Why Look for Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026
Mailchimp is still the name most people think of first for email marketing. It has a free plan, a familiar editor, and a clear path from Essentials to Standard to Premium. The problems show up as your list grows.
Here is what pushes teams to look around:
- The price climbs fast with list size. Essentials starts at $13/month and Standard at $20/month for up to 500 contacts. At 5,001 to 10,000 contacts, the same plans cost $110 and $135 per month on monthly billing. Premium starts at $350/month.
- Unsubscribed contacts still count. Mailchimp's help docs say subscribed, non-subscribed and unsubscribed contacts all count toward your contact limit. If you never clean your audience, you pay for people who will never get an email from you.
- Automation is gated. Essentials limits automation flows to 4 steps. You need Standard for up to 200 flows, plus dynamic content, branded templates and custom reports.
- The free plan is small. Free covers 250 contacts and 500 sends per month (250 per day max), with 1 seat and 1 audience. Sending pauses if you go over.
- Extras cost extra. SMS is a paid add-on on every plan, and annual billing is only offered on Premium and on Standard at 10,000+ contacts, through sales, with no price shown.
Pricing in this category scales by contacts (or, for Brevo, by emails sent), so we compare every tool at its lowest tier and at about 10,000 contacts.
Mailchimp review
Mailchimp has a free plan and three paid tiers priced by contact count. The jump in value comes at Standard, which unlocks real automation and AI features.
Key features
- Marketing automation flows: up to 200 flows on Standard and Premium; Essentials is limited to 4 flow steps
- Popup forms, pre-built email templates and email scheduling on all paid plans
- Dynamic content, branded templates and custom reports on Standard and Premium
- Generative AI features at no extra cost on Standard and Premium
- Advanced segmentation, multivariate testing and Enterprise SSO on Premium
Pricing
Mailchimp bills monthly in USD by contact tier.
- Free: $0 for up to 250 contacts, 500 sends per month (250 per day max), 1 seat, 1 audience.
- Essentials: from $13/month for 0 to 500 contacts; $110/month at 5,001 to 10,000. Sends are 10x your contacts. 3 seats, 3 audiences.
- Standard: from $20/month for 0 to 500 contacts; $135/month at 5,001 to 10,000 (120,000 sends per month). Sends are 12x contacts. 5 seats, 5 audiences.
- Premium: from $350/month (base of 10,000 contacts). Sends are 15x contacts. Unlimited seats and audiences.
At the 5,001 to 10,000 tier the page showed a promotion of 15% off for the first 12 months: $93.50 Essentials, $114.75 Standard and $297.50 Premium, then $110, $135 and $350. Essentials and Standard have a 14-day free trial that needs payment details; Premium has a 1-month trial for qualified new customers through sales. Annual plans (Premium, and Standard at 10,000+ contacts) are through sales with no price shown. Overages apply above limits, and SMS is a paid add-on.
Pros
- Free plan for up to 250 contacts
- Up to 200 automation flows on Standard and Premium
- Generative AI features included on Standard at no extra cost
- 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans
Cons
- Unsubscribed contacts count toward the paid contact limit
- Price jumps with list size: Standard is $135/month at 5,001 to 10,000 contacts
- Premium starts at $350/month
Who should use it
Small businesses with modest lists that want a well-known tool and room to grow into automation on Standard.
Who should skip it
Anyone with a large list full of unsubscribed contacts, and teams that need deep automation on a budget.
Klaviyo review
Klaviyo is built for online stores. It uses store and customer data for segments, automated flows and revenue reporting.
Key features
- Email campaigns and automated flows with a drag-and-drop editor and templates
- Web forms and real-time segments
- Built-in reporting, dashboards and campaign revenue attribution
- 350+ integrations to connect store and customer data
- Predictive analytics, peer benchmarks and generative AI for segments, content and flows (paid plans)
Pricing
Klaviyo prices per month by active profiles. The pricing page shows no annual pricing.
- Free: up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends per month, $5 of mobile messages and $5 of Composer usage per month, built-in reporting, and email support for the first 60 days.
- Email: $20/month for 500 active profiles (5,000 emails per month); $30 for 1,000; $100 for 5,000; $150 for 10,000 active profiles (100,000 emails per month). Sends are 10x the profile tier. A limited-time offer takes $19 off the first month at 500 profiles.
