.
- Free plan / trial: no free plan; 14-day trial with 100 sends.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 93.5%
I tested ActiveCampaign Starter with our 1,000-contact list, focusing on the automation builder, conditional logic and CRM integration. Workflows combine conditional branching, if/else logic, wait steps and goal tracking, so contacts follow different paths by behavior. Starter includes email campaigns, forms, landing pages and 1,000+ integrations.
Starter isn’t offered above 10,000 contacts, so larger lists move to Plus, which adds sales automation through the CRM deal pipeline and contact scoring, and that jump makes ActiveCampaign expensive at scale.
Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | ActiveCampaign (plan) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $19/mo (Starter) | $45/mo | $312 |
| 2,500 | $49/mo (Starter) | $60/mo | $132 |
| 10,000 | $189/mo (Starter) | $135/mo | −$648 |
| 25,000 | $489/mo (Plus) | $310/mo | −$2,148 |
Where ActiveCampaign Beats Mailchimp
ActiveCampaign Starter costs less than Mailchimp Standard at 1,000 contacts ($19 vs $45/mo, monthly and 2,500 ($49 vs $60/mo, monthly). The builder supports deeper automation than Mailchimp’s Customer Journeys, with conditional logic, if/else branching and goal tracking. Plus adds sales tools: a CRM with a deal pipeline and contact scoring for lead management.
Where Mailchimp Beats ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp costs less at scale: $648 a year less than Starter at 10,000 contacts ($135 vs $189/mo, monthly) and $2,148 a year less than Plus at 25,000 ($310 vs $489/mo, monthly). Mailchimp has a free plan; ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day trial capped at 100 sends.
Who Should Skip ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign doesn’t fit budget-conscious teams above 5,000 contacts: prices rise quickly, and Starter stops at 10,000 contacts. For multi-step automation at that size, Sender ($69/mo at 10,000) and MailerLite ($89/mo) cost less; GetResponse needs Marketer for 2+ workflows.
Moosend
Moosend puts workflows, conditional logic and prebuilt automation recipes on its one self-serve plan and costs less than Mailchimp at every size we priced; there is no free plan, no native SMS, and transactional email is an add-on.
Best for: budget-led teams that want automation on the lowest paid tier.
Not for: teams that need a free plan, SMS or a large integration list.
- Price: Pro $16/mo at 1,000 contacts, $32 at 3,000, $88 at 10,000 and $160 at 25,000.
- Free plan / trial: no free plan; 30-day trial capped at 1,000 contacts.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 90.1%
I tested Moosend Pro with our 1,000-contact list, focusing on the automation builder, prebuilt recipes and reporting. Where GetResponse and Mailchimp gate email automation behind higher tiers, Moosend includes workflows, conditional logic and prebuilt automation recipes from day one: welcome sequences, abandoned carts, upsells and re-engagement, each customizable.
Real-time analytics, spam testing and an image editor are included, along with landing pages and subscription forms. Transactional email, a dedicated IP and extra team members are paid add-ons (moosend.com, checked October 2026).
Mailchimp vs Moosend: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | Moosend (Pro) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $16/mo | $45/mo | $348 |
| 2,500 | $32/mo | $60/mo | $336 |
| 10,000 | $88/mo | $135/mo | $564 |
| 25,000 | $160/mo | $310/mo | $1,800 |
Where Moosend Beats Mailchimp
Moosend costs less at every size: Pro ($88/mo) saves $564 a year over Mailchimp Standard at 10,000 contacts, and the gap reaches $1,800 a year at 25,000. Its automation tools have no tier restrictions, and prebuilt recipes cut setup time for common workflows.
Where Mailchimp Beats Moosend
Mailchimp has a free plan; Moosend doesn’t. Mailchimp offers predicted analytics, a larger template library and a broader integration list, and its reporting adds audience insights and comparative reports that Moosend’s reports don’t include.
