Why people leave Mailchimp
Mailchimp’s own pricing and help pages make the case for comparing. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. The cheapest paid plan costs $26.50 a month at 1,000 subscribers and $110 at 10,000.
Three rules sit behind those numbers. Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward the contact limit; archived, cleaned and deleted contacts do not. The monthly send limit is 10 times the contact limit on Essentials, 12 times on Standard and 15 times on Premium. On Essentials that allowance is about two emails a week to the whole list; it matters only if you send more often than that. From the 10,000-contact tier up, the pricing page leads with a 15% discount for the first 12 months: $93.50 on Essentials and $114.75 on Standard at 10,000 contacts.
The full tier ladder is on the Mailchimp pricing page.
Cheaper Mailchimp alternatives compared
| Tool | Plan | Price at 1,000 subscribers | Price at 2,500 subscribers | Price at 5,000 subscribers | Price at 10,000 subscribers | Emails included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SendPulseOur pick from 10,000 | Standard | $18 | $38 | $52 | $78 | unlimited emails |
| GetResponse | Starter | $19 | $29 | $54 | $79 | unlimited emails |
| Moosend | Pro | $16 | $32 | $48 | $88 | unlimited emails |
| MailerLite | Comfort | $19 | $33 | $49 | $89 | 10× contacts per month |
| AWeber | Lite | $25 | $35 | $60 | $100 | 10× subscribers per month |
| MailchimpCurrent tool | Essentials | $26.50 | $45 | $75 | $110 | 10× contacts per month |
| Kit | Creator | $39 | $59 | $89 | $139 | unlimited emails |
Brevo is priced by emails sent, so it has no single price at a list size and is not ranked above. We compare its Standard plan. Starter costs less at the same volume but stops at 100,000 emails a month, limits automation to 2,000 contacts and keeps the Brevo logo unless you pay to remove it. The tier is set by emails sent and by stored contacts: the three smallest tiers hold 500, 1,500 and 2,500 contacts, and every tier from 20,000 emails up holds 500,000. Standard stops at 500,000 emails a month. Your tier is the first one that covers both the emails you send in a month and the size of your list.
| Emails per month | Standard | Starter | Contacts included |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $18 | $9 | 500 |
| 10,000 | $35 | $17 | 1,500 |
| 15,000 | $49 | $25 | 2,500 |
| 20,000 | $69 | $32 | 500,000 |
| 30,000 | $79 | $39 | 500,000 |
| 40,000 | $89 | $46 | 500,000 |
| 50,000 | $97 | $56 | 500,000 |
| 60,000 | $104 | $65 | 500,000 |
| 80,000 | $119 | $74 | 500,000 |
| 100,000 | $139 | $82 | 500,000 |
| 150,000 | $179 | — | 500,000 |
| 250,000 | $249 | — | 500,000 |
| 350,000 | $309 | — | 500,000 |
| 500,000 | $429 | — | 500,000 |
The order changes with list size. Moosend is lowest at 1,000 and 5,000 subscribers, GetResponse at 2,500, SendPulse at 10,000. Five tools cost less than Mailchimp at all four sizes; Kit costs more. Vendor pages may open on annual or first-year prices; this table uses the regular monthly price.
Two prices need a note. GetResponse: USD prices as published in the data of getresponse.com/pricing/trial; the pricing page shows local currency to visitors outside the US. The smallest tier is 1,000 contacts. Kit: The smallest tier is 1,000 subscribers; the pricing page opens on yearly billing, which is lower.
