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Reviewed 2026-10-14

Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026

There are 7 replacements in our index for Mailchimp. We describe what each one is good at and what it gives up. Every entry links to the vendor's own pricing page, because published prices change and we would rather you check than trust.

What readers commonly dislike about Mailchimp

  • List size drives cost, including for contacts who never open
  • Feature tiers can be restrictive on entry plans
  • Frequent pricing changes make budgeting harder
Check Mailchimp's current pricing ↗

Options in our index

1

Brevo

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit Brevo

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) charges by send volume instead of list size, so a large, lightly-contacted list is far cheaper to keep than on per-contact pricing. SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email sit in the same platform.

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans scale with sendsconfirm on Brevo's site ↗

Strengths

  • Contact storage is not the main billing axis
  • SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email included rather than bolted on
  • Free plan is usable rather than a demo
  • Built-in CRM alongside campaigns

Trade-offs

  • Fewer ready-made templates than the older incumbents
  • Some automation features sit on higher tiers
Read our full Brevo notes →
2

MailerLite

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit MailerLite

MailerLite keeps a genuinely usable free plan and its paid tiers are cheaper than the incumbents at similar list sizes. Automation and landing pages are included rather than sold as upgrades, though the template library is smaller.

Pricing: Free tier available; paid plans scale with subscribersconfirm on MailerLite's site ↗

Strengths

  • Free tier is usable for a real list, not a demo
  • Cheaper than Mailchimp at comparable list sizes
  • Automations and landing pages included
  • Clean editor that non-designers can work with

Trade-offs

  • Smaller template library than the incumbents
  • Fewer deep e-commerce integrations
  • Advanced segmentation is limited on lower tiers
Read our full MailerLite notes →
3

Kit

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit Kit

Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is aimed at writers, creators and course sellers rather than retail marketers. Tagging and visual automations are its strength, and paid newsletter subscriptions are built in.

Pricing: Free tier available; paid plans scale with subscribersconfirm on Kit's site ↗

Strengths

  • Built for creators, with paid subscriptions and products
  • Visual automation builder that is easy to reason about
  • Tagging model is more flexible than list-based tools
  • Free plan covers a real starting audience

Trade-offs

  • Less suited to e-commerce and transactional mail
  • Templates are plain compared with retail-focused tools
  • Costs rise quickly once the list grows
Read our full Kit notes →
4

ActiveCampaign

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign links email marketing to a lightweight CRM, so a campaign can trigger follow-up tasks for a salesperson. It is more machinery than a newsletter needs, and the pricing steps up with contacts.

Pricing: No free tier; paid plans scale with the number of contactsconfirm on ActiveCampaign's site ↗

Strengths

  • Automations can branch on behaviour, not just time
  • Lightweight CRM included rather than a separate purchase
  • Site and event tracking feed the same automation engine
  • Handles both marketing and transactional follow-up

Trade-offs

  • No free tier, so evaluating it costs money
  • Cost rises with contacts and the tiers are not cheap
  • More setup than a newsletter tool needs
Read our full ActiveCampaign notes →
5

HubSpot

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit HubSpot

HubSpot sells a connected set of hubs for marketing, sales and service, so contact records and activity sit in one place rather than being stitched together. The all-in-one design is both the appeal and the cost: entry tiers carry contact limits and the features teams ask for first tend to sit a tier or two up.

Pricing: Free tier of core tools; paid hubs are priced per seat and by contact tierconfirm on HubSpot's site ↗

Strengths

  • Marketing, sales and service data share one contact record
  • Free tier covers basic email, forms and a contact list
  • Large ecosystem of integrations and templates
  • Scales from a small team to a full revenue team

Trade-offs

  • Contact tiers cap the free and entry plans
  • Costs climb quickly once several hubs are in use
  • Setup and onboarding take real time before it pays off
Read our full HubSpot notes →
6

Omnisend

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit Omnisend

Omnisend wires email, SMS and push into the store's own events, so a cart, a product view or a first order can start a sequence without extra plumbing. Its pricing is shaped for store owners, and teams that want a general-purpose CRM or deep B2B automation will find it narrower.

Pricing: Free tier for a limited contact and send volume; paid plans scale with contacts and sendsconfirm on Omnisend's site ↗

Strengths

  • Store events trigger automations without custom code
  • Email and SMS sit in the same automation builder
  • Prebuilt e-commerce flows shorten setup
  • Free tier is enough to test the channel

Trade-offs

  • Narrower than a general CRM once you sell outside a store
  • Contact and send limits decide the tier
  • Reporting is marketing-focused rather than analytical
Read our full Omnisend notes →
7

beehiiv

Email Marketing & CRM

Visit beehiiv

beehiiv is built around running a publication, so subscriber growth, referrals, a newsletter website and paid subscriptions live in the same product. It is a poor fit for one-off campaign blasts or heavy CRM work, and the price follows the size of the list.

Pricing: Free tier for a limited subscriber list; paid plans scale with subscribersconfirm on beehiiv's site ↗

Strengths

  • Publication features such as referrals and recommendations are built in
  • Paid subscriptions can run without a separate platform
  • The newsletter website comes with the account
  • Analytics are written for publishers

Trade-offs

  • Aimed at newsletters rather than general campaigns
  • Subscriber count drives the price
  • Advanced automation sits on the higher tiers
Read our full beehiiv notes →

Frequently asked questions about Mailchimp alternatives

Answers are drawn from the index above. We do not publish ratings, and every figure we do mention links back to the vendor's own page.

Does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?

Our entry records that list size drives cost, including for contacts who never open, so unsubscribed and unengaged addresses can still affect your tier. Confirm the current figures on the Mailchimp pricing page.

What alternatives to Mailchimp does Promotcha track?

We list 7 alternatives for Mailchimp: Brevo, MailerLite, Kit, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Omnisend and beehiiv. Each entry states what the tool is good at and what it gives up.

Where can I check what these Mailchimp alternatives cost?

Every entry above links to the vendor's own pricing page, and prices change often, so confirm before you commit: the Brevo pricing page, the MailerLite pricing page, the Kit pricing page, the ActiveCampaign pricing page, the HubSpot pricing page, the Omnisend pricing page and the beehiiv pricing page.

How is Mailchimp priced?

Our entry describes Mailchimp's pricing like this: Free tier available; paid plans scale with contacts. Confirm the current figure on the Mailchimp pricing page.

What do readers commonly dislike about Mailchimp?

Our notes on Mailchimp list these drawbacks: List size drives cost, including for contacts who never open; Feature tiers can be restrictive on entry plans; Frequent pricing changes make budgeting harder.

Does Mailchimp have a free plan?

Yes — our entry records a free option: Free tier available; paid plans scale with contacts. Free allowances change, so check the current limits on the Mailchimp pricing page.