10 Mailchimp alternatives for 2024 (and how to choose the best one for you)

With that in mind, this article will highlight 10 of the best Mailchimp alternatives. We’ll use our 10+ years of experience as an email marketing leader to assess what makes each tool great, highlight each one’s pros and cons and help you find your email marketing prom king or queen. 

You don’t get to be as popular as Mailchimp without having some good features. But, there are plenty of reasons why you might want to choose another tool.

Some of the most convincing reasons include:

Limited email sending

Mailchimp limits how many emails you can send. For example, the plan for up to 1,500 subscribers only lets you send 15,000 emails. You could easily reach this limit through a combination of newsletter campaigns, responders, and lead nurture sequences. 

Most Mailchimp competitors have higher email-sending limits. And many will let you send unlimited campaigns, including MailerLite, ConvertKit and GetResponse. 

Limited free plan

One of Mailchimp’s biggest selling points for small business owners was its relatively generous free plan. But recent changes mean you can only send 1,000 monthly free emails to up to 500 contacts, rendering it unusable for all but the smallest lists.

On the other hand, some Mailchimp alternatives have more generous free plans both in terms of the number of contacts you can add and the number of emails you can send. Check out the table below to see the exact details of the free plans on offer.

More expensive

Just as the free Mailchimp plan has become more limited, so the paid plans have increased in price. The Essentials plan is now $13 and the Standard plan is $20 for just 500 subscribers. 

Compare this to MailerLite, which starts at $9 for the Growing business plan or $19 for the Advanced plan for up to 1,000 subscribers, or ConvertKit, which starts at $25 for 1,000 subscribers. Both these tools aren’t only cheaper but also allow you to send unlimited emails on all plans.  

What’s more, Mailchimp’s Free and Essentials plan both lack core email marketing features like templates, comparative reporting and advanced segmentation that you would have access to on lower tiers with another platform. 

Let’s look deeper into how Mailchimp's Essentials plans compare with the competitors. The table shows the price of each tool’s cheapest plan when bought on an annual subscription.

Access to other features

Mailchimp offers plenty of features. But, it doesn’t have everything, and you may find another platform has a feature set that better suits your needs. For example, in Mailchimp you can’t auto-resend campaigns to non-openers, build a blog, or run promotion pop-ups. If any of these features are important to you, you’re better off choosing a different tool. 

Here are some of the key features to look out for when choosing an email service provider:

• Email builders: A drag-and-drop builder makes creating beautiful emails easy. Also look for templates, a rich-text editor for fast email creation, and an HTML email editor

• Forms and pop-ups: Look for features that let you create and customize forms and pop-ups and then add them to your website. Also look for promotional pop-ups which allow you to advertise any offer, including blog posts, landing pages, and e-commerce deals 

• Automation workflows: These features let you set up automated email sequences that go out based on subscriber behavior. Advanced automation and multistep workflows will help you create powerful sequences

• Segmentation: This is the ability to divide your contact list into smaller groups based on subscriber information or behavior. The best tools do this automatically 

• Dynamic content: The ability to include content in an email that is only shown to targeted groups. Look for tools that let you create this content without using code 

• A/B testing: The ability to test the performance of 2 versions of a marketing asset. Tools may let you test subject lines, email content, landing pages, forms, and workflows

• Website and landing page builder: Most email tools have landing page features, and some also let you create websites. Bonus if they have website templates and blog features 

• Integrations: Check if you can integrate the ESP with your other business tools. Common integrations include e-commerce, WordPress, forms, CRMs and automation tools

• Accept payments: Look for tools that integrate with Stripe or other payment platforms if you want to sell products from within your emails or landing pages 

• High deliverability: We use EmailToolTester’s deliverability report to assess whether emails you send on the platform are likely to end up in your subscribers’ inboxes 

• Migration help: Essential if you already have a Mailchimp account. Integrations, like that offered by MailerLite, enable you to bring over your list in a few clicks. Other options include manual export and import or having someone from your chosen ESP help you switch

*Tools with features that allow you to add dynamic content without using code. You may still be able to add dynamic content using code

**Most recent deliverability test results from EmailToolTester at the time of writing (March 2023)

Now you know what to look for, here is our list of the best Mailchimp competitors. We’ve highlighted pricing information and what makes each tool stand out. 

We obviously believe that MailerLite is the best Mailchimp alternative. But we’ve also got thousands of happy customers who’ve already migrated from Mailchimp to back up our claim. We provide all the features you need to deliver impactful email marketing campaigns and more. Plus, they’re packaged up in generous plans that make us a cheaper Mailchimp alternative.