Mobile messages are billed per send (for example, US toll-free SMS is $0.01 plus carrier fees). Add-ons: Composer $20/month (extra usage in $10 increments), Customer Hub $20/month at 500 profiles (30-day free trial), Social marketing ($50/month shown at 10,000 profiles) and Reviews from $25/month (250 orders per month). Enterprise is through sales. If your active profiles go over your plan, Klaviyo moves you to a plan that fits.
One detail to watch: Klaviyo counts any profile that can be emailed as active, including profiles added through orders or checkout without opting in.
Pros
- Free plan includes real-time segments, web forms and reporting
- Suppressed profiles do not count toward billing
- Revenue attribution and predictive analytics built in
- 350+ integrations for store and customer data
Cons
- Email plan costs $150/month at 10,000 active profiles
- SMS and other mobile messages cost extra per send
- Several tools (Composer, Customer Hub, Reviews, Social) are separate paid add-ons
Who should use it
Ecommerce brands that want email (and per-send SMS) driven by order and customer data, and care about seeing revenue per campaign.
Who should skip it
Businesses that do not sell online. At 10,000 profiles you would pay a top-of-range price for store features you will not use.
Brevo review
Brevo prices by how many emails you send each month, and that volume also sets how many contacts you can store. That makes it cheap for big lists you email rarely, and less attractive for small lists you email often. It also handles transactional email alongside marketing email.
Key features
- Email campaigns with drag-and-drop editor, templates and AI content generator (all paid plans)
- Unlimited multi-step marketing automation workflows (Standard and up)
- A/B testing, send-time optimization, web and event tracking, and landing pages (Standard and up)
- Transactional email via SMTP relay and API alongside marketing email
- WhatsApp, popups, web and mobile push, contact scoring and phone support (Professional)
Pricing
Yearly billing is 10% off.
- Free: $0, 300 emails per day. The pricing page does not state a contact cap.
- Starter: $9/month monthly or $8.08 yearly for 5,000 emails and 500 contacts. 10,000 emails (1,500 contacts) is $17 monthly ($15.25 yearly). 15,000 emails stores 2,500 contacts. 20,000 emails stores up to 500,000 contacts for $32 monthly ($28.75 yearly). Up to $82 monthly for 100,000 emails. 1 user. Removing Brevo branding costs $10.80/month.
- Standard: $18/month monthly or $16.17 yearly for 5,000 emails and 500 contacts; $35 for 10,000 emails (1,500 contacts); $49 for 15,000 emails (2,500 contacts); $69 monthly ($62.08 yearly) for 20,000 emails and 500,000 contacts. 1 seat included, up to 3.
- Professional: $499/month monthly or $449.08 yearly for 150,000 emails per month and 2 million contacts, 10 seats.
- Enterprise: from $2,499/month, custom.
SMS and WhatsApp are priced separately by volume and destination. Prepaid email credits are also available, with no daily limit and no expiry.
Pros
- Free plan with 300 emails per day
- From 20,000 emails per month, plans store up to 500,000 contacts
- Unlimited automation workflows on Standard
- Marketing and transactional email in one account
Cons
- Low tiers cap contacts at 500 to 2,500
- Starter lacks automation and A/B testing
- WhatsApp, popups and push only on Professional ($499/month)
Who should use it
Teams with large lists who send a few campaigns a month, and businesses that want transactional email (receipts, password resets) from the same account.
Who should skip it
Teams with small lists who email often: tiers of 5,000 to 15,000 emails per month store only 500 to 2,500 contacts.
Kit review
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is aimed at creators. Its free plan is the most generous here by list size, but automations need a paid plan.
Key features
- Unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, even on Free
- Visual automations and email sequences (Creator and Pro)
- Sell digital products and paid newsletter subscriptions
- Subject line A/B tests and polls (Creator); content A/B tests and engagement scoring (Pro)
- Newsletter referral system, deliverability reporting and Subscriber Signals (Pro)
Pricing
Kit prices by subscriber tier; yearly billing saves about 17%.
- Free: $0 for up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 user, unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and selling digital products and subscriptions. No automated sequences or visual automations.