Who Should Skip Moosend
Moosend isn’t an option for teams that need a free plan to start, native SMS or a wide integration ecosystem. Startups testing email for the first time have to pay after 30 days. For extensive integrations or deeper analytics, Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign fit better.
MailerLite
MailerLite gives creators and small businesses a drag-and-drop editor, landing pages and a website builder on every plan, bills only for active subscribers, and costs about a third less than Mailchimp at 10,000 contacts; the free plan is down to 250 subscribers with community support, and A/B testing starts on Comfort.
Best for: creators and small businesses that want an email editor, landing pages and a website in one tool.
Not for: teams that need CRM features or SMS.
- Price: Comfort $19/mo at 1,000 subscribers, $33 at 2,500, $89 at 10,000 and $179 at 25,000.
- Free plan / trial: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month and 3 automations; 14-day premium trial.
- Inbox placement (our GlockApps test, Feb–Mar 2026): 95.7%
I tested MailerLite Comfort with our 1,000-contact list, focusing on the email builder, automation workflows and landing page tools. The drag-and-drop builder and template library cover most campaign layouts, and a website builder and landing page creator come with every plan, including Free. A/B testing is listed under Comfort, not Free.
Billing counts active subscribers only; unsubscribed and bounced contacts don’t count (mailerlite.com/pricing, checked October 2026). Audience segmentation uses static groups and dynamic segments with custom fields and tags. Email verification isn’t built into the app, and Free support is community-only.
Mailchimp vs MailerLite: monthly list price, checked October 2026
| Contacts | MailerLite (Comfort) | Mailchimp Standard | Yearly difference |
| 1,000 | $19/mo | $45/mo | $312 |
| 2,500 | $33/mo | $60/mo | $324 |
| 10,000 | $89/mo | $135/mo | $552 |
| 25,000 | $179/mo | $310/mo | $1,572 |
Where MailerLite Beats Mailchimp
MailerLite costs less at every size: Comfort saves $552 a year over Mailchimp Standard at 10,000 contacts and $1,572 a year at 25,000. Billing counts active subscribers only, while Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts until you archive them. Landing pages, a website builder, and a blog builder come with the free plan, along with 3 automations that Mailchimp Free doesn’t offer.
Where Mailchimp Beats MailerLite
Mailchimp’s predicted analytics (lifetime value, purchase likelihood) have no MailerLite equivalent, its integration list is larger, and its reporting adds comparative reports and audience insights. Both free plans stop at 250 contacts, but Mailchimp’s includes more templates and design options.
Who Should Skip MailerLite
MailerLite won’t cover teams that need CRM features, advanced segmentation logic or multichannel marketing. It is an email marketing platform without SMS, and Free gets community support only. For CRM, look at ActiveCampaign; for email plus SMS, Sender or Brevo.
Mailchimp Competitors Price Comparison
Of the Mailchimp competitors here, Sender, Omnisend, GetResponse, Moosend and MailerLite cost less than Mailchimp at every list size from 1,000 to 50,000 contacts. Klaviyo, Constant Contact and ActiveCampaign cost more at both 10,000 and 50,000; Kit is $4 more at 10,000 but $111 less at 25,000.
Prices are monthly list prices in USD on each platform’s entry paid plan with automation, checked October 2026; annual discounts, where published, are in each review. Extra fees lists what raises the bill beyond list price.
