7 Best Mailchimp Alternatives for Email Marketing in 2026
Mailchimp's pricing scales steeply with contact count, the free plan caps at 500 contacts, and the interface has gotten more complex over time. Below are 7 alternatives depending on what you actually need.
Quick shortcut: big list on a budget? Brevo charges by email volume, not contacts. Content creator? Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for that.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Free Plan | Pricing Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MentionAgent | Automated outreach | $99/mo | No | Flat rate |
| MailerLite | Budget email marketing | ~$10/mo | Yes (1,000 subs) | Contact-based |
| Brevo | Large lists | ~$25/mo | Yes (300/day) | Email volume |
| ActiveCampaign | Advanced automation | $15/mo (1k contacts) | 14-day trial | Contact-based |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Creators & bloggers | ~$29/mo | Yes (1,000 subs) | Contact-based |
| Constant Contact | Small businesses | ~$12/mo | 60-day trial | Contact-based |
| HubSpot | CRM + email | ~$20/mo | Yes (limited) | Contact-based |
1. MentionAgent
Best for: Automated outreach (link building, PR, partnerships)
Not an email marketing tool. If you're here because you need to reach bloggers, journalists, or potential partners (not send newsletters), MentionAgent handles the full outreach workflow: finding sites, looking up contacts, writing personalized emails, and following up.
- AI finds and qualifies prospects in your niche
- Every email is personalized to the recipient's content
- Built-in deliverability optimization
- Pricing: $99/mo flat, no per-contact or per-seat fees
2. MailerLite
Best for: Budget-friendly email marketing with a clean interface
Best value for small to mid-size email marketing. Free plan covers 1,000 subscribers (double Mailchimp's free tier), paid plans start at ~$10/month. Cleaner interface than Mailchimp. See our MailerLite review, pricing breakdown, and MailerLite vs Mailchimp comparison.
- Free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month
- Drag-and-drop email and landing page builder
- Marketing automations on all plans
- Website builder and blog included
- Pricing: Free / ~$10/mo (Growing Business) / ~$21/mo (Advanced)
3. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Best for: Large contact lists (charges by email volume, not contacts)
Best option if you have a large subscriber list. Unlimited contacts on all plans, pricing based on email volume instead of list size. Free plan includes 300 emails per day.
- Unlimited contacts on all plans (including free)
- Transactional emails, SMS, and WhatsApp marketing
- Marketing automation and CRM included
- Free plan: 300 emails/day
- Pricing: Free / ~$25/mo (Starter, 20K emails) / ~$65/mo (Business, 20K emails)
4. ActiveCampaign
Best for: Advanced marketing automation
The upgrade when you've outgrown Mailchimp's automation. ActiveCampaign is the most powerful automation builder in this category, with visual workflows, conditional branching, and a deeper CRM than Mailchimp's.
- Visual automation builder with unlimited actions on Plus+
- Built-in CRM with sales automation
- Predictive sending and content (Pro+)
- Site tracking and lead scoring
- Pricing: $15/mo Starter, $59/mo Plus, $99/mo Pro (all at 1,000 contacts), see the full plan breakdown
5. Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Best for: Content creators, bloggers, and course creators
Built for creators who make a living from content, courses, and digital products. Subscriber-centric approach with simple automation and built-in commerce.
- Free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers
- Visual automation builder designed for creators
- Commerce features: sell digital products and subscriptions
- Landing pages and forms with no design skills needed
- Pricing: Free / ~$29/mo (Creator) / ~$59/mo (Creator Pro)
6. Constant Contact
Best for: Small businesses and event marketing
Around since 1995. Simple email marketing with event management features (invitations, RSVPs, tickets). Straightforward interface, strong support. Read our Constant Contact review, pricing breakdown, and alternatives roundup.
