8 Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026 (Stop Paying for Unsubscribers)
The single most-cited reason people go looking for Mailchimp alternatives in 2026 is billing math they didn’t sign up for. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts toward your plan limit — and when someone unsubscribes, you keep paying for them until you manually archive or delete them. Add duplicate contacts across audiences and overage charges that kick in silently (one commonly reported jump: a $60 plan that billed $160, with the next tier at $350/month), and the listed price stops meaning much. The free plan was cut in January 2026 to just 250 contacts, 500 monthly emails, and a 250/day sending cap, and Trustpilot has it sitting at 2.7 out of 5.
The good news: most Mailchimp alternatives bill on active subscribers, on emails actually sent, or on active profiles — not on people who already left. Here are eight worth moving to, grouped by who they’re actually built for.
1. MailerLite
The closest like-for-like swap: the same “clean drag-and-drop newsletter tool” job Mailchimp started as, minus the bloat and at a lower price.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: MailerLite bills on active subscribers, so unsubscribed and bounced contacts drop off your count instead of quietly padding the bill. The editor, automations, landing pages, and signup forms are genuinely simpler than Mailchimp’s, and the paid tiers run cheaper tier-for-tier. The catch to know going in: the free plan was trimmed to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month in 2026, so it’s a trial tier now, not a home.
Best for: Small businesses and bloggers who want Mailchimp’s original simplicity without the contact-count games.
Pricing: Free up to 250 subscribers; Growing Business from ~$9/month, scaling by subscriber count.
2. Brevo
Formerly Sendinblue — the one that bills on emails sent rather than list size, which flips Mailchimp’s whole cost model.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: Brevo charges for the volume you send, not the number of contacts you store. Its free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts (capped at 300 emails/day), so a big list you email occasionally costs nothing to keep. You also get a built-in CRM, SMS, and WhatsApp in one place. Paid plans did rise ~10-30% across tiers in 2026, but for large, infrequently-mailed lists it’s still dramatically cheaper than per-contact pricing.
Best for: Businesses with big contact lists and modest send volume, or anyone who wants email plus a lightweight CRM.
Pricing: Free for up to 100k contacts (300 emails/day); Starter from $9/month for ~5,000 emails.
3. Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Rebranded from ConvertKit, and still the default for creators who sell digital products, courses, or paid newsletters.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: Kit is built around creators rather than campaigns — tag-based subscribers, a commerce layer for selling products and subscriptions, and a recommendation network that grows your list. The free plan reaches up to 10,000 subscribers (limited to one automation and one sequence), which no other tool here matches for creators. Note the pricing did jump roughly 35% in September 2025, so the Creator plan now starts at $39/month rather than $29.
Best for: Creators, writers, and course sellers who monetize an audience directly.
Pricing: Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator from $39/month (1,000 subscribers).
4. Klaviyo
Now positioning itself as “The B2C CRM,” Klaviyo is the ecommerce heavyweight — deep Shopify integration and automations tied to shopping behavior.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: Klaviyo pulls order, browse, and product data into segmentation Mailchimp can’t touch, and layers SMS, reviews, and predictive analytics on top. One important billing note: since February 2025 Klaviyo charges on active profiles, which includes checkout-abandon contacts who never opted into marketing — so it’s more powerful than Mailchimp but not automatically cheaper, and list hygiene matters. If you’re weighing the two directly, see Mailchimp vs Klaviyo.
Best for: Ecommerce and DTC brands, especially on Shopify, that live and die by behavioral segmentation.
Pricing: Free up to 250 profiles; Email plan ~$20/month at 500 profiles, ~$30 at 1,000.
5. Omnisend
Klaviyo’s value-focused rival: ecommerce email and SMS in one tool, aimed at small and mid-size merchants.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: Omnisend is purpose-built for stores — pre-built ecommerce automations (abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase), product picker blocks, and combined email + SMS credits — at a noticeably lower price point than Klaviyo. Mailchimp’s ecommerce features have always felt bolted on by comparison; Omnisend’s are the whole point.
Best for: Small to mid-size online stores that want Klaviyo-style ecommerce flows without the Klaviyo bill.
Pricing: Free for up to 250 contacts (500 emails/month); Standard from $16/month, Pro from $59/month with SMS.
