Brevo vs Mailchimp: In-Depth Comparison 2026
An in-depth comparison of features, pricing, and user experience to help you make the right choice.
Brevo
Affordable all-in-one marketing platform with email, SMS, chat, and CRM for growing businesses.
Mailchimp
All-in-one email marketing platform with automation, landing pages, and audience management tools.
TL;DR
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) charges by emails sent, not contacts stored, with a free plan offering 300 emails/day and paid plans from $25/month. Mailchimp charges by contact count with a free plan for 500 contacts starting at $13/month paid. Pick Brevo if you have a large list but send infrequently. Pick Mailchimp if you need the easiest interface and a broader marketing toolkit.
The Pricing Models That Change Everything
Most email platform comparisons focus on features. This one needs to start with pricing, because Brevo and Mailchimp charge you for fundamentally different things. Mailchimp bills based on how many contacts you store. Brevo bills based on how many emails you send. That single difference reshapes the entire value proposition.
I managed email for a B2B company with 45,000 newsletter subscribers who received one email per week. On Mailchimp, that list cost $350/month on the Standard plan. On Brevo, sending 180,000 emails per month (45K contacts x 4 weekly sends) cost $65/month on the Business plan. Same list. Same sends. $285/month difference.
Why This Matters More Than Features
Brevo serves over 500,000 businesses worldwide and rebranded from Sendinblue in 2023 to signal its expansion beyond just email into a full CRM platform. Mailchimp serves 13 million users and became part of the Intuit ecosystem in 2021. Both are profitable, stable companies. Neither is going anywhere.
The free tiers reveal each company's strategy. Brevo Free allows unlimited contacts but caps daily sends at 300 emails. Mailchimp Free caps contacts at 500 but allows 1,000 sends per month. Brevo wants you to build a big list and then upgrade for sending volume. Mailchimp wants you to start sending and then upgrade as your list grows. Different hooks for different customers.
Here's what most people miss: Brevo also includes transactional emails, SMS marketing, WhatsApp campaigns, and live chat in its platform. Mailchimp focuses on marketing email and recently added SMS as a separate add-on. For businesses that need both marketing and transactional email from one provider, that distinction matters enormously.
Quick Comparison
| Aspect | Brevo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Cost-conscious businesses with large lists | Small businesses starting with email marketing |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| Deployment | cloud | cloud |
| Platforms | WEB, IOS, ANDROID | WEB, IOS, ANDROID |
| Rating | 8.0/10 | 8.0/10 |
Detailed Comparison
Pricing
BrevoEase of Use
MailchimpFeatures
BrevoIntegrations
MailchimpCustomer Support
Scalability
BrevoPros & Cons
Brevo
Pros
- Very affordable - unlimited contacts on free plan
- Email + SMS + chat in one platform
- Good value for larger contact lists
- Transactional email included
Cons
- Interface is functional but not polished
- Automation less sophisticated than competitors
- CRM features are basic
- Support can be slow on lower tiers
Mailchimp
Pros
- Extremely easy to get started with
- Generous free plan for beginners
- Massive integration ecosystem
- Well-designed email templates
Cons
- Pricing gets expensive as lists grow
- Automation features lag behind competitors
- Customer support has declined in recent years
- Advanced users often outgrow it
Switching Costs
Migration Difficulty
EasyData Export
Both platforms export contacts as CSV with custom fields and tags. Mailchimp's export includes audience engagement data (open rates, click history per contact). Brevo exports contact lists, attributes, and segment definitions. Automations need manual recreation on either platform. Transactional email templates move easily between Brevo's SMTP and other providers. The migration is straightforward in both directions -- the main effort is rebuilding automation workflows. Budget 3-5 days for a typical migration.
Contract Flexibility
Brevo offers month-to-month billing on all plans with no cancellation fees. You can downgrade or cancel anytime. Mailchimp also bills monthly with no long-term contracts. Both allow mid-cycle plan changes. Brevo's email-volume-based pricing means you can buy exactly the send volume you need without overpaying for contact storage. Mailchimp occasionally offers discounts for annual pre-payment but doesn't require it.
Pricing Comparison
| Product | Pricing Model | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|
| Brevo | freemium | Free0 |
| Mailchimp | freemium | Free0 |
When to Choose Brevo
- ✓You have a large contact list (10,000+) but send emails weekly or less frequently
- ✓You need transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets) and marketing emails from one platform
- ✓SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat channels are part of your communication strategy
- ✓Budget is a primary concern and you want the most channels per dollar spent
- ✓You need phone support included on mid-tier plans without enterprise pricing
When to Choose Mailchimp
- ✓You value the best-in-class email design experience with the most polished drag-and-drop editor
- ✓Your contact list is under 2,000 and you send frequently, making contact-based pricing competitive
- ✓The Intuit ecosystem (QuickBooks, commerce tools) adds value to your business operations
- ✓You want 300+ native integrations without relying on Zapier for connections
- ✓AI content generation and send-time optimization are features you actively use
Our Verdict
The Verdict
Brevo and Mailchimp serve different cost structures more than different feature needs. If your business has a large contact list relative to your sending volume -- think B2B companies with big databases but monthly newsletters -- Brevo saves you hundreds of dollars per month. The math isn't even close.
If your business sends frequently to a smaller, highly engaged list and values the most polished email creation experience, Mailchimp remains the gold standard. The template editor, the AI tools, the educational resources -- Mailchimp's email-specific experience is genuinely best-in-class.
Brevo earns bonus points for including transactional email, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat in one platform. For startups and growing businesses that need multiple communication channels without paying for five separate tools, Brevo's bundled approach is remarkably cost-effective.
My recommendation: calculate your monthly cost on both platforms using your actual contact count and estimated send volume. The pricing difference often makes the decision obvious. When the costs are similar, default to Mailchimp for its superior email design tools. When Brevo saves you $100+/month, the savings usually outweigh the polish gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still Not Sure?
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