- Event management tools (invitations, RSVPs, tickets)
- Social media posting and ads
- Simple email builder with 200+ templates
- 60-day free trial (no free plan)
- Pricing: ~$12/mo (Lite) / ~$35/mo (Standard) / ~$80/mo (Premium)
7. HubSpot Email Marketing
Best for: Teams that want CRM and email marketing in one platform
HubSpot's email marketing is part of its larger Marketing Hub. If you already use HubSpot CRM (free), adding email marketing connects lead capture directly to nurture sequences.
- Free email marketing with HubSpot CRM (2,000 emails/month)
- Drag-and-drop editor with personalization tokens
- Deep CRM integration for targeted campaigns
- Forms, live chat, and landing pages included
- Pricing: Free / ~$20/mo (Marketing Hub Starter) / ~$890/mo (Professional)
You have 25,000 email subscribers and want to reduce costs. Mailchimp would charge ~$230/month on Essentials. Which alternative charges by email volume instead of contacts?
Correct! Brevo offers unlimited contacts on all plans and charges based on email volume. For large lists with moderate sending, this can save significantly compared to Mailchimp's contact-based pricing.
Brevo is the only option that charges by email volume instead of contacts. All other alternatives (including MailerLite and ActiveCampaign) use contact-based pricing like Mailchimp.
You're a blogger who wants to sell digital courses to your audience. Which Mailchimp alternative is built for this?
Correct! Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built specifically for creators. It includes commerce features for selling digital products and subscriptions directly to your audience.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is the best fit for content creators. It's designed around the creator business model with built-in commerce for courses, downloads, and subscriptions.
Why people switch from Mailchimp
- Pricing scales steeply with contacts. What starts at $13/month can become $100+/month at 10,000 contacts. Alternatives like Brevo and MailerLite offer better value at scale.
- Free plan is limited. Only 500 contacts and 1,000 emails/month. MailerLite offers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month for free.
- Interface has gotten cluttered. The Intuit acquisition added features that many small businesses don't need, making the platform feel heavier than necessary.
- Automation is limited on lower plans. Meaningful marketing automations require Standard ($20/mo+). ActiveCampaign offers better automation at a similar price.
- No cold email support. If you need outreach (not marketing), Mailchimp won't work. MentionAgent handles automated outreach for link building and PR.
How to choose the right alternative
| If you need... | Choose |
|---|---|
| Cheapest email marketing | MailerLite (or see its alternatives) |
| Large list, low cost | Brevo (charges by sends, not contacts) |
| Advanced automation | ActiveCampaign |
| Creator-focused tools | Kit (ConvertKit) |
| CRM + email in one | HubSpot |
| Simple small business email | Constant Contact |
| Automated outreach (not marketing) | MentionAgent |
You want to reach out to bloggers for link building partnerships. None of these email marketing tools allow cold outreach. What should you use?
Correct! Email marketing tools like Mailchimp, Brevo, and HubSpot prohibit cold outreach. MentionAgent ($99/mo) is purpose-built for outreach, it finds blogs, looks up contacts, and handles personalized emails and follow-ups.
Email marketing platforms prohibit cold outreach. For link building, you need a dedicated outreach tool. MentionAgent automates the full workflow from prospect finding to follow-ups.
Need outreach, not newsletters?
MentionAgent finds relevant blogs, looks up contacts, writes personalized pitches, and follows up. You just approve the emails. $99/mo flat, no per-contact pricing.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moFrequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?
It depends on your needs. For budget email marketing, MailerLite. For large lists, Brevo. For creators, Kit (ConvertKit). For advanced automation, ActiveCampaign. For outreach instead of marketing, MentionAgent.
What is cheaper than Mailchimp?
MailerLite is free up to 1,000 subscribers with paid plans from approximately $10/month. Brevo is free with 300 emails/day and charges by volume, not contacts. Constant Contact starts at approximately $12/month.
Is Mailchimp the best email marketing tool?
Mailchimp is one of the most well-known, but not necessarily the best value. Its pricing scales steeply with contacts, and competitors like MailerLite, Brevo, and ActiveCampaign offer better value depending on your needs and list size.