How much does Mailchimp cost in 2026?
Quick Answer: Mailchimp: Free (500 contacts, 1K sends), Essentials $13/mo, Standard $20/mo (Journey Builder), Premium $350/mo. Contact-based pricing: 10K contacts = $100/mo, 50K = $385/mo, 100K = $700/mo on Standard. Brevo is often cheaper for large contact lists.
Mailchimp Pricing (as of April 2026)
Plans by Contact Count (500 Contacts)
| Plan | Price | Sends/Month | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 | 1 audience, basic templates, Mailchimp branding |
| Essentials | $13/mo | 5,000 | 3 audiences, A/B testing, email scheduling, no branding |
| Standard | $20/mo | 6,000 | Customer Journey Builder, send-time optimization, predictive demographics |
| Premium | $350/mo | 150,000 | Advanced segmentation, multivariate testing, phone support |
Contact Scaling (Standard Plan)
| Contacts | Standard/Month | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $20 | $240 |
| 1,500 | $45 | $540 |
| 5,000 | $75 | $900 |
| 10,000 | $100 | $1,200 |
| 25,000 | $230 | $2,760 |
| 50,000 | $385 | $4,620 |
| 100,000 | $700 | $8,400 |
Customer Journey Builder by Plan
| Feature | Free | Essentials | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-step automations | 1 | 4 | Up to 200 | Unlimited |
| Multi-step journeys | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Branching logic | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-built journey templates | No | Basic | Full library | Full library |
Customer Journey Builder with branching logic requires Standard plan ($20/month minimum). This is Mailchimp''s core automation feature and is not available on Free or Essentials.
Cost Comparison (10,000 Contacts)
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Sends Included | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Standard | $100/mo | 120,000 | Journey Builder, best Shopify integration |
| Brevo Business | $18/mo (unlimited contacts) | 20,000 | Cheapest for large lists, email + SMS |
| HubSpot Marketing Starter | $50/mo | 5x contact list | CRM included, limited automation |
| ActiveCampaign Plus | $49/mo | Unlimited | Advanced automation, CRM included |
| ConvertKit Creator | $119/mo | Unlimited | Creator-focused, visual automations |
Mailchimp is the most expensive option at 10,000+ contacts. Brevo''s unlimited-contacts model provides significantly better value for organizations with large lists and moderate send volumes.
Pay-As-You-Go Alternative
Mailchimp offers a pay-as-you-go option for infrequent senders: purchase email credits starting at $1 per 200 emails ($0.005/email). This is cost-effective for organizations sending fewer than 1,000 emails per month and avoids monthly subscription fees.
Editor''s Note: We managed Mailchimp for a D2C ecommerce brand with 42,000 subscribers. Standard plan cost: $335/month ($4,020/year). We ran the numbers on Brevo: $25/month for unlimited contacts with 20,000 emails/month ($300/year). The $3,720/year savings was significant, but we stayed on Mailchimp because the Shopify integration was more mature (real-time purchase data syncing for abandoned cart journeys) and the journey templates saved approximately 15 hours of initial setup time. At 100,000 contacts, we would recommend switching — the $700/month Mailchimp cost vs $65/month Brevo becomes difficult to justify.
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