Creator Short verdict: who should switch to what
- Our pick · Best value email marketing Most Mailchimp users: MailerLite. The free plan has the same 250 ceiling but allows 2,500 emails a month (Mailchimp: 500) and 3 automations (Mailchimp: none). Comfort costs less than Mailchimp Essentials at every list size we checked, $19 against $26.50 at 1,000 contacts, and adds paid newsletters and a website builder.
- Biggest free list: Kit. Free up to 10,000 subscribers, though automated sequences need a paid plan.
- Newsletter-first, earn from it: Beehiiv. Free up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends; 0% take on paid subscriptions from Lite, plus an ad network.
- Lowest contact-based price for simple sending: EmailOctopus. Free up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month; Pro is $13.50 a month at 1,000. Referral link: if you sign up and pay, you get $15 off your first payment and we may earn a $15 account credit.
- Big contact list, light sending: Brevo. Prices mainly by email volume; Free sends 300 emails a day.
- Advanced automation: ActiveCampaign. Events and phone support: Constant Contact. Both cost more and have trials rather than free plans.
Try MailerLite free Free for up to 250 subscribers, plus a 14-day premium trial with no payment method needed (October 7, 2026). Affiliate link.
Why people look for a Mailchimp alternative
A small free plan. Mailchimp Free covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 a day. Its plan table lists automation flows, email scheduling and branding removal as not included.
Who counts. Mailchimp’s help center says subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward your contact total; only archived, cleaned and deleted contacts don’t.
Price as you grow. Its calculator showed Essentials at $26.50 a month for 501–1,500 contacts and $75 for 2,501–5,000, monthly billing, on October 7, 2026. Annual plans are only for Standard and Premium at 10,000+ contacts, through sales.
A card for the trial. Mailchimp’s Free Trial Terms say valid payment information must be provided at enrollment for its 14-day Standard or Essentials trial.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Free plan | About 1,000 contacts (monthly billing) | Where it wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp (for reference) | 250 contacts, 500 sends/month | Essentials $26.50 (501–1,500 band); Standard $45 | SMS add-on, 300+ integrations, store data |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 automations | Comfort $19 ($17.10 billed yearly) | Value: automations, websites, paid newsletters |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers; no automated sequences | Creator $33/month billed yearly ($390/year) | Biggest free list, creator commerce |
| Beehiiv | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends | Lite $59 ($49 billed yearly) | Newsletter growth and monetization |
| EmailOctopus | Up to 2,500 subscribers, 10,000 emails/month | Pro $13.50 ($12 billed yearly) | Lowest contact-based price |
| Brevo | 300 emails/day; store up to 100,000 contacts | Priced by email volume: Starter from $9 for 5,000 emails/month | Large lists, infrequent sending |
| ActiveCampaign | None (14-day trial, no card) | Starter $19 ($15 billed yearly) | Advanced automation |
| Constant Contact | None (30-day trial, no card) | Lite $30 (501–1,000 band) | Events, phone support |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: each vendor’s pricing page, checked October 7, 2026 (full list at the bottom). ActiveCampaign’s pricing page shows its billed-yearly prices; the monthly prices come from the price data the page loads, so confirm yours in its calculator.
Prices against Mailchimp at 500 to 5,000 contacts
Monthly-billing prices on October 7, 2026, in US dollars. Where a vendor uses bands, the band covering that list size is used.
| Contacts | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard | MailerLite Comfort | EmailOctopus Pro | Beehiiv Lite | ActiveCampaign Starter | Constant Contact Lite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $13 | $20 | $12 | $10 | $59 (Free covers it) | Smallest tier is 1,000 | $12 |
| 1,000 | $26.50 | $45 | $19 | $13.50 | $59 (Free covers it) | $19 | $30 |
| 2,500 | $45 | $60 | $33 | $20 | $79 (Free covers it) | $49 | $50 |
| 5,000 | $75 | $100 | $49 | $31.50 | $109 | $99 | $80 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: Mailchimp’s pricing calculator (USD, “starts at” monthly prices after its trial); MailerLite, EmailOctopus and Beehiiv price sliders; the price data ActiveCampaign’s pricing page loads; Constant Contact’s fee schedule. All checked October 7, 2026. Beehiiv Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers at $0.
