Top Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026
- If you have a large contact list but send emails infrequently, choose Brevo. Brevo prices by how many emails you send each month, not by how many contacts you store, so a big, quiet list stays cheap.
- If you want the cheapest like-for-like swap for a small list, choose MailerLite. MailerLite matches Mailchimp's free-plus-paid-tier structure at a lower price, with unlimited sends and automations once you're on a paid plan.
- If you've hit Mailchimp's automation limits and want a built-in CRM, choose ActiveCampaign. its visual builder handles branching, multi-condition workflows that Mailchimp's lower tiers cap or omit, and a sales pipeline ships on paid plans.
- If you run a Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce store, choose Klaviyo. it automates around real purchase and browsing data instead of just email opens, which is the reason most ecommerce brands switch.
- If you're a solo creator or newsletter writer, choose Kit (ConvertKit). its free plan covers 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, far past Mailchimp's 250-contact free cap.
- If you're under 500 contacts and already rely on Mailchimp's Shopify or Wix integration and AI campaign tools, choose stay on Mailchimp. the free and Essentials plans cover a small list cheaply, and rebuilding your ecommerce tracking and AI workflows elsewhere costs more than the switch is worth.
Mailchimp is still the default starting point for email marketing, but its pricing is built on contact count, and the bill can jump sharply as your list grows even if you stay on the same plan. The free plan also shrank in February 2026, down to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
The six tools below all do the same core job as Mailchimp: build audiences, send campaigns, and automate follow-up messages. They split into a few real buying decisions: pricing model (by contacts, by email volume, or by profiles), how deep the automation and CRM go, and whether you sell products, run a store, or write a newsletter.
Mailchimp alternatives compared
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free option | Last update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrevoBest for large, infrequently-emailed lists | Small businesses and solo marketers who want email, SMS, and basic CRM without paying per contact | $9/mo | Yes | May 2026 |
| MailerLiteBest cheap direct swap | Small businesses and creators who want a free plan to start on and will grow into paid tiers | $12/seat/mo | Yes | June 2026 |
| ActiveCampaign | Small and mid-size businesses that want email marketing and marketing automation in one tool without stitching together separate apps | $15/seat/mo | Trial (14 days, no credit card required) | March 2026 |
| KlaviyoBest for ecommerce automation | Ecommerce brands that want email and SMS automation tied directly to store data like purchases, browsing, and cart activity | $20/mo | Yes | June 2026 |
| Kit (ConvertKit)Best for creators and newsletters | Solo creators, newsletter writers, and course or digital product sellers who want automation without hiring a marketing ops person | $39/seat/mo | Yes | June 2026 |
| Customer.io | Product and lifecycle marketing teams that trigger messages off in-app events rather than list imports | $100/mo | No | June 2026 |
Why teams switch from Mailchimp
Mailchimp's free plan shrank in February 2026
The free tier dropped to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day), down from the previous 500 contacts and 1,000 sends.
Price scales sharply with contact count within the same plan
Advertised starting prices assume a 500-contact list; the bill rises as your list grows even if you never upgrade tiers.
Automation is capped at 4 steps on the Essentials plan
Full branching automation flows require Standard or above.
Unsubscribed contacts still count against your plan limit
Subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts all count toward the contact cap unless you manually archive them.
The best Mailchimp alternatives, ranked
Brevo is the strongest overall swap for a Mailchimp user tired of contact-count pricing. It charges by how many emails you send each month, not by list size, so a large list you rarely message costs far less than it would on Mailchimp. The free plan includes email, SMS, WhatsApp, and a basic CRM, not just email, and every plan ships transactional email through an API, SMTP, and webhooks. Paid plans start at $9 a month for Starter, cheaper than Mailchimp's $13 Essentials plan, and annual billing cuts another 10% off. The tradeoff: the free and Starter plans keep the Brevo logo on your emails unless you pay extra to remove it, and full CRM and sales pipeline features are sold as a separate add-on rather than bundled in.
Pros
- + Pricing is based on email volume, not contact count, so large lists with low send frequency stay cheap
- + Free plan includes SMS, WhatsApp, and CRM access, not just email
- + Transactional email (API, SMTP, webhooks) is included on every plan, even the free one
Cons
- – The free and Starter plans still show the Brevo logo unless you pay extra to remove it
- – CRM and sales pipeline features are separate paid add-ons (Sales Essentials, Sales Advanced), not included in the core plans
MailerLite is the closest like-for-like swap for a small Mailchimp account. Both price by contact or subscriber count and both offer a real free plan, but MailerLite's paid tiers are cheaper: Comfort starts at $12 a month versus Mailchimp's $13 Essentials, and Power at $25 a month includes unlimited automations and unlimited seats, features Mailchimp reserves for pricier tiers. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, plus templates and an AI writing assistant now included at no extra cost. The catch: MailerLite cut its own free plan in June 2026, from 500 to 250 subscribers, so it is shrinking the same way Mailchimp's did. Large senders over 200,000 subscribers still need a custom Enterprise quote.
Pros
- + Comfort and Power plans include unlimited monthly email sends once you're on them
- + AI writing assistant and an AI-driven custom HTML editor are included on paid plans
- + Nonprofits get 30% off any paid plan
Cons
- – The free plan was cut in June 2026 from 500 to 250 subscribers and from 12,000 to 2,500 monthly emails
- – Free plan lists caps of 3 automations, 3 forms, 1 landing page, 1 website, and 1 digital product, though MailerLite won't enforce those limits until August 13, 2026
ActiveCampaign fits a Mailchimp user who has outgrown 4-step automations and wants a built-in CRM instead of stitching one on separately. Its visual automation builder handles branching, multi-condition workflows that Mailchimp's Essentials and Standard plans cap or omit, and the Pro and Enterprise tiers add a sales pipeline, predictive sending, and deeper segmentation. Pricing starts at $15 a month for Starter at 1,000 contacts billed annually, close to Mailchimp's Essentials price, but there is no free plan at all, only a 14-day trial. Contact-count thresholds re-price the whole plan as your list grows, the same complaint many Mailchimp users have, and since November 2025 new signups are billed on total contacts, including unsubscribed ones. Expect a steeper learning curve than Mailchimp.
