Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

What changes when you move off Mailchimp

I ran Mailchimp across client accounts for years, and the pattern was always the same: the tool was fine, the bill was not. Essentials starts at $13/month billed monthly for the smallest band, and by the time a shop or service business has a few thousand contacts it costs several times that, with short automation flows and no yearly discount at that size.

When to stay. If your list sits under 250 contacts and you only send a few campaigns, the free plan still costs nothing. Stay too if Mailchimp is wired into a shop or CRM your team depends on and the bill isn't a problem yet.

The tools side by side

Each row is the plan that holds a small business list for one user, so you can line the prices up against what Mailchimp charges you now. Brevo, Sender and Kit show free plans because the list fits them.

one small business list and one user: plan priced, monthly and annual cost, Users on this plan, Automation on this plan, Free start

Tool and plan	Cost per month	Users on this plan	Automation on this plan	Free start
MailerLiteComfort	$29.70annual $33 monthly	3	50	Free plan and a 14-day trial
BrevoFree	Free	1	Limited to 2,000 contacts	Free plan
MoosendPro	$26annual $32 monthly	5	Yes	30-day trial
SenderFree Forever	Free	1	Email automation included: unlimited workflows, triggers and automation steps (no SMS automation, no auto-resend to non-openers)	Free plan and a 14-day trial
OmnisendStandard	Not sold annually $44 monthly	unlimited	Email and push automation, pre-built and custom workflows; SMS Automation ticked on Pro only	Free plan
KitFree	Free	1	No	Free plan and a 14-day trial

Six picks, in the order I'd consider them

Each one says who it is for, what it costs for a small business list, and what you give up.

1

MailerLite

Best overall Mailchimp replacement

Desk research

Choose it if

You like how Mailchimp works but resent paying Essentials prices for short flows, and you want a tool a new hire can learn in an afternoon.

Consider Sender instead if

You want to stop paying entirely and can live with Sender's badge at the foot of each campaign.

Why it fits a small business list

MailerLite is the closest like-for-like move. Comfort gives you 50 automations and 10 landing pages, so the longer welcome series that would push you to Mailchimp Standard fit on the entry paid plan here. 3 users are included, the same seat count as Essentials.

The plan I priced

Comfort for this list is $33/month billed monthly, or $29.70/month billed annually. MailerLite lets you try the paid features for 14 days without a card.

Closest alternative

Moosend becomes the better choice when you want unlimited sends and automation for a slightly lower bill, and don't need landing pages bundled in.

See MailerLite plans

A small business list: Comfort

Billed annually

$29.70/mo

Billed monthly

$33/mo

Above 200,000 subscribers: no bigger plan is published.

The trade-off

It still prices by subscriber band, so the bill rises as the list grows, only from a lower starting point. The free plan stops at 250 subscribers, barely more than Mailchimp's.

What my review says

Best for: A Mailchimp user who wants the same newsletter-and-automation setup without Mailchimp's prices.

Skip it if your real goal is a free plan for a list in the thousands.

Strengths

• Comfort's 50 automations beat what Mailchimp Essentials allows.
• Landing pages and sign-up forms included on the entry paid plan.

Limits

• Still priced by subscriber band, so growth still costs money.
• A free plan nearly as small as Mailchimp's.

See MailerLite plansMy MailerLite reviewMailerLite pricingAffiliate link

Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

2

Brevo

Best if your list is big but you send rarely

Hands-on

Choose it if

Your list is large because you've collected contacts for years, but you only mail it a few times a month.

Consider MailerLite instead if

You need longer automations for the whole list and more than one login on a low plan.

Why it fits a small business list

Mailchimp bills you for every contact you keep, even the ones you rarely email. Brevo flips that: the free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts, and paid plans are sized by monthly sends, starting with Starter at $9/month billed monthly for its smallest band. A growing list no longer pushes the price up on its own.

The plan I priced

Free stores this list but caps sending at 300 emails a day. Starter is $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually, for its smallest sending band.

Closest alternative

Sender becomes the better choice when you want this list on a free plan that can send a whole campaign in one go.

See Brevo plans

A small business list: Free

Free plan

$0

Above 100,000 subscribers: Starter (+$28.75/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

The free plan sends 300 emails a day, so one campaign to this list takes days to finish. Starter's automation is capped (Limited to 2,000 contacts) and includes 1 user.

What my review says

Best for: A Mailchimp user with a big, quiet list who is tired of paying for contacts they rarely email.

Skip it if you email your whole list several times a week, which makes send-based pricing add up.

Strengths

• Stored contacts don't drive the price; sends do.
• SMS campaigns live in the same account, where Mailchimp sells SMS as an add-on.

Limits

• A daily sending cap of 300 emails on the free plan.
• Automation on Starter is limited by contact count.

See Brevo plansMy Brevo reviewBrevo pricingAffiliate link

Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

3

Moosend

Lowest paid price with automation

Desk research

Choose it if

You're happy to pay, but want the bill for a few thousand contacts to be a fraction of Mailchimp's.

Consider MailerLite instead if

You'd like a free plan to fall back on. Moosend has none, only a trial.

Why it fits a small business list

Moosend sells one main plan, Pro, so there is no Essentials-versus-Standard split to work out. Pro for this list is $32/month billed monthly with automation workflows, unlimited sends and 5 team members, and yearly billing takes off another 20%.

The plan I priced

Pro for this list is $32/month billed monthly, or $26/month billed annually. The 30-day trial needs no card.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you want landing pages included and a better-known brand behind the tool.

See Moosend plans

A small business list: Pro

Billed annually

$26/mo

Billed monthly

$32/mo

Above 1,000,000 subscribers: no bigger plan is published.

