Mailchimp alternatives, in euros a year
Set your Mailchimp plan and list size. The table shows what the same list costs elsewhere, using each provider’s own price list.
Mailchimp Essentials at 2,500 contacts: €40.45 a month.
| Tool | Plan | A month | A year | Against Mailchimp | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EmailOctopus | Free | Free | Free | Saves €485.40 | In the EU |
| Brevo | Starter | €21 | €252 | Saves €233.40 | In the EU |
| GetResponse | Starter | €27 | €324 | Saves €161.40 | Not stated |
| MailerLite | Comfort | €29 | €348 | Saves €137.40 | In the EU |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter | €39 | €468 | Saves €17.40 | EU region on some accounts |
| Systeme.io | Startup | $17 | $204 | Billed in dollars, not compared | In the EU |
Twelve times the monthly price, before VAT. Add-on blocks, SMS and other extras are not included on either side. Mailchimp’s euro figures are its own estimates of a dollar price, so the gap moves with the exchange rate.
Why the Mailchimp bill can be higher than the price list
Three rules sit behind the list price, all from Mailchimp’s own help pages.
- Unsubscribed contacts count toward the limit until you archive them.
- The bill follows the peak contact total in the billing period, so a clean-up late in the month does not lower that month.
- Above the contact or send limit, an add-on contact block is added to the bill. Its size and price show only when you are logged in.
The calculator leaves these out on both sides, so the real gap can be wider if your list holds many unsubscribed contacts.
Where the data goes
Mailchimp’s data processing addendum allows processing in the United States and anywhere else its sub-processors operate. If that is your reason for leaving, read the Data column. The EU-hosted software filter shows who holds the data and which company you contract with.
The alternatives
Systeme.io
Systeme.io bundles email, automation, landing pages and courses into one plan. Its free plan holds 2,000 contacts with unlimited sending, so a small list can run without paying. The paid plans are priced in dollars. Import takes a CSV file with the column names in the first row.
EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus is a newsletter tool with a free plan for 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month. The paid Pro plan is priced by list size and shown on annual billing, which is cheaper than paying monthly. The migration guide says to verify your sending domain before importing any contacts.
Brevo
Brevo charges for emails sent, not contacts stored. That makes a large list cheap if you write to it rarely, and more expensive the more often you send. The Starter plan’s contact allowance jumps to 500,000 at 20,000 emails a month. Import files can be CSV, XLSX or TXT. There is no limit on contacts per import, but a file should stay under 250 MB.
MailerLite
MailerLite prices its Comfort and Power plans by subscriber count. Forms and landing pages are included. Its free plan is small, at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. There is a direct Mailchimp import tool, which can create one group per Mailchimp list and tag.
GetResponse
GetResponse combines email with webinars and sales funnels. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and the smallest list it sells is 1,000 contacts, so a 500-contact list pays the 1,000-contact price. Files can be CSV, TXT, VCF, XLSX or ODS up to 50 MB.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is built around automation and sales pipelines. Its price list shows only the monthly price on annual billing, and the differences between plans matter: Starter allows five actions per automation, while Plus and above are unlimited. The migration agent works for customers leaving Mailchimp and is available for trial accounts. Only Classic Automations are supported.
What to check before you move
- Your sending domain. Plan for a DNS change. MailerLite requires authentication for a custom domain after its 14-day trial, and EmailOctopus says to verify the domain before importing.
- Unsubscribed contacts. Bring them over marked as unsubscribed, so that nobody who left gets an email from the new tool.
- Automations and segments. These rarely move as they are. MailerLite recreates only simple field-based segments, and ActiveCampaign’s migration agent handles Classic Automations only.
- Features you use. EmailOctopus states that it has no SMS, social media scheduling, transactional email, website builder or built-in CRM.
Want the cost over several years as a list grows? Use the three-year calculator. Full Mailchimp readings are on the Mailchimp page.