Quick Picks (TL;DR)

  • Best overall alternative: Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) — sends-based pricing is a game-changer for small lists
  • Best for creators and solopreneurs: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) — built around sequences, landing pages, and audience monetization
  • Best for e-commerce: Klaviyo — revenue attribution, abandoned cart flows, deep Shopify sync
  • Best free tier: Brevo — 300 emails/day on free, no list-size cap
  • Best for simplicity: MailerLite — clean UI, automation, landing pages at a fraction of the cost

Brevo, Kit, and MailerLite all start around $9/month and outperform Mailchimp on the features most small senders actually use — and Mailchimp's cost structure becomes hard to justify the moment your list crosses 5,000 contacts. Before you switch, know the one catch: every platform on this list supports CSV import or direct Mailchimp migration, but your tags, segments, and automation sequences must be rebuilt manually — budget time for that, not just money.

Comparison Table

Tool Best For Free Plan Starting Price Standout Feature
Brevo Budget-first senders Yes (300 emails/day) ~$9/mo Sends-based pricing, SMS included
Kit (ConvertKit) Creators, newsletters Yes (up to 10,000 subs) ~$9/mo Visual automations, creator monetization
Klaviyo E-commerce brands Yes (500 emails/mo) ~$20/mo Deep Shopify/WooCommerce revenue sync
MailerLite Simplicity seekers Yes (1,000 subs / 12,000 emails/mo) ~$9/mo Best UI-to-price ratio
Moosend Automation-heavy senders No ~$9/mo Advanced segmentation, behavioral triggers
ActiveCampaign CRM + email combined No ~$15/mo Deepest CRM-email integration

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Best for: Teams with large lists but low send frequency

Brevo charges per email sent, not per contact stored. A 10,000-contact list emailed twice a month costs the same as a 2,000-contact list emailed weekly — a direct structural advantage over Mailchimp's contact-based tiers. The free plan allows 300 emails/day with no list-size cap, which is enough to run a small announcement list indefinitely.

Transactional email, SMS, and WhatsApp messaging share the same platform, which removes the need to pay for a separate transactional service.

Honest pros: Sends-based pricing, SMS/WhatsApp built in, solid deliverability, generous free tier.

Honest cons: Automation builder is less visual than Kit; the template editor can feel clunky; support response times vary on lower plans.

Who should skip: Creators who need polished landing pages and revenue-focused subscriber analytics — that's not what Brevo is optimized for.

Kit (formerly ConvertKit)

Best for: Newsletter writers, course creators, solo founders building an audience

Kit is the most opinionated platform on this list — in a useful way. Sequences, subscriber tagging, and automation are first-class features, not bolt-ons. The visual automation builder is designed specifically to make building onboarding and nurture sequences faster than Mailchimp's interface allows.

The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with core broadcast and automation features. Kit also handles paid newsletters and paid recommendations natively — a monetization layer Mailchimp has never offered.

Honest pros: Strong visual automation builder, creator monetization built in, landing pages included, growing subscriber ecosystem.

Honest cons: More expensive than MailerLite at scale; broadcast analytics are basic; not suited for e-commerce purchase-event triggers.

Who should skip: E-commerce brands that need revenue attribution and abandoned cart flows — Kit doesn't have purchase-data hooks.

Klaviyo

Best for: Any brand selling physical or digital products online

For Shopify stores, Klaviyo isn't just a Mailchimp alternative — it's the category leader. Revenue attribution, abandoned cart flows, and post-purchase sequences are built around actual purchase data. Segmentation reaches specificity like: people who viewed a product three or more times, added to cart, and didn't buy in the last 14 days — a targeting depth Mailchimp doesn't match on the same use case.

The free plan includes 500 emails/month, and paid plans start at ~$20/month — higher than the other options here, and list-size pricing escalates fast.

Honest pros: Best-in-class e-commerce data sync, powerful segmentation, SMS + email in one platform, strong revenue reporting.

Honest cons: Pricing climbs quickly with list size; significant learning curve on flows; overkill for content newsletters.

Who should skip: Service businesses, coaches, and newsletter-only operators — you'll pay for e-commerce infrastructure you won't use.

