Many people are switching away from Mailchimp for same reason: price. If you are you looking for a cheaper solution, then you can check out the best Mailchimp alternatives below.
Mailchimp is still a good platform, though. It is just not for everyone. Especially if you are a small business owner or blogger who have a limited budget.
Switching away from Mailchimp is not an easy decision if you have been using it for a long enough period of time because you need to make new adaption on your new platform.
Also, not all website builders (in case you pair Mailchimp with a site builder) have a built-in feature to integrate with a certain email marketing platform.
There are some features you need to look before you try and stick with a certain email marketing platform.
Shortcuts ⤵️
- Mailchimp main use
- Why do people switch away?
- Features to look in a Mailchimp alternative
- List of cheaper Mailchimp alternatives (SaaS)
- List of cheaper Mailchimp alternatives for WordPress (plugins)
- Summary
What is the Main Use of Mailchimp?
Mailchimp is an email marketing platform by nature. Thus, it is primarily used to send email campaigns related to marketing. With Mailchimp, you can send email campaigns like newsletters, promotional emails to notifications (e.g., abandoned cart notifications).
There are also extra features like automation which you can use to automaticaly send welcome emails and a website builder which you can use to create a landing page and website.
Mailchimp has evolved from an email marketing platform into a Swiss Army Knife digital marketing platform.
Not all features are really needed by some users, though.
If you already have a website, for instance, then you don’t need the website builder feature. So, paying more for a feature you don’t even use might be another form of money waste.
Why do People Switch Away from Mailchimp?
You already know the answer. Right?
There are two main reasons why people are switching away from Mailchimp. First, and foremost, is regarding the price.
Compared to other similar platforms, the prices of Mailchimp plans are relatively higher. For instance, if you have 5,000 subscribers on your list, Mailchimp will charge you $100 per month.
If you use MailerLite, meanwhile, you only need to pay $39 per month for the same number of subscribers.
Reason number two. Not all people need the features available in Mailchimp. If you are a WordPress, for instance, you definitely don’t need Mailchimp’s website builder as you already have a website built with WordPress.
So again.
Why do you spend more money on features you never even use?
Features to Look in a Mailchimp Alternative
When you are aiming to look for a Mailchimp alternative, I am pretty sure you are thinking of a platform that you can use to run your email marketing campaign instead of a platform to build a website or landing page.
But what email campaign do you want to primarily send?
You need to think about it seriously because each email marketing platform has a different focus. Kit (Previously ConvertKit) for instance, is an email marketing platform focused on newsletter creators.
iContact, meanwhile, is an email marketing platform focused on small businesses.
Here are some key features you need to ensure they are available on the email marketing platform you want to use to replace Mailchimp:
- Ability to create groups
- Ability to create segments
- Automation
- Email sending scheduling
- Ability to personalize emails
- A/B testing
- Ability to design the emails (the confirmation email in particular)
- Integration support with the website builder/landing builder you use
- Stats (to track open rate and click rate)
- Form builder (this feature is crucial if the email marketing platform doesn’t support integration with the page builder you use via API key mechanism)
List of Cheaper Mailchimp Alternatives (SaaS)
On the list:
- MailerLite
- SendX
- ActiveCampaign
- iContact
- Kit (Formerly ConvertKit)
- GetResponse
- Moosend
- Sender.net
- Drip
- Brevo
1. MailerLite
MailerLite is one of the best Mailchimp replacements. It has nearly all features that Mailchimp has. From automation to website builder and landing page builder.
If you want it, you can even use MailerLite to sell your digital products. MailerLite offers design elements dedicated to selling digital products via its Stripe integration. You can use the MailerLite’s landing page builder to use this feature.
In MailerLite, you can create groups to organize your subscribers. If you need to filter your subscribers with more specific criteria, MaierLite also allows you to create segments.
What I really love about MaierLite is that it comes with a solid automation feature which supports several trigger types. Also, MailerLite comes with a super useful statistics feature which you can use to monitor the performance of your emails.
MailerLite supports integrations with popular landing page builders for WordPress. Including Elementor, Divi, Breakdance to Brizy. I have published a review about MailerLite which you can read to learn more about the plugin.
MailerLite vs Mailchimp
| MailerLite | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $10/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ✅ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
MaillerLite Pros:
- Offers a migration from Mailchimp feature
- More affordable
- Solid automation
- Advanced subscribers filtering
- Useful stats
- Built-in form builder
- Extensive third-party app integration support
MailerLite Cons:
- Requires a professional email account
- Doesn’t allow email footer removal
2. SendX
SendX is a simple, yet powerful affordable email marketing platform to replace Mailchimp. It is a perfect platform if you are a newsletter creator who often highlight a certain text in your content. The email editor of SendX allows you to do so.
