Mailchimp vs Brevo: Features, Pricing and Verdict
Mailchimp bills by contacts, Brevo bills by emails sent. Brevo starts at $9 a month, Mailchimp at $13. Which costs less depends on your list and sending volume.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-13T07:23:11+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-13T07:23:11+00:00
Mailchimp vs Brevo: Features, Pricing and Verdict
Mailchimp and Brevo are both popular email marketing tools. They charge in different ways. Mailchimp bills by contacts. Brevo bills by emails sent. That one difference decides which tool costs less for your list. Mailchimp starts at $13 a month for Essentials at 500 contacts. Brevo starts at $9 a month for Starter at 5,000 emails. This comparison explains pricing, features and fit, so you can pick the right one.
Mailchimp vs Brevo at a glance
| Item | Mailchimp | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per contact stored | Per email sent |
| Free plan | 250 contacts, 500 emails a month | 300 emails a day, no contact cap stated |
| Entry paid plan | Essentials from $13 a month | Starter from $9 a month |
| Mid paid plan | Standard from $20 a month | Standard from $18 a month |
| Top published plan | Premium from $350 a month | Professional from $499 a month |
| Automation on mid plan | Up to 200 flows | Unlimited workflows |
| A/B testing | Essentials and above | Standard and above |
| SMS | Paid add-on to paid plans | Included channel, credits sold separately |
| Support on top plan | Phone and priority support | Phone support plus deliverability specialist |
Mailchimp vs Brevo pricing compared
Mailchimp charges for the contacts you store. Brevo charges for the emails you send. A small list that emails often costs more on Mailchimp. A large list that emails rarely costs more on Brevo. The entry prices show the gap. Mailchimp Essentials costs $13 a month at 500 contacts. Brevo Starter costs $9 a month for 5,000 emails. At the mid tier, Mailchimp Standard costs $20 a month at 500 contacts. Brevo Standard costs $18 a month for 5,000 emails. Yearly billing takes 10% off Brevo. Mailchimp offers no standard annual prepay discount on its marketing plans. The gap widens as lists grow. At 5,000 contacts, Mailchimp Standard costs $100 a month. Brevo Standard at 20,000 emails costs $69 a month. Brevo Starter at 20,000 emails costs $32 a month. The Brevo 5,000-email tier allows up to 500 contacts. A 1,200-contact list on Brevo Starter costs $17 a month, the $9 base plus $8 for the extra contacts. Check your real list size and sending volume before you compare headline prices. The cheaper tool depends on both numbers.
Free plans compared
Both tools offer a free plan. They suit different users. Mailchimp Free covers up to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. Daily sends cap at 250. You get one seat and one audience. Email support lasts for the first 30 days. Mailchimp branding stays in your footer. Scheduling and automation are not included. Brevo Free sends up to 300 emails a day. That is roughly 9,000 emails a month. It stores up to 100,000 contacts. The free plan suits a sender with a large list and light sending. It suits a sender testing Brevo before paying. Mailchimp Free suits a brand-new list under 250 contacts. Brevo Free suits a bigger list that sends a few times a week. Neither free plan removes branding. Brevo removes its logo on Standard. Mailchimp removes its branding on Essentials and above.
Features compared: automation, testing and channels
Automation is the biggest feature gap. Mailchimp Essentials caps automation flows at four steps. Standard expands them to around 200 flows. Brevo Starter has no marketing automation. Brevo Standard adds unlimited automated, multi-step workflows. A sender who automates heavily gets more on Brevo Standard at $18 than on Mailchimp Standard at $20. Both tools offer A/B testing on their mid plans. Mailchimp includes it from Essentials. Brevo includes it from Standard. Brevo Standard also adds AI send time optimization, click heatmaps, web and event tracking, and one landing page. Mailchimp Standard adds predictive segmentation, dynamic content and custom reports. Channels differ too. Brevo treats email and SMS as one platform. SMS credit is sold separately. WhatsApp, popups and mobile push arrive on Brevo Professional at $499 a month. Mailchimp sells SMS as an add-on to paid plans. Both tools include a drag-and-drop editor and templates. Brevo Starter includes an AI content generator and advanced segmentation. Mailchimp includes generative AI features on Standard and Premium at no extra cost.
Support and ease of use
Support scales with price on both tools. Mailchimp Essentials and Standard include 24/7 email and chat support. Premium adds phone and priority support. Brevo Starter includes email support in six languages. Standard keeps email support. Professional adds phone support and three hours a year with a deliverability specialist. Enterprise adds a customer success manager. Both tools offer a 14-day trial of paid features in some form. Mailchimp offers a 14-day trial of Standard or Essentials. Brevo offers a free plan with no time limit instead. Onboarding differs. Mailchimp Standard includes one personalized onboarding session. Premium includes four sessions and a dedicated onboarding specialist. Brevo Enterprise includes tailored onboarding. Neither tool needs technical skill to start. Both offer drag-and-drop editors and templates.
Pricing examples: three realistic senders
Three examples show how the models diverge. Sender A has 500 contacts and sends four emails a month. That is 2,000 sends. Mailchimp Essentials costs $13 a month. Brevo Starter costs $9 a month for 5,000 emails. Brevo is $4 cheaper. Sender B has 5,000 contacts and sends two emails a month. That is 10,000 sends. Mailchimp Standard costs $100 a month at 5,000 contacts. Brevo Standard at 10,000 emails costs $35 a month. Brevo is $65 cheaper. Sender C has 500 contacts and sends twenty emails a month. That is 10,000 sends. Mailchimp Standard allows 6,000 sends at 500 contacts. This sender would pay overages or need a higher tier. Brevo Starter at 10,000 emails costs $17 a month. The pattern is clear. Brevo wins when sends are low relative to contacts. Mailchimp only wins when a small list sends very often, and even then the send cap bites. Count your contacts and your monthly sends before you choose. Both numbers decide the bill.
Who should pick Mailchimp, and who should pick Brevo
Pick Mailchimp if your list is small and you send often. A 500-contact list costs $13 to $20 a month. Pick Mailchimp if you sell through a connected store and want predictive segmentation. Pick it if you need 300 or more integrations. Pick Brevo if your list is large and you send rarely. Brevo charges per send, so a quiet list costs little. Pick Brevo if you need unlimited automation workflows without paying $350 a month. Pick it if you want SMS, WhatsApp and push in one platform. Pick Brevo if you send transactional email too. Its plans cover email and transactional messages together. Pick Mailchimp if your team needs many seats cheaply. Essentials gives 3 seats and Standard gives 5. Brevo Starter has one user. Professional includes 10 seats. A team of five pays more for seats on Brevo than on Mailchimp Standard.
Bottom line
Brevo wins on price for most small senders. Starter at $9 a month undercuts Mailchimp Essentials at $13. Brevo Standard at $18 undercuts Mailchimp Standard at $20 and adds unlimited automation. Mailchimp wins for small lists that send heavily and for stores that use predictive segmentation. The deciding question is simple. Do you have more contacts or more sends? Many contacts and few sends favour Brevo. Few contacts and many sends favour Mailchimp. Run both numbers before you buy.