MailerLite

Best for: Small teams that want clean, fast, affordable email marketing

MailerLite is the lowest-friction starting point for clients building from zero. The UI is uncluttered, automations work without configuration sprawl, and landing pages and forms are included on all plans — including free. The free plan allows up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails; paid plans start at ~$9/month and scale reasonably.

For simple newsletters, product announcements, and welcome sequences, MailerLite covers every base without a complexity penalty.

Honest pros: Cleanest UI in this category, strong free plan, landing pages and forms included, affordable at scale.

Honest cons: Fewer native integrations than Mailchimp; advanced segmentation requires a paid plan; not built for e-commerce revenue tracking.

Who should skip: Teams that need deep CRM integration or complex multi-branch automations — MailerLite's automation depth has a ceiling.

Moosend

Best for: Automation-heavy email teams on a budget

Moosend's automation builder rivals tools at twice its price point. Segmentation is granular, and deliverability is consistently strong. There is no free plan, but paid tiers start at ~$9/month.

If your strategy depends on behavioral triggers — page visits, file downloads, specific link clicks — Moosend handles these better than most tools at its price. That's its clearest differentiator from MailerLite, which sits at the same starting price but without the same automation depth.

Honest pros: Advanced segmentation, strong behavioral automation, competitive pricing, solid analytics.

Honest cons: No free plan; smaller brand recognition; fewer third-party integrations than Mailchimp.

Who should skip: Anyone who needs a free-forever option, or teams requiring tight Shopify revenue tracking.

ActiveCampaign

Best for: Service businesses managing client relationships via email

ActiveCampaign is the most powerful tool on this list for teams willing to invest in learning it. Email automation, deal pipelines, lead scoring, and site tracking sit inside a unified sales and marketing platform. For orchestrating multi-week sequences tied to deal stages, the automation map delivers a level of control none of the other options here can match.

Paid plans start at ~$15/month with no free plan, and pricing scales with list size.

Honest pros: Deepest automation and CRM combination, strong deliverability, granular segmentation, responsive support.

Honest cons: No free plan; pricing climbs with contacts; significant time investment to configure well.

Who should skip: Content creators and newsletter-only operators — you're paying for a CRM layer you won't use.

How to Choose

A direct decision filter:

  • Big list, low send frequency? → Brevo (sends-based pricing is the cheapest path)
  • Building an audience and monetizing it? → Kit
  • Running an e-commerce store? → Klaviyo
  • Want the simplest setup that actually works? → MailerLite
  • Need behavioral automation without Klaviyo's price? → Moosend
  • Need email and CRM in one tool? → ActiveCampaign

A practical stack for mixed use cases: MailerLite for personal newsletters, Brevo for transactional email, Kit for anyone building creator-side income.

Common Mistakes When Switching

  • Assuming migration is automatic. Every platform supports CSV import or direct Mailchimp migration — but tags, segments, and automations rebuild manually every time. Plan for rebuild time before canceling Mailchimp.
  • Choosing by free plan, not by use case. Brevo's free tier is the most generous on raw volume; MailerLite's is the cleanest to use. They serve different workflows.
  • Over-buying for a simple list. ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo are genuinely powerful — and genuinely wasted on a monthly newsletter with no purchase data or CRM needs.
  • Ignoring send-to-contact ratio. If you have 8,000 contacts but only email them twice a month, Mailchimp's contact-based pricing penalizes you hard. Brevo's sends-based model cuts that cost significantly.

FAQ

Which Mailchimp alternative has the best free plan? Brevo wins on raw send volume — 300 emails/day with no list-size cap. MailerLite wins if you want the cleanest free experience, with up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month included.

Is Kit really free? Kit offers a free plan up to a subscriber threshold with core broadcast and automation features. Advanced features — including paid newsletter infrastructure — require a paid plan.

Which is best for Shopify? Klaviyo. The purchase-data sync is deeper than any competitor at a comparable price, and it's what abandoned cart and post-purchase flow automation is built on.

Can I migrate from Mailchimp without losing my list? Your contact list transfers cleanly via CSV or direct migration on every platform here. Tags, segments, and automation sequences do not migrate — they need to be rebuilt in the new tool manually.