6. beehiiv
Built by ex-Morning Brew operators specifically for newsletter growth and monetization — a different category than Mailchimp’s marketing suite.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: beehiiv treats a newsletter as a business. It bundles an ad network, a Boosts marketplace (get paid to recommend other newsletters), and paid subscriptions with a 0% platform take — versus Substack’s 10%. Mailchimp can send a newsletter; beehiiv is designed to grow and monetize one. The free Launch plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers.
Best for: Newsletter publishers and media operators focused on audience growth and revenue.
Pricing: Free (Launch) up to 2,500 subscribers; Scale from ~$49/month.
7. Loops
The modern pick for SaaS teams: marketing, lifecycle, and transactional email from one product instead of stitching together Mailchimp plus a separate transactional service.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: Loops is aimed at founders who ship onboarding sequences, product updates, and transactional emails — not blast-and-pray campaigns. Every feature is available on every plan (including the free tier), transactional sending is included at no extra charge, and there are no per-seat fees. The free plan covers up to 1,000 contacts and 4,000 emails per 30 days. It’s billed on subscribed contacts, so unsubscribes stop costing you.
Best for: SaaS founders and product teams who want lifecycle plus transactional email in one clean tool.
Pricing: Free up to 1,000 contacts; paid from $49/month.
8. EmailOctopus
The budget answer: a straightforward broadcast tool for people who just want to send a newsletter cheaply and reliably.
What makes it different from Mailchimp: EmailOctopus strips the suite back to the essentials — lists, campaigns, simple automations, signup forms — and prices them 40-60% below the mainstream tools. Its free plan reaches up to 2,500 subscribers, and paid plans start at $10/month. You lose Mailchimp’s deeper CRM and ecommerce features, but for simple broadcasts that’s exactly the point.
Best for: Solopreneurs, nonprofits, and cost-conscious senders who want simple newsletters without paying suite prices.
Pricing: Free up to 2,500 subscribers; paid from $10/month.
Whichever platform you land on, Carly can hook right in — native integrations for Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Brevo, and Kit, plus bring-your-own API key for anything else.
Mailchimp Alternatives Compared
| Tool | Best for | Billing model | Free plan | Starting paid price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Simple newsletters | Active subscribers | 250 subs | ~$9/mo |
| Brevo | Big lists, low send volume | Emails sent | 100k contacts | $9/mo |
| Kit | Creators | Subscribers | 10,000 subs | $39/mo |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce / DTC | Active profiles | 250 profiles | ~$20/mo |
| Omnisend | Small ecommerce | Contacts | 250 contacts | $16/mo |
| beehiiv | Newsletter monetization | Subscribers | 2,500 subs | ~$49/mo |
| Loops | SaaS lifecycle email | Subscribed contacts | 1,000 contacts | $49/mo |
| EmailOctopus | Budget broadcasts | Subscribers | 2,500 subs | $10/mo |
| Mailchimp | All-in-one marketing | All contacts incl. unsubscribed | 250 contacts | $13/mo |
FAQ
Does Mailchimp really charge for unsubscribed contacts? Yes. Subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts all count toward your plan limit, and an unsubscribed contact keeps counting until you manually archive or delete it. Duplicate contacts across audiences count separately too, which is why bills routinely land higher than the listed tier. Most alternatives here bill on active subscribers, on emails sent, or on active profiles instead.
What’s the cheapest Mailchimp alternative? For simple broadcasts, EmailOctopus (free to 2,500 subscribers, paid from $10/month) and Brevo (free to 100k contacts, paid from $9/month for volume-based sending) are the cheapest credible options. Brevo wins specifically when you have a large list you email infrequently.
Which Mailchimp alternative is best for ecommerce? Klaviyo for deep behavioral segmentation and Shopify integration, or Omnisend if you want similar ecommerce flows and combined email + SMS at a lower price. Both beat Mailchimp’s bolted-on store features. See Mailchimp vs Klaviyo for a direct comparison.
Can I move my Mailchimp list to another tool? Yes. Every platform here supports CSV import, and most (MailerLite, Brevo, Kit, Omnisend) offer guided or assisted migrations that bring over contacts, and often templates and automations. Export your audience from Mailchimp first, then archive or delete it to stop the billing clock. If you’re comparing Mailchimp against the other legacy suite, Mailchimp vs Constant Contact covers that matchup.
What if I want help with my own inbox, not bulk campaigns? That’s a different category entirely — managing your day-to-day email rather than sending marketing blasts. The best AI email tools roundup covers assistants and inbox tools built for that job.
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