Mailchimp

Overview

Mailchimp combines email campaigns, audience management, automation and landing pages in a service for individual marketers and teams. Its broad campaign toolkit is the draw; the free tier’s narrow contact and sending caps, and paid plans without listed prices, make room to grow harder to assess.

Segmentation, A/B testing and 300 native integrations give campaigns more options than sending alone. Mailchimp is a stronger fit for marketers who want those capabilities together than for buyers seeking generous free sending or a clear paid-cost forecast.

Key features

• Campaigns and testing: Built-in email marketing and A/B testing support campaign creation and comparison. The free allowance of 500 emails per month is restrictive for frequent sends.
• Audience management: Segmentation can help tailor campaigns, but the free plan allows only 250 contacts and one audience. That leaves little headroom for a growing list.
• Automation: Email automation is included. Essentials permits up to four flow steps, a constraint for sequences that need more stages.
• Landing pages and publishing: Landing pages, custom domains, popups, sticky bars and a WordPress plugin give marketers ways to extend campaigns beyond email.
• Integrations: 300 native integrations can help connect Mailchimp with other tools in a marketing setup.

Pricing

Mailchimp has a free plan and a 14-day trial. The Free plan costs nothing, billed monthly, and includes 250 contacts, 500 emails per month, 250 emails per day, one audience and one seat. It is best suited to small lists and occasional campaigns; the monthly and daily caps can become limiting quickly.

Essentials has custom pricing. Its starting tier includes 500 contacts, 5,000 emails per month, three audiences, three seats and up to four automation flow steps. It raises the sending allowance substantially over Free, but the four-step ceiling may not suit more involved sequences.

Standard also has custom pricing. Its starting tier includes 500 contacts, 6,000 monthly emails, five audiences and five seats, with support for up to 100,000 contacts. The higher audience and seat allowances suit larger working groups, though the starting contact allowance remains 500.

Premium has custom pricing. The starting tier includes 10,000 contacts, 150,000 monthly emails, unlimited audiences and seats, and support for up to 200,000 contacts. It is the clearest fit for larger lists and teams needing more sending capacity, but buyers should weigh that scope against custom pricing.

Platforms

Mailchimp is available on web, iOS and Android, giving users both browser and mobile access.

Who it's for

Mailchimp suits marketers who want campaigns, segmentation, automation and landing pages in one service, especially when integrations and campaign testing matter. It is less compelling for anyone who needs a generous free tier or must know paid costs before evaluating a plan.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Email marketing, segmentation, automation and A/B testing sit alongside landing pages, giving campaign teams a broad set of tools in one service.
• Pro: The Premium starting tier provides 10,000 contacts, 150,000 monthly emails, and unlimited audiences and seats for teams with larger needs.
• Con: Free is capped at 250 contacts and 500 emails per month, with one audience and one seat, so it leaves little room for list or team growth.
• Con: Paid plans use custom pricing, making cost comparisons less direct.
• Con: Essentials limits automation flows to four steps, which may constrain longer sequences.

Alternatives

SendPulse is worth considering if a free plan’s sending allowance is the priority: its Free plan covers 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month, along with five automated flows.

Zoho Campaigns may suit buyers seeking a free allowance for a larger contact list: Forever Free covers up to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails per month, with five users.

AWeber is another free-plan option, with up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 monthly emails.

Brevo Conversations is an alternative for readers comparing a free service with a one-user allowance.

Klaviyo is a free-plan alternative with up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends per month.

MailerLite offers a free plan with 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, two seats and three automations, making its published free allowances worth comparing with Mailchimp’s.

Sender is an alternative with a Free Forever plan covering up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails.

beehiiv is an alternative with a free Launch plan for 2,500 subscribers and unlimited email sends.

Explore AI Email Marketing Software, Transactional SMS Software, Transactional Email Software, Marketing Automation Software, Email Marketing Software and Landing Page Builders to compare broader categories.

Verdict

Choose Mailchimp if you need campaign testing, segmentation and automation alongside landing pages and integrations. Its breadth is the main reason to pick it; look elsewhere if the free plan’s tight caps do not fit or you need paid pricing clarity before committing.