Top 10 Mailchimp Alternatives with Free plans for startups and Small Businesses

Image: iStock/Shutthiphong Chandaeng

While Mailchimp is a popular email marketing platform, its pricing, contact limits and automation capabilities might not be ideal for all small businesses with a budget. Growing subscriber lists, e-commerce stores or specialised marketing requirements may require a different solution.

There are several platforms that have lower rates, higher automation or features for specific industries. From a simple newsletter tool to e-commerce email marketing or a free plan, there are plenty of Mailchimp alternatives for small businesses to consider.

In this guide, we will be looking at 10 alternatives and how they compare in terms of pricing, features, free-plan limits, integrations, and ease of use, to help you decide which platform is the best fit for your business.

What to Consider Before Switching from Mailchimp

Switching to a different email marketing service isn’t just about finding a lower-cost subscription. Businesses should also take into account the impact of the change on their current subscribers, campaigns and marketing processes.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when going for a different service:

• Subscriber migration: Ensure that you can move your current contacts, tags, custom fields and segmentation data without losing valuable information.
• Automation transfers: Welcome emails, abandoned cart emails and follow-up sequences may need to be manually created for automation transfers.
• Email templates: Review existing templates to determine if they can be imported or if you will need to create new templates.
• Domain authentication: Ensure that the new platform can support SPF, DKIM and DMARC configuration to assist in domain authentication.
• Sending reputation: Carefully plan your migration, especially if you have a large subscriber list. A gradual transition can help you monitor delivery performance and identify issues early.

Before making the switch, it’s important to review these details to avoid disruption of your email campaigns and to move your marketing operations more smoothly.

Top 10 Mailchimp Alternatives for Small Business Owners

Here are some of the best alternatives you can check out if you are planning to switch:

MailerLite

Best for: Small businesses looking for low-cost email campaigns, landing pages and simple automation.

MailerLite is a simple email marketing solution that offers email subscriber management, email campaign creation and automation features. It is user-friendly for businesses that don’t have a marketing or design team, thanks to its drag-and-drop editor.

Key features:

• Drag and drop email editor and custom HTML editing.
• Automated email sequences and subscriber segmentation.
• Sign up forms, pop-ups and landing pages.
• A/B testing and campaign reporting.
• Ecommerce integrations and digital product selling.

MailerLite vs Mailchimp: 

MailerLite’s main features are grouped into categories of campaign creation, audience growth and automation, providing a simpler way to market the email market.

Mailchimp offers more marketing features, whereas smaller businesses might prefer the ease of use of MailerLite for newsletters, signup forms and automated follow-ups.

MailerLite’s free plan includes 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails per month. Its Comfort plan starts at $12 per month and provides additional capabilities, including multivariate testing, AI writing assistance and smart sending.

Limitations:

• The free plan has a limit of 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails.
• Free users can only have 3 active automations, 3 forms and 1 landing page.
• It takes a paid subscription to use advanced campaign optimisation and other marketing features.

The pricing and features of MailerLite.MailerLite pricing and features.

Brevo (Formerly Sendinblue)

Best for: SMBs looking for email, SMS and customer communication in a single platform.

Brevo (previously Sendinblue) is an email marketing and CRM tool that integrates with other communication channels. It is especially helpful for companies with extensive contact lists that don’t send out emails to all of them regularly.

Key features:

• Email marketing and marketing automation.
• Contact management and CRM tools.
• Transactional emails and SMTP services.
• SMS marketing as an extra channel.
• Campaign analytics and audience management.

Sendinblue vs Mailchimp

One of the key differences between Sendinblue and Mailchimp is their approach to contact storage and email sending.

Brevo’s free plan allows for up to 100,000 contacts to be stored, but only 300 emails can be sent per day. The Starter plan starts at $9/month and offers 5,000 monthly sends up to 500 contacts.

By contrast, Mailchimp’s free plan offers 250 contacts and 500 email sends per month.

This is why Brevo is a good option for businesses that wish to keep a larger contact list without having to pay for it upfront based on its size. But for businesses that have high sending needs, they still need to work out the cost of higher-volume plans.  

Limitations:

• The free plan only allows you to send 300 emails per day, and any remaining daily credits are not carried over.
• The Starter plan has contact and monthly sending tiers that impact the cost of the plan as needs increase.
• Higher tier plans or add-ons are needed for some advanced marketing and reporting features.

Brevo pricing and plan comparison

Omnisend

Best for: Online stores on Shopify, WooCommerce or other ecommerce platforms.

Omnisend is not a newsletter platform; it’s an ecommerce marketing platform. It enables online businesses to communicate with customers based on shopping activity, orders and interactions with their stores.

Key features:

• Automated abandoned-cart emails.
• Customer segmentation based on shopping activity.
• Product suggestions and customised campaigns.
• Email and web push notifications.
• Reporting and campaign analytics for ecommerce.

Omnisend vs Mailchimp: 

While Mailchimp provides ecommerce integration and customer journeys, Omnisend is a more niche platform for online retailers.

For instance, an ecommerce company can leverage shopping behaviour to design personalized follow-up campaigns, win back carts and suggest suitable products.

