Creator Quick verdict
- Beehiiv for newsletter creators. Beehiiv Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends. Mailchimp Free covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 a day.
- Beehiiv if you want to earn from the newsletter. From Lite, Beehiiv lists paid subscriptions at a 0% take rate (Stripe’s fees still apply) and its ad network (not in all regions). Neither Mailchimp’s pricing page nor its plan help article lists paid newsletter subscriptions.
- Mailchimp for a small business or online store. It lists 300+ integrations on every plan (Free included), an SMS add-on for paid plans in select countries, Pay As You Go credits, and predictive segments for connected stores on Standard and Premium.
- Price depends on list size. Up to 2,500 subscribers, Beehiiv Free costs $0 while Mailchimp’s paid plans start at $13 a month. At 5,000, Mailchimp Essentials ($75 a month) costs less than Beehiiv Lite ($109 monthly, or $95 a month billed yearly).
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Side-by-side
| Dimension | Beehiiv | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Newsletter publishing: website, podcast, growth and monetization in one place | Broad email marketing for small businesses, with SMS and ecommerce tools |
| Free plan | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, no card | Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day) |
| Paid plans | Lite, Pro, Enterprise (custom) | Essentials, Standard, Premium |
| Sending limits | Unlimited on every plan | 10× (Essentials), 12× (Standard) or 15× (Premium) your contact limit |
| Who counts | Active subscribers | Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts |
| Automations | Welcome email on Free; 10 live automations on Lite; unlimited on Pro | None on Free; flows of up to 4 steps on Essentials; up to 200 flows on Standard and Premium |
| Paid newsletters | Lite and Pro, 0% Beehiiv take | Not listed on its pricing page or plan help article |
| Branding removal | Pro and Enterprise | Essentials, Standard and Premium |
| Seats | 1 (Free), 2 (Lite), 10 (Pro) | 1 (Free), 3 (Essentials), 5 (Standard), unlimited (Premium) |
| Free trial | 14-day Pro trial, no card | 14 days of Standard or Essentials; the trial terms say valid payment information is required at enrollment |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: Beehiiv pricing, Mailchimp pricing and About Mailchimp pricing plans, all checked October 7, 2026.
Free plans compared
- Beehiiv Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and no card. It includes 1 seat, 1 publication, a welcome email, a website with 1 custom page, podcast hosting (5,000 downloads a month), the recommendation network, 1 digital product and API access. Custom automations, paid subscriptions, the ad network and custom domains need a paid plan.
- Mailchimp Free covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a daily limit of 250. You get 1 audience, 1 seat, limited templates and basic reporting, and you can “try out” landing pages and forms. Mailchimp’s plan table lists automation flows, email scheduling and branding removal as not included, and email support lasts 30 days.
What that means for a weekly newsletter. By our arithmetic, a weekly send to 2,500 readers is about 10,000 emails a month (4 × 2,500), which Beehiiv Free allows. Mailchimp Free’s 500 sends a month cover two sends to 250 people.
When you outgrow free. Mailchimp’s help center says going over 250 contacts on Free puts a hold on live and test emails until you upgrade or reduce your contact total. Past 2,500, Beehiiv needs Lite or Pro. For every free plan side by side, see our best free newsletter platforms.
Pricing at 500, 1,000, 2,500 and 5,000
Beehiiv publishes every tier. For Mailchimp, these are the “starts at” monthly prices its calculator showed after the 14-day trial, in US dollars, on October 7, 2026.
| List size | Beehiiv Free | Beehiiv Lite (monthly / billed yearly, per month) | Beehiiv Pro (monthly / billed yearly, per month) | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $0 | $59 / $49 | $109 / $95 | $13 (0–500 band) | $20 |
| 1,000 | $0 | $59 / $49 | $109 / $95 | $26.50 (501–1,500 band) | $45 |
| 2,500 | $0 | $79 / $69 | $149 / $129 | $45 (1,501–2,500 band) | $60 |
| 5,000 | Not available | $109 / $95 | $199 / $169 | $75 (2,501–5,000 band) | $100 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: Beehiiv’s price slider and pricing data file; Mailchimp’s pricing calculator with the currency set to USD. Both checked October 7, 2026. Beehiiv’s smallest paid tier covers up to 1,000 subscribers, so 500 and 1,000 cost the same.
- Mailchimp Premium showed $350 a month at every one of these bands, because its base price includes 10,000 contacts.
- Annual billing. Beehiiv sells yearly plans at every tier. Mailchimp’s pricing page says annual plans are for Standard and Premium at 10,000+ contacts, through its sales team.
- Going over. Mailchimp says overages apply if you exceed your contact or send limit. Beehiiv bills on your subscriber tier, with no send limit.
Reading the table. By our arithmetic, Mailchimp Essentials costs less than Beehiiv Lite at every size shown ($75 against $95 to $109 at 5,000), but up to 2,500 subscribers Beehiiv Free is $0 with unlimited sends. Every tier from Beehiiv, including the October 2026 plan renames, is in our Beehiiv pricing guide; for exact Mailchimp figures at your list size, see Mailchimp’s pricing calculator.
Who counts toward your bill
Mailchimp’s help center says subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward your contact total; archived, cleaned and deleted contacts don’t. Beehiiv’s help center says your tier is set by total active subscribers across all your publications, and its pricing FAQ describes the count as unique email addresses subscribed. So on Beehiiv, unsubscribes drop off your count; on Mailchimp, they count until you archive them.