Pros
- + Automation builder handles complex, branching workflows better than most email-only tools
- + CRM and sales pipeline are included on paid plans instead of requiring a separate purchase
- + Wide integration library, over 1,000 listed connections including e-commerce and ad platforms
Cons
- – No free forever plan, unlike Mailchimp, Brevo, or MailerLite
- – Pricing is contact-count based and jumps in large steps at each threshold, so renewal costs can rise sharply as a list grows
Klaviyo is the pick for a Mailchimp user running a Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce store who wants automation built around actual purchases and browsing, not just email opens. Every Email or Email+SMS tier gets the same core features, so upgrading is about list size, not unlocking functionality, unlike Mailchimp's plan-gated AI and segmentation tools. The free plan covers 250 active profiles with 500 emails and 150 SMS credits a month. Paid plans start at $20 a month, similar to Mailchimp's Standard tier, but Klaviyo bills on total active profiles rather than only the people you email, so a big, quiet list costs more than it would on Mailchimp. Newer features like Customer Hub and Helpdesk are sold as separate paid add-ons.
Pros
- + Deep, native integrations with Shopify and other ecommerce platforms, so segments and flows use real purchase and browsing data
- + Same core features at every Email/Email+SMS tier, so upgrading is mostly about list size, not unlocking functionality
- + Free plan is usable for very small lists (up to 250 profiles) before you need a card
Cons
- – Price is based on total active profiles, not just people you actively email, so a large stale list costs more even if you rarely message most of it
- – Newer products like Customer Hub, Helpdesk, Customer Agent, and Marketing Analytics are billed as separate add-ons on top of the core email plan, each with its own pricing basis (profiles, tickets, or conversations)
Kit, formerly ConvertKit, suits a solo creator or newsletter writer using Mailchimp mostly to send broadcasts and grow a subscriber list. Its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, forms, and landing pages, well past Mailchimp's 250-contact free cap. Paid plans start at $39 a month for Creator at 1,000 subscribers, pricier than Mailchimp's Essentials, but include unlimited automations and email sequences without Mailchimp's 4-step cap. Kit is built for individuals selling digital products, courses, or subscriptions, with a lighter CRM and fewer deep ecommerce integrations than Mailchimp offers for Shopify or WooCommerce stores. It has no enterprise tier, so it is not the fit for a growing marketing team.
Pros
- + Free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers, far more than most competitors' free tiers
- + Visual automation builder is unlimited even on the entry paid plan
- + Built-in landing pages, forms, and a creator-focused CRM reduce the need for extra tools
Cons
- – Price climbs quickly once your list grows past 1,000 subscribers
- – No published enterprise or custom pricing tier for larger senders
Customer.io is the alternative for a Mailchimp user whose real need is triggering messages off product behavior, like an app event or a plan change, rather than a marketing list. Its workflow builder branches on live customer data across email, SMS, push, and in-app messages, and an AI agent can help build campaigns. There is no free plan and no published trial length; Essentials starts at $100 a month for 5,000 profiles and 1 million emails, well above what a typical Mailchimp account pays. It requires more setup, often an engineer wiring up event tracking, and pricing above Essentials is quote-only. This fits SaaS and product teams, not a typical small-business swap for Mailchimp's newsletter and campaign tools.
Pros
- + Workflow builder handles complex, multi-channel behavioral journeys well
- + Profile and object data model supports messaging based on product usage, not just list membership
- + Startup Program gives qualifying early-stage companies 12 months free
Cons
- – Pricing above Essentials is not posted; Premium and Enterprise require talking to sales
- – Cost scales with profile count, so it can get expensive fast as your user base grows
Mailchimp alternatives: FAQ
What is the best free Mailchimp alternative?+
MailerLite and Brevo both offer usable free plans. MailerLite's free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month; Brevo's covers 300 emails a day and also includes SMS, WhatsApp, and basic CRM access.
What is the best Mailchimp alternative for an ecommerce store?+
Klaviyo is built specifically around ecommerce data, pulling orders and browsing behavior from Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce so you can automate around what customers actually buy.
Which Mailchimp alternative is cheapest as my list grows?+
Brevo tends to stay cheaper for growing lists because it prices by email volume rather than contact count, so storing more contacts doesn't raise your bill unless you also send more emails.
Is there a good Mailchimp alternative for a solo newsletter writer?+
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for individual creators, with a free plan covering up to 10,000 subscribers and unlimited broadcasts, well beyond Mailchimp's 250-contact free cap.
Mailchimp alternatives: pricing compared
Entry price, billing model, and whether pricing is public. 7 of 7 publish pricing you can check without talking to sales.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | $13/mo | tiered | Yes | Public |
| Brevo | $9/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| MailerLite | $12/seat/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| ActiveCampaign | $15/seat/mo | tiered | Trial (14 days, no credit card required) | Public |
| Klaviyo | $20/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | $39/seat/mo | per-seat | Yes | Public |
| Customer.io | $100/mo | tiered | No | Partly public |
How we made these picks. We compare tools on public pricing, features, and hands-on assessment, then verify every price against the vendor's own page. We never accept payment for rankings. Read the full methodology.