Brevo vs Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the email marketing tool most people have heard of. Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is the alternative many businesses move to when their list outgrows Mailchimp's pricing. They overlap almost completely on core features: campaigns, templates, forms, segmentation and automation. The meaningful differences are how they charge and what else comes in the box.

At a glance

• Brevo is best for businesses with large lists that send infrequently, or that want marketing and transactional email together. It has a free plan with 300 emails a day, and paid plans reported from $9 a month for 5,000 emails.
• Mailchimp is best for small businesses that want a polished, familiar tool with a huge integration library. It has a free plan for 250 contacts, and paid plans from $13 a month.

Where Brevo is strong

Brevo charges mainly for the number of emails you send, not the number of contacts you store. A business with 50,000 contacts that sends one newsletter a month pays far less than it would on a contact-based plan. The free plan allows 300 emails a day and stores a very large contact list.

It also bundles more than marketing email. Every plan includes transactional sending through an API and SMTP relay, with webhooks and log retention. SMS and WhatsApp campaigns, a sales CRM and live chat are part of the same platform. The Standard plan adds unlimited automation workflows, A/B testing and advanced reporting. A dedicated IP is included at Enterprise level and can be bought as an add-on.

Where Mailchimp is strong

Mailchimp's editor, templates and onboarding are among the best for people who are not email specialists. Its integration directory is enormous, so it connects to almost any ecommerce platform, CRM or website builder without custom work.

Plans are tiered by contacts. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. Essentials starts at $13 a month and allows sends of ten times your contact count. Standard starts at $20 a month and adds up to 200 automation flows, generative AI features and custom reports. Premium starts at $350 a month with phone support and advanced segmentation.

Two billing details are worth knowing. Mailchimp counts contacts across audiences, and on paid plans it charges overages automatically if you pass your contact or send limit.

Key differences

• Pricing basis. Brevo charges by emails sent. Mailchimp charges by contacts, with a send limit attached.
• Transactional email. Brevo includes it. Mailchimp offers transactional email as a separate paid add-on.
• Free plan. Brevo's daily limit suits steady low-volume sending. Mailchimp's is capped at 250 contacts.
• Channels. Brevo includes SMS, WhatsApp, chat and a CRM. Mailchimp focuses on email, with SMS available in some markets.
• Ecosystem. Mailchimp has more integrations and more third-party help available.

Deliverability notes

Both platforms send from shared IP pools unless you pay for a dedicated address, and both support custom domain authentication. Set this up on day one. Without your own DKIM signature and an aligned From domain, you will not meet the bulk sender requirements at Gmail and Yahoo.

Brevo's pricing has a side effect worth noting. Because storing contacts is cheap, there is little financial pressure to remove inactive ones. Old, unengaged addresses are a common cause of declining inbox placement, so set a sunset policy and follow it.

Mailchimp's pricing pushes the other way. Paying per contact gives you a reason to archive people who no longer engage, which also helps your sender reputation.

Which should you choose?

• Choose Brevo if you have a large list relative to how often you send, or you want transactional email, SMS and marketing in one account.
• Choose Mailchimp if ease of use and integrations matter most and your list is small enough that contact-based pricing stays reasonable.

Mailchimp pricing was checked on the vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Brevo's plan prices come from a third-party pricing guide updated in August 2026, because Brevo's own page did not display them when we checked. Confirm current rates with both vendors before you buy.