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Mailchimp Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 7 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- Free (250 contacts); Essentials from $13/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- Small businesses and online stores that want email, basic automation and SMS in one familiar tool, with Shopify or WooCommerce data behind it
- Platforms
- Web app, iOS and Android apps; Transactional Email (Mandrill) and SMS sold as add-ons
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
What is Mailchimp, and is it worth paying for?
Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform owned by Intuit since November 2021. You build an audience, send campaigns, and automate emails such as welcome series and abandoned-cart reminders, with store data from Shopify, WooCommerce and 300+ other integrations. It's worth paying for if you run a small business or online store and want a familiar editor, ecommerce automations and predictive segments in one place. It gets expensive as your list grows, because every plan is priced by contacts and unsubscribed contacts still count. Paid plans start at $13 a month for 500 contacts (Essentials), $20 (Standard) and $350 (Premium, from 10,000 contacts), checked on Mailchimp's pricing pages on October 13, 2026.
- Best for
- Small businesses and Shopify or WooCommerce stores that want email, automation and SMS in one tool and value a large integration list.
- Skip it if
- You're a creator or newsletter writer with a growing free list (Kit's free plan covers 10,000 subscribers), or you need deep automation logic on a budget.
- Strongest capability
- Ecommerce marketing: store integrations, Marketing Automation Flows, predicted lifetime value and purchase likelihood on Standard and up.
- Biggest limitation
- Cost at scale. Prices step up by contact tier, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count toward billing, overages are charged, and monthly plans aren't refundable.
The Verdict
Mailchimp is still the default small-business email tool for good reasons: a drag-and-drop editor most people can use on day one, 300+ integrations led by Shopify and WooCommerce, ecommerce automations, predictive segments on Standard, and SMS in 37 countries as an add-on. Since June 2025 its automation builder is called Marketing Automation Flows, and Standard allows up to 200 flows with branching. The weak spot is price. The free plan now stops at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, Essentials limits flows to four steps, Standard is the realistic plan for automation at $20 for 500 contacts and $135 at 10,000, and unsubscribed contacts count toward your bill unless you archive them. Monthly plans aren't refundable. Kit and beehiiv are cheaper for creators, and Brevo is cheaper for high-volume senders. We score Mailchimp 8.4/10.
Best for
Small businesses and online stores that want an easy editor, ecommerce automations and a large integration library in one subscription.
Skip if
You run a creator newsletter, send to a large list on a tight budget, or need advanced automation logic without paying for Standard.
AlternativesKit, Brevo, ActiveCampaign
The Background
What Is Mailchimp?
Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform. Intuit completed its acquisition on November 1, 2021, and the product is now branded Intuit Mailchimp. Its marketing plans (Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium) cover audiences, email campaigns, Marketing Automation Flows (the Customer Journey Builder until June 2025), segmentation, A/B testing, landing pages, sign-up forms and reporting. SMS and MMS are a paid add-on. Transactional Email, the former Mandrill, sends receipts and password resets through an API and is bought in blocks on Standard and Premium. Pay As You Go email credits suit occasional senders. Mailchimp also offers a website builder, with a free Websites plan and a paid Core plan for custom domains.
The Product
Mailchimp Features: What You Actually Get
Marketing Automation Flows
Flows send emails (and SMS on paid plans) based on triggers such as a sign-up, a tag, a purchase or an abandoned cart. Essentials allows flows of up to four steps; Standard and Premium allow up to 200 flows with multiple starting points and branching. Mailchimp claims flows produced up to 8x more orders than bulk emails for users with connected stores; that is Mailchimp's figure. Mailchimp's own pages disagree about the free plan: the comparison table says automation flows aren't included, while the automations page says Free allows a single email automation.
A Shopify store sets up a welcome series, an abandoned-cart reminder and a post-purchase review request, each branching on whether the customer has bought before.
Segmentation and predictive analytics
Essentials and Free get basic segmentation; Standard and Premium get advanced segments. On Standard and up, Mailchimp predicts customer lifetime value, purchase likelihood and churn risk once a store is connected and at least one campaign has been sent. An AI Segment Builder was in beta as of May 2026.
A retailer emails a discount only to customers Mailchimp flags as likely to buy again, and excludes those predicted to churn.
Email editor, templates and testing
Campaigns are built in a drag-and-drop editor with saved templates, content blocks and sign-up forms. A/B testing is on Essentials and up; multivariate testing and custom reports need Standard or Premium. Test emails count toward your monthly send limit.
