13 Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026 (Free & Paid)

Compare 13 Mailchimp alternatives with real 2026 pricing — free plan limits, cost at 500, 2,500 and 10,000 contacts, and which tools don't charge for unsubscribed contacts.

What is Mailchimp — and why do people leave?

Mailchimp

Automate your marketing, reach your people. Email marketing platform owned by Intuit since 2021.

Mailchimp is one of the most recognizable email marketing platforms in the world: campaigns, automations, landing pages, and a large integration catalog under one roof. It's still a capable product — but since Intuit acquired it for $12B in 2021, the pricing story has changed, and that's what sends most people here.

• You pay for unsubscribed contacts. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts toward your billing tier unless you archive them one by one. Most alternatives on this page simply don't bill unsubscribed contacts.
• Repeated price increases. Paid plans rose roughly 20–30% between 2022 and 2024, with further hikes since — including increases for legacy grandfathered accounts in 2026.
• The free plan keeps shrinking. It once covered 2,000 contacts; it was cut to 500 contacts in 2023 and new accounts now get as little as 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, with support limited to the first 30 days.
• Send limits on every plan. Unlike several alternatives with unlimited sending, Mailchimp caps monthly sends at roughly 10–12× your contact count depending on the plan.

How we picked these Mailchimp alternatives

We compared each tool on the things people actually leave Mailchimp over: real monthly pricing at 500, 2,500 and 10,000 contacts, free plan generosity, whether unsubscribed contacts count toward your bill, send limits, and automation depth. All prices below are USD, monthly billing, verified on the vendors' official pricing pages in July 2026. Several tools on this list are launched and reviewed by makers on Uneed; inclusion and ranking are editorial and not paid.

Top Mailchimp Alternatives

1. MailerLite

The most popular direct Mailchimp replacement: drag-and-drop campaigns, automation, landing pages, and websites with a cleaner interface and consistently lower prices.

• Pros

  • Cheaper than Mailchimp at every list size ($89 vs $110+ at 10k contacts)
  • Never bills unsubscribed or bounced contacts
  • Automation included on the free plan
  • Modern, genuinely easy editor

• Cons

  • Free plan was cut in June 2026 (250 subs, 2,500 emails/mo)
  • Approval process for new accounts can take a day
  • 24/7 live chat only on the Power plan

Free: 250 subs From: $12/mo

2. Brevo

The all-in-one marketing and CRM platform (formerly Sendinblue): email, SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email, and a built-in sales CRM — priced by emails sent, not contacts stored.

• Pros

  • Pay per email sent — contacts are always unlimited
  • Free plan sends 300 emails/day
  • SMS, WhatsApp, and transactional email built in
  • Included CRM replaces a separate sales tool

• Cons

  • Daily (not monthly) cap on the free plan
  • Email editor less polished than MailerLite
  • Advanced automation and A/B testing gated to the Business plan

Free: unlimited contacts From: $9/mo

3. Kit

The email-first operating system for creators (formerly ConvertKit): broadcasts, sequences, paid newsletters, digital product sales, and the Creator Network for cross-promotion.

• Pros

  • Free up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends
  • Creator Network drives real subscriber growth
  • Built-in paid newsletters and digital product sales
  • Tag-based subscriber model beats rigid lists

• Cons

  • Paid plans are pricey ($39/mo at 1,000 subs)
  • Free plan limited to 1 sequence and 1 automation
  • Email templates are deliberately minimal

Free: 10,000 subs From: $39/mo

4. Klaviyo

The ecommerce email and SMS platform: deep Shopify/WooCommerce data sync, predictive analytics, and revenue attribution on every flow and campaign.

• Pros

  • Best-in-class Shopify integration and store data sync
  • Revenue attribution on every email and flow
  • Predictive analytics (churn risk, expected LTV)
  • SMS in the same flows

• Cons

  • Gets expensive fast ($150/mo at 10k profiles)
  • All emailable profiles count toward billing since 2025
  • Overkill outside ecommerce

Free: 250 profiles From: $20/mo

5. Omnisend

Ecommerce marketing automation combining email, SMS, and web push in the same workflows, with pre-built cart-abandonment and post-purchase flows.

• Pros

  • Email + SMS + web push in one workflow builder
  • Pre-built ecommerce automation recipes
  • 24/7 live support on all plans, free included
  • Doesn't bill unsubscribed contacts

• Cons

  • Free plan capped at 250 contacts / 500 emails
  • Weaker outside ecommerce use cases
  • Standard plan caps sends at 12× contacts

Free: 250 contacts From: $16/mo

6. ActiveCampaign

Marketing automation with the deepest workflow builder in this list — branching logic, lead scoring, site tracking, automation A/B tests — plus a native sales CRM.