| Tool | SMS | Telegram | Pay-as-you-go email | Course builder | Free SMTP tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SendPulse | Yespay per message, no plan; 10 free test SMS | Yeschatbots; official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider | Yeschatbots | Yes$48 per 10,000 emails at Standard features; credits valid 12 months | Yescourse builder; free tier: 1 course, up to 200 students | 12,000 emails/month50 messages/hour, 2 sending domains |
| GetResponse | Add-onEnterprise plan only | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yescourse creator on the Creator plan (up to 500 students); free account up to 250 students without selling | —transactional email on the Enterprise plan only |
| Moosend | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yesemail credits that never expire; smallest pack 350,000 credits for $350 | Not listed | —transactional email is an add-on; no free tier |
| MailerLite | Not listedSMS appears only in MailerSend, the separate transactional product | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listedplans include selling digital products and bookings | 500 emails/monthvia MailerSend (separate product): 500 emails free |
| AWeber | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not confirmed | —not listed |
| Kit | YesSMS marketing listed on the Creator plan | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not confirmedsells digital products and subscriptions; no course builder listed | —not listed |
| Brevo | Yesprepaid SMS credits | Add-onlisted on the Professional plan | Not listed | Yesprepaid email credits with no expiration date; 5,000 emails = $32 | Not listed | Inside the free plantransactional email and SMTP on every plan; on Free it shares the 300 emails/day limit |
| Mailchimp | Yespaid plans, select markets | Not listed | Not listed | Yesemail credits instead of a plan; credit prices are not on the pricing page | Not listed | —transactional email is a paid add-on to Standard and Premium; up to 500 free sends for new users |
Not compared here: beehiiv, Sender and EmailOctopus are not in our price data yet.
The best Mailchimp alternatives
The tools below follow the table’s order at 10,000 subscribers. Kit and Brevo come last because they are here for reasons other than a lower price per subscriber.
SendPulse
Our pick from 10,000 subscribers- At 1,000 subscribers
- $18/moStandard
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $52/moStandard
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $78/moStandard
- Emails on Standard
- unlimited emails
- Free plan
- 500 contacts, 15,000 emails/month
At 10,000 subscribers SendPulse is the lowest price in this table: $78 against $110 for Mailchimp Essentials, and the plan does not meter emails. That is the only size in the table where it is lowest. At 1,000 Moosend costs less; at 2,500 GetResponse, Moosend, MailerLite and AWeber do; at 5,000 Moosend and MailerLite do.
It also lists channels that Mailchimp’s plan table does not: chatbots for WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger, plus a transactional SMTP service with its own free tier. Beyond the free allowance, chatbots are a separate Pro plan priced by chatbot subscribers.
SendPulse is a wider product than Mailchimp, with SMS, chatbots, SMTP and courses next to email. If a newsletter is all you send, a narrower tool such as MailerLite or Moosend covers it at a similar price.
Strong points
- Email, SMS and chatbots for WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger run from one account
- Standard plan includes unlimited emails at every list size
- Separate free tiers for SMTP, chatbots and the course builder
Limits
- Free plan stops at 500 subscribers and keeps SendPulse branding in emails
- Pay-as-you-go email credits expire after 12 months
- SMS is billed per message on top of the plan; none is bundled
- Chatbots beyond the free allowance are a separate paid plan
- A dedicated IP is listed only for the SMTP Pro and Enterprise plans
GetResponse
Second-lowest at 10,000, no send cap- At 1,000 subscribers
- $19/moStarter
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $54/moStarter
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $79/moStarter
- Emails on Starter
- unlimited emails
- Free plan
- 500 contacts, 2,500 emails/month
GetResponse Starter is a dollar above SendPulse at 1,000 and at 10,000 subscribers and is the lowest here at 2,500. Emails are unlimited. The Starter plan includes one custom automation workflow. Live and on-demand webinars are listed on the Creator plan, not on Starter.
Strong points
- Course creator and webinars alongside email
- Unlimited sends on the Starter plan
Limits
- SMS and transactional email need the Enterprise plan
- No messenger chatbots listed
Moosend
Lowest here for small lists- At 1,000 subscribers
- $16/moPro
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $48/moPro
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $88/moPro
- Emails on Pro
- unlimited emails
- Free plan
- No free plan
Moosend has the lowest price in this table at 1,000 and 5,000 subscribers and no send cap. The lead is a small-list effect: at 10,000 it sits just under MailerLite and above SendPulse and GetResponse. There is a trial instead of a free plan.
Strong points
- Low entry price with no send cap
- Prepaid email credits that do not expire are sold as well
Limits
- No free plan
- No SMS or messenger channels listed
MailerLite
Email only, low entry price- At 1,000 subscribers
- $19/moComfort
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $49/moComfort
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $89/moComfort
- Emails on Comfort
- 10× contacts per month
- Free plan
- 250 contacts, 2,500 emails/month
MailerLite Comfort costs less than Mailchimp Essentials at every size in the table and carries the same cap: 10× contacts per month. It is the narrower product, email only. Unlimited emails need the Power plan: $39 at 1,000 subscribers and $129 at 10,000.