| Platform (plan) | 1,000 | 2,500 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | Extra fees |
| Mailchimp (Standard) | $45 | $60 | $135 | $310 | $450 | Unsubscribed contacts billed until archived; SMS and transactional email extra |
| Sender (Standard) | $15 | $27 | $69 | $149 | $259 | SMS credits bought separately on Standard |
| Omnisend (Standard) | $20 | $44 | $132 | $282 | $413 | Non-subscriber profiles billed; SMS needs Pro plus paid credits |
| Brevo (Standard, 4 emails/contact) | $35 | $49 | $69 | $69 | $69 | Price rises with send volume |
| Klaviyo (Email) | $30 | $60 | $150 | $400 | $720 | Any profile with one interaction billed; SMS extra |
| GetResponse (Starter) | $19 | $29 | $79 | $174 | $299 | Marketer ($69 at 1,000) for 2+ automations |
| Kit (Creator) | $39 | $59 | $139 | $199 | $379 | No 2,500 tier; 1,001+ subscribers pay the 3,000 price |
| Constant Contact (Standard) | $55 | $75 | $160 | $310 | $460 | Premium needed for branching automation |
| ActiveCampaign (Starter / Plus) | $19 | $49 | $189 | $489 | $759 | Plus required above 10,000 contacts |
| Moosend (Pro) | $16 | $32 | $88 | $160 | $315 | Transactional email and dedicated IP extra |
| MailerLite (Comfort) | $19 | $33 | $89 | $179 | $319 | None for features tested |
The gap widens with list size: Sender vs Mailchimp is a $30 monthly difference at 1,000 contacts and $191 a month ($2,292 a year) at 50,000. For more providers, see our email marketing price comparison.
Best Free & Cheap Mailchimp Alternatives
Five of the free Mailchimp alternatives in this roundup include automation: Sender, Brevo, Omnisend, Klaviyo and MailerLite. Sender’s is the only one that pairs it with 2,500 contacts and 15,000 emails a month. Each free tier, checked October 2026:
| Platform | Contacts | Emails per month | Automation on free |
| Sender | 2,500 | 15,000 | Yes, with branching and custom events |
| Mailchimp | 250 | 500 (250 per day) | No |
| Brevo | 100,000 | 300 per day | Up to 2,000 contacts |
| Kit | 10,000 | Unlimited broadcasts | No |
| MailerLite | 250 | 2,500 | 3 automations |
| Omnisend | 250 | 500 | Yes |
| Klaviyo | 250 profiles | 500 | Up to 3 live automated messages |
Kit has a more generous free plan by volume (10,000 subscribers and unlimited emails) that covers basic email marketing, but it has no automation. Brevo stores up to 100,000 contacts but caps sending at 300 emails a day and automation at 2,000 contacts.
MailerLite cut its free plan to 250 subscribers in June 2026, the same size as Mailchimp’s, though MailerLite’s includes 3 automations. GetResponse, Moosend, Constant Contact and ActiveCampaign have no free plan available, only free trials.
Support on free plans differs as much as limits do. Sender and Omnisend offer 24/7 email and live chat to free users; Mailchimp gives free users email support for the first 30 days and Klaviyo for 60 days; MailerLite Free gets community support. For small business marketing teams setting up automations without a specialist, that gap matters more than an extra few hundred contacts.
Once your list outgrows free tiers, the cheapest email marketing services still save money. At 10,000 contacts, Sender Standard costs $69/mo, Moosend Pro $88 and MailerLite Comfort $89 (EmailToolTester, August 2026), between 34% and 49% less compared to Mailchimp Standard’s $135. Savings grow with list size: moving from Mailchimp Standard to Sender Standard at 25,000 contacts saves $1,932 a year.
Automation features at similar prices differ. Sender includes marketing automation on every plan, Free included, and Moosend includes it on its only paid plan. MailerLite adds A/B testing on Comfort. Brevo’s price advantage shows up only at larger lists with low send frequency, because its tiers are set by email volume.
Best Mailchimp Alternatives by Use Case
- Ecommerce (Shopify/WooCommerce): Omnisend or Klaviyo. Either works as a Mailchimp alternative for ecommerce email marketing because both run on store and order data. Both fit standard email marketing for Shopify setups.
- Nonprofits: Constant Contact, which combines event marketing (invitations, RSVP tracking), promotional email and social media tools in one dashboard, with phone support on Standard. MailerLite is the lower-cost option, with a 30% nonprofit discount. See our page on email marketing for nonprofits.
- WordPress users: Sender, with a native WordPress and WooCommerce plugin and a free plan that includes automation and custom events for up to 2,500 subscribers. Our guide to WordPress email marketing covers setup.