A small business tests two subject lines on 20% of its list and sends the winner to the rest automatically.
AI features
Generative AI (Intuit Assist, in beta) is included at no extra cost on Standard and Premium in select countries, in English only; it isn't on Free or Essentials. In May 2026 Mailchimp added Analytics AI, a conversational analytics assistant, and apps that connect Mailchimp to ChatGPT and Claude in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Mailchimp's pages differ on who gets Analytics AI: the What's New page says Standard and Premium, while the press release says all paid plans.
A marketer asks Analytics AI which of last month's campaigns drove the most revenue, then has Intuit Assist draft the follow-up email.
SMS and MMS
SMS is a paid add-on bought in monthly credit tiers, from $20 for 1,000 credits to $600 for 100,000. Credits expire each month and don't roll over. A US text uses 1 credit and an MMS 3; other countries cost more (UK 5 credits, Germany 12). Mailchimp's help center lists 37 countries, while its Premium details page still says US, UK, Canada and Australia only. MMS is US and Canada only, on Standard and Premium.
A US store sends a 24-hour flash-sale text to subscribers who opted in to SMS, alongside the email campaign.
Transactional Email (Mandrill)
Transactional Email sends one-to-one messages such as receipts through an API. It's an add-on to Standard and Premium (not Essentials), sold in blocks of 25,000 emails: $20 a block for the first 20 blocks, falling to $10 a block above 160. A dedicated IP is $29.95 a month. Unused emails don't carry over, and sending stops when blocks run out unless auto-purchase is on.
A software company sends password resets and receipts through Mandrill while marketing emails run on the Standard plan.
Feature recap
- Drag-and-drop editor, templates, sign-up forms and landing pages
- Marketing Automation Flows: 4 steps on Essentials, up to 200 flows with branching on Standard and Premium
- Predicted lifetime value, purchase likelihood and churn risk on Standard and up
- A/B testing from Essentials; multivariate testing and custom reports from Standard
- Intuit Assist and Analytics AI on Standard and Premium
- SMS add-on in 37 countries; MMS in the US and Canada
- 300+ integrations, led by Shopify and WooCommerce
The Numbers
Mailchimp Pricing: Every Plan Explained
Mailchimp prices every marketing plan by the number of contacts in your account, and each plan caps monthly sends at a multiple of that number. Prices below are the monthly list prices Mailchimp's pricing page loaded for a US visitor on October 13, 2026, in USD before tax. Annual plans are available only for Standard and Premium at 10,000+ contacts, through sales, with no published discount.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | — | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month (250 a day), 1 seat, 1 audience; no A/B testing, SMS or generative AI; email support for the first 30 days only | Trying Mailchimp with a very small list |
| Essentials | From $13/mo (500 contacts) | Not offered | 3 seats, 3 audiences, sends up to 10x contacts, flows up to 4 steps, A/B testing, 24/7 email and chat support. $26.50 at 1,500 contacts, $110 at 10,000, $385 at 50,000 (the top tier) | Regular newsletters with little automation |
| StandardBest value | From $20/mo (500 contacts) | Through sales at 10,000+ contacts | 5 seats, 5 audiences, sends up to 12x contacts, up to 200 flows with branching, predictive segments, multivariate testing, custom reports, generative AI, 1 onboarding session. $45 at 1,500, $135 at 10,000, $450 at 50,000, $800 at 100,000 | Small businesses and stores that automate |
| Premium | From $350/mo (10,000 contacts) | Through sales | Unlimited seats and audiences, sends up to 15x contacts, phone and priority support, enterprise SSO, 4 onboarding sessions. $815 at 50,000, $1,025 at 100,000, $1,600 at 200,000; custom above | Larger teams and lists |
| Add-ons | SMS from $20/mo; Transactional from $20 per 25,000 | — | SMS credit tiers ($20 for 1,000 to $600 for 100,000; credits expire monthly). Transactional Email blocks on Standard and Premium. Pay As You Go email credits expire after 12 months | Stores adding SMS or app email |
Contact count drives the bill, and Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts; only archived, cleaned and deleted contacts drop out. Archiving unsubscribes regularly is the simplest way to keep costs down. If you go over your plan's contacts or sends on a monthly paid plan, Mailchimp bills overage in contact blocks based on your peak count for the period (block prices are shown only in the account); on the Free plan, sending pauses instead. For a growing list the jump is steep: Standard costs $20 at 500 contacts, $60 at 2,500, $135 at 10,000 and $450 at 50,000. Brevo prices by emails sent rather than contacts, so a large list that emails occasionally can cost less there; compare quotes at your own list size. On October 13, 2026 the pricing page showed two promotions: a 14-day free trial of Essentials or Standard, which needs payment details and then bills at the regular rate, and 15% off for 12 months for new customers who buy a 10,000+ contact plan. A 15% nonprofit discount is available through Mailchimp's billing team.
