Mailchimp vs Brevo
Mailchimp is the email marketing name everyone knows. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers a generous free tier and solid automation. Compare features and pricing.
Updated 2026-02 · 2026
Mailchimp
The email marketing platform everyone starts with
Strengths
- +Drag-and-drop email builder with hundreds of templates
- +Brand recognition means recipients trust emails from Mailchimp domains
- +Detailed audience insights and segmentation tools
Weaknesses
- -Pricing scales with contacts - gets expensive fast
- -Free tier was gutted - now very limited
- -Charges you for unsubscribed contacts unless you clean your list
Best for
Small businesses and creators who want a familiar, template-rich email marketing platform with strong e-commerce integrations.
Brevo
Email marketing with a generous free tier and multi-channel tools
Strengths
- +Free tier includes 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts
- +Prices based on emails sent, not contacts stored
- +Built-in SMS, WhatsApp, and transactional email
Weaknesses
- -Email templates are less polished than Mailchimp
- -Smaller integration ecosystem
- -Brand recognition is lower - some people still call it Sendinblue
Best for
Businesses that want affordable email marketing with a real free tier, especially those who also need SMS and transactional emails.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/mo | Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day |
| Pricing model | Per contacts | Per emails sent |
| Email templates | Hundreds, polished | Good, fewer options |
| Automation | Limited on lower tiers | Available on all plans |
| SMS marketing | Add-on | Built in |
| Transactional email | Via Mandrill (separate) | Built in |
| Landing pages | Yes | Yes |
| A/B testing | Yes | Yes |
| E-commerce integrations | Excellent | Good |
| Deliverability | Good | Good |
The Verdict
Mailchimp is still a solid choice if you are already in its ecosystem and the templates matter to your workflow. But Brevo is the better deal for most businesses - the free tier is dramatically more generous, the pricing model is fairer, and you get SMS and transactional email without paying extra. Mailchimp's brand is not worth 2-3x the price for most teams.
Beyond both: self-host Listmonk
High-performance newsletter and mailing list manager. Single binary, handles millions of subscribers, completely free.
listmonk.app →