Trustpilot vs Mailchimp: Which Platform is Right for Your Business?
Compare Trustpilot and Mailchimp - two fundamentally different tools. Trustpilot focuses on customer reviews and reputation management, while Mailchimp is an email marketing platform. Understand their pricing, features, and which one fits your needs.
Updated 2026-09 · 2026
Trustpilot
Customer review platform for building trust and managing online reputation
Strengths
- +Trusted review platform with high consumer credibility
- +Automated review invitation system
- +SEO benefits from review-rich snippets in search results
Weaknesses
- -Expensive for small businesses and startups
- -No free plan for businesses (only free consumer accounts)
- -Limited control over negative reviews once published
Best for
E-commerce businesses and service companies that need to build trust through verified customer reviews and improve search visibility
Mailchimp
All-in-one email marketing platform with automation and audience management
Strengths
- +Generous free tier (up to 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month)
- +User-friendly drag-and-drop email builder
- +Comprehensive marketing automation features
Weaknesses
- -Pricing scales quickly as contact list grows
- -Limited automation features on free plan
- -Customer support only via email on lower tiers
Best for
Small to medium businesses needing email marketing, automation, and audience engagement tools with room to grow
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Primary Purpose | Review collection and reputation management | Email marketing and automation |
| Free Plan | No free plan for businesses | Yes - up to 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month |
| Starting Price | $199/month (Basic plan) | Free, paid from $13/month |
| Review Collection | Automated invitations, multi-channel collection | Not applicable - not a review platform |
| Email Marketing | Limited - only review-related emails | Full-featured campaigns, templates, A/B testing |
| Automation | Review request automation | Customer journeys, abandoned cart, welcome series |
| Analytics | Review metrics, NPS, sentiment analysis | Email performance, audience insights, ROI tracking |
| SEO Benefits | Strong - review snippets in search results | Minimal - landing pages only |
| E-commerce Integration | Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce | Shopify, WooCommerce, extensive e-commerce integrations |
| Customer Support | Email and phone support on all plans | Email only on free/basic, chat/phone on higher tiers |
| Mobile App | Yes - manage reviews on the go | Yes - create and send campaigns from mobile |
| Best Use Case | Building trust through customer reviews | Engaging customers via email campaigns |
The Verdict
These tools serve completely different purposes and aren't direct competitors. Trustpilot is essential if you need to build credibility through customer reviews and improve your search presence, but it's expensive. Mailchimp is the better choice if you need to communicate with customers via email marketing, especially with its generous free tier. Many businesses actually use both - Trustpilot for reputation management and Mailchimp for ongoing customer engagement.
How to switch from Trustpilot to Mailchimp
- 1Export your customer contact list from your e-commerce platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) or CRM as a CSV file - Trustpilot itself doesn't allow exporting customer emails for marketing use due to GDPR restrictions, so use your original customer database instead.
- 2Create a Mailchimp account on the free plan and import your customer CSV file using the Audience > Import contacts feature, mapping fields like email, name, and purchase history during the import process.
- 3Connect your e-commerce platform to Mailchimp through the Integrations menu to automatically sync new customers and purchase data going forward, enabling features like abandoned cart emails and product recommendations.
- 4Create your first email campaign or set up basic automations like welcome emails for new subscribers - start simple with templates before building complex customer journeys.
- 5Note that Mailchimp cannot replace Trustpilot's review collection functionality - if you still need customer reviews for SEO and trust signals, you'll need to keep Trustpilot or find a review platform alternative, as these tools serve different purposes.
- 6Train your team on Mailchimp's campaign builder and reporting dashboard, and consider keeping Trustpilot active if review management is critical to your business, as most companies use both tools together rather than switching between them.
Trustpilot vs Mailchimp: common questions
How do I export my customer data from Trustpilot?+
Trustpilot allows you to export review data through the Business Portal under Reports > Export Reviews, which generates a CSV file containing review text, ratings, dates, and customer information. However, you cannot export customer email addresses directly from Trustpilot for marketing purposes due to GDPR restrictions. You'll need to use your existing customer database or e-commerce platform to build your Mailchimp contact list.
What do I lose by switching from Trustpilot to just using Mailchimp?+
You lose the ability to collect and display verified customer reviews, which means no review-rich snippets in Google search results and no third-party trust signals on your website. Mailchimp doesn't offer review collection or reputation management features. Most businesses don't actually switch between these tools - they use Trustpilot for reviews and Mailchimp for email marketing simultaneously.
Is Mailchimp's free plan enough for a small business?+
The free plan works well for businesses with under 500 contacts who send fewer than 1,000 emails per month, but it lacks automation features like abandoned cart emails and customer journeys. If you need basic newsletters and announcements, the free tier is sufficient. Once you need automation or grow beyond 500 contacts, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan starting at $13/month.
Can Mailchimp integrate with my e-commerce platform like Trustpilot does?+
Yes, Mailchimp integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and most major e-commerce platforms to sync customer data and purchase history. However, these integrations serve different purposes - Mailchimp uses them for email marketing campaigns and automation, while Trustpilot uses them to trigger review requests after purchases. You can run both integrations simultaneously without conflict.
How much will Mailchimp cost as my contact list grows?+
Mailchimp's pricing scales with your contact count: $13/month for up to 500 contacts, $20/month for 1,500 contacts, $350/month for 10,000 contacts, and $700/month for 50,000 contacts on the Standard plan. This is still significantly cheaper than Trustpilot's $199/month starting price, but serves a completely different purpose. Calculate your expected list size to budget accurately.