Mailchimp is the email marketing platform everyone has heard of. With roots going back to 2001, it’s the tool most people try first—and increasingly, the tool they outgrow or leave due to pricing changes.

Here’s the current state of Mailchimp.

What is Mailchimp?

Mailchimp is a general-purpose marketing platform centered on email. It handles:

  • Email campaigns and newsletters
  • Marketing automation
  • Landing pages
  • Audience management
  • Basic CRM features
  • E-commerce integrations

After being acquired by Intuit in 2021, Mailchimp has expanded into a broader marketing suite while raising prices significantly.

Pricing Breakdown

Free Plan

  • 250 contacts maximum
  • 500 emails per month
  • Single audience only
  • 30 days of email support
  • Basic templates
  • Mailchimp branding on all emails

The free plan is essentially a trial. 250 contacts isn’t enough to build a meaningful list.

Essentials ($13/month starting)

  • 500 contacts to start
  • 5,000 monthly sends (10x contact limit)
  • Up to 50,000 contacts maximum
  • 24/7 email and chat support
  • A/B testing
  • Basic automation
  • Remove Mailchimp branding

Price scaling:

  • 500 contacts: $13/month
  • 2,500 contacts: ~$45/month
  • 10,000 contacts: ~$100/month
  • 50,000 contacts: ~$350/month

Standard ($20/month starting)

  • 500 contacts to start
  • 6,000 monthly sends (12x contact limit)
  • Up to 100,000 contacts maximum
  • Send time optimization
  • Predictive segmentation
  • Dynamic content
  • Advanced automation

Price scaling:

  • 500 contacts: $20/month
  • 2,500 contacts: ~$60/month
  • 10,000 contacts: ~$135/month
  • 100,000 contacts: ~$800/month

Premium ($350/month starting)

  • 10,000+ contacts
  • 150,000 monthly sends
  • Unlimited contacts
  • Phone support
  • Comparative reporting
  • Multivariate testing
  • Advanced segmentation

Key Features

Send Time Optimization

Mailchimp’s machine learning analyzes when each subscriber typically opens emails and schedules delivery accordingly. Available on Standard and Premium plans.

Predictive Segmentation

Automatically groups subscribers based on predicted behavior—likelihood to buy, engagement probability, lifetime value. Useful for e-commerce.

Customer Journey Builder

Visual automation builder for creating multi-step email sequences. Trigger based on actions, dates, or custom events.

E-commerce Integrations

Native connections to:

  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • BigCommerce
  • Squarespace
  • Wix

Product recommendations, abandoned cart emails, and purchase follow-ups work out of the box.

Transactional Email

Separate add-on ($20 per 25,000 emails) for order confirmations, password resets, and other triggered messages.

Hidden Costs to Watch

Unsubscribed Contacts Still Count

Mailchimp charges for contacts even after they unsubscribe. You pay for everyone on your list until you manually delete them. This adds up quickly if you don’t regularly clean your list.

Audience Limits

Each plan limits how many “audiences” (separate contact lists) you can have. Need multiple audiences? You’ll pay more.

Overage Charges

Exceed your contact or send limit? Automatic overage billing kicks in. A sudden viral moment can spike your bill unexpectedly.

Add-on Pricing

Many features that seem standard require additional payment:

  • Transactional email
  • Dedicated IPs
  • Additional support
  • Advanced analytics

Who Should Use Mailchimp?

Good fit for:

  • Small businesses with e-commerce integration needs
  • Companies already using Intuit products (QuickBooks, etc.)
  • Teams needing robust automation
  • Businesses requiring compliance features

Poor fit for:

  • Newsletter creators (use Beehiiv or Substack)
  • Budget-conscious startups (costs escalate quickly)
  • High-volume senders (pricing becomes prohibitive)
  • Anyone annoyed by paying for unsubscribed contacts

Mailchimp vs Alternatives

vs Beehiiv: Beehiiv is newsletter-first with monetization built in. Mailchimp is marketing-first with newsletters as one feature. Different tools for different purposes.

vs ConvertKit: ConvertKit offers cleaner automation and creator-focused features at similar prices. Mailchimp has better e-commerce integrations.

vs Klaviyo: For serious e-commerce, Klaviyo’s deeper Shopify integration and revenue attribution justify its higher price.

vs Brevo (Sendinblue): Brevo offers similar features at lower prices with more generous free tiers. Worth evaluating if budget matters.

The Pricing Problem

Mailchimp’s pricing has become its biggest weakness. Long-time users have watched costs triple while features became more restricted. The platform that was once the obvious choice for small businesses now prices out many of them.

The math often doesn’t work:

  • 10,000 contacts on Standard = ~$135/month
  • Same contacts on ConvertKit = ~$100/month
  • Same contacts on Brevo = ~$50/month

Factor in paying for unsubscribed contacts, and the gap widens further.

The Bottom Line

Mailchimp remains a capable platform with strong e-commerce features and widespread brand recognition. The integrations are deep, the automation is powerful, and the reporting is comprehensive.

But the pricing structure has made it hard to recommend without caveats. Unless you specifically need Mailchimp’s e-commerce integrations or are already invested in the Intuit ecosystem, alternatives often deliver more value.

If you’re currently on Mailchimp, audit your actual usage. You might be paying for contacts you don’t need and features you don’t use. If you’re choosing a new platform, compare total cost of ownership—not just starting prices.