The best Mailchimp alternatives, compared honestly
Mailchimp is still a capable email platform — but since Intuit bought it, the free plan has been gutted (250 contacts as of January 2026), prices keep climbing, and it bills you for contacts you never email. In 2026 the alternatives are cheaper, more generous, and often better at one thing than Mailchimp is at everything.
The best Mailchimp alternative depends on what you need:
- Closest all-round replacement → MailerLite — clean, cheap ($12/mo), keeps automation on free.
- Best value / big or dormant list → Brevo — prices by emails sent, unlimited contacts.
- Creators & digital products → Kit (formerly ConvertKit).
- Newsletters → beehiiv (0% take rate). Ecommerce → Klaviyo.
- Cheapest & simplest → EmailOctopus (2,500 free subscribers).
Why people look elsewhere
What pushes people off Mailchimp
Mailchimp still works well. These are the honest, recurring reasons people go looking for something else — and most of them are about pricing and billing, not features.
The free plan got gutted
2,000 contacts (pre-2022) → 500 → just 250 contacts and 500 sends/month in Jan 2026. Automation was removed from free entirely.
Prices only go up
Since Intuit's ~$12B acquisition in 2021, pricing has risen ~5–10% a year — including an 11–13% hike for legacy accounts in April 2026.
You pay for dead weight
Mailchimp bills for unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts too. You must manually archive them or keep paying for people you can't email.
Hard limits, forced upgrades
Cross the contact cap and Mailchimp places a hold on sending until you upgrade or prune your list — mid-campaign, when it hurts most.
Paying for a suite you don't use
Under Intuit it's bundled with a website builder, CRM and appointments. If you just send a newsletter, you're subsidising features you'll never open.
Cost scales steeply
Essentials ~$13/mo and Standard ~$20/mo at 500 contacts look fine — but the bill climbs fast as your (inflated) contact count grows.
The shortlist
7 Mailchimp alternatives worth trying
Ranked for the typical "I want to leave Mailchimp" case — a capable email platform that's cheaper and more honest about billing. Your #1 may differ by use case; the badges say who each one is really for.
The closest like-for-like replacement: clean drag-and-drop editor, automation, landing pages and a website builder, for less money. Cheapest paid plan (Comfort) is ~$12/mo, and unlike Mailchimp it keeps automation on the free tier. Weakness: its free plan was also trimmed to 250 subscribers.
Prices by emails sent, not contacts stored — every paid plan has unlimited contacts, which kills Mailchimp's "pay for dead weight" problem. Free: 300 emails/day, up to 100k stored contacts; email + SMS + WhatsApp. Paid from $9/mo. Weakness: daily send cap on free, busier UI.
Formerly ConvertKit. Built for creators: the Creator Network, sell digital products and subscriptions, strong automation. Free Newsletter plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers. Weakness: it's plain-text-first, and the entry paid plan jumps to $33/mo.
Purpose-built for newsletters: 0% take rate on paid subscriptions, a built-in ad network, referrals and a website. Free Launch plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends. Weakness: newsletter-first — not a general marketing-automation or ecommerce tool.
The go-to for Shopify and WooCommerce: deep store integrations, event-driven flows, combined email + SMS. Free up to 250 profiles / 500 sends. Weakness: gets expensive fast as profiles grow, and it's overkill for a simple newsletter.
A no-frills, low-cost sender with a genuinely generous free tier: 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails/month, paid from ~$9/mo. Weakness: lighter automation and CRM than the bigger platforms — great if you want simple, less so if you want everything.
A long-standing small-business platform with events, surveys and real phone support. From ~$12/mo (Lite, 500 contacts). Weakness: no free plan (trial only), a dated interface, and it's also contact-based billing.