Strong points
- Email-only product with a free plan
- Low entry price at small list sizes
Limits
- Free plan is limited to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month
- No marketing SMS or messenger chatbots listed
- Comfort plan caps sends at 10× contacts; unlimited sending needs the Power plan
AWeber
Cheaper than Mailchimp, same kind of cap- At 1,000 subscribers
- $25/moLite
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $60/moLite
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $100/moLite
- Emails on Lite
- 10× subscribers per month
- Free plan
- 500 contacts, 3,000 emails/month
AWeber Lite sits between MailerLite and Mailchimp at every size in the table, with the same kind of send cap. Its help docs describe a free plan of 500 contacts and 3,000 emails a month; the pricing page now shows only a trial.
Strong points
- Free plan with 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month
Limits
- No SMS or messenger channels listed
- Sends capped at 10× subscribers on Lite
Kit
Free plan with no email cap- At 1,000 subscribers
- $39/moCreator
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $89/moCreator
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $139/moCreator
- Emails on Creator
- unlimited emails
- Free plan
- 10,000 contacts, unlimited emails
Kit is here for its free plan, not for a lower bill: 10,000 contacts and unlimited emails, against 250 contacts and 500 emails a month on Mailchimp’s. Its paid plan costs more than Mailchimp Essentials at every size in the table. The cost calculator shows Kit’s price at your list size.
Strong points
- Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers
- Built for creators selling digital products and subscriptions
Limits
- Highest entry price here: the smallest paid tier covers 1,000 subscribers
- No messenger chatbots or pay-as-you-go option listed
Brevo
For lists mailed rarely- Priced by
- Emails sentnot by list size
- 5,000 emails a month
- $18/moStandard
- 20,000 emails a month
- $69/moStandard
- Free plan
- 100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day
Brevo has no row in the price table because its bill follows emails sent. A list of 10,000 mailed twice a month is 20,000 emails: $69 on Brevo against $110 on Mailchimp Essentials. Mailed weekly the same list is about 43,000 emails, $97 on Brevo: still under Mailchimp Essentials, but above the unlimited plans in the table. Count emails per month before comparing.
Strong points
- Priced by emails sent, which suits lists that are mailed rarely
- Prepaid email credits never expire
- Transactional email and SMTP included on every plan
Limits
- The 100,000-contact storage belongs to the free plan; the smallest paid tiers store far fewer contacts
- Free plan sends only 300 emails a day
- The bill rises with every extra send, so it cannot be compared with per-subscriber plans without knowing how often you mail
- Telegram is not listed; WhatsApp sits on the Professional plan
Free alternatives to Mailchimp
| Tool | Subscriber limit | Emails | Vendor branding in emails | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | 10,000 | Unlimited | Yes | |
| SendPulse | 500 | 15,000 / month | Yes | 5 automation flows, 3 sender addresses |
| Brevo | 100,000 | 300 / day | Yes | unused daily sends do not roll over |
| AWeber | 500 | 3,000 / month | Yes | described in AWeber’s help docs; its pricing page now shows only a 14-day trial |
| GetResponse | 500 | 2,500 / month | Yes | |
| MailerLite | 250 | 2,500 / month | Yes | |
| Mailchimp | 250 | 500 / month | Yes | also capped at 250 sends a day |
Every free plan in this table allows more emails a month than Mailchimp’s. Kit’s is the only one with no email cap. Brevo’s stores the most contacts and limits sending by the day. The free plan comparison goes through each limit.
Stay with Mailchimp if…
You depend on an integration that exists only for Mailchimp, or your list is small enough that the difference is a few dollars a month: at 1,000 subscribers Essentials is $26.50 and the lowest price here is $16. A move means exporting contacts, rebuilding templates and forms and recreating automations by hand.
Which alternative to choose
- SendPulseYour list is around 10,000 or growing toward it, you mail it weekly or more, or you want SMS and messenger chatbots in the same account.
- GetResponseYou want unlimited emails at a price close to the lowest at most sizes and may use its course and webinar plan later.