Free plan
What Mailchimp's free plan includes in 2026
Mailchimp's Free plan allows 250 contacts, 500 email sends a month with a daily cap of 250, one seat and one audience, according to its help center on October 13, 2026. Older Mailchimp pages that still turn up in search describe a larger free allowance; we couldn't find a dated Mailchimp announcement of the change.
Free has no A/B testing, SMS, generative AI or custom reports, and its email support ends after the first 30 days. If you pass 250 contacts, Mailchimp puts a hold on sending, including test emails, until you upgrade or remove contacts.
For comparison, Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers and beehiiv's up to 2,500 (each vendor's pricing page, October 13, 2026). If you want a free plan to grow on, Mailchimp's is the most limited of the three.
Read before you buy
Where Mailchimp's own pages differ
Premium's contact ceiling: the help center says Premium covers 10,000 to 200,000 contacts with custom plans above that, the comparison page refers to plans for more than 250,000 contacts, and the landing-pages page says Premium has unlimited contacts.
SMS countries: the Premium details page says SMS is available only on US, UK, Canada and Australia paid plans, while the SMS credits help article and the February 2026 release list 37 countries.
Free-plan automation: the comparison table says flows aren't included on Free, while the automations page says Free allows a single email automation.
Overages: the help center says monthly paid plans are billed for overages without interruption, while the Terms of Use say annual plans have sending put on hold until you upgrade.
Trials: the comparison page offers qualified new customers a one-month Premium trial through sales, while the promotional terms describe a one-month trial of a paid plan of your choice and the pricing page shows a 14-day trial of Essentials or Standard.
The Tradeoffs
Mailchimp Pros and Cons
What we love
- Easy drag-and-drop editor and a large template library
- 300+ integrations, with Shopify and WooCommerce at the top
- Up to 200 automation flows with branching on Standard
- Predicted lifetime value and purchase likelihood for stores on Standard
- SMS and transactional email available as add-ons in the same account
- 24/7 email and chat support on Essentials and Standard
What could be better
- Free plan limited to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month
- Unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count toward billing
- Essentials automations stop at four steps; real automation needs Standard
- Overages are billed on monthly plans; block prices aren't published
- No refunds on monthly plans, under Mailchimp's Terms of Use
- Generative AI only on Standard and Premium, in English and select countries
The Audience
Who Should Use Mailchimp?
Best for: small online stores
Shopify and WooCommerce stores get abandoned-cart flows, product recommendations and predicted lifetime value on Standard, with SMS in the same account. The store integration is the main reason to pick Mailchimp over a cheaper sender.
Best for: small businesses that want something familiar
If several people will touch your email marketing, Mailchimp's editor and help resources are easy to pick up, and Essentials or Standard include three to five seats.
Skip if: you're a creator or have a big list on a small budget
Creators and newsletter writers get far more on Kit's or beehiiv's free plans, and high-volume senders usually pay less with Brevo's send-based pricing. Compare at your list size before committing.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed Mailchimp
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't use a Mailchimp account for this review. It's based on Mailchimp's marketing pricing page and the tier prices it loads for a US visitor, its plan comparison table, help center articles on pricing plans, additional charges, SMS credits and predictive analytics, the automations, integrations, SMS, transactional email and Pay As You Go pages, its Terms of Use (updated October 10, 2025) and promotional offer terms, its May 2026 Analytics AI announcement and February 2026 release notes, and Intuit's acquisition release, all checked on October 13, 2026. We didn't sign in, so in-account overage prices and screens weren't checked. Where Mailchimp's pages differ, we report both statements. No deliverability, open-rate or revenue results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : First published. Editorial review based on Mailchimp's pricing page and tier prices, plan comparison table, help center articles (pricing plans, additional charges, SMS credits, predictive analytics), automations, integrations, SMS, transactional email and Pay As You Go pages, Terms of Use and promotional terms, May 2026 Analytics AI announcement and February 2026 release notes, all checked October 13, 2026. Sub-scores are provisional pending editorial approval.