- Creator: $39/month monthly or $390/year ($33/month) for up to 1,000 subscribers. 2 users, unlimited visual automations and sequences, Kit MCP, subject line A/B tests, polls, branding removal, SMS, RSS campaigns, and 24/7 email and chat support. At 8,001 to 10,000 subscribers, Creator is $139/month on monthly billing.
- Pro: $79/month monthly or $66/month yearly for up to 1,000 subscribers. Unlimited users, Subscriber Signals, engagement scoring, deliverability reporting and the newsletter referral system. A limited-time offer gives 25% off the first year ($593 billed for the first year), then the standard rate. At 8,001 to 10,000 subscribers, Pro is $189/month on monthly billing.
- Enterprise: custom.
Paid plans have a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Kit counts only unique, active subscribers.
Pros
- Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts
- Only unique, active subscribers are counted
- Built-in digital product and paid newsletter sales
- Unlimited users on Pro
Cons
- Automations require a paid plan
- Creator costs $139/month at 8,001 to 10,000 subscribers (monthly)
- Free and Creator plans are limited to 1 and 2 users
Who should use it
Newsletter writers and creators who mainly send broadcasts, want to sell products or paid subscriptions, and may not need automation yet.
Who should skip it
Teams with several marketers (Free and Creator cap users at 1 and 2), and businesses that need automation from day one at a low price.
MailerLite review
MailerLite keeps things simple and affordable. It is the cheapest paid option at 10,000 subscribers among the tools here that price by contact count, and its free plan includes automations and landing pages.
Key features
- Email campaigns and automations, including on the Free plan
- Landing pages, websites and signup forms
- Sell digital products or bookings
- Dynamic segments and interest groups (tags)
- Full MCP and API access, plus 100+ integrations
Pricing
Yearly billing saves 10%.
- Free: $0 for up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month, 2 seats, community support.
- Comfort: $12/month monthly or $10.80 yearly for up to 500 subscribers; $19 ($17.10) at 1,000; $89 ($80.10) at 10,000 subscribers (100,000 emails per month). Emails are 10x the top of your subscriber tier. 3 seats, 50 automations, 10 forms, 10 sites, 5 digital products, email support.
- Power: $25/month monthly or $22.50 yearly at 500 subscribers; $39 at 1,000; $129 ($116.10) at 10,000. Unlimited emails (fair use), unlimited seats, automations, forms and sites, and live chat plus email support.
- Enterprise: custom, for 200K+ subscribers.
Paid plans have a free trial with no credit card. MailerLite bills on active subscribers (unsubscribed and bounced don't count), but the count is cumulative within each billing cycle. An address that was active at any point in the cycle counts, even if you delete it later.
Pros
- Comfort is $89/month at 10,000 subscribers
- Unsubscribed and bounced subscribers don't count toward billing
- Automations and landing pages included on Free
- Power includes unlimited emails, seats and automations
Cons
- Free plan limited to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month
- Comfort caps automations (50), forms (10) and seats (3)
- Cumulative billing counts addresses deleted mid-cycle
Who should use it
Small businesses and creators who want automations, forms and simple sites at a modest price, especially once the list reaches several thousand subscribers.
Who should skip it
Ecommerce brands that want store-driven revenue reporting, and teams that would hit Comfort's 50-automation or 3-seat limits.
Constant Contact review
Constant Contact pairs email with social posting, events and payments, and offers live phone and chat support on every plan. It has no free plan.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop email editor, AI copy generator and templates on all plans
- Automation: 1 template on Lite; 3 templates, AI campaign builder and resend to non-openers on Standard; unlimited and custom automations on Premium
- Segments: 1 on Lite, 10 on Standard, unlimited on Premium
- Social media posting and ads manager, plus events and payments on all plans
- 300 integrations including Shopify, Canva, Eventbrite and Zapier
Pricing
Priced by contact tier, monthly or prepaid annually (up to 15% off; nonprofits up to 30%).
- Lite: $12/month ($10.20 annual) at 0 to 500 contacts; $120/month ($102 annual) at 5,001 to 10,000. Sends are 10x contacts.
- Standard: $35/month ($29.75 annual) at 0 to 500; $160/month ($136 annual) at 5,001 to 10,000. Sends are 12x contacts.