Free trials
- Beehiiv offers a 14-day Pro trial with no card. Your account stays on Free with temporary access to Pro features (Beehiiv’s trial article doesn’t state a separate subscriber limit), and some features stay locked until you pay: paid subscriptions, custom domains, paid recommendations, RSS to Send and the sponsorship storefront. The ad network, branding removal and extra seats aren’t in the trial either.
- Mailchimp offers 14 days of Standard or Essentials to new customers, or Free accounts created in the last 90 days, in select countries. Its Free Trial Terms say valid payment information must be provided at enrollment, and the paid plan starts when the trial ends unless you cancel or switch.
Automations
Neither free plan includes custom automations (Beehiiv Free has a welcome email). Beehiiv Lite allows 10 live automations, with triggers such as entering a segment or buying or cancelling a paid subscription; Pro adds unlimited and click-triggered automations and dynamic content. Mailchimp Essentials includes single-email automations and flows of up to 4 steps; Standard and Premium allow up to 200 flows, with advanced segmentation and dynamic content.
Making money from your newsletter
- Paid subscriptions. Beehiiv Lite includes 1 paid tier, and Pro unlimited tiers. Beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscriptions and digital products; Stripe’s fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, according to Beehiiv. Mailchimp doesn’t list paid newsletter subscriptions.
- Ads and sponsors. Beehiiv’s ad network is on Lite and above (not in all regions), and Pro adds a sponsorship storefront. Mailchimp’s pricing page lists no newsletter ad network.
- Growth. Beehiiv adds a referral program on Lite.
Websites, podcasts and integrations
Beehiiv includes a website builder (1 custom page on Free, 5 on Lite, unlimited on Pro), custom domains from Lite, and podcast hosting. Beehiiv lists API access on every plan, webhooks from Lite and the Send API on Pro. Mailchimp’s trial terms list Website plans among separately charged fees, and its pricing page lists 300+ integrations on every plan, including Shopify and WooCommerce, with predictive segments for connected stores on Standard and Premium. If email supports a store rather than being the product, Mailchimp fits better.
Switching from Mailchimp to Beehiiv
Beehiiv’s help article How to migrate from Mailchimp to beehiiv (live October 7, 2026) covers it in two parts:
- Subscribers. Export your audience from Mailchimp as a CSV, then import it under Settings > Subscribers Import. You map fields and tags and confirm everyone opted in; by default, the import date becomes each subscription date.
- Past newsletters. Connect your Mailchimp account in Beehiiv’s Content Import tool. Only campaigns built with Mailchimp’s New Email Builder come across; you’ll have to recreate legacy-builder emails by hand.
Automations and embedded forms are rebuilt by hand.
Which should you choose?
Choose Beehiiv if…
- The newsletter is your product, and you want to send as often as you like for $0 up to 2,500 subscribers.
- You plan to earn from paid subscriptions, ads or sponsors.
- You want a publication website, podcast and growth tools alongside your emails.
Start on Beehiiv FreePartner referral link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid plan, at no extra cost to you.
Choose Mailchimp if…
- You run a business or online store and want email tied to its data, with Standard’s predictive segments and onboarding.
- You need SMS alongside email, or a long list of integrations.
- You want Mailchimp branding gone on the cheapest paid plan, or you send rarely and prefer Pay As You Go credits.
A middle option: MailerLite
Some Mailchimp users need cheaper automations, not a publishing platform. On October 7, 2026, MailerLite’s pricing page listed Comfort at $19 a month for up to 1,000 subscribers ($17.10 billed yearly), with 50 automations and paid newsletters. Its Free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. See MailerLite’s plans (affiliate link), or read MailerLite vs Mailchimp.
FAQ
Is Beehiiv better than Mailchimp?
For newsletter creators, usually yes: Free covers 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, and Lite adds paid subscriptions and the ad network. For a store or small business that needs SMS or connected-store tools, Mailchimp fits better.
Is Mailchimp good for newsletters?
It can send a regular newsletter, but for creators the limits matter: its free plan stops at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, unsubscribed contacts count toward your bill, and it doesn’t list paid subscriptions.
Which is cheaper, Beehiiv or Mailchimp?
Up to 2,500 subscribers, Beehiiv Free ($0). On paid plans, Mailchimp Essentials: $26.50 a month at 1,000 and $75 at 5,000, against Beehiiv Lite’s $59 and $109 monthly.
What are the best Mailchimp alternatives for newsletters?
Beehiiv for a publication with monetization; MailerLite for low-cost automations; Kit for creator automations (see Kit vs Beehiiv).
Related
- Beehiiv for newsletter creators
- Beehiiv pricing: every plan and tier
- Beehiiv vs MailerLite
- MailerLite vs Mailchimp
- Mailchimp alternatives
- Kit vs Beehiiv
- Best free newsletter platforms
- All comparisons
Sources (checked October 7, 2026)
- Beehiiv pricing page: plan cards, price slider, feature comparison and FAQ
- Beehiiv pricing data file: every subscriber tier and plan feature list
- Beehiiv help: plan types and tier pricing: how subscribers are counted
- Beehiiv help: what’s available during a free trial: trial features and locked features
- Beehiiv help: migrating from Mailchimp: subscriber and content import steps
- Mailchimp pricing page: calculator prices by contact band (USD), plan table, annual-plan note and free trial terms
- About Mailchimp pricing plans: plan limits and features, and how contacts are counted
- MailerLite pricing page: Free and Comfort limits and prices
Beehiiv, Mailchimp and MailerLite are trademarks of their owners. We run Creator Mail Stack independently, and it is not endorsed by any of them. We’re in Beehiiv’s partner program and MailerLite’s affiliate program, as described in the disclosure. Found something out of date? Tell us.