The best Mailchimp alternative for most small businesses is Brevo: it charges for emails sent instead of contacts, so a large list you email a few times a month costs far less (free for 300 emails a day, paid from $9 a month). Kit is best for creators and newsletters (free up to 10,000 subscribers), Klaviyo is best for ecommerce stores, especially on Shopify, and HubSpot is best when email automation should live in the same CRM as your sales team.
Best Mailchimp alternatives in 2026
Brevo
Priced by emails sent: free for 300 emails a day with up to 100,000 stored contacts, Starter from $9 a month for 5,000 emails and Standard from $18 with A/B testing. A 10,000-contact list emailed once a month fits the 20,000-email Starter tier at about $32, against $110 on Mailchimp Essentials.
Kit
Free up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, then Creator from $39 a month ($33 yearly) for automations and sequences. Paid newsletters, digital products and cross-recommendations are built in.
Klaviyo
Abandoned-cart, browse and post-purchase flows run on your store's order data, with product recommendations and SMS on the same profile. $20 a month at 500 active profiles, but $150 at 10,000 and $350 at 15,000.
HubSpot
Marketing email lives on the same contact record as sales and service. Free sends 2,000 emails a month with HubSpot branding; Starter is $20 a seat ($7 under a new-customer offer) for 1,000 marketing contacts, but automation-heavy Professional jumps to $800 a month plus a $3,000 onboarding fee.
Questions buyers ask
What is the best free Mailchimp alternative?
Kit, if you send a newsletter: its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, but no automations. Brevo is better for a larger business list you email rarely (300 emails a day, up to 100,000 stored contacts), MailerLite's free plan includes automations for 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and HubSpot's free tools send 2,000 emails a month with its branding. All beat Mailchimp Free's 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
What is cheaper than Mailchimp?
Brevo, for most lists, because it charges for emails sent rather than contacts: 10,000 contacts emailed once a month costs about $32 on Brevo Starter versus $110 on Mailchimp Essentials and $150 on Klaviyo's Email plan. Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers if you only need broadcasts. If you email a big list several times a week, compare at your real send volume, since Brevo's price rises with sends.
Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp for Shopify stores?
Usually yes. Klaviyo uses your store's orders, products and browsing to drive abandoned-cart and post-purchase flows, segments and product recommendations, and it costs the same as Mailchimp Standard at 500 contacts ($20 a month). The catch is scale: Klaviyo counts every profile you can email and climbs to $150 a month at 10,000 profiles and $350 at 15,000.
Kit vs Mailchimp: which is better for a newsletter?
Kit. It is free up to 10,000 subscribers versus 250 on Mailchimp, has no sending limits on any plan, and adds paid subscriptions, digital products and a recommendation network for growth. Mailchimp is better if you need richer design templates and ecommerce features on one list.
How do I move from Mailchimp to another email tool?
Export each audience as a CSV with tags and subscription status, import it into the new tool, and keep only people who opted in. Rebuild your signup forms and automations, which do not transfer, and bring templates over as exported HTML or redesign them. Then authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC on the new tool and send first to your most engaged subscribers so inbox providers learn the new sender.
Can I use Mailchimp alternatives for cold email?
No. Email marketing tools are for people who opted in, and their terms prohibit purchased or scraped lists. For outreach to people who never signed up, use a cold email tool with separate sending domains and warm-up.
Emailing people who never signed up? Best cold email tools.
Choosing a store platform too? Best Shopify alternatives.
Need a CRM behind your email? Best CRM software.