Mailchimp Alternatives: 7 Better Email Platforms

TL;DR: Brevo is our top Mailchimp alternative. It bills by emails sent, not contacts stored, so a growing list will not spike your bill the way Mailchimp does. Most people leave Mailchimp because its price climbs fast with every added contact. Cheaper picks include MailerLite and Omnisend. This guide ranks 7 email platforms on price, features, and automation.

Email marketing still returns an average of $36 for every $1 spent, which makes it one of the highest-ROI channels available. So the tool you send from matters. Mailchimp built the category, but its pricing model punishes growth. You pay for every contact you store, even people who never open an email.

The pressure got worse in 2026. Mailchimp cut its free plan from 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly sends down to just 250 contacts and 500 sends. Legacy users saw prices climb too. If your list is growing, that math stops working fast.

We compared the leading Mailchimp alternatives on real pricing, automation depth, and ease of use. Before you switch, it helps to understand the broader landscape of AI marketing tools that can pair with your email platform. Below are the seven best options, ranked.

Quick Comparison: Mailchimp Alternatives

Tool	Best For	Starting Price	Key Strength
Brevo	Pay-per-send billing	$9/mo	You pay for emails, not contacts
MailerLite	Budget-friendly value	$12/mo	Clean editor, low price at scale
ActiveCampaign	Advanced automation	$15/mo	Deepest workflow builder
Kit (ConvertKit)	Creators and newsletters	Free / $39/mo	10,000 free subscribers
GetResponse	All-in-one marketing	$19/mo	Webinars plus email in one tool
Constant Contact	Small business simplicity	$12/mo	Easy setup, strong support
Omnisend	Ecommerce email and SMS	Free / $16/mo	Built for online stores

Why Look for a Mailchimp Alternative?

Most people leave Mailchimp because its contact-based pricing makes bills climb faster than their results. You get charged for every subscriber you store, including unsubscribed and inactive ones, unless you manually archive them.

That model works against you as your list grows. A 5,000-contact list on Mailchimp’s Standard plan runs about $100 per month. Alternatives that bill by emails sent, like Brevo, or that offer larger free tiers, like Kit, can cut that cost sharply. Many switchers also want deeper automation or a friendlier editor. The tools below solve those pain points.

#1 Brevo: Best for pay-per-send billing

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) flips the Mailchimp model. You pay for the emails you send, not the contacts you keep.

What it does well. Brevo lets you store up to 100,000 contacts on its free plan and bills only when you send. That means an inactive subscriber never costs you a cent. It bundles email, SMS, a built-in CRM, and marketing automation into one dashboard, which is rare at this price.

Key features:

• Contact storage decoupled from pricing

• Built-in CRM and sales pipeline

• Email plus SMS and WhatsApp campaigns

• Automation workflows on paid tiers

• Transactional email and API

Pricing. The free plan sends up to 300 emails per day. Paid plans start at $9 per month for the Starter tier, which lifts the daily cap and removes Brevo branding.

Best for: Growing lists where many contacts are inactive, and teams that want email plus SMS in one tool.

Limitations. The free plan’s daily send cap can feel tight during launches. Some advanced automation sits behind higher tiers.

Try Brevo

For a head-to-head breakdown, see our full Mailchimp vs Brevo comparison.

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#2 MailerLite: Best for budget-friendly value

MailerLite delivers a clean, modern platform at one of the lowest prices in the market.

What it does well. MailerLite pairs a simple drag-and-drop editor with strong deliverability and a price that stays low as you scale. It is a favorite of solopreneurs and small teams who want polish without complexity. The interface is faster to learn than Mailchimp’s crowded dashboard.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop and rich-text editors

• Landing pages and website builder

• Automation workflows

• Sign-up forms and pop-ups

• Paid newsletter and digital product sales

Pricing. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails. The Comfort plan starts at $12 per month and scales by subscriber tier, staying cheaper than Mailchimp at most list sizes.

Best for: Bloggers, creators, and small businesses that want strong value and a clean editor.

Limitations. Reporting is lighter than ActiveCampaign’s. New accounts go through a manual approval step.

Try MailerLite

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#3 ActiveCampaign: Best for advanced automation

ActiveCampaign is the power tool of the group. If your marketing runs on complex if-this-then-that logic, this is your pick.

What it does well. ActiveCampaign offers the deepest automation builder of any Mailchimp alternative. You can branch workflows on behavior, tags, purchases, and site activity. It also ships with a real CRM, so sales and marketing share one system. This depth is why agencies favor it.

Key features:

• Visual automation builder with deep branching

• Built-in CRM and sales automation

• Predictive sending and AI features

• Site tracking and event tracking

• 900+ integrations

Pricing. Plans start at $15 per month for the Starter tier with up to 1,000 contacts on annual billing. Annual billing saves roughly 15%. Costs rise as contacts grow.

Best for: Businesses that need serious automation, lead scoring, and a CRM in one place.

Limitations. The learning curve is steep. Meaningful automation often requires the Plus tier or higher, which raises the true cost.

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#4 Kit (ConvertKit): Best for creators and newsletters

Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is built for creators: writers, course sellers, podcasters, and newsletter publishers.

What it does well. Kit’s free plan is remarkably generous, and its tools are shaped around audience-building rather than corporate campaigns. Tag-based subscriber management keeps your list organized without duplicate contacts. Selling digital products and paid newsletters is native, not bolted on.