- Bloggers and creators: Kit, for its 10,000-subscriber free plan, the Creator Network and commerce tools for digital products and paid newsletters. Beehiiv, which we didn’t review this round, is the other option if ad-network and referral monetization matter more to you than automation.
- Newsletters: MailerLite if you want a setup similar to Mailchimp with automation, landing pages and a website; Kit if paid subscriptions matter; Beehiiv for publishing-first newsletters where monetization tools matter more than automation depth.
- Best budget overall: Sender. Standard is the lowest contact-based price in this roundup at 1,000, 2,500 and 10,000 contacts ($15, $27 and $69), and the free plan includes automation, custom events and transactional email for 2,500 subscribers. At 25,000 contacts, Brevo costs less if you send about four emails per contact a month.
When Mailchimp Is Still the Better Choice
Switching email marketing software isn’t always worth it: Mailchimp stays the better choice if you depend on its 300+ integrations, need its reporting on higher tiers, or have fewer than 500 contacts.
- You depend on its 300+ integrations. If marketing tools you rely on connect natively to Mailchimp but not to the alternative, rebuilding that sync through Zapier adds cost and another point of failure. Check each alternative’s integrations page before you export anything.
- You need reporting depth on higher tiers. Mailchimp’s advanced reporting (comparative reports, audience insights and predicted analytics for lifetime value and purchase likelihood) goes beyond what Sender, MailerLite and Moosend report. Sender, for example, covers real-time campaign reports, click heatmaps and ecommerce reports, but not comparative benchmarks.
- Your list is under 500 contacts. Mailchimp Standard costs $20/mo at that size, and the free plan covers 250 contacts. Moving to Sender Standard ($9/mo at 500) saves $132 a year, which may not cover the hours it takes to rebuild your automations.
Migration Guide: How to Actually Leave Mailchimp
Leaving Mailchimp takes some planning. Lists and tags move quickly, but automations, templates and integrations need time to rebuild. Here’s what moves cleanly, what doesn’t, and what to do before you cancel.
What Migrates Easily
Across all ten platforms, these moved with little friction during our tests:
- Contact lists: every platform accepts Mailchimp’s CSV export. Standard fields (email, first name, last name, tags) import cleanly in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on list size.
- Tags: Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign and MailerLite handle tags natively. Custom fields may need remapping.
- GDPR and opt-in history: subscription dates are in the CSV, and most platforms accept an opt-in date field. Export it before you close the account.
The exception is saved segments, which don’t export. Record each segment’s logic (conditions, fields and date ranges) in a spreadsheet before you migrate, then rebuild the segments on the new platform.
What Requires Rebuilding
Two items take most of the migration time, and every integration you use needs a check.
- Automation workflows: Mailchimp’s flows export as visual diagrams, not importable files, so each one has to be rebuilt. Document every flow as trigger, step, delay, condition and action first. Expect 1–2 hours for a simple 3–5 email welcome sequence, 2–4 hours for a re-engagement flow with segmentation, and 4–8 hours for a multi-branch flow with 6+ steps and conditional logic.
- Email templates: HTML templates transfer with minimal changes. Drag-and-drop templates don’t, because their structure is proprietary; rebuilding one typically takes 1–3 hours.
- Integrations: check each one. Where the new platform has no native connection, a Zapier bridge is the usual workaround.
What to Do Before You Cancel Mailchimp
Most of these steps take under five minutes each. Skipping them can lose data you can’t recover after the account closes.
- Export all audiences as CSV with full fields.
- Document active automations (trigger, steps, timing, conditions).
- Export or screenshot campaign performance data.
- Download all templates as HTML.
- Record active integrations and API keys.
- Note your billing date and cancel after it, not before.
- Download compliance records (opt-in confirmations, list source notes).
- Screenshot audience settings and GDPR fields.
Mailchimp bills at the start of each cycle and doesn’t refund unused days, so time your cancellation to the end of a billing period.