By our arithmetic, MailerLite Comfort costs less than Mailchimp Essentials at every size shown: $7.50 a month less at 1,000 contacts and $26 less at 5,000, or $312 a year at 5,000. EmailOctopus has the lowest contact-based price in this table at every size. Brevo’s Starter ($9 a month) is priced by email volume instead (from 5,000 emails a month, a step that includes 500 contacts), so whether it’s cheaper depends on how much you send. Kit’s other tiers and Brevo’s volume-based prices don’t map onto contact bands, so check their calculators for your list.
MailerLite: the best value for most Mailchimp users
MailerLite is the closest like-for-like swap: campaigns, automations, forms, websites and landing pages, at a lower price. On October 7, 2026, its pricing page listed:
- Free: up to 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 automations, 1 website, 1 landing page and 1 digital product or booking.
- Comfort: $12 a month at up to 500 subscribers, $19 at 1,000, $33 at 2,500 and $49 at 5,000 (10% off billed yearly), with 50 automations, logo removal, custom domains and paid newsletters.
- Billing: only active subscribers count; unsubscribed and bounced addresses don’t.
- Trial: a 14-day premium trial for every new account, no payment method needed.
Switch to MailerLite if you use Mailchimp for newsletters and automations and want the same jobs for less, or more free sending. Stay on Mailchimp if you rely on its SMS add-on or Standard’s predictive segments for a store. More: MailerLite vs Mailchimp and our MailerLite pricing guide.
Start on MailerLite FreeAffiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid MailerLite plan, at no extra cost to you.
Kit: the biggest free list
Kit’s free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, and paid newsletters and digital products at 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction, card processing included. Its pricing table doesn’t include the visual automation builder or automated sequences on Free. Creator is $33 a month billed yearly ($390 a year) for 1,000 subscribers, and paid plans include free migration from another platform.
Switch to Kit if your list is well past 250 and you mainly send broadcasts, or you sell products to your audience. See Kit’s pricing and our Kit vs MailerLite.
Beehiiv: newsletter-first, with 0% take
Beehiiv Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, a website, podcast hosting, a community and 1 digital product. Lite ($59 a month, or $49 billed yearly, at up to 1,000) adds paid subscriptions at a 0% take rate, the ad network (not in all regions), custom domains and 10 automations. The 14-day Pro trial needs no card.
Switch to Beehiiv if the newsletter is your product and you want to earn from it with ads, sponsors or paid subscriptions. Our Beehiiv pricing guide lists every tier, and Beehiiv vs Mailchimp goes deeper.
See Beehiiv’s plansPartner referral link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid Beehiiv plan, at no extra cost to you.
EmailOctopus: the budget pick
EmailOctopus Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, with EmailOctopus branding and 30-day reports. Pro starts at $10 a month for 500 subscribers ($9 billed yearly), $13.50 at 1,000 and $31.50 at 5,000. There’s no free trial; you start on Free with no card. Nonprofits get a 20% lifetime discount.
Switch to EmailOctopus if you mainly send campaigns and want the lowest bill. See our EmailOctopus pricing guide.
Visit EmailOctopusReferral link: if you sign up and pay, you get $15 off your first payment and we may earn a $15 account credit.
Brevo: priced by email volume
Brevo’s plans are priced mainly by monthly email volume. Its Free plan needs no card and sends up to 300 emails a day once your account is approved; its feature table lets Free store up to 100,000 contacts, with automations limited to 2,000 contacts. Starter is $9 a month ($8.08 billed yearly) from 5,000 emails a month (that step includes 500 contacts; from 20,000 emails, at $32, you can store up to 500,000), and Standard is $18 ($16.17) with unlimited automations, A/B testing and no Brevo logo. Brevo also sells email credits that don’t expire.
Switch to Brevo if you have a big contact list but send occasionally, or you want transactional email in the same account. See Brevo’s pricing, or our MailerLite vs Brevo comparison for costs by list size and sending frequency.
