Mailchimp
Email marketing and automation platform that grew from a side project into a marketing suite.
Mailchimp Referral Code & Link
No referral code or link is currently available for Mailchimp.
Quick Summary
Mailchimp provides email marketing, basic CRM, landing pages, and marketing automation for small and mid-size businesses, known historically for its generous free tier and approachable design. Originally a side project at a web design agency, it grew into one of the most widely used email marketing platforms before being acquired by Intuit in 2021 and integrated alongside QuickBooks.
Mailchimp at a Glance
| Category | Email Marketing Software |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium |
| Starting price | $0 (free plan available) |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Launched | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Best for | Email marketing and automation platform that grew from a side project into a marketing suite. |
| Community votes | 467 |
Pros
- Approachable interface that small business owners can use without marketing specialization
- Generous historical free tier still useful for very small lists
- Large template library and drag-and-drop email builder
- Built-in basic CRM and audience segmentation beyond pure email sending
- Strong e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce) for abandoned cart and product recommendation emails
Cons
- Pricing has shifted toward being less competitive at the free and low-volume tiers than some newer competitors
- Premium tier jumps sharply in price for advanced features and large lists
- Deliverability and automation sophistication trail dedicated marketing automation platforms at enterprise scale
- Contact-based pricing penalizes large lists with low engagement
- Interface can feel cluttered as more product features have been added over time
Mailchimp Pricing Plans
Official pricing as published by Mailchimp. Verify current rates before purchasing.
Mailchimp’s origin as a side project at an Atlanta web design agency is an unusually humble start for a company that eventually sold to Intuit for roughly $12 billion. What carried it from side project to category leader was relentless focus on making email marketing approachable for small business owners without a dedicated marketing team — a positioning it has largely maintained even as it has added automation, CRM, and landing page features.
This review covers Mailchimp’s core email features, its e-commerce integrations, pricing, and how it fits for different business sizes.
Email Marketing Made Approachable
Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop email builder and large template library let non-designers create professional-looking newsletters and campaigns without external help. Audience segmentation lets businesses target specific groups based on behavior, purchase history, or custom tags rather than blasting every email to the entire list.
E-Commerce Integrations
Mailchimp’s integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other e-commerce platforms enable automated flows — abandoned cart reminders, post-purchase emails, product recommendations based on past purchases — that are specifically valuable for online stores and represent a meaningful share of Mailchimp’s current customer base.
Beyond Email: Basic CRM and Landing Pages
Mailchimp has expanded beyond pure email sending into basic CRM functionality and landing page building, aiming to be a more complete small business marketing toolkit rather than a single-purpose email tool — though dedicated CRM and landing page platforms generally offer more depth in those specific areas.
Mailchimp Pricing Breakdown
Free — $0/month 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly email sends with basic templates.
Essentials — $13/month Three audiences, A/B testing, and removal of Mailchimp branding.
Standard — $20/month Behavioral targeting, retargeting ads, and advanced automations — the typical plan for actively growing small businesses.
Premium — $350/month Unlimited audiences, advanced segmentation, and priority support for larger-scale senders.
Who Should Use Mailchimp
Small businesses without a dedicated marketing team get an approachable platform that doesn’t require specialized expertise to send professional campaigns.
E-commerce businesses benefit specifically from Mailchimp’s purchase-behavior-triggered automation integrations.
Who Should Consider Alternatives
Businesses with large, low-engagement contact lists should evaluate contact-based pricing carefully, since costs scale with list size regardless of engagement.
Enterprises needing sophisticated marketing automation at scale may find dedicated marketing automation platforms offer more depth than Mailchimp’s broader, more general feature set.
Expert Verdict
Mailchimp’s enduring strength is approachability — a small business owner with no marketing background can send a professional campaign within minutes of signing up. Pricing has become less competitive at the margins as the market has matured, but for small and mid-size businesses, particularly those selling online, it remains a sensible default choice.
International Pricing Notes
Mailchimp prices in USD globally with no separate regional pricing tiers published. International users are billed in USD via credit card.
Best Alternatives to Mailchimp
1 alternatives listed. Looking for a Mailchimp alternative? Here are the top options our community recommends, ranked by popularity and editorial score.
Quick comparison: Mailchimp vs ConvertKit
| Feature | Mailchimp | ConvertKit |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Community votes | 467 | 356 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Mailchimp, answered by our editorial team.
- Is Mailchimp still free to use?
- Mailchimp offers a free plan covering up to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly email sends with basic templates. This is sufficient for very small lists, but most growing businesses outgrow the free tier's limits and need at least the Essentials plan at $13/month.
- Who owns Mailchimp now?
- Intuit acquired Mailchimp in 2021 for approximately $12 billion and has integrated it alongside QuickBooks within Intuit's small business software portfolio, while continuing to operate it as a distinct product and brand.
- Is Mailchimp good for e-commerce businesses?
- Yes, Mailchimp has strong native integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other e-commerce platforms, enabling automated abandoned cart emails, post-purchase follow-ups, and product recommendations based on purchase history — a significant use case alongside its general email marketing features.
- How does Mailchimp pricing scale with list size?
- Mailchimp's pricing is based primarily on the number of contacts in your audience, meaning costs increase as your list grows regardless of how engaged those contacts are. Businesses with large but only partially engaged lists should regularly clean inactive contacts to manage costs, since unengaged contacts still count toward billing.
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