Side by side
Mailchimp alternatives compared
Mailchimp is included as the baseline. "Bills by" shows whether you pay for contacts stored or emails sent — the single biggest cost difference. Prices are indicative starting points; check each vendor for current terms.
| Platform | Free tier | Cheapest paid | Bills by | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp (baseline) | 250 contacts / 500 sends | ~$13/mo (Essentials) | Contacts (incl. unsubscribed) | The incumbent |
| MailerLite | 250 subs / 2,500 sends | ~$12/mo (Comfort) | Subscribers | Closest all-round swap |
| Brevo | 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts | $9/mo (Starter) | Emails sent | Big/dormant lists, SMS |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | 1,000 subscribers | $33/mo (Creator) | Subscribers | Creators, digital products |
| beehiiv | 2,500 subs, unlimited sends | ~$43/mo (Scale) | Subscribers | Newsletters, 0% take rate |
| Klaviyo | 250 profiles / 500 sends | ~$20/mo (scales) | Profiles | Shopify / ecommerce |
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 subs / 10k sends | ~$9/mo | Subscribers | Simple & cheap |
| Constant Contact | Trial only | ~$12/mo (Lite) | Contacts | SMB, events, phone support |
Pricing models and free tiers change often — check each vendor for current terms. Compiled July 2026 from each vendor's official pages.
Official pages: Mailchimp · MailerLite · Brevo · Kit · beehiiv · Klaviyo · EmailOctopus · Constant Contact
Head to head
Mailchimp vs each alternative, in detail
The switches people research most. Each page compares features, pricing and the billing model honestly.
Paying by emails sent instead of contacts stored — and what changes for a big or dormant list.
The closest like-for-like swap: same workflow, lower price, automation still on free.
The creator-first platform (formerly ConvertKit) — and where it beats Mailchimp for newsletters.
Guides
Answers to the most common Mailchimp questions
Short, honest guides for the situations people search for most.
A fair call
When Mailchimp is still the right choice
Switching isn't free of trade-offs. Here's when it's worth staying — and when it isn't.
Mailchimp is worth it if…
- You already run your website, CRM and appointments inside Mailchimp's suite.
- Your list is small enough that the free or Essentials plan comfortably fits.
- You value a familiar, polished editor and a huge integration catalogue.
- You use its send-time optimisation and reporting and don't want to relearn a tool.
Consider an alternative if…
- You're paying for unsubscribed contacts — Brevo bills by sends instead.
- You want the same workflow for less — MailerLite is the closest swap.
- You're a creator selling products — Kit or beehiiv are built for it.
- You just need a free, no-drama sender — EmailOctopus or Brevo.
Common questions
Mailchimp alternatives — common questions
What is the best free alternative to Mailchimp?
For a genuinely usable free tier, Brevo gives you unlimited stored contacts and 300 emails/day, EmailOctopus gives 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails/month, and beehiiv gives 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends for newsletters. All three are far more generous than Mailchimp's free plan, which was cut to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month in January 2026. See the best free alternatives guide.
Why did Mailchimp get more expensive?
Intuit acquired Mailchimp in 2021 for about $12 billion, and pricing has risen roughly 5–10% per year since, with an 11–13% increase for legacy accounts in April 2026. Mailchimp also bills for all contacts including unsubscribed and non-subscribed ones, so most accounts pay more than the listed price.
Does Mailchimp still have a free plan?
Yes, but it is much smaller than it used to be. In January 2026 the free plan was cut to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, and email automation was removed from it entirely. The original free plan supported 2,000 contacts and 10,000 sends. If you exceed 250 contacts, Mailchimp places a hold on sending until you upgrade.
What is the closest alternative to Mailchimp?
MailerLite is the closest like-for-like replacement for most small businesses: a clean drag-and-drop editor, automation, landing pages and a website builder, with the cheapest paid plan (Comfort) at about $12/month. For high-volume or large dormant lists, Brevo is better because it prices by emails sent and includes unlimited contacts.
Why does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?
Since 2023, Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward your plan limit. You have to manually archive unsubscribed contacts to stop being billed for them, so a list with a lot of inactive contacts costs the same as an all-active list of the same size. Brevo avoids this by pricing on emails sent, not contacts stored.
What is the best Mailchimp alternative for creators and newsletters?
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for creators, with the Creator Network, digital-product sales and strong automation; its free Newsletter plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers. beehiiv is purpose-built for newsletters with a 0% take rate on paid subscriptions, an ad network and a free tier up to 2,500 subscribers.
What is the best Mailchimp alternative for ecommerce?
Klaviyo, if you run a Shopify or WooCommerce store. It has deep store integrations, event-driven flows and combined email + SMS. The trade-off is cost: Klaviyo gets expensive as your profile count grows, so it is overkill for a simple newsletter.