- Premium: $80/month ($68 annual) at 0 to 500; $275/month ($233.75 annual) at 5,001 to 10,000. Sends are 24x contacts. Includes 500 SMS messages.
Sends over your allowance cost $0.002 each ($2 per 1,000). SMS on Lite and Standard is an add-on from $10/month for 1 to 500 messages. Multi-Account for 5+ accounts is through sales. There is a free trial with no credit card (the pricing page does not state its length) and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Unsubscribed contacts don't count toward billing.
Pros
- Live phone and chat support on every plan
- Unsubscribed contacts don't count toward billing
- Premium includes 500 SMS messages and unlimited custom automations
- 30-day money-back guarantee; nonprofits save up to 30% prepaying
Cons
- No free plan
- Lite limits you to 1 automation template and 1 segment
- Standard costs $160/month at 5,001 to 10,000 contacts
Who should use it
Small businesses and nonprofits that want to talk to a person when they get stuck, and want email, social posts and events in one place.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants a free plan, or who needs real automation without paying for Premium.
ActiveCampaign review
ActiveCampaign is the automation specialist in this list. It has no free plan, and its pricing page only shows annual-billing prices.
Key features
- Multi-step marketing automation with 950+ automation recipes (Starter limited to 5 actions per automation)
- Segmentation: limited (Starter), standard (Plus), advanced (Pro), premium (Enterprise)
- Landing pages and CRM and ecommerce integrations from Plus
- Predictive sending, conditional content and attribution tracking (Pro and Enterprise)
- Single sign-on and custom objects (Enterprise)
Pricing
All prices are per month, billed annually. Monthly-billing prices are not shown.
- At 1,000 contacts: Starter $15, Plus $49, Pro $79, Enterprise $145.
- At 10,000 contacts: Starter $149, Plus $189, Pro $375, Enterprise $589.
Email sends are 10x your contact limit on Starter and Plus, 12x on Pro and 15x on Enterprise. Users: 1 on Starter, 1 on Plus, 3 on Pro and 5 on Enterprise. Separate WhatsApp and Email + WhatsApp plans exist. SMS, Enhanced CRM (Pipelines, Sales Engagement) and AI Activities are add-ons. There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and ActiveCampaign advertises "guaranteed results in 30 days or your money back."
Contact counting changed recently. Accounts created on or after November 3, 2025 are billed for all contacts regardless of list status, including unsubscribed. Older accounts count only active contacts.
Pros
- Unlimited automation actions from Plus
- 950+ automation recipes
- Predictive sending and conditional content on Pro
- 14-day free trial without a credit card
Cons
- No free plan
- New accounts are billed for unsubscribed contacts too
- Pro costs $375/month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually
Who should use it
Businesses where automation is the main job: multi-step nurture, conditional content and predictive sending. Plan to start on Plus or Pro, since Starter caps each automation at 5 actions.
Who should skip it
Teams that mostly send newsletters, and anyone who wants a free plan.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Ease of use
The bigger difference between these tools is how much each plan lets you do before you hit a wall. Mailchimp, MailerLite and Kit let you start free. Constant Contact has live phone and chat support on every plan. ActiveCampaign has the deepest automation and the most to learn.
Features
- Automation: ActiveCampaign leads (950+ recipes, unlimited actions from Plus). Brevo gives unlimited workflows on Standard. Mailchimp gives up to 200 flows on Standard. MailerLite includes automations on every plan (50 on Comfort, unlimited on Power). Kit needs Creator or Pro. Constant Contact only gets unlimited custom automations on Premium.
- Ecommerce: Klaviyo is built around store data, with revenue attribution and predictive analytics on paid plans. Constant Contact lists a Shopify integration among its 300 integrations.
- Selling directly: Kit sells digital products and paid newsletter subscriptions. MailerLite sells digital products or bookings (5 products on Comfort). Constant Contact includes events and payments.
- Transactional email: Brevo includes SMTP relay and API for transactional email in the same account as marketing email.
Pricing value
At the lowest tier, the cheapest paid starts are Brevo Starter ($9/month), MailerLite Comfort and Constant Contact Lite ($12/month), and Mailchimp Essentials ($13/month). Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers if you can live without automation.