Omnisend’s free plan allows 500 emails per month to a maximum of 250 unique contacts. It offers a Standard plan that begins at $16 per month, and the number of email allowances is typically 12 times the number of billable contacts per month.  

Limitations:

• For companies that just require simple newsletters, its ecommerce capabilities might not be needed.
• The free plan includes up to 500 monthly email sends to up to 250 unique contacts.
• Billable contacts are subscribers and non-subscribers, which can add to subscription fees as the number of contacts expands.

AWeber

Best for: Freelancers, consultants, bloggers and small businesses who are creating email subscriber lists.

AWeber offers email marketing solutions for companies that rely on newsletters, lead generation and automated communication with subscribers. It also provides landing pages and integrations to sell products and services.

Key features:

• Email campaign development and scheduling.
• Autoresponders and marketing automation.
• Registration forms and landing pages.
• Tagging and Segmentation of Subscribers.
• Ecommerce and third-party integrations.

AWeber vs Mailchimp: 

AWeber is a practical option for companies that desire a relatively simple email marketing process.

The free version allows up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month, whereas Mailchimp’s free version allows 250 contacts and 500 emails per month.

AWeber’s Lite plan starts at $15 per month. It offers email marketing, landing pages and more campaign capabilities, with higher tiers providing more advanced capabilities. 

Limitations:

• The free plan only allows for 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month.
• Free users can create only one automation workflow and one landing page.
• AWeber branding is included in free campaign emails.

Constant Contact

Best for: Nonprofits, event organisers, local businesses and organisations that need marketing support.

Constant Contact combines email marketing with social media publishing, event management and customer communication tools. Its features make it useful for organisations that regularly promote events, fundraisers, offers and community activities.

Key features:

• Customizable email templates.
• Contact management and segmentation.
• Social media marketing and scheduling.
• Event registration and promotional campaigns.
• Email reporting and customer support.

Constant Contact vs Mailchimp: 

Constant Contact puts a greater focus on event marketing and customer support. Its tools help businesses promote events, manage registrations and communicate with attendees.

Mailchimp offers a broader range of marketing and audience management capabilities, but Constant Contact may be a better fit for organisations that need straightforward campaigns and accessible customer support.

Its Lite plan starts at $12 per month, or $10.20 per month with annual prepayment. Eligible nonprofits can receive up to 30% off when prepaying for 12 months, subject to verification and approval.  

Mailchimp also offers a 15% discount to verified nonprofit organisations.

Limitations:

• It does not offer a permanent free plan, although a free trial is available.
• Subscription costs increase with contact numbers and email sending requirements.
• Advanced automation and segmentation capabilities are reserved for higher-priced plans.

Flodesk

Best for: Creators, freelancers, coaches and small brands that prioritise email design.

Flodesk focuses on the visual side of email marketing. Its templates and design tools help businesses create branded newsletters and promotional campaigns without extensive design experience.

Key features:

• Professionally designed email templates.
• Customisable signup forms and landing pages.
• Audience segmentation.
• Unlimited email sends on paid plans.
• Automated workflows and sales pages on higher plans.

Flodesk vs Mailchimp

Flodesk is particularly appealing to businesses that want consistent branding across their email campaigns. Mailchimp offers a broader marketing toolkit, including more extensive audience management, integrations, landing pages and marketing automation. This makes it suitable for businesses that need more than newsletter design.

Its Lite plan starts at $19 per month with annual billing, or $25 with monthly billing. It includes unlimited email sends and audience segmentation. Its Pro plan adds unlimited workflow automations and advanced reporting.

The free plan supports list-building tools such as forms and landing pages but does not include email sending.  

Limitations:

• Its free plan does not include email sending.
• The Lite plan includes only one workflow automation; unlimited workflows require the Pro plan.
• Businesses that need extensive CRM functionality or complex sales management will not benefit much from this.

Mailjet

Best for: Small businesses, developers and online services that send both promotional and transactional emails.

Mailjet offers email campaign tools alongside technical infrastructure for sending transactional messages. Its APIs, SMTP relay and webhooks make it useful for businesses that need to connect email communication with their websites or applications.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop email editor.
• SMTP relay and email APIs.
• Transactional email capabilities.
• Contact management and segmentation.
• Email statistics and campaign reporting.

Mailjet vs Mailchimp

Mailjet is more advanced than Mailchimp. For example, an online business can use Mailjet’s SMTP relay to send order confirmations, password resets and account notifications, while also using its campaign editor for promotional newsletters.

Its free plan includes 6,000 monthly email sends, with a daily limit of 200 and storage for 1,000 contacts. The Starter plan begins at $9 per month for 8,000 monthly sends and up to 2,000 contacts.  

Limitations:

• The free plan restricts sending to 200 emails per day and 6,000 per month.
• Contact storage is limited to 1,000 records on the free plan.
• Advanced segmentation and automation capabilities require higher-tier subscriptions.

MailPoet

Best for: WordPress website owners, publishers and WooCommerce stores.

MailPoet takes a different approach by integrating email marketing directly into WordPress. Instead of managing campaigns through a separate dashboard, users can create newsletters and manage subscribers from their website’s administration panel.