Also, you can personalize your newsletters by mentioning your subscribers’ name, email or company name.
SendX is also a perfect option if you run an e-commerce business. You can leverage its automation feature to automatically send emails over abandoned cart, completed order etc. SendX supports popular e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify.
The automation feature of SendX also suppors SamCart, PayPal, Stripe, Intercom and InstaPage.
Regarding the subscriber management, SendX allows you to create lists, tags and segments.
Since SendX is not as popular as Mailchimp, it still lacking of third-party integration support. It’s super challenging to find a form builder or page builder that support integration with SendX.
Thankfully, it comes with a built-in form builder. It also has a built-in popup builder and landing page builder.
SendX vs Mailchimp
| SendX | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $9.99/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
SendX Pros:
- Clean, easy-to-use interface
- Extremely affordable
- Extensive e-commerce support for its automation feature
- A great solution for newsletter creators and bloggers
- Free migration
- Free for less than 500 subscribers
SendX Cons:
- Lack of third-party app integration support
3. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a premium email marketing service. It offers no free version like Mailchimp does. However, you can try the experience of using ActiveCampaign before you subscribe to one of the offered plans thanks to the offered trial.
You can try ActiveCampaign for free for 14 days without providing your card info.
Although ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer a free version like Mailchimp but if you compare it with the paid version of Mailchimp, you will find a fact that ActiveCampaign is more affordable.
Well, it depends on the plan you use because ActiveCampaign offers 4 different plans for its platform. Each plan offers different features.
ActiveCampaign itself is an all-one-one email marketing platform. Not only can you use to run email marketing, but you can also use it as a CRM, to build a website, to sell digital products, and so on.
ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp
| ActiveCampaign | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $15/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
ActiveCampaign Pros:
- Offers 30-day trial without card
- Doesn’t require a professional email account
- Spam checker
- Solid automation
- Useful stats
- Extensive third-party app integration support
- Advanced subscribers filtering
ActiveCampaign Cons:
- More expensive than Mailchimp for 10,000 subscribers and up
- Limited options on the lowest plan
4. iContact
iContact is an email marketing platform that specifically targets small businesses. Thus, if you are a small business owner who is currently using Mailchimp and want to migrate, iContact is a perfect solution.
Same as MailerLite, iContact is also way more affordable than Mailchimp. For 5,000 subscribers, for instance, the platform only charges you $45 per month compared to $100 per month if you use Mailchimp.
iContact seems to focus on providing email marketing service. It has no site builder feature like Mailchimp.
Although you can use iContact to send any email campaign type but it tends to be an ideal platform to send promotional emails instead of, say, newsletters. It has no rich-text email editor.
iContact vs Mailchimp
| iContact | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $9/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
iContact Pros:
- More affordable
- Offers 30-day trial without card
- Doesn’t require professional email account
- Spam checker
- Useful stats
- Simple, easy to use
- Advanced subscribers filtering
- Built-i form builder
iContact Cons:
- Not a good option for bloggers or newsletter creators
- Limited third-party app integration support
5. Kit (Formerly ConvertKit)
Kit was previously known as ConvertKit. It is an email marketing platform designed specifically for newsletter creators. Kit is also a great option if you are a blogger. It is founded by a blogger too, Nathan Barry.
As a creator-centric email marketing platform, Kit offers an editor that is focused to creating newsletter content.
With Kit, you can easily run a paid newsletter or sell your digital product, as long as the country you live supports Stripe.
Features like automation, landing page builder and form builder are available in Kit.
Kit itself adopts a freemium business model. Meaning that you can use it for free. The free version allows you to store up to 10,000 subscribers, you can’t unlock features e-commerce and automation.
Kit vs Mailchimp
| Kit | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $29/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ✅ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
Kit Pros:
- A perfect option for newsletter creators and bloggers
- Solid automation
- Useful stats
- Built-in form builder
- Extensive third-party app integration support
- Free up to 10,000 subscribers
Kit Cons:
- Limited features on the free version
- E-commerce feature is only usable on countries supported by Stripe
- Inconsistent branding history
6. GetResponse
GetResponse is a feature-rich email marketing tool you can use to replace Mailchimp. However, you can’t use it for free unless during the 30-day trial period.
Some features offered by GetReponse include a visual email builder to make it easy for you to create the email, A/B testing, list management, and so on.
GetResponse is an ideal choice if you run an online store with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and PrestShop. You can integrate it with your store to sync your products and send email campaigns like abandoned carts notifications, send tailored product recommendations based on the buying history, and so on.
If you are a creator, you can also use GetResponse to run paid newsletter, sell courses and sell paid webinars. About the payment, GetReponse supports both PayPal and Stripe.