• Pros

  • Most powerful automation builder of any tool here
  • Native CRM and lead scoring
  • Excellent deliverability track record
  • Only active contacts count toward billing

• Cons

  • No free plan (14-day trial only)
  • Expensive at scale ($189/mo at 10k contacts)
  • Steeper learning curve than anything else on this page

No free plan From: $19/mo

7. Moosend

A straightforward, aggressively priced email platform: one Pro plan with everything included — automation, landing pages, forms, transactional SMTP — and unlimited sends.

• Pros

  • Unlimited email sends on every paid plan
  • All features in one plan — no tier upsells
  • Among the cheapest at every list size
  • Capable automation for the price

• Cons

  • No free plan (30-day trial, then locked)
  • Fewer integrations than Mailchimp
  • Template selection is limited

No free plan From: $9/mo

8. beehiiv

The newsletter platform built by former Morning Brew engineers: publishing, referral program, ad network, paid subscriptions with 0% platform fee, and Boosts for paid growth.

• Pros

  • Free up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends
  • 0% fee on paid subscriptions
  • Ad Network and Boosts monetize your list
  • Built-in referral program and web publication

• Cons

  • Newsletter-focused — not a general marketing tool
  • No automations on the free plan
  • Paid plans jump to $49/mo quickly

Free: 2,500 subs From: $49/mo

9. Sender

A no-frills email and SMS platform with one of the most generous free plans in the industry: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month, automation included.

• Pros

  • Free: 2,500 subscribers / 15,000 emails per month
  • Automation available on the free plan
  • SMS campaigns on paid plans
  • Very cheap paid tiers

• Cons

  • Sender branding on free-plan emails
  • Basic landing page/form builder
  • Smaller template and integration library

Free: 2,500 subs From: $10/mo

10. EmailOctopus

Minimalist email marketing at rock-bottom prices: campaigns, simple automation, landing pages, and a free plan covering 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month.

• Pros

  • Cheapest at 10k contacts ($44.50/mo)
  • Free: 2,500 subscribers / 10,000 emails
  • Unsubscribed contacts never billed
  • Clean, simple interface

• Cons

  • Automation is basic (simple sequences)
  • Reports kept only 30 days on the free plan
  • Duplicates across lists count twice

Free: 2,500 subs From: $10/mo

11. GetResponse

A veteran all-in-one marketing suite: email, unlimited sends on paid plans, plus webinars, a course creator, and conversion funnels Mailchimp simply doesn't offer.

• Pros

  • Unlimited monthly sends on all paid plans
  • Native webinars and course creator
  • Free plan: 500 contacts / 2,500 emails
  • Conversion funnel templates

• Cons

  • Interface feels dated in places
  • Best features live in higher tiers
  • Paid tiers start at 1,000 contacts

Free: 500 contacts From: $19/mo

12. Constant Contact

A long-running small-business platform with strong event management (invitations, registrations, RSVPs), social tools, and live phone support on every plan.

• Pros

  • Built-in event management and RSVPs
  • Live phone support on all plans
  • Nonprofit discounts up to 30%
  • Only active contacts are billed

• Cons

  • No free plan (14-day trial)
  • Automation is simpler than most rivals
  • Gets pricey at scale ($120/mo at 10k, Lite)

No free plan From: $12/mo

13. AWeber

One of the original email marketing tools (since 1998), refreshed with a free plan, landing pages, and 24/7 human support — including on the free tier.

• Pros

  • 24/7 human support on all plans, free included
  • Unsubscribed contacts not billed
  • Free plan: 500 subscribers / 3,000 emails
  • Huge template library

• Cons

  • Editor feels older than MailerLite or Kit
  • Lite plan limits you to 3 automations
  • Less capable segmentation

Free: 500 subs From: $15/mo

Mailchimp Alternatives: Pricing Comparison (2026)

Feature Comparison

Which Mailchimp alternative should you choose?

• You want Mailchimp, but cheaper and fairer: MailerLite is the classic upgrade path — a similar drag-and-drop experience at roughly 20–30% less, without billing unsubscribed contacts.
• You have a big list but send rarely: Brevo charges per email sent, not per contact — a 10,000-contact list that sends one campaign a month can cost under $20/mo.
• You're a creator or newsletter writer: Kit (free up to 10,000 subscribers) and beehiiv (free up to 2,500, with built-in monetization) are built for you.
• You run an ecommerce store: Klaviyo for deep Shopify data and revenue attribution, or Omnisend for the same job at a lower price.
• Automation is your priority: ActiveCampaign has the deepest workflow builder of anything on this page.
• Budget above all: EmailOctopus, Sender, and Moosend are the cheapest credible options.