ActiveCampaign: advanced automation
ActiveCampaign has no free plan; its 14-day trial needs no card. At 1,000 contacts, Starter is $19 a month ($15 billed yearly) and Plus $59 ($49). Its pricing page shows the billed-yearly figures; the monthly ones come from the price data the page loads. Its help center says accounts created on or after November 3, 2025 count all contacts, whatever their list status, toward the plan. Starter allows 5 actions per automation, so deeper flows mean Plus or above.
Switch to ActiveCampaign if automation and CRM depth matter more than price. Every tier is in our ActiveCampaign pricing guide; for the head-to-head, see MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign.
Start the 14-day ActiveCampaign trialAffiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid ActiveCampaign plan, at no extra cost to you.
Constant Contact: events and phone support
Constant Contact is paid only, with a 30-day trial (100 sends, no card). Lite is $12 a month for up to 500 contacts and $30 for 501–1,000. Every plan includes event registration with payments, plus live phone and chat support. Nonprofits get 20% off prepaying 6 months or 30% off prepaying 12.
Switch to Constant Contact if you run events or want to talk to support by phone. See our Constant Contact guide.
Try Constant Contact freeAffiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid plan, at no extra cost to you.
Moving your list off Mailchimp
- To MailerLite: its help article How to switch from Mailchimp to MailerLite sets out four steps: import subscribers (by logging in to Mailchimp or with an API key), recreate forms and landing pages, recreate templates and rebuild automations. Mailchimp tags become groups; behavioral, e-commerce and other advanced segments don’t migrate automatically.
- To Beehiiv: its article How to migrate from Mailchimp to beehiiv covers a CSV export and import with field and tag mapping, plus a content import for campaigns built in Mailchimp’s New Email Builder.
- Anywhere: import only people who opted in. Beehiiv asks you to confirm that at import, and on MailerLite every active address you import counts toward your plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?
For most people, MailerLite: a free plan with 5× Mailchimp’s monthly sends and free automations, and lower paid prices at every size we checked. For the lowest bill, EmailOctopus; for the biggest free list, Kit.
Is there a free Mailchimp alternative?
Yes. Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers, Beehiiv and EmailOctopus up to 2,500, and Brevo Free sends 300 emails a day.
What is the cheapest alternative to Mailchimp?
Of the contact-priced paid plans we checked, EmailOctopus Pro: $13.50 a month at 1,000 subscribers and $31.50 at 5,000, against Mailchimp Essentials’ $26.50 and $75. Brevo’s Starter starts at $9 a month for 5,000 emails and 500 contacts; from 20,000 emails ($32) it stores up to 500,000 contacts, so it can cost less if you send rarely.
What is the best Mailchimp alternative for small businesses?
MailerLite for value; Constant Contact if you run events or want phone support; Brevo if you send occasionally to a large list.
Which Mailchimp alternatives have nonprofit discounts?
MailerLite takes 30% off paid plans, EmailOctopus 20% for life, and Constant Contact 20% or 30% when you prepay. Mailchimp’s own discount is 15%.
Next reads
- MailerLite vs Mailchimp
- Beehiiv vs Mailchimp
- Best free newsletter platforms
- Best email marketing for beginners
- Substack alternatives
- MailerLite free plan
- All comparisons
Sources (checked October 7, 2026)
- Mailchimp pricing page: calculator prices by contact band (USD), plan table, annual-plan note and free trial terms
- About Mailchimp pricing plans: Free plan limits and how contacts are counted
- MailerLite pricing page: plans, price slider, comparison table and FAQ
- MailerLite help: the 14-day premium trial: no payment method needed
- MailerLite for nonprofits: 30% off paid plans
- Kit pricing page: free plan, Creator price and plan table
- Beehiiv pricing page: plans, price slider and feature table
- EmailOctopus pricing page: free plan, Pro tiers, feature comparison and FAQ
- Brevo pricing page: plans, daily Free limit and FAQ
- Brevo plan comparison: send volumes, contact limits and automation limits
- ActiveCampaign pricing page: plans, trial and plan table
- ActiveCampaign help: which contacts count: contact limit rules
- Constant Contact pricing page: plans, fee schedule and nonprofit discounts
- MailerLite help: switching from Mailchimp: migration steps
- Beehiiv help: migrating from Mailchimp: subscriber and content import
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