Our Verdict
The most recognized email marketing platform in the world, offering drag-and-drop email design, marketing automation, audience segmentation, and multi-channel campaign tools.
Rating Breakdown
Why Trust This Review
Our team has spent 40+ hours hands-on testing Mailchimp across real-world scenarios. We follow a rigorous methodology with weighted scoring criteria. Our reviews are editorially independent and never influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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Pros & Cons
Pros
- Most recognized email marketing brand with extensive documentation and third-party support
- Excellent drag-and-drop email builder with 100+ professional templates
- Strong e-commerce integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other platforms
- Multi-channel capabilities including email, landing pages, social media, and SMS
Cons
- Free plan drastically reduced to only 250 contacts and 500 emails/month with Mailchimp branding
- Pricing escalates rapidly as contact list grows — poor value at higher tiers
- Automation limited to 4 steps on Essentials plan; advanced journeys require Standard or above
- No phone support except on $350/month Premium plan
Full Review
Overview
Mailchimp is the world's most widely recognized email marketing and marketing automation platform, now owned by Intuit (acquired in 2021 for $12 billion). Founded in 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia, Mailchimp has grown from a simple email newsletter tool into a comprehensive marketing platform serving millions of businesses worldwide. The platform covers email marketing, landing pages, social media scheduling, basic CRM, and e-commerce marketing, making it a go-to entry point for businesses starting with digital marketing.
Key Strengths
- Brand Recognition and Trust: As the most well-known email marketing platform, Mailchimp benefits from extensive documentation, tutorials, and third-party integrations.
- Drag-and-Drop Email Builder: Intuitive email designer with 100+ templates, A/B testing, and AI-powered content suggestions for creating professional emails without design skills.
- Customer Journey Builder: Visual automation workflows that trigger based on subscriber behavior, purchase activity, or custom events.
- Audience Segmentation: Advanced segmentation tools for targeting specific subscriber groups based on demographics, behavior, purchase history, and engagement.
- Multi-Channel Marketing: Beyond email, Mailchimp supports landing pages, social media ads, postcards, and SMS marketing from one platform.
Pricing Analysis
Mailchimp's free plan has been significantly reduced, now offering only 250 contacts and 500 emails per month. The Essentials plan starts at $13/month for 500 contacts with 5,000 monthly emails, adding A/B testing and 3 users. Standard at $20/month for 500 contacts includes customer journey automation and 5 users. Premium at $350/month adds advanced segmentation, unlimited users, and 150,000 sends. Pricing scales with contact count, and costs can escalate quickly at higher tiers.
Who Is It Best For?
Mailchimp is best for small businesses and solopreneurs getting started with email marketing who need an easy-to-learn platform with strong templates. It's also well-suited for e-commerce businesses using Shopify or WooCommerce that need transactional emails and purchase-based automations.
The Bottom Line
Mailchimp remains a solid entry-level email marketing platform with excellent design tools and brand recognition. However, its free plan has been gutted, pricing escalates quickly as contacts grow, and more advanced automation tools like ActiveCampaign, Omnisend, or Klaviyo offer better features per dollar for businesses that have outgrown basic email marketing.
Alternatives to Mailchimp
Frequently Asked Questions
Mailchimp remains a solid choice for beginners thanks to its brand recognition, easy-to-use editor, and extensive template library. However, its free plan has been significantly reduced (250 contacts, 500 emails/month), and pricing scales steeply. For growing businesses, alternatives like Omnisend, MailerLite, or Brevo often provide better value with more generous limits and comparable features.
Mailchimp has progressively reduced its free plan over the years. It once offered 2,500 contacts and 10,000 monthly emails. In 2026, the free plan supports only 250 contacts, 500 emails per month, 1 user, and includes Mailchimp branding on all emails. Email scheduling and multi-step automations have been removed from the free tier.
Yes, but the depth depends on your plan. The Free plan includes basic one-click automations. Essentials adds up to 4-step automation workflows. Standard unlocks the full Customer Journey Builder with behavioral targeting and custom events. Premium adds multivariate testing and advanced segmentation. For businesses needing sophisticated automation, the Standard plan ($20/month) is the minimum recommended tier.
Written by
Emily brings 7 years of data-driven marketing expertise, specializing in market analysis, email optimization, and AI-powered marketing tools. She combines quantitative research with practical recommendations, focusing on ROI benchmarks and emerging trends across the SaaS landscape.
Co-written by
Sarah has spent 10+ years in marketing technology, working with companies from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. She specializes in evaluating automation platforms, CRM integrations, and lead generation tools. Her reviews focus on real-world business impact and ROI.
Final Verdict
Mailchimp scores 7.8/10
With a score of 7.8 out of 10, Mailchimp is a solid choice with good overall capabilities. It's particularly well-suited for those looking for small businesses and e-commerce stores getting started with email marketing.