GetResponse vs Mailchimp
| GetResponse | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $19/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ✅ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
GetResponse Pros:
- Offers 30-day trial without card
- Deep integration with e-commerce platforms
- Supports PayPal and Stripe for monetization
- Useful stats
- Solid automation
- Built-in form builder
GetResponse Cons:
- Requires steeper learning curve to get started
- Higher prices for creators’ plans
7. Moosend
Moosend is a paid email marketing platform. It offers no free version like Mailchimp, MaierLite and several other platforms on the list. But you have a chance to use it for free during the trial period.
The trial version gives you 30-day access without requiring you to provide your card information.
Overall, the features offered by Moosend are not much different to other email marketing platforms. It also comes with a visual editor to edit the email, automation, built-in form builder, and feature to filter your subscribers.
To monitor the performance of your campaigns, the platform also comes with built-in stats feature. Integration with Google Analytics is also available in case you need it.
Moosend vs Mailchimp
| Moosend | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $9/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
Moosend Pros:
- More affordable
- Offers 30-day trial without card
- Complete enough features
- Doesn’t require a professional email account
- Built-in form builder
- Advanced subscribers filtering
Moosend Cons:
- Lack of third-party app integration support
- No migration feature
8. Sender.net
Sender.net is another great email marketing platform that you can try to replace Mailchimp. The platform even offers a migration feature to make the migration process even smoother. All you need to enter your Mailchimp API key.
Apart from Mailchimp, the migration feature also supports GetReponse.
In Sender.net, you are required to connect a domain via DNS mechanism before being able to send a campaign, pretty similar to MailerLite.
You have three email editors to choose from when creating a new form. First, you can use a rich-text editor. Second, you can use a drag-and-drop editor. Third, you can use the HTML editor.
Automation feature is also available where you can send campaigns like auto welcome email, send abandoned cart notifications, and so on. For the latter automation, you can connect an online store powered by WooCommerce, Shopify and Prestashop.
Sender.net vs Mailchimp
| Sender.net | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $10/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
Sender.net Pros:
- Migration from Mailchimp feature
- More affordable
- Simple interface
- Useful stats
- Free version is available
- Advanced subscribers filtering feature
Sender.net Cons:
- Lack of third-party app integration support
- Requires a professional email account
9. Drip
If you are looking for an email marketing platform that offers a migration from Mailchimp feature, Drip is one of the items you can try. The platform itself mainly targets online store businesses, but you can also use it for other online business types, including publication.
One of the online store platforms supported by Drip is Shopify. By integrating Drip with Shopify, you can automatically add the email addresses of your new customers to the “first-time shoppers” segment to send more targeted emails in the future.
You can also send an automated “thank email” to them.
In addition to Shopify, Drip also supports integration with three other popular online store platforms: WooCommerce, Magento and BigCommerce.
Drip offers ready-to-use email automation templates for those online store platforms.
Although Drip is ideally used by online store businesses, bloggers and newsletter creators can also use it. Drip offers a rich-text editor which you can use to send newsletter campaigns.
You can also use its automation feature to send campaigns like an email course (although you can’t offer a paid course), welcome sequence, and so on.
Drip vs Mailchimp
| Drip | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $39/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
Drip Pros:
- Migration from Mailchimp feature
- Solid automation
- Deep integration with online shop platforms
- Offers 14-trial without card
- Modern interface
Drip Cons:
- More expensive than Mailchimp for 10,000 subscribers and up
- High starter plan (from $39/month)
10. Brevo
Brevo was previously known as Sendinblue. It is an all-in-one online marketing tool instead of just an email marketing tool. But you can also use it to replace Mailchimp in case you think that the Mailchimp no longer makes sense.
The features offered by Brevo are not much different from other platforms on the list. You can create a new email marketing campaign using the provided visual email builder, manage subscribers, manage forms, check the stats, and so on.
You can use the paid version of Brevo at a lower price, but your emails will have a Brevo branding on the footer area. The comparison table below is the no-branding version.
Brevo vs Mailchimp
| Brevo | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $21/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
Brevo Pros:
- Offers cheaper version
- Complete enough features
- Solid automation
Brevo Cons:
- Some plans are limited by FUP
- Requires steeper learning curve to get started
List of Cheaper Mailchimp Alternatives for WordPress (Plugins)
On the list:
11. MailPoet
MailPoet is an email marketing plugin that you can use right from the WordPress dashboard so that you don’t need to go back and forth to different dashboards. You can manage email subscribers, create a new campaign, or check the analytics from your WordPress dashboard.
MailPoet is especially a great option if you want to have full control over the email marketing process.
The overall features offered by MailPoet are not much different from Mailchimp. It also comes with a visual email builder that you can use to create your campaign (e.g., newsletter).
Since MailPoet is a WordPress plugin, it has a deep integration with it. You can, for instance, display the number of active subscribers on any page of your website. The number is updated in real-time following the subscribers count change.