- MoosendYour list is under 5,000, you need email only and no send cap, and a trial instead of a free plan is fine.
- MailerLiteYou send a newsletter within the same send allowance Mailchimp gives you and want to pay less for it.
- AWeberYou want to keep a capped plan like Essentials and pay less for it.
- KitYou are building an audience on a free plan and selling digital products, and the paid price is not the deciding factor.
- BrevoYou have a big list and send rarely, or you need transactional email on every plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best cheaper alternative to Mailchimp?
It depends on list size. At 10,000 subscribers SendPulse ($78) and GetResponse ($79) are the lowest here, both with unlimited emails, against $110 for Mailchimp Essentials. At 1,000 and 5,000 Moosend is lowest ($16 and $48); at 2,500 GetResponse ($29). If you send only once or twice a month, Brevo may cost less because it charges by emails sent: on its Standard plan the 20,000-emails tier is $69.
Is there a free alternative to Mailchimp?
Yes. Kit: 10,000 contacts and unlimited emails. SendPulse: 500 contacts and 15,000 emails a month. Brevo: 100,000 contacts and 300 emails a day. AWeber: 500 contacts and 3,000 emails a month, as described in its help docs. GetResponse: 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month. MailerLite: 250 contacts and 2,500 emails a month. Mailchimp's own free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. Moosend offers a trial only.
Why is Mailchimp so expensive?
Three rules on its own pages add up. The plan is priced by contacts, and unsubscribed contacts count until you archive them. Essentials caps sends (10× contacts per month). And from 10,000 contacts the pricing page leads with a first-year discount, so the regular price arrives in the second year. At 1,000 subscribers Essentials is $26.50, against $16 for Moosend and $18 for SendPulse.
Which Mailchimp alternative has SMS and chatbots?
SendPulse lists SMS and chatbots for WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger in one account; SMS is billed per message and chatbots beyond the free allowance are a separate plan. Brevo lists SMS and, on a higher plan, WhatsApp. Kit lists SMS on its Creator plan. Mailchimp itself lists SMS on paid plans in select markets, and no messenger chatbots. MailerLite, Moosend and AWeber list neither.
How hard is it to move from Mailchimp to another tool?
The work is the same whichever tool you pick: export contacts with their consent status and unsubscribes, rebuild templates and signup forms, recreate automations, and authenticate your sending domain in the new tool before the first campaign. Keep the Mailchimp account until a full campaign has gone out from the new one.
Sources
Every price and limit on this page comes from the vendor’s own public pages. How we choose and check.
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing?country=us — checked September 30, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/sms?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/messengers?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/edu?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/smtp?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- GetResponse: getresponse.com/pricing/trial — checked September 30, 2026
- GetResponse: getresponse.com/pricing/free — checked September 30, 2026
- GetResponse: getresponse.com/help/can-i-try-getresponse-before-i-buy.html — checked September 30, 2026
- GetResponse: getresponse.com/pricing — checked September 30, 2026
- Moosend: moosend.com/pricing/ — checked September 30, 2026
- MailerLite: mailerlite.com/pricing — checked September 30, 2026
- MailerLite: mailerlite.com/pricing-mailersend — checked September 29, 2026
- AWeber: aweber.com/pricing.htm — checked September 30, 2026
- AWeber: docs.aweber.com/getting-started-with-aweber/aweber-information/how-much-does-aweber-cost — checked September 30, 2026
- Kit: kit.com/pricing — checked September 30, 2026
- Kit: help.kit.com/en/articles/16627071-the-kit-free-plan — checked September 30, 2026
- Brevo: brevo.com/pricing/ — checked September 30, 2026
- Brevo: help.brevo.com/hc/en-us/articles/208580669-FAQs-What-are-the-limits-of-the-Free-plan — checked September 30, 2026
- Brevo: brevo.com/pricing/pay-as-you-go/?selected=email — checked September 29, 2026
- Brevo: brevo.com/pricing/see-all-features/ — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/?currency=USD — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/compare-plans/?currency=USD — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing/transactional-email/ — checked September 29, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/help/about-mailchimp-pricing-plans/ — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/help/about-additional-charges/ — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/help/about-the-pay-as-you-go-plan/ — checked September 30, 2026