The Field
Mailchimp vs The Competition
Mailchimp competes with creator-focused email tools, send-based all-in-one platforms and automation-first tools. Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 13, 2026.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Free (250 contacts); Essentials from $13/mo | Yes | Marketing Automation Flows | 8.4/10 |
| Kit | Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $33/mo billed yearly | Yes | Creator-focused automations and a large free plan | 9/10 |
| beehiiv | Free up to 2,500 subscribers; Lite $49/mo billed yearly | Yes | Newsletter growth and monetization | 9.4/10 |
| Brevo | Free (300 emails a day); Starter $9/mo | Yes | Send-based pricing with SMS and CRM | 8.7/10 |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter $15/mo billed yearly ($19 monthly) | No | Deeper automation logic and CRM | 8.7/10 |
| GetResponse | Free plan; Starter $15.58/mo billed yearly ($19 monthly) | Yes | Unlimited sends, landing pages and webinars | Not yet reviewed |
Kit: Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, and Creator at 1,000 subscribers costs $390 a year (about $33 a month) with unlimited visual automations. Pick Kit if you're building an audience as a creator; pick Mailchimp if you run a store and want ecommerce automations and SMS.Read our Kit review →
beehiiv: beehiiv is built for newsletters, with an ad network, digital products and growth tools. Its free plan covers 2,500 subscribers. Mailchimp is the better fit when email supports a store or local business rather than being the product.Read our beehiiv review →
Brevo: Brevo prices by emails sent rather than contacts, with Starter from $9 a month for 5,000 emails. Large lists that email occasionally usually cost less on Brevo; Mailchimp offers more ecommerce integrations and predictive segments.Read our Brevo review →
ActiveCampaign: ActiveCampaign's Starter costs $15 a month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts, with a 14-day trial and no free plan. Pick it if automation depth and CRM matter more than ease of use.Read our ActiveCampaign review →
GetResponse: GetResponse's Starter plan at 1,000 contacts includes unlimited monthly sends, landing pages and AI content tools, and it keeps a free account after its 14-day trial. BestStacked hasn't reviewed GetResponse yet.Visit GetResponse
In The Wild
How People Actually Use Mailchimp
A Shopify store with 3,000 customers
At 3,000 contacts the list falls in Standard's 5,000-contact tier ($100 a month), which adds branching flows for welcome, abandoned cart and win-back, plus predicted lifetime value. Add SMS for flash sales and archive unsubscribes to keep the contact count down.
A local service business
Essentials from $13 a month covers a monthly newsletter, sign-up forms and a short welcome flow for a few hundred contacts. Move to Standard only if you need longer automations.
A software company
Run marketing email on Standard and add Transactional Email blocks for receipts and password resets, so both kinds of email live in one account. Check whether a dedicated transactional service is cheaper at your volume.
The Ecosystem
Mailchimp Integrations
Integrations are one of Mailchimp's strengths: it lists 300+ apps, with ecommerce platforms at the top.
- →Shopify
- →WooCommerce
- →Wix and Squarespace
- →Square and Stripe
- →Yotpo and Judge.me (added February 2026)
- →ChatGPT and Claude apps (US, Canada, UK, Australia)
- →Mailchimp Transactional API (Mandrill)
- →Zapier and Mailchimp's Marketing API
Mailchimp's integrations directory lists Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Square and Stripe as its most popular connections. A site tracking pixel, added in February 2026 and extended to Wix and WooCommerce in May 2026, feeds browsing behavior into segments and flows.
Common Questions
Mailchimp FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use Mailchimp?
Mailchimp is a sensible choice for small businesses and online stores that want an approachable editor, ecommerce automations, predictive segments and SMS in one account, backed by 300+ integrations. Standard is the plan to evaluate, since Essentials caps automations at four steps. Budget carefully: pricing rises with every contact tier, unsubscribed contacts count unless archived, overages are billed, and monthly plans aren't refundable. Creators and large-list senders will usually find better value with Kit, beehiiv or Brevo. We score Mailchimp 8.4/10.
Yes, if
You run a small business or store, want ecommerce automations and SMS in one familiar tool, and your list is in the low thousands.
No, if
You're a creator with a growing free list, send to a large list on a budget, or need advanced automation without paying for Standard.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
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