Mailchimp Alternatives: Strong Options Compared
Mailchimp's free plan now covers just 250 contacts. We compare Brevo, MailerLite, Kit, Constant Contact and Moosend on verified prices and limits.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-11T04:32:44+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-11T04:32:44+00:00
Mailchimp Alternatives: Strong Options Compared
Mailchimp's free plan now covers 250 contacts and 500 email sends a month. Essentials starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts. Standard starts at $20 a month. Premium starts at $350 a month. Those limits push many small senders to look elsewhere. The best replacement depends on how you are billed and how often you send. This guide compares five strong options using verified prices and limits.
Why people search for Mailchimp alternatives
Mailchimp bills on contacts stored, not emails sent. Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward your tier. Only archived or deleted contacts are excluded. A list with many inactive addresses costs real money even if you never email them.
The free plan was cut in February 2026. It fell from 500 contacts and 1,000 sends to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Sending pauses outright once you cross either ceiling. There is no scheduling on the free plan, and email support lasts only for the first 30 days.
Automation is the other split. Essentials caps automation flows at four steps. Standard allows up to 200 flows, plus advanced segmentation and send-time optimization. Your monthly send allowance is a multiple of your contact count: 10 times on Essentials, 12 times on Standard and 15 times on Premium.
Mailchimp alternatives compared
| Tool | Free plan | Paid plans from | Billing basis | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | 300 emails a day, up to 100,000 contacts | $9 a month (Starter) | Emails sent | Large lists emailed rarely |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month | $12 a month (Comfort) | Subscribers | Simple newsletters on a budget |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited sends | $39 a month (Creator) | Subscribers | Creators growing an audience |
| Constant Contact | No free plan | $12 a month (Lite) | Contacts | Small businesses wanting support |
| Moosend | No free plan listed | $7 a month (Pro, annual billing) | Contacts | Cheapest paid entry point |
Brevo: best for large lists you email rarely
Brevo charges by emails sent, not contacts stored. That flips the Mailchimp math. A list of 20,000 people emailed once a month costs far less than on a contact-based plan.
The free plan sends 300 emails a day with no time limit and no credit card required. You can store up to 100,000 contacts. It includes campaigns, transactional email, a drag-and-drop editor, forms and automation for up to 2,000 contacts. Every email carries Brevo branding.
Starter starts at $9 a month and Standard at $18 a month, both for 5,000 emails. Annual billing saves 10 percent. Standard lifts the automation cap and adds A/B testing and send-time optimization.
Watch the contact caps on paid tiers. Since 2025, Starter at $9 stores only 500 contacts, while the free plan stores 100,000. Check the contact limit before you pay. The daily cap also shapes real use: a campaign to 1,000 people sends to 300 on day one, and you requeue the rest by hand.
MailerLite: best simple newsletter tool
MailerLite keeps email, automations, forms, landing pages and a simple website in one account. Its editor is easy to learn, with drag-and-drop, rich-text and custom HTML options on every plan.
The free plan now stops at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. It includes three active automations, one website, one landing page and three signup forms. MailerLite branding appears on free plan emails. Go over the subscriber limit and MailerLite pauses campaigns and automations until you upgrade or trim the list.
Comfort costs $12 a month for up to 500 subscribers and $19 a month for up to 1,000. Its monthly sends are capped at 10 times your subscriber tier. Power costs $25 a month for up to 500 subscribers and $39 for up to 1,000, with unlimited sends. Paying yearly saves 10 percent.
MailerLite takes 0 percent commission on digital products, paid newsletters and bookings. Only Stripe processing fees apply. There is no built-in CRM and no website tracking, so it suits newsletters rather than sales pipelines. New accounts need approval, and you must send from your own domain.
Kit: best free plan for creators
Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is built for creators who sell expertise, courses or paid newsletters. Its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited email broadcasts, forms and landing pages. That is the largest free tier in this group by a wide margin.
The catch is automation. The free plan allows one basic automation and one email sequence. Visual automations, integrations and free migration from other tools start on the Creator plan. Creator costs $39 a month billed monthly, or about $33 a month billed annually, at 1,000 subscribers. Pro costs $79 a month monthly, or about $66 annually, and adds advanced reporting, subscriber scoring, the referral system and sponsor network access.
Kit charges a 3.5 percent plus $0.30 fee on sales through Kit Commerce on every plan. Prices rise with list size: Creator costs $59 a month at 3,000 subscribers and $89 at 5,000. The free plan is the right home until your list passes 10,000 or you need real automation.
Constant Contact and Moosend in brief
Constant Contact has no free plan. Lite starts at $12 a month, Standard at $35 and Premium at $80, all at 500 contacts. Prices rise steeply as the list grows. It suits small businesses that value phone support and guided campaign tools over the lowest price.
Moosend is the cheapest paid entry here. Its Pro plan costs $7 a month for 500 contacts on annual billing, with unlimited email sends. That undercuts Mailchimp Essentials by nearly half at the same list size. Check its automation depth before switching, since a low price helps only if the features fit.
How to choose the right Mailchimp alternative
Start with four numbers. How many contacts do you have today? How many will you have in twelve months? How many emails do you send each month? How many automations do you run? Those answers point to the billing model that costs least.
Then follow these steps:
- Export your Mailchimp list and archive or delete unsubscribed contacts you will never mail again.
- Shortlist two tools that fit your list size and send volume.
- Run the free plan or trial of each with a real campaign to a small segment.
- Check the automation you need exists on the tier you would pay for.
- Move the full list only after the test campaign lands well.
Pick Brevo if your list is large and you email it rarely. Pick MailerLite if you want the simplest tool at the lowest paid price. Pick Kit if you are a creator and your list is still under 10,000. Pick Constant Contact if guided support matters more than price.
What Mailchimp still does best
Leaving Mailchimp is not always the right move. Its template library is large, and its ecommerce integrations are deep. Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce all connect cleanly. Its reporting covers revenue per campaign, which smaller tools often lack.
Standard adds the features that justify the price for growing stores: advanced segmentation, dynamic content, behavioral targeting and send-time optimization. Premium adds multivariate testing, predictive segmentation and phone support. If your store already earns from those tools, a cheaper plan elsewhere can cost more in lost sales than it saves in fees.
The honest test is revenue, not the monthly bill. If Mailchimp's automations earn more than the price gap to a cheaper tool, stay. If you send a simple newsletter to a small list, the gap is pure saving.
Bottom line
Mailchimp is still a strong tool, but its free plan is now a trial in all but name, and its billing punishes messy lists. Brevo is the best value for big, rarely emailed lists. MailerLite is the best simple paid option from $12 a month. Kit has the most generous free plan for creators. Stay with Mailchimp Standard if you need its automation depth and ecommerce tools, and you are willing to pay for them.