Worked example: 10,000 contacts for one year, on the cheapest plan with real automation (monthly billing unless noted):
- MailerLite Comfort: $89 x 12 = $1,068 (or $80.10 x 12 = $961.20 on yearly billing). Comfort caps you at 50 automations and 3 seats.
- Mailchimp Standard: $135 x 12 = $1,620. With the first-year promotion: $114.75 x 12 = $1,377.
- Kit Creator: $139 x 12 = $1,668 (yearly price at this tier not shown).
- Klaviyo Email: $150 x 12 = $1,800.
- Constant Contact Standard: $160 x 12 = $1,920 (or $136 x 12 = $1,632 prepaid annually), with 3 automation templates.
- ActiveCampaign Plus: $189 x 12 = $2,268, billed annually. Starter is cheaper ($149 x 12 = $1,788) but limits each automation to 5 actions.
- Brevo Standard (20,000 emails): $69 x 12 = $828 (or $62.08 x 12 = $744.96 yearly), but only about two emails per contact per month.
If you email 10,000 people once or twice a month, Brevo wins. If you send weekly, MailerLite is the cheapest contact-based option.
Integrations and ecosystem
Klaviyo lists 350+ integrations, Constant Contact 300 (including Shopify, Canva, Eventbrite and Zapier), and MailerLite 100+ plus full MCP and API access. ActiveCampaign adds CRM and ecommerce integrations from Plus. Kit offers Kit MCP on Creator.
Limits that bite
- Who counts as a contact: Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts. ActiveCampaign does too, for accounts created on or after November 3, 2025. Constant Contact, MailerLite, Kit and Klaviyo (suppressed profiles) do not.
- MailerLite's cumulative count: addresses active at any point in a billing cycle count, even if you delete them mid-cycle.
- Brevo's contact caps: 500, 1,500 or 2,500 contacts on tiers under 20,000 emails per month.
- Users: ActiveCampaign Starter and Plus have 1 user, Kit Free 1 and Creator 2, Brevo Starter 1, Mailchimp Essentials 3, MailerLite Comfort 3.
How to Choose: Decision Framework
Questions to ask
- How many contacts will you have in a year? Price each tool at that size, not today's.
- How often do you send? A large list emailed rarely favors Brevo. A list emailed weekly favors contact-based tools like MailerLite.
- Do you need automation now? If not, Kit's free plan or MailerLite's free plan may be enough. If yes, check the step and action limits on entry plans.
- Do you sell online? Klaviyo is built for store data; Kit and MailerLite sell digital products.
- How many people need logins? User limits are low on several entry plans.
Red flags
- A pricing page that only shows annual prices (ActiveCampaign) or hides annual prices behind sales (Mailchimp).
- Billing that counts unsubscribed contacts, if you have years of old signups.
- Introductory discounts that renew at a higher rate (Mailchimp's 15% first-year promo, Kit Pro's 25% first-year offer).
What to test in a trial
- Import your real list and see the contact count you are billed for.
- Rebuild your most important automation on the plan you would buy.
- For ecommerce, connect your store and check what data arrives.
The Verdict: Final Recommendations
1) Mailchimp: best for a familiar, all-round start
Start free if you have under 250 contacts, and plan to move to Standard when you need automation.
2) Klaviyo: best for ecommerce brands
Connect your store on the free plan and check the segments and revenue reporting before you pay.
3) Brevo: best for large lists you email a few times a month
Work out your monthly email volume first, since it sets both price and contact storage.
4) Kit: best for creators and newsletter writers
Use the free plan up to 10,000 subscribers if broadcasts are enough.
5) MailerLite: best budget pick at 10,000 contacts
Start on Comfort, and move to Power if you outgrow 50 automations or 3 seats.
6) Constant Contact: best for live support
Pick Standard or Premium if you need more than one automation template or segment.
7) ActiveCampaign: best for advanced automation
Start on Plus or Pro so your automations are not capped at 5 actions.
Conclusion
Mailchimp is a solid, familiar tool, but it gets expensive as your list grows and it bills for unsubscribed contacts. MailerLite is the best value for most small businesses at around 10,000 contacts. Klaviyo suits online stores, Kit creators, Brevo big lists with light sending, Constant Contact people who want live help, and ActiveCampaign serious automation. Price each at next year's list size, then rebuild one real campaign in a trial.
Marcus Williams