Top 6 Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026
Mailchimp gets expensive as a list grows. The free plan has shrunk over the years, pricing follows contact count, and the automation is not deep enough to justify the higher tiers for many senders. Paid plans start at $13/mo for 500 contacts. 3 of the 6 tools below start cheaper. MailerLite ($10.80/mo) does the essentials cleanly at a low price. Brevo ($8.08/mo) charges by emails sent instead of contacts stored, and adds SMS and transactional email. Constant Contact ($10.20/mo) suits small businesses and nonprofits, with event tools and phone support.
01Quick Comparison
| Tool | Entry price | Free plan | Value score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | $10.80/mo | Yes | 4.6/5 |
| Brevo | $8.08/mo | Yes | 4.7/5 |
| Constant Contact | $10.20/mo | No | 4.2/5 |
| ActiveCampaign | $15/mo | No | 4.2/5 |
| ConvertKit | $33/mo | Yes | 4.1/5 |
| Klaviyo | $20/mo | Yes | 4.3/5 |
| Mailchimp (current) | $13/mo | Yes | 4.5/5 |
02The Alternatives
MailerLite
From$10.80/moValue score4.6/5
Compared with Mailchimp: Starts at $10.80/mo, $2.20 a month less than Mailchimp; its free plan allows up to 250 subscribers.
MailerLite is a simple, inexpensive email tool with a clean editor. Newsletters, landing pages, forms and straightforward automations are all there, and the free plan is usable. It leaves out the heavier features, which keeps both the interface and the bill small.
- Best for
- Small businesses and creators that want value and simplicity
- Pricing
- Comfort plan, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), 500 subscribers at this price. Free plan: up to 250 subscribers.
- Key features
- Newsletter builder, Automation workflows, Landing pages and websites
Where it falls short: Automation, reporting and integrations are lighter than in the bigger platforms.
MailerLite plans and pricing Mailchimp vs MailerLite in detail Visit MailerLite
Brevo
From$8.08/moValue score4.7/5
Compared with Mailchimp: Starts at $8.08/mo, $4.92 a month less than Mailchimp; its free plan allows 300 emails a day.
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, combines email campaigns with SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email and a light CRM. Its pricing is based on how many emails you send, not on how many contacts you store, which favors large lists that are mailed occasionally. The free plan caps daily sends instead of list size.
- Best for
- SMBs that want email, SMS, and transactional messaging in one tool
- Pricing
- Starter plan, billed annually ($9 billed monthly), from 5,000 emails per month. Free plan: 300 emails a day.
- Key features
- Email campaigns and automation, Transactional email, SMS marketing
Where it falls short: Templates and reporting are plainer than Mailchimp’s, and the free plan’s daily cap limits how many people you can reach at once.
Brevo plans and pricing Brevo vs Mailchimp in detail Visit Brevo
Constant Contact
From$10.20/moValue score4.2/5
Compared with Mailchimp: Starts at $10.20/mo, $2.80 a month less than Mailchimp; unlike Mailchimp, it has no free plan.
Constant Contact is a long-standing choice for small businesses and nonprofits. Beyond email it handles event registration, social posting and surveys, and it backs them with phone support and plenty of guidance. Automation is basic, and there is a trial instead of a free plan.
- Best for
- Small businesses that want straightforward email marketing
- Pricing
- Lite plan, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), 500 contacts at this price.
- Key features
- Email templates and campaigns, Audience segmentation, Event marketing tools
Where it falls short: Automation and segmentation are limited, and you pay from the start.
Constant Contact plans and pricing Constant Contact vs Mailchimp in detail Visit Constant Contact
ActiveCampaign
From$15/moValue score4.2/5
Compared with Mailchimp: Starts at $15/mo, $2 a month more than Mailchimp; unlike Mailchimp, it has no free plan.
ActiveCampaign is an automation tool that also sends email. Its visual builder handles branching logic, lead scoring, site tracking and conditional content, and a sales CRM can be added on. It asks for more learning than its simpler rivals and repays it for businesses whose marketing depends on timing and behavior.
- Best for
- Businesses that prioritize automation and segmentation
- Pricing
- Starter plan, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), 1,000 contacts at this price.
- Key features
- Advanced automations, Segmentation and personalization, Built-in CRM
Where it falls short: There is no free plan, the learning curve is real, and the cost climbs with both contacts and tier.
ActiveCampaign plans and pricing ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp in detail Visit ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit
From$33/moValue score4.1/5
Compared with Mailchimp: Starts at $33/mo, $20 a month more than Mailchimp; its free plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers.
ConvertKit, now called Kit, is email marketing for creators: writers, podcasters, course sellers and newsletter operators. Subscribers are organized with tags instead of lists, automations are drawn as simple visual flows, and you can sell digital products and paid subscriptions from the same account. Emails are plain and text-first by intent.
- Best for
- Creators and newsletter businesses focused on audience building
- Pricing
- Creator plan, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), 1,000 subscribers at this price. Free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers.
- Key features
- Visual automations, Landing pages and forms, Creator commerce tools
Where it falls short: Design options and reporting are limited, and it is not built for stores or sales teams.
ConvertKit plans and pricing ConvertKit vs Mailchimp in detail Visit ConvertKit
Klaviyo
From$20/moValue score4.3/5
Compared with Mailchimp: Starts at $20/mo, $7 a month more than Mailchimp; its free plan allows up to 250 active profiles and 500 sends a month.
Klaviyo is built for online stores. It pulls order and browsing data from platforms such as Shopify and uses it for segmentation and automated flows: abandoned carts, post-purchase follow-ups, win-backs. Email and SMS run from the same data. It is the specialist’s choice for ecommerce and priced like one.
- Best for
- Ecommerce brands prioritizing retention and customer lifecycle revenue
- Pricing
- Email plan, billed monthly, 251-500 active profiles at this price. Free plan: up to 250 active profiles and 500 sends a month.
- Key features
- Behavior-based segmentation, Ecommerce automation flows, SMS marketing
Where it falls short: Pricing follows the number of active profiles and rises quickly, and it offers little to a business that is not selling online.
Klaviyo plans and pricing Klaviyo vs Mailchimp in detail Visit Klaviyo
03FAQ
What is the closest alternative to Mailchimp?
MailerLite. MailerLite is a simple, inexpensive email tool with a clean editor. Starts at $10.80/mo, $2.20 a month less than Mailchimp; its free plan allows up to 250 subscribers.
What is the cheapest alternative to Mailchimp?
Brevo: free plan, then $8.08/mo. Starter plan, billed annually ($9 billed monthly), from 5,000 emails per month. Free plan: 300 emails a day.
Which Mailchimp alternatives have a free plan?
MailerLite, Brevo, ConvertKit and Klaviyo. Free plans differ a lot in what they limit, so check the plan tables on each tool’s pricing page.
Is Mailchimp still worth using?
Yes, if you want a familiar general-purpose tool with integrations for everything. Its strength is getting a small business sending good-looking email quickly. The weakness: the price rises with every contact you add, the free plan is small, and automation is shallower than in specialist tools.
04Bottom Line
If cost is why you are leaving Mailchimp, start with Brevo. If you want the least disruption, MailerLite is the closest in spirit: it does the essentials cleanly at a low price. And if Mailchimp never did enough, Klaviyo goes deepest.