Key features:

• Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers

• Tag and segment based lists

• Landing pages and sign-up forms

• Paid newsletters and digital product sales

• Creator-focused automation

Pricing. The free Newsletter plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited emails but a single automation. The Creator plan starts at $39 per month for 1,000 subscribers, with a 16% annual discount.

Best for: Creators, writers, and coaches who monetize an audience.

Limitations. The free plan allows only one automation. Templates are simpler than ecommerce-focused tools. Paid pricing is not the cheapest per subscriber.

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#5 GetResponse: Best for all-in-one marketing

GetResponse bundles far more than email. It is closer to a full marketing suite.

What it does well. GetResponse combines email, landing pages, webinars, and automation in one subscription. The webinar feature is unusual and valuable for coaches and B2B marketers who run live sessions. Its conversion funnel builder helps you map a full campaign without extra tools.

Key features:

• Email marketing with autoresponders

• Built-in webinar hosting

• Conversion funnels and landing pages

• Marketing automation

• 24/7 chat support

Pricing. The Starter plan begins at $19 per month for 1,000 contacts with unlimited emails. The Marketer plan starts at $59 per month, and annual billing cuts about 18%.

Best for: Marketers who want webinars, funnels, and email under one roof.

Limitations. The interface feels dated in places. Advanced automation and ecommerce features require higher plans.

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#6 Constant Contact: Best for small business simplicity

Constant Contact is the veteran choice for small businesses that value ease of use and hands-on support.

What it does well. Constant Contact keeps things simple. Setup is quick, the editor is friendly, and phone plus chat support is strong. It also handles event registration and social posting, which suits local businesses and nonprofits that juggle several channels.

Key features:

• Easy drag-and-drop editor

• Event registration tools

• Social media posting

• Strong phone and chat support

• List growth and sign-up tools

Pricing. The Lite plan starts at $12 per month for up to 500 contacts. There is no free plan, only a 60-day trial. Note that prices jump sharply as your list grows.

Best for: Small businesses, nonprofits, and local organizations that want simple tools and live support.

Limitations. Automation is basic compared to ActiveCampaign. Pricing scales steeply with list size, similar to Mailchimp.

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#7 Omnisend: Best for ecommerce email and SMS

Omnisend is purpose-built for online stores that want email and SMS working together.

What it does well. Omnisend integrates tightly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. It ships with pre-built ecommerce automations like abandoned cart, welcome, and post-purchase flows. Even the free plan includes automation and segmentation, which many rivals lock behind paid tiers.

Key features:

• Deep ecommerce platform integrations

• Pre-built revenue automations

• Email, SMS, and web push in one flow

• Product picker and discount codes

• Segmentation on the free plan

Pricing. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails per month with full features. The Standard plan starts at $16 per month for 500 contacts, and the Pro plan starts at $59 per month with SMS credits.

Best for: Ecommerce brands that want email plus SMS built for selling.

Limitations. It is overkill for non-ecommerce senders. SMS on newer accounts requires the Pro plan.

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How to Choose a Mailchimp Alternative

Start with your billing model, not your feature list. If your list holds many inactive contacts, a pay-per-send tool like Brevo saves the most. If you send often to an engaged list, contact-based pricing may be fine.

Match the tool to your job. Creators should look at Kit for its free tier and audience tools. Ecommerce stores fit Omnisend or GetResponse. Teams that need heavy automation and a CRM should test ActiveCampaign. Budget-first users get the most from MailerLite.

Check three things before you commit: the price at your projected list size, whether automation you need sits in the entry plan, and how easily you can import your Mailchimp contacts. Most tools offer free plans or trials, so test deliverability with a real send before you migrate. For a broader look, compare these against dedicated AI email marketing software built for automation-first teams.

The Bottom Line

Mailchimp is no longer the obvious default. Its 2026 pricing changes made a strong case for switching, especially for growing lists.

Brevo is our top overall pick because its pay-per-send model rewards growth instead of taxing it. MailerLite wins on value, ActiveCampaign on automation depth, Kit for creators, and Omnisend for ecommerce. Pick the one that matches how you send, then test it free before you move your list.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to Mailchimp?

Kit (ConvertKit) offers the most generous free plan, covering up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited emails, though it allows only one automation. Brevo is another strong free pick because it stores up to 100,000 contacts and only limits your daily sends. Both beat Mailchimp’s free plan, which now caps at 250 contacts.

Why is Mailchimp so expensive?

Mailchimp bills by the number of contacts you store, not the emails you send. Every subscriber counts toward your plan, including unsubscribed and inactive ones, unless you manually archive them. As your list grows, your monthly cost climbs even if your sending volume stays flat.

Which Mailchimp alternative is cheapest?

Brevo is often the cheapest because it charges by emails sent rather than contacts stored, so inactive subscribers cost nothing. MailerLite and Omnisend also start low, at $12 and $16 per month, and stay cheaper than Mailchimp at most list sizes.

Can I move my Mailchimp contacts to another platform?

Yes. Every alternative on this list supports importing contacts from Mailchimp, usually by exporting a CSV file or using a direct migration tool. Many providers offer free migration help. Always test deliverability with a small send after importing to confirm your list transferred cleanly.

What is the best Mailchimp alternative for ecommerce?

Omnisend is the top choice for online stores. It integrates directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, and ships with pre-built revenue automations like abandoned cart and post-purchase flows. It combines email, SMS, and web push in a single workflow built for selling.