MailerLite is easy to use, consistently ranks as one of the top tools for deliverability, and has a free plan you can use until you hit 1,000 subscribers or 12,000 monthly emails. 

Email marketing features

• Create beautiful emails at speed with our drag & drop email builder, inline text editor, or HTML email builder

• AI-powered and drag-and-drop newsletter builder 

• Ignite subscriber growth with embeddable forms, pop-ups and landing pages you can embed into your existing website

• Get started in seconds with templates for your entire funnel, including emails, forms, landing pages, websites and automation

• Create an entire website with our drag-and-drop builder. It’s the easiest way to create a beautiful website for a business, side project, portfolio, or newsletter

• Tailor email content to specific subscribers by adding dynamic blocks or personalization based on custom fields in a subscriber profile

• Assess your marketing efforts with built-in analytics for campaigns, forms, automation, landing pages and websites

• Make your campaigns sparkle with the file manager, built-in image editor, and integrated image library

Automation features

• Skyrocket conversion with powerful customer journey automation based on subscriber behavior

• Optimize your campaigns with email split testing at every step of your funnel. Test the impact of subject lines, email content, form and pop-up performance, landing pages, and even your automated workflows

• Build relationships with powerful subscriber management features. Automatically create groups and segments based on subscriber behavior 

• Connect to your marketing tech stack with 130+ pre-build integrations with popular tools. Go further by accessing the API, adding custom code to websites, or connecting to Make or Zapier

E-commerce features

• Boost e-commerce sales with prebuilt, easy-to-set-up integration with popular e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, Prestashop, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce 

• Automate emails based on buyer behavior, such as purchases or abandoned carts 

• Sync contacts between your email platform and your e-commerce tool

• E-commerce businesses can share product recommendations in emails with e-commerce product blocks

• Sell digital products, such as paid newsletter subscriptions, from your online store, landing page, or newsletter with Stripe integration

Pros

• Easy-to-use: MailerLite is widely regarded as one of the easiest-to-use email platforms thanks to its drag-and-drop builder, clean UI, prebuilt templates, and automation builder

• Powerful email marketing features: MailerLite has all the features you need to run your email marketing campaigns, from collecting email addresses to sending messages and automating campaigns

• Affordable: MailerLite is by far the most affordable Mailchimp alternative. Paid plans start at just $9 per month

• Generous free plan: Get started with a free account that lets you send up to 12,000 monthly emails to up to 1,000 contacts. It’s perfect for new businesses or people starting email marketing

• Leading customer support: Access all the help you need to succeed at email marketing. Get support via 24/7 live chat, email, a community, an extensive knowledge base, and an online learning platform

• Leading deliverability: MailerLite is consistently rated as one of the top email marketing platforms for deliverability. This means your subscribers are more likely to receive emails sent via our platform than via alternatives 

Cons

• Limited languages: MailerLite is currently only available in English, although we have Spanish and Polish versions on the way

• Thorough approval process: MailerLite manually approves all accounts that sign up for the service to ensure they meet its terms of service. This process usually takes 15 minutes but can take longer if more information is needed

MailerSend is a powerful tool for a particular email use case: sending transactional emails. These are non-promotional messages that go out based on actions customers take on your website, app or product. 

Transactional emails are essential to the smooth running of your business. They include purchase confirmation emails, delivery updates, password reset emails, and account creation emails. MailerSend excels at this type of message thanks to its extremely high deliverability, easy setup via API or SMTP, inbound routing to receive messages into your application, and more.

Key features

• MailerSend’s email API makes it easy for developers to integrate email sending with your app

• Secure SMTP relay means you can quickly start sending emails from your website or app by entering your SMTP credentials

• Email templates help you quickly create emails for all your needs

• Dynamic content allows you to tailor email content to each user 

• Real-time notifications via webhooks keep you updated about deliverability, spam complaints, and bounces

• Inbound routing enables you to parse incoming messages to your app and allow interaction from customers

• Transactional SMS features allow you to set up automated text messages to connect with customers on an additional channel

• Inbuilt email verification lets you validate your email list and increase deliverability

• Custom user roles allow you to bring in the whole team to contribute with only access to the features and settings they need

• iOS app lets you check key metrics and access critical settings on the go

Pros

• Multiple options for building emails: The drag & drop builder makes getting started a breeze, while text and HTML email builders ensure you have multiple options

• Reliable service: Email verification, notifications, and an SMTP relay service help you maximize deliverability

• Multichannel communication: Automate messages on multiple channels with SMS and email sending

• Generous free plan: Send up to 12,000 emails for free every month

• Multiple support options: Access email and live chat support

• Help with set up: Onboarding assistance for paid plans makes getting started a breeze

Cons

• Specific use case: MailerSend is only for transactional emails. You’ll need to use it alongside another email marketing tool. MailerLite and MailerSend's Single Sign-on feature makes this easy by allowing you to access both tools from the same dashboard

• No advanced analytics: MailerSend lacks comparison statistics and demographic information

ConvertKit is an email marketing platform designed for creators. Features creators will find useful include the Creator Network, a recommendation platform to help customers grow their lists; the Sponsor Network, which connects writers with brands looking to buy ads; and payment tools, which enable creators to sell digital products and subscriptions. 