MailPoet also has a feature to automatically send email notifications to your subscribers over new blog posts. If you use WooCommerce, you can also set MailPoet to:
- Send email notifications about the abandoned shopping cart
- Send email notifications for customers about their first purchase
- Create custom email templates.
MailPoet itself is a freemium plugin. Meaning that you can use it for free. MailPoet is now owned by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, and several other WordPress products and services.
Want to learn more about MailPoet? I have published a detailed review that you can read.
MailPoet vs Mailchimp
| MailPoet | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $10/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
MailPoet Pros:
- Deep integration with WordPress and WooCommerce
- Detailed, useful stats
- Built-in form builder
- Simple editor
- Free version is available
- Doesn’t require a professional email account
MailPoet Cons:
- Not a good option for hosting with limited resources
- Fewer elements in the email editor
12. weMail
weMail is an email marketing plugin developed by weDevs, the company that also develops popular WordPress products like WP ERP, Happy Addons, and Dokan.
Same as MailPoet, weMail is also a great solution if you are looking for an email marketing plugin that you can use via the WordPress dashboard. weMail is also released as a freemium plugin to give you a chance to use it for free.
Unlike weMail, weMail has no built-in email delivery service. You can integrate with Amazon SES, SparkPost or Mailgun before you can send an email. Or, if you use form builder plugins like Gravity Forms, Caldera Forms, Ninja Forms, and so on, you can also effortlessly integrate weMail with the form builder you use.
weMail is especially a great email marketing if you have a user-based website (e.g., a membership website). The reason is that it will automatically turn the newly registered user into an email subscriber.
The plugin also has the capability to collect email addresses from blog comments.
weMail vs Mailchimp
| weMail | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $15/month | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
weMail Pros:
- Deep integration with WordPress and WooCommerce
- Clean, modern interface
- Built-in form builder
- Free version is available
- Useful stats
weMail Cons:
- Requires email delivery setup
- Not a good option for hosting with limited resources
13. The Newsletter Plugin
The Newsletter Plugin is a great email marketing plugin if you have a blog or an online magazine although you can also use it on any type of website. There is no limitation regarding the number of email newsletter you can send as well as the number of email subscribers you can collect.
To make it easy for you to create a newsletter, you have a visual email builder whereby you can add elements like image, call to action, heading, blog posts, text, social media icons, and animated GIF (integrated with Giphy).
To streamline your workflow, The Newsletter Plugin comes with email newsletter templates you can choose from.
If you have a concern about security, The Newsletter Plugin also comes with a built-in security feature whereby you can integrate it with Akismet, Antiflood, and reCAPTCHA. The built-in features offered by Newsletter are:
One drawback of The Newsletter Plugin is that it has no built-in mail delivery feature. You need a third-party mail delivery service or use your own SMTP server to add a mail delivery function to Newsletter.
The Newsletter Plugin itself is extensible via add-ons. You can install premium add-ons offered by The Newsletter Plugin to add more advanced features like more composer blocks, integration support with Google Analytics, Amazon SES, SendGrid, and so on.
The Newsletter Plugin vs Mailchimp
| The Newsletter Plugin | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starts from $69/month* | Starts from $20/month |
| Free version | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Form builder | ❌ | ✅ |
| Personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| A/B testing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email sending scheduling | ✅ | ✅ |
| E-commerce functionality | ❌ | ❌ |
| Learn more ↗️ | Learn more ↗️ |
The Newsletter Plugin Pros:
- Deep integration with WordPress
- A great option for bloggers
- Unlimited subscribers
- Free version is available
- Useful stats
The Newsletter Plugin Cons:
- Requires email delivery setup
- Fewer elements in the email editor
Summary
Looking for a Mailchimp replacement is not an easy task, especially if you have been using it for a long time period. The biggest challenge when you want to switch away from Mailchimp is regarding the migration process, especially if you already have a huge number of subscribers.
Thankfully, some platforms offer a feature dedicated to helping users migrate from Mailchimp. MailerLite, Drip and Sender.net are examples of email marketing platforms that offer the feature.
If you use a certain website builder or landing page builder, another challenge you will face is to find an email platform that supports integration with the site builder/landing page builder you use.
Which Email Marketing Platform is Best to Replace Mailchimp?
People use an email marketing platform for a wide range of purposes. From sending newsletters, running a course, to boosting product sales.
It depends on your main goal. If you want to build a newsletter business, Kit is the best option. The platform has a creator network feature to help grow your audience base.
MaierLite is a great option if you are looking for a cheaper Mailchimp alternative that has a landing page builder, a site builder, a solid automation and the ability to sell digital products.
If you are a WordPress user and are looking for an email marketing platform that has deep integration with WordPress, then MailPoet is a perfect solution.