The trade-off

There is no free plan. After the trial you pay or buy credits, and its integration shelf is far shorter than Mailchimp's.

What my review says

Best for: A paying Mailchimp customer who wants the same list emailed for much less, automation included.

Skip it if you need a permanent free plan.

Strengths

• One self-serve plan, so the automation builder is never locked behind an upgrade.
• Unlimited sends on Pro, where Mailchimp caps monthly sends by plan.

Limits

• No free plan after the trial ends.
• Fewer integrations than Mailchimp.

See Moosend plansMy Moosend reviewMoosend pricingAffiliate link

Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

4

Sender

Best free replacement for Mailchimp Free

Desk research

Choose it if

Mailchimp's free plan is what you outgrew, and you'd rather keep paying nothing than move to Essentials.

Consider Kit instead if

Your list is heading past 2,500 subscribers and is mostly newsletter readers.

Why it fits a small business list

Sender's free plan covers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with automation workflows included. That is the gap Mailchimp Free leaves: it caps you at 250 contacts and has no automation flows.

The plan I priced

Free Forever covers this list at no cost. Standard removes the branding and starts at $9/month billed monthly for the smallest band, rising with the list.

Closest alternative

Brevo becomes the better choice when your list is far bigger than Sender's free limit and you send to it only occasionally.

See Sender plans

A small business list: Free Forever

Free plan

$0

Above 2,500 subscribers: Standard (+$39/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

Free campaigns and forms carry Sender's branding, and the free plan has 1 seat. Once the list passes the free limit, Standard starts at $9/month billed monthly for its smallest band.

What my review says

Best for: A small business that outgrew Mailchimp Free and wants to keep paying nothing.

Skip it if vendor branding in your emails would hurt your brand.

Strengths

• A free plan that holds 2,500 subscribers.
• Automation workflows on the free plan, which Mailchimp Free leaves out.

Limits

• Sender's branding on free campaigns and forms.
• One seat on the free plan.

See Sender plansMy Sender reviewAffiliate link

Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

5

Omnisend

Best for online stores leaving Mailchimp

Desk research

Choose it if

You run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and the email you care about is the one that recovers a cart.

Consider MailerLite instead if

You don't sell online. Omnisend costs about the same as Mailchimp for a non-store list.

Why it fits a small business list

Omnisend's pre-built ecommerce workflows, abandoned cart among them, run on every plan, and every plan has unlimited seats. Mailchimp can send cart emails too, but only after you connect a supported store and build the flow yourself.

The plan I priced

Standard for this list is $44/month billed monthly. Omnisend sells no yearly plan; the free plan holds 250 contacts.

Closest alternative

Brevo becomes the better choice when you want cart emails and SMS in one account for a lower bill.

See Omnisend plans

A small business list: Standard

Billed monthly

$44/mo

Above 150,000 subscribers: no bigger plan is published.

The trade-off

For this list Standard costs close to what Mailchimp Essentials does, so it saves a store time rather than money. There is no yearly plan, and SMS needs Pro at $59/month billed monthly.

What my review says

Best for: A store owner who used Mailchimp for shop emails and wants ecommerce automation that's ready to switch on.

Skip it if you don't run an online store.

Strengths

• Abandoned cart workflows on every plan, the free one included.
• Unlimited seats on every plan.

Limits

• Not much cheaper than Mailchimp for this list.
• No yearly billing discount.

See Omnisend plansMy Omnisend reviewOmnisend pricingAffiliate link

Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

6

Kit

Biggest free plan, for newsletter-led businesses

Desk research

Choose it if

Your business grows through a newsletter, and Mailchimp's free limit was the wall you hit.

Consider Sender instead if

You want automations without paying. Kit's free plan has none.

Why it fits a small business list

Kit's free plan holds 10,000 subscribers, so a list that would cost real money on Mailchimp costs nothing here while you grow it. Sign-up forms, landing pages and broadcasts are all on the free plan.

The plan I priced

This list fits the free plan. Creator, with automations, starts at $39/month billed monthly, or $33/month billed annually, and Kit refunds within 30 days.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you need automations now and a smaller paid bill.

See Kit plans

A small business list: Free

Free plan

$0

Above 10,000 subscribers: Creator (+$141/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

Automations and sequences need Creator, which starts at $39/month billed monthly for the smallest band and climbs with the list, much like Mailchimp. Free emails carry Kit's branding.

What my review says

Best for: A newsletter-led business that hit Mailchimp's free contact limit.

Skip it if welcome series and automated follow-ups are the main reason you email.

Strengths

• A free plan for 10,000 subscribers.
• Paid products and subscriptions on paid plans if the newsletter becomes income.

Limits

• No automations on the free plan.
• Creator's price climbs with the list.

See Kit plansMy Kit reviewKit pricingAffiliate link

Mailchimp alternatives that cost less as your list grows

What a small business list really costs

Bars show the plan that holds this list, yearly where the vendor sells it and monthly where it doesn't. Brevo has no bar because its free plan's daily cap can't send one campaign to the whole list in a day.

Other options, and why they missed the list

I kept to tools that publish their prices for a small business list and cost less than Mailchimp, or hold the list free. Tools that are only cheaper on paper, once you add the plan you'd really need, sit in other options.

• 

  GetResponse

  Cheaper than Mailchimp for this list, but Starter allows a single automation workflow and no cart recovery, so the saving shrinks once you need Marketer.

• 

  ActiveCampaign

  Deeper automation than Mailchimp, but it costs more for this list, so it doesn't answer a price complaint.

How I chose, and how I earn from this page

Questions people ask

Compare two of them head to head

• MailerLite vs Mailchimp
• Moosend vs Mailchimp
• Omnisend vs Mailchimp
• Kit vs Mailchimp