Key features

• Landing pages and forms 

• Email editor with text, images and buttons

• Automation workflow builder

• Creator Network helps creators promote each other’s newsletters

• Sponsor Network makes it easy for creators who meet the minimum requirements to monetize their list via ads

• Payments and e-commerce features

Pros

• Built for creators: ConvertKit has unique features to help creators grow their lists 

• Monetization options: Ad network and payments help creators monetize their content

• Easy-to-use: Automation and list management features are intuitive for beginners

Cons

• Basic email builder: Tool lacks advanced blocks and features

• No website builder: You’ll need to use a different platform if you want to create a website

• Transaction fee: ConvertKit takes 0.6% on top of the credit card transaction fee for sales made with the tool

Check out MailerLite vs. ConvertKit

Constant Contact is an email marketing service provider that also has social media and SMS communication features. The social media tools let you schedule posts, design ads, and respond to comments, while the SMS features let you send text messages to your contacts. The downside is that you need an expensive Plus plan to use dynamic content, surveys, and advanced automation features.

Key features

• Forms, pop-ups and landing page builder 

• Drag-and-drop email builder

• Create and schedule social media posts 

• Autoresponders and workflows

• SMS marketing features 

• 300 integrations with tools including Shopify, Canva, and Vimeo

Pros

• Unique multi-channel features: Manage social media accounts and connect with customers via SMS from a single tool

• Plenty of templates: Shortcut the email design process with templates. Customizing these templates is easy thanks to the drag-and-drop builder

• Phone support: Get help from Constant Contact experts via phone on weekdays

Cons

• No free plan: Even those with a small list have to pay to use Constant Contact

• Sending limits: Plans have a sending limit of 24 times your total contacts

• No website builder: You’ll need to build your website on another platform, which will add to your digital marketing costs. 

Check out MailerLite vs. Constant Contact

GetResponse is an email marketing all-rounder that stands out due to its easy-to-use website and landing page builder, the ability to integrate with plenty of marketing and e-commerce tools, and its additional SMS marketing features. The main downside is that accessing the advanced features gets pricey fast.

Key features

• AI-powered and drag-and-drop website builder 

• Drag-and-drop email creator with plenty of templates 

• Pop-up and form builder

• Powerful marketing automation and list segmentation 

• Built-in SMS marketing tools

Pros

• 24/7 chat support: Get live email marketing help at any time

• Easy-to-use website builder: Create a site for your business without needing an extra tool

• SMS marketing features: Connect with customers via SMS and email from a single platform

Cons

• Pay more for advanced features: Email marketing automation and e-commerce features require specialized premium plans

• Can’t add a blog to your website: This is an essential website feature for most businesses. Not being able to add a blog reduces the usefulness of the website builder

Check out MailerLite vs. GetResponse

AWeber stands out for 2 reasons: its web push notifications feature, which lets you send alerts to people via their web browser, and the $899 per month unlimited plan, which could be a good deal for people who send a lot of emails. The downside is that you have to pay extra to remove AWeber branding on the cheaper plans. 

Key features

• Landing pages, forms and pop-ups

• Web notification features provide an alternative way to connect with customers

• Automation workflows

• Drag-and-drop email builder

• A/B testing

• Sell digital products natively

Pros

• Unlimited plan: $899 per month unlimited plan may be a good deal for email marketing power users

• Smart email template designer: Automatically create email templates that match the branding of your existing online assets 

• Easy domain purchase: Option to buy a domain within AWeber makes getting started easy

Cons

• Limited recipient selection options: You can only include or exclude a single segment when sending emails

• Aweber branding on low-cost plan: Lite plan comes with Aweber branding. You have to pay more to remove it

Check out AWeber vs. MailerLite

Campaign Monitor stands out thanks to its built-in transactional email and SMS marketing features and its multi-account plan that lets agencies manage email marketing for multiple clients from a single account. The tool lacks a comprehensive website and landing page builder and the ability to collect payments for digital products.

