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 2026-09 · 2026

Mailchimp

The email marketing platform everyone starts with

$13/mostarting price (500 contacts)

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

Free300 emails/day free, paid from $9/mo

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	Mailchimp	Brevo
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.

How to switch from Mailchimp to Brevo

Full Mailchimp export guide →

1In Mailchimp, go to Audience > All Contacts and click Export Audience to download your contact list as a CSV, including tags and custom fields.
2Export each active campaign's HTML by opening it and choosing 'Export as HTML,' since Mailchimp has no bulk campaign export option.
3Sign up for Brevo and import the CSV under Contacts > Import, mapping your Mailchimp custom fields and tags to Brevo's contact attributes and lists.
4Rebuild your automations manually in Brevo's Automation workflow builder - Mailchimp automations don't transfer and need to be recreated step by step.
5Reconnect e-commerce and form integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce, website signup forms) to Brevo, and verify your sending domain with SPF/DKIM records to protect deliverability.
6Run both platforms in parallel for one send cycle to confirm deliverability and formatting, then cancel your Mailchimp plan and update team access to Brevo.

Mailchimp vs Brevo: common questions

How do I export my contacts and campaigns from Mailchimp?+

Go to Audience > All Contacts and use the Export Audience button to download a CSV of your contacts, tags, and custom fields. Campaign content has to be exported separately - open each campaign and use 'Export as HTML' or copy the content, since Mailchimp doesn't offer a bulk campaign export.

What features do I lose moving from Mailchimp to Brevo?+

You'll lose Mailchimp's larger template library and its deeper audience/behavioral analytics - Brevo's reporting is more basic. You also lose native Mailchimp Marketplace integrations, though Brevo covers most common e-commerce and CRM connections through its own app directory or Zapier.

Is Brevo's free plan actually enough for a small team?+

If you send under 300 emails a day (about 9,000/month) and don't need advanced segmentation, yes - the free plan includes unlimited contacts and marketing automation, which Mailchimp's free tier doesn't. Teams sending regular newsletters to more than a few thousand contacts will likely hit the daily cap and need a paid plan.

Does Brevo integrate with the tools I already use (Shopify, WordPress, etc.)?+

Brevo has native integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Salesforce, and Zapier, covering most common stacks. The library is smaller than Mailchimp's marketplace, so if you rely on a niche integration, check Brevo's integration page before switching.

Will switching to Brevo actually save money as my list grows?+

Usually yes, because Brevo charges by emails sent, not contacts stored - so a large but infrequently-emailed list costs far less than on Mailchimp. If you send frequently to a large list, run the numbers on Brevo's calculator first, since heavy senders can end up paying similar amounts on either platform.