Mailchimp review
Small businesses that want the easiest credible start.
Overview
Mailchimp made email marketing friendly and remains the default starting point for small businesses: polished templates, a gentle learning curve, a usable free tier and integrations with practically everything. Now under Intuit ownership, it has layered on automation and an expanding marketing suite. The catch is economics and depth: costs climb steeply with contacts, automation on lower tiers is limited, and power users consistently outgrow it into Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign.
Strengths and weaknesses
What we like
- The gentlest learning curve in the category
- Excellent template editor and brand controls for beginners
- Integrates with almost everything
- Genuine free tier for very small lists
- Reliable deliverability infrastructure at scale
What to watch
- Expensive quickly — contact tiers escalate fast
- Automation depth lags Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign
- Charges for unsubscribed/inactive contacts historically
- Advanced segmentation gated to higher plans
Key features at a glance
| Editor & templates | Excellent for beginners |
| Automation | Good basics; limited on entry plans |
| E-commerce | Broad but shallower than Klaviyo |
| Segmentation | Stronger on Standard and above |
| Free tier | Yes — small list and send caps |
| SMS & extras | SMS, social, landing pages, basic CRM |
Pricing
Free up to ~500 contacts; Essentials from ~$13/mo, Standard ~$20/mo, Premium ~$350/mo — all scaling by contacts. Indicative US pricing.
Who Mailchimp is for — and who should skip it
Best for
Small businesses, charities and creators starting out; teams that value ease over automation depth.
Probably not for
E-commerce brands beyond early stage, automation-heavy marketers, and anyone watching per-contact costs at scale.
Our verdict — 8.2/10
Mailchimp is still the easiest good decision in email marketing — start here if you are new, but model the 10,000-contact price before you fall in love.
Mailchimp, head to head
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo
E-commerce → Klaviyo. General small business → Mailchimp.
Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp for simplicity now; ActiveCampaign for sophistication you will not outgrow.
Brevo vs Mailchimp
Same job, different meter: pay per email (Brevo) or per contact (Mailchimp). Your list shape decides.
How we review: scores reflect our editorial assessment using vendor documentation, published pricing, independent research and hands-on evaluation where noted — read our full methodology. Pricing is indicative — always confirm current plans with the vendor. We may earn commission from links on this page; it never affects our scores.