Key features

• Drag-and-drop email builder and templates

• Built-in transactional email

• Marketing automation

• Segmentation and personalization

• SMS marketing integration

• White label solution for agencies

Pros

• Easy-to-use: Beginners will benefit from features like templates and the intuitive drag-and-drop email editor

• Agency plan: Agencies can create an account that lets them manage email for multiple clients at once

• Transactional features: The tool has SMS and transactional email features built-in

Cons

• Extremely basic landing page builder: The only way to create landing pages is to create a form and then set it as a page 

• Very limited free trial: You can only test out the tool by sending campaigns to 5 people

Check out MailerLite vs. Campaign Monitor

Active Campaign stands out due to its prebuilt automation templates, built-in transactional email, and a predictive sending feature that tells you the best time to schedule campaigns. The main downside is that some advanced features are only available in the expensive professional plan. It also lacks a website builder.

Key features

• Drag and drop editor

• Forms and pop-ups

• Advanced automation builder

• Segmentation

• Predictive sending

• Built-in transactional email

• A/B testing on emails, landing pages, and workflows

• Dynamic content

• Landing page builder

Pros

• Plentiful integrations: Over 900 pre-built integrations mean you can likely connect to the other tools you use

• Extensive features: Active Campaign has plenty of advanced automation, segmentation and personalization features

• Good deliverability: The tool performs well on email deliverability tests performed by EmailToolTester

Cons

• No website builder: You’ll need to pay for another tool if you want to build a website

• Advanced features require expensive plans: You need a Plus plan to create landing pages, while predictive sending and split automation require an even more expensive Professional plan

• No free plan: You can’t use the tool for free once your 14-day trial ends

Check out MailerLite vs. ActiveCampaign

Sendinblue stands out due to the ability to send push notifications, create WhatsApp and social media campaigns, and send SMS messages. Each plan also includes a sales CRM with features like pipeline management and scheduling. The downside is that the tool lacks a website builder, and pricing can get confusing and expensive due to additional add-ons. 

Features

• Drag-and-drop editor with large template library

• Push notifications, SMS and Whatsapp marketing

• Personalization

• A/B testing

• Transactional email

• Workflow editor

• Segmentation

• Built-in sales CRM to help manage contacts

Pros

• Differentiated pricing: Sendinblue plans are based on the number of emails you send, not the number of subscribers on your list. This benefits businesses that send a small number of monthly emails to a large email list 

• Multichannel features: Contact customers and leads via email, SMS and push notifications

• Free sales CRM: Access features like pipeline management, meeting scheduling, and task allocation

Cons

• Core features missing in Starter plan: You can’t access landing pages or A/B testing

• No real-time support on Starter plan: You’ll have to wait if you have an issue with the platform

• Marketing automation limits: Workflow features are limited to 2,000 contacts on the Starter plan

Check out MailerLite vs. Sendinblue

Substack is an email newsletter platform with a set of features aimed at newsletter writers. The tool makes it easy for writers to start a newsletter and grow their list. The downside is that Substack lacks almost all the functionality you need for email marketing. It also takes a large percentage of any paid newsletter sales, meaning other options on our list can be far more profitable. 

Key features

• Inline email editor with basic features

• Website designed with newsletter writers in mind

• Signup forms and pop-ups are easy to set up but not customizable

• Easily set up paid newsletter payments

• Referral tools and app help newsletters grow their audience

Pros

• Simple set-up: It’s easy to start a newsletter with a website

• Free forever: You only pay a commission on paid newsletter subscriptions

• Newsletter promotion features: The app and recommendations features will promote your newsletter and help you gain subscribers

Cons

• Basic design options: Both newsletters and websites have very limited design options. You’ll end up with a similar website to all other Substack writers

• High commission: The 10% commission on paid newsletter subscriptions adds up fast

• Lacks email marketing features: While good for newsletters, Substack is not an email marketing platform

Check out MailerLite vs. Substack

Choosing the best email marketing software for you isn’t easy. There are tons of options, many of which have relatively similar features. 

With that in mind, we recommend following these 3 steps when choosing a Mailchimp alternative. 

1. Think of the features you need and then narrow down the tools based on these criteria 

2. Consider your budget and remove any platforms that cost too much

3. Sign up for some free trials to test out the email marketing solutions still on your list 

If you already use Mailchimp, also factor in how easy it will be to switch, the features you like to use and your reasons for wanting an alternative.  

If you want to skip the above steps and sign up for the platform with the highest deliverability, a wide feature set, and the most affordable plans, then MailerLite is for you. Hit the button below to sign up for free to test the software today.