Consider it for
Marketers running newsletters and customer campaigns with a maintained audience.
Email · Written evaluation
Mailchimp
Email campaigns and audience automation with contact and send-based limits.
Plan at a glance
Plans & sources ↓- Starting plan
- Free Marketing · Free · up to 250 contacts
- Includes
- 250 contacts · 500 emails/month · 250/day · 1 person
Limits & source scope
Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count. Sending pauses above the free limits.
Source dates and billing bases appear below.Official sources read 9 October 2026. The evaluation below is editorial judgement based on documentation; no hands-on product test was performed.
Research scope & testing evidence
Plans & limits
Free limits rechecked 26 October 2026. Paid starting-tier prices retain 9 October 2026 dates. Contacts are a broader billing unit than subscribers; every subscriber uses a contact slot.
| Plan | Cost & billing | Allowance | Restriction & date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Marketing | Free · up to 250 contacts | 250 contacts · 500 emails/month · 250/day · 1 person | Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count. Sending pauses above the free limits. Price/access source read 2026-10-26 |
| Essentials USD starting tier | $13/month for up to 500 contacts | 500 contacts · 5,000 emails/month at this starting tier | This is the 500-contact starting tier. Larger audiences require a different quote; the displayed paid price was read 9 October 2026. Price/access source read 2026-10-09; limits rechecked 2026-10-26 |
| Standard USD starting tier | $20/month for up to 500 contacts | 500 contacts · 6,000 emails/month at this starting tier | This is the 500-contact starting tier. Larger audiences require a different quote; the displayed paid price was read 9 October 2026. Price/access source read 2026-10-09; limits rechecked 2026-10-26 |
Official source 1 ↗ · Official source 2 ↗ · Dated source receipt
Review scope: selected official documentation. No hands-on test or renewal of unrelated paid prices.
Our evaluation
Mailchimp works best when a marketer needs to build an audience, send campaigns and review responses without designing the email infrastructure. Its familiar campaign workflow is useful, but the economical choice depends on contact hygiene and sending frequency. I would calculate the plan against the full billable audience and a realistic busy month, rather than the size of the next newsletter alone. The small free allowance can demonstrate the editor and signup flow; it is not a comfortable operating plan for an established list. Automation should follow a clearly defined subscriber journey, with suppression rules checked before migration. If the business mainly sends application receipts and onboarding events, compare that workload separately instead of assuming the marketing subscription covers every transactional requirement.
Fit and limits
Fit and limits
Check before committing
Free is capped at 250 contacts/500 monthly sends. Paid bills depend on contact tiers, send limits, overages and offers; localized prices may be exchange-rate estimates.
What the documentation confirms
What the documentation confirms
- Free supports one audience, 250 contacts and 500 monthly sends, limited to 250/day.
- Paid Marketing tiers add testing, scheduling and automation features.
- Contact and send overages can increase paid bills; transactional email is a separate offer.
Selected official documents read 9 October 2026. Access can depend on plan, region and account.
Earlier pricing observations & sources
Price and billing scope
| Plan or charge | Observed price | Billing, allowance and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free Marketing | $0 for up to 250 contacts | 500 monthly sends and 250 daily sends; service pauses at free limits. One seat, one audience, 250 contacts; 500 sends/month, 250/day. Official source ↗ |
| Essentials USD starting tier | $13/month for up to 500 contacts | USD and 0–500-contact selections verified in the live browser. Trial is temporary; overages apply. Official rendered USD selector, 0–500 contacts; 5,000 monthly sends. Official source ↗ |
| Standard USD starting tier | $20/month for up to 500 contacts | USD and 0–500-contact selections verified in the live browser. Trial is temporary; overages apply. Official rendered USD selector, 0–500 contacts; 6,000 monthly sends. Official source ↗ |
These are selected published charges, not a complete account bill. Check eligibility, tax, add-ons and the price shown for your account before paying.
Recorded editorial criteria
Recorded editorial criteria
These are the previously recorded editorial opinions used in the directory. They have no individually recorded assessment date and were not rescored during this documentation refresh. They are not product-test results.
| Functionality | 8/10 |
|---|---|
| Pricing value | 6/10 |
| Ease of use | 8/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 |
| Founder fit | 6/10 |
Try one complete task
Import a cleaned test audience with explicit consent fields, build one signup-triggered sequence and one campaign, then quote the plan for your actual contact count and busiest expected send month.
Create a trial worksheet →Compare requirements
Edited by Clinton Feyisitan · Evidence policy · Suggest a correction