Mailchimp pioneered approachable email marketing, but its pricing is the top reason teams leave. Plans bill on total contacts - historically including unsubscribed and non-subscribed addresses - so your bill climbs as your list grows whether or not you email those people. Add steep tier jumps, features gated behind higher plans, and ongoing deliverability complaints, and the value erodes as you scale. The alternatives compete on pricing model (per-subscriber versus per-send), automation depth, and audience focus - creators, e-commerce, or transactional. The right one depends on how you bill, what you send, and who you send to.
Who should switch from Mailchimp
- Your bill rises because Mailchimp counts contacts you do not actively email - Brevo bills on emails sent, not list size.
- You are a creator monetizing an audience - Kit (ConvertKit) and beehiiv are built for newsletters and creator growth.
- You run an online store - Klaviyo's deep e-commerce data and automations outclass Mailchimp for revenue.
Mailchimp alternatives compared
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Open source | Key differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Creator audiences | Yes | Free | No | Built specifically for creators, with tagging, sequences, and built-in monetization. |
| Brevo | Send-based billing | Yes | Free | No | Bills on emails sent, not contacts stored, so a large list does not inflate your bill. |
| MailerLite | Value-focused small teams | Yes | Free | No | Clean, easy email marketing at a noticeably lower price than Mailchimp. |
| Klaviyo | Online stores | Yes | Free | No | Deep e-commerce integrations and data-driven automations tuned for revenue. |
| beehiiv | Scaling newsletters | Yes | Free | No | A newsletter platform with built-in growth, referral, and ad-network monetization. |
Mailchimp bills on total contacts, so a large list inflates your cost even if you rarely email it. Brevo bills on emails sent instead - for big, infrequently-mailed lists that can be dramatically cheaper. Match the billing model to your sending pattern, not just the headline rate.
Kit (ConvertKit) — Best Mailchimp Alternative for Creators and Newsletters
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is designed around the creator: subscriber tagging, automated sequences, landing pages, and paid newsletter tools. It treats your audience as people to nurture rather than rows to bill.
Pricing: Free tier for early lists; paid plans bill per subscriber as you grow, with creator-focused features included.
Best for: Writers, course creators, and solopreneurs growing and monetizing an email audience.
The catch: Its templates and design tooling are simpler than Mailchimp's polished campaign builder.
Brevo — Best Mailchimp Alternative for Pay-Per-Send Pricing
Brevo prices on send volume rather than contact count, which is dramatically cheaper for big lists you email infrequently. It also bundles SMS, a CRM, and transactional email in one platform.
Pricing: Generous free tier (a daily send limit); paid plans scale by monthly emails sent, not list size.
Best for: Teams with large lists they email occasionally, or who want email plus SMS and CRM together.
The catch: The interface and template polish are a step behind Mailchimp's.
MailerLite — Best Mailchimp Alternative for Simple, Affordable Email
MailerLite offers a clean drag-and-drop builder, automation, and landing pages at prices well below Mailchimp's equivalent tiers, with a genuinely usable free plan. It is the value pick for straightforward email.
Pricing: Free tier for smaller lists; paid plans undercut Mailchimp at comparable subscriber counts.
Best for: Small businesses and creators who want straightforward email marketing at a fair price.
The catch: Advanced segmentation and reporting are lighter than enterprise-grade platforms.
Klaviyo — Best Mailchimp Alternative for E-commerce Revenue
Klaviyo plugs into Shopify and other stores to power abandoned-cart flows, product recommendations, and revenue-attributed segments. For e-commerce, its data model drives far more sales than Mailchimp's general tooling.
Pricing: Free tier for small lists; paid plans bill per contact but are justified by e-commerce revenue lift.
Best for: Online stores that want email and SMS tightly tied to purchase data.
The catch: It is overkill (and pricier per contact) for non-commerce senders.
beehiiv — Best Mailchimp Alternative for Newsletter Growth and Monetization
beehiiv is built for newsletters that want to grow and earn: referral programs, a built-in ad network, recommendations, and analytics aimed at audience growth rather than generic campaigns.
Pricing: Free tier to start; paid plans add monetization and growth features as your audience scales.
Best for: Newsletter operators focused on growing and monetizing a large readership.
The catch: It is purpose-built for newsletters - not a fit for transactional or store-driven email.
How to choose your Mailchimp alternative
- Do you email a large list often or occasionally? Frequent senders suit per-subscriber pricing; occasional senders save on Brevo's per-send model.
- Who is your audience - creators, shoppers, or general subscribers? That points to Kit/beehiiv, Klaviyo, or MailerLite.
- Do you need SMS or transactional email too? Brevo bundles them; most others are email-only.
Frequently asked questions
MailerLite and Brevo have strong free tiers - Brevo's is based on daily sends rather than list size. Kit, Klaviyo, and beehiiv also offer free plans suited to creators, stores, and newsletters respectively.
MailerLite undercuts Mailchimp at comparable list sizes, and Brevo can be far cheaper for large lists because it bills on emails sent rather than total contacts.
Mailchimp bills on total contacts and has steep tier jumps, so your cost grows with list size even for contacts you do not email. Per-send platforms like Brevo avoid that.
Klaviyo. Its deep integration with Shopify and other stores powers abandoned-cart flows and revenue-attributed segments that drive far more sales than Mailchimp's general tooling.
Yes. Mailchimp exports contacts as CSV, and most platforms provide importers that preserve tags and segments. Automations and templates generally need to be rebuilt in the new tool.
About Mailchimp
All-in-one email marketing platform