Short answer
The best Mailchimp alternative for most teams is MailerLite (85/100). Comfort is $17.10 a month at 1,000 subscribers billed yearly; free plan includes automations and a landing page.
- MailerLite (85/100): best overall alternative.
- Brevo (83/100): best for large lists.
- ActiveCampaign (84/100): best for advanced automation.
- Klaviyo (84/100): best for ecommerce.
- Kit (77/100): best for creators.
Mailchimp is the email tool most teams start with, but they often outgrow it on price or automation. These are the alternatives we'd shortlist, depending on whether you want lower prices, deeper automation or ecommerce data.
Why teams look for Mailchimp alternatives
- Automation limits on Essentials. Flows are capped at 4 steps; up to 200 flows need Standard.
- Price as the list grows. Essentials is $13 a month up to 500 contacts and $26.50 up to 1,500; Standard is $20 and $45 at the same sizes.
- A small free plan. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no automation flows.
- Premium is a big jump. Phone support and multivariate testing are on Premium, from $350 a month.
Mailchimp alternatives compared
| Tool | Why pick it | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Vettlo score |
|---|
| Mailchimp (for reference) | Beginners who want a familiar all-rounder | $13/mo | Free plan + 14-day trial | 79/100 |
| MailerLite | Best overall alternative | $10.80/mo | Free plan + 14-day trial | 85/100 |
| Brevo | Best for large lists | $8.08/mo | Free plan | 83/100 |
| ActiveCampaign | Best for advanced automation | $15/mo | 14-day trial | 84/100 |
| Klaviyo | Best for ecommerce | $20/mo | Free plan | 84/100 |
| Kit | Best for creators | $33/mo | Free plan + 14-day trial | 77/100 |
Starting prices are the cheapest paid plan on each vendor's pricing page on Oct 26, 2026, at the smallest list size shown, billed yearly where available. Prices rise with list size. Mailchimp and Klaviyo bill monthly; Brevo prices by monthly email volume rather than contacts. Scores use the same weighted criteria as our email marketing software ranking.
The alternatives
Starting price$10.80/moComfort, 500 subscribers, billed yearly ($12 monthly); $17.10 at 1,000
Free trial / planFree plan (250 subscribers); 14-day trial
Vettlo score85/100
MailerLite is an email marketing tool with an automation builder, landing pages, websites and signup forms. Comfort includes 50 automations and 3 seats; Power ($22.50 billed yearly at 500 subscribers) adds unlimited emails, automations and seats, multiple automation triggers and 24/7 live chat support.
What you gain over Mailchimp
- Comfort is $17.10 a month at 1,000 subscribers billed yearly
- Free plan includes automations and a landing page
What you give up
- Multiple automation triggers need Power
- Fewer integrations than Mailchimp
Skip it if: You need deep ecommerce data or a built-in sales CRM.
Starting price$8.08/moStarter, 5,000 emails a month, billed yearly ($9 monthly); Standard $16.17
Free trial / planFree plan (300 emails a day)
Vettlo score83/100
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) combines email, SMS and transactional email, priced by monthly email volume rather than contacts. Standard adds unlimited multi-step automations, A/B testing, send-time optimization and a landing page, and removes the Brevo footer; Professional ($449.08 a month billed yearly) adds WhatsApp, 10 seats and phone support.
What you gain over Mailchimp
- Priced by emails sent, not contacts
- Unlimited automations on Standard
What you give up
- No automation on Starter
- Multi-user access on Professional
Skip it if: You need advanced ecommerce flows or a large team on a mid-priced plan.
Starting price$15/moStarter, 1,000 contacts, billed yearly; Plus $49, Pro $79
Free trial / plan14-day trial, no card needed
Vettlo score84/100
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform with a multi-step automation builder and 950+ recipes. Starter caps automations at 5 actions each; Plus ($49 at 1,000 contacts billed yearly) removes the cap and adds landing pages and CRM features; Pro ($79) adds predictive sending and conditional content.
What you gain over Mailchimp
- Most capable automation builder
- 14-day trial, no card needed
What you give up
- Starter caps automations at 5 actions
- Steeper learning curve
Skip it if: You only send a monthly newsletter.
Starting price$20/moEmail, 500 active profiles, 5,000 emails a month; $30 at 1,000
Free trial / planFree plan (250 profiles, 500 emails a month)
Vettlo score84/100
Klaviyo is a B2C marketing platform built on customer profiles that combine store, email and SMS data. Paid email plans are priced by active profiles, with 10 email sends per profile per month, and SMS, reviews and other products are billed on top.
What you gain over Mailchimp
- Flows and segments built on store data
- Predictive analytics on paid plans
What you give up
- Price rises quickly with profiles
- Overkill for B2B newsletters
Skip it if: You're a B2B company sending newsletters and lead nurture emails.
Starting price$33/moCreator, 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($390 a year)
Free trial / planFree plan (up to 10,000 subscribers); 14-day trial
Vettlo score77/100
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is email marketing for creators. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms; Creator adds visual automations and sequences; Pro adds a newsletter referral system, deliverability reporting and advanced reporting.
What you gain over Mailchimp
- Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers
- Paid newsletters built in
What you give up
- Automations need Creator
- Fewer ecommerce and B2B features
Skip it if: You run B2B lead nurturing or an online store with complex flows.
How we picked these alternatives
Every tool here comes from our email marketing software shortlist. We ordered them by how well each one solves the most common reasons teams leave Mailchimp, not only by overall score. See our methodology.
Mailchimp alternatives FAQ
What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?
MailerLite for most small businesses: it's cheaper at the same list size and includes automations on its free plan.
What is cheaper than Mailchimp?
At 1,000 contacts, MailerLite Comfort is $17.10 a month and ActiveCampaign Starter $15 (both billed yearly), against $26.50 for Mailchimp Essentials. Brevo Starter is $8.08 a month billed yearly for 5,000 emails.
Which Mailchimp alternative has the best free plan?
Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers; Brevo's sends 300 emails a day.
Which Mailchimp alternative is best for ecommerce?
Klaviyo, whose flows and segments use real-time store data.
Vettlo Editorial TeamResearched and written by the Vettlo editorial team using our methodology. Prices and plan details come from each vendor's public pricing page.