Platforms That Offer Migration Assistance
Most entry-tier migrations are self-service. For complex automations, these platforms offer hands-on help:
- Sender: self-serve guides and 24/7 chat on every plan; free full-service migration on annual plans of 20,000+ subscribers (sender.net/migration/, October 2026). Step-by-step instructions are in our Mailchimp migration guide.
- ActiveCampaign: free one-to-one onboarding and migration help on Plus and above.
- Klaviyo: a migration guide and email support for new accounts, with dedicated onboarding on higher plans.
- Constant Contact: a dedicated onboarding specialist on Standard and Premium.
FAQs
Short answers to the questions readers ask most when comparing Mailchimp competitors and other email marketing tools, based on the prices and test results above.
Less than most people expect. Lists, tags and HTML templates migrate cleanly. The harder parts are working automations, which you rebuild from scratch at roughly 1–8 hours per workflow; campaign performance history, which stays in Mailchimp; and integrations tied to Mailchimp’s API. Review the Intuit QuickBooks integration and any of Mailchimp’s 300+ connections you rely on before you cancel, and export the campaign reports you want to keep, because they can’t be imported elsewhere.
Yes, for the core move to most alternatives to Mailchimp. CSV export and import cost nothing and take 15–30 minutes. Rebuilding automations, templates and segments has no platform fee but takes time, roughly 1–8 hours per workflow, so start with the flows that drive revenue. Sender offers free full-service migration on annual plans of 20,000+ subscribers. ActiveCampaign (Plus and above), Klaviyo (new accounts) and Constant Contact (Standard and above) also offer free migration help.
In our GlockApps test (Feb–Mar 2026), Sender placed 98.1% of test emails in the inbox and MailerLite 95.7%, against Mailchimp’s 89.5%. Klaviyo recorded 94.8%, Brevo 94.2% and ActiveCampaign 93.5%. The test setup is described in How We Evaluated Each Platform.
Results depend on sender reputation, domain age and list hygiene, so a clean, engaged list on a lower-ranked platform can outperform a cold list on a higher one. Our guide to improving email deliverability covers the fixes.
On monthly list prices at 10,000 contacts (checked October 2026), the cheaper alternative to Mailchimp is Sender Standard at $69 against Mailchimp Standard’s $135. GetResponse ($79), Moosend ($88) and MailerLite ($89) follow (third-party, EmailToolTester, August 2026). Paid plans start at $9/mo for 500 contacts on both Sender and Moosend, the lowest entry price in this roundup. At 25,000 contacts, Brevo ($129 at four emails per contact) costs less than Sender ($149). If you don’t need paid features yet, Sender’s free plan covers 2,500 subscribers with automation.
Yes, several free plans cover email marketing automation. Sender’s free plan includes automation for up to 2,500 subscribers; Brevo (up to 2,000 contacts in automations), Omnisend and MailerLite (3 automations) also include limited automation on free plans. New Sender accounts also get a 14-day Professional trial with no card, which includes advanced automation. Klaviyo’s free plan also allows up to 3 live automated messages. Mailchimp’s free plan, by comparison, includes no automation at any list size.
Mailchimp costs more now because of contact-band pricing, billing for unsubscribed contacts and a smaller free plan. Standard is priced in contact bands, so passing 500 contacts takes you from $20 to $45 a month, and 10,000 contacts costs $135. Unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count toward those bands until you archive them. And the free plan now stops at 250 contacts and 500 sends, so businesses running regular email marketing campaigns move to a paid plan sooner.
Flodesk fits solopreneurs and small brands who want design-led templates and a short price list; Mailchimp fits businesses that need integrations, ecommerce automation and reporting. Flodesk retired flat-rate pricing for new members in December 2025, and plans now start at $25/mobile monthly ($19/mo belied annually) for up to 1,000 active subscribers (flodesk.com, checked October 2026), against Mailchimp Standard’s $45 at 1,000 contacts.
Whichever you choose, our complete email marketing guide covers everything from choosing a platform to building your first campaign, whether you’re coming from Mailchimp or starting fresh.