Key features:

• Newsletter creation and scheduling.
• Automatic blog post notifications.
• WordPress signup forms.
• Subscriber management and segmentation.
• WooCommerce email marketing and abandoned-cart automation.

MailPoet vs Mailchimp: 

MailPoet is a convenient choice for website owners who want their content and email marketing connected. For example, a WordPress publisher can automatically notify subscribers when a new article is published. A WooCommerce store can also use purchase-related email workflows.

MailPoet offers a free Starter plan for up to 500 subscribers and 5,000 monthly emails. Paid Business plans add unlimited monthly emails, advanced segmentation and more detailed reporting.  

Mailchimp offers a more independent marketing platform with integrations for multiple website builders and ecommerce systems. MailPoet is more closely tied to WordPress.

Limitations:

• It is designed specifically for WordPress websites, making it unsuitable for businesses using other website platforms.
• The free Starter plan supports only 500 subscribers and 5,000 monthly emails.

Kit (Formerly ConvertKit)

Best for: Independent creators, bloggers, educators and digital product sellers.

Kit’s expertise is in building audiences and monetizing them with email newsletters. It offers tools for subscriber growth, audience segmentation and promotion of digital products.

Key features:

• Customizable newsletter signup forms.
• Landing pages and email broadcasts.
• Subscriber tagging and segmentation.
• Digital product and subscription sales.
• Creator Network recommendations.

Kit vs Mailchimp

Kit is not a comprehensive marketing toolkit, it’s built around audience growth and creator monetisation.

The free version allows you to have up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited email broadcasts, forms and landing pages. It also features audience tagging and segmentation.

The paid Creator plan includes unlimited visual automations and email sequences. It begins at $33 per month, billed annually, at 1,000 subscribers.  

Mailchimp has more versatile marketing capabilities, while Kit is more appropriate for creators who focus on newsletters and digital product sales.

Limitations:

• It might not be the best option for companies that require an all-in-one marketing and CRM solution.
• Visual automation workflows and email sequences are only available for paid subscription.
• For businesses with a high demand for ecommerce marketing capabilities, they might need more tools.

Kit pricing and plans

HubSpot

Best for: Small businesses looking to integrate email marketing with sales and customer relationship management.

HubSpot integrates email marketing, CRM, lead management, sales tools and marketing automation. This makes it a good choice for companies that wish to control their customer data and marketing efforts from a unified platform.

Key features:

• Creating and reporting marketing email.
• Contact management and CRM.
• Lead capture forms and landing pages.
• Automated marketing actions.
• Customer segmentation and campaign tracking.

HubSpot vs Mailchimp: 

Mailchimp offers a more streamlined email marketing platform for companies that are mainly looking for newsletters and promotional emails.

When email campaigns must integrate with sales pipelines, customer records, and lead management, HubSpot is a consideration.

It offers 2,000 email sends per calendar month and one automated action for free. The Starter plan is offered at $7 per seat per month and includes more allowances and no HubSpot branding. 

For instance, a service business can collect leads by filling out a form, add them to its CRM and then follow up with email.

Limitations:

• With the free plan, you can use HubSpot branding in marketing emails.
• Free users can send up to 2,000 marketing emails per calendar month and have access to one automated action.
• Paid subscriptions are needed for advanced automation and increased email allowances.

Are there any open source alternatives to Mailchimp?

Open source email marketing software is also an option for businesses seeking more control over their marketing infrastructure.

Listmonk is an AGPLv3 licensed newsletter and mailing list manager. It is based on PostgreSQL and enables businesses to handle subscribers and campaigns independently of its infrastructure.

For organisations with more advanced marketing automation requirements, such as campaigns, email communication, lead scoring and contact management, Mautic is another choice. It provides more flexibility in data storage and customisation.

But open-source software isn’t necessarily less expensive to run. Businesses must deal with hosting, email delivery framework, security, updates and technical upkeep. They might also require an additional SMTP provider to send campaigns.

What are the Best Mailchimp Alternatives for Nonprofits?

Nonprofits may have unique needs compared to commercial enterprises. They might require inexpensive newsletters, donor communication, event announcements, volunteer updates and audience segmentation.

There are three options to consider:

Constant Contact: Provides event marketing capabilities, and eligible nonprofits can save up to 30% when paying for 12 months in advance.

MailerLite: Offers budget-friendly newsletter features, landing pages and basic automation for smaller organizations.

Brevo: The contact-based storage and email-volume pricing may be appropriate for organisations with extensive databases but limited email campaigns.

However, Mailchimp also has a 15% discount for verified nonprofit organisations, so it’s not always the cheapest choice to switch. Before migrating, compare the actual discounted subscription costs and features.

Conclusion 

Choosing the right email marketing platform depends on your business goals, audience size and communication needs. While Mailchimp remains a popular option, its alternatives offer different advantages for businesses looking for simpler tools, specialised features or more flexible pricing.

Before making a decision, consider your current marketing requirements and how they may change as your business grows. Compare the available plans, test the platform where possible and make sure it supports the campaigns and customer relationships you want to build. The right choice should make email marketing easier to manage without stretching your budget.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)