How to migrate away from Mailchimp

Switching takes an afternoon for most small lists. The rough checklist:

1. Export your audience: in Mailchimp, go to Audience → All contacts → Export audience. You'll get CSVs including subscriber status and tags. Export your unsubscribes too — you must import them as suppressed on the new platform to stay compliant.
2. Export campaign templates and automation notes: templates rarely transfer cleanly; plan to rebuild your welcome flow in the new editor (most tools ship Mailchimp-import wizards — MailerLite, Brevo, Kit, and EmailOctopus all have one).
3. Import and map fields: upload the CSV, map merge tags (FNAME, LNAME…) to the new platform's fields, and re-create your key segments.
4. Set up domain authentication: add the new platform's SPF/DKIM/DMARC records to your DNS before the first send — deliverability depends on it far more than on which tool you pick.
5. Rebuild forms and update integrations: swap embedded signup forms and reconnect Zapier/website integrations, then send a test campaign to a seed list.
6. Warm up gradually if your list is large: above ~20k contacts, ramp sending volume over 1–2 weeks so inbox providers learn the new sending domain/IP.

Our verdict: the best Mailchimp alternative

For most small businesses, MailerLite is the safest switch: the same job as Mailchimp with a friendlier editor, lower prices at every tier, and no billing of unsubscribed contacts. If your list is large and your sending light, Brevo's pay-per-email model is the biggest money saver on this page. Creators should go straight to Kit or beehiiv, and ecommerce stores to Klaviyo or Omnisend. Mailchimp itself remains fine if you're deep in its integrations — but at 2,500+ contacts you're almost certainly overpaying for what you use.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to Mailchimp?

Kit has the most generous free plan by far — up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, versus Mailchimp's 250 contacts and 500 emails per month. Sender (2,500 subscribers / 15,000 emails, automation included), EmailOctopus (2,500 / 10,000), and beehiiv (2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends) are the next best free options. Brevo is different but notable: unlimited contact storage with 300 free emails per day.

What is the cheapest Mailchimp alternative?

At 10,000 contacts, EmailOctopus is the cheapest credible option at $44.50/month, followed by Sender ($57) and GetResponse ($79) — versus $110–135 for Mailchimp. If you have a large list but send infrequently, Brevo can be even cheaper since it charges per email sent (around $19/month for 20,000 emails) with unlimited contact storage.

Does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?

Yes. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts toward your billing tier — you have to archive them manually to stop paying for them. Most alternatives on this page (MailerLite, Brevo, Sender, EmailOctopus, AWeber, Omnisend, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact) only bill active subscribers.

What is the best Mailchimp alternative for ecommerce?

Klaviyo is the strongest for ecommerce thanks to its deep Shopify and WooCommerce integration, predictive analytics, and revenue attribution. Omnisend covers most of the same ground — email, SMS, and web push in one workflow — at a significantly lower price, and offers 24/7 live support on all plans including the free one.

What is the best Mailchimp alternative for creators and newsletters?

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for creators selling products or running sequences — its free plan covers 10,000 subscribers and monetization is built in. beehiiv for newsletter-first businesses: unlimited sends on every plan, a referral program, an ad network, and paid subscriptions with a 0% platform fee.

Is there an open source alternative to Mailchimp?

Yes. Listmonk is a popular self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager (single binary, PostgreSQL), Mautic is a full self-hosted marketing automation platform, and Keila is a newer open source newsletter tool. You'll need your own SMTP provider (like Amazon SES) and a server, but costs can drop to a few dollars per month for very large lists.

Is Mailchimp still worth it in 2026?

Mailchimp remains a polished product with a huge integration catalog, and if you're on a legacy plan or rely on specific integrations it can still make sense. But for new projects it's hard to justify: the free plan is now among the smallest in the industry, unsubscribed contacts count toward your bill, and equivalent (or better) tools cost 30–70% less at every list size.

What is the easiest Mailchimp alternative to migrate to?

MailerLite, Brevo, Kit, and EmailOctopus all ship dedicated Mailchimp import wizards that pull in subscribers, tags, and in some cases templates automatically. In practice a small list (under 10,000 contacts) can be fully migrated — including domain authentication and rebuilt signup forms — in an afternoon.

What happened to Sendinblue and ConvertKit?

They rebranded. Sendinblue became Brevo in 2023, and ConvertKit became Kit in 2024. Both are the same products under new names, and both remain among the most recommended Mailchimp alternatives.