Mailchimp review

Still the default, and no longer the generous one

Mailchimp earned its place as the default answer to "how do I send a newsletter". The builder is mature, the reporting is deep, the integration catalogue is enormous, and the customer journey tools on Standard are genuinely good. Intuit acquired it in 2021.

What has changed is the deal. The free plan used to be 2,000 contacts, then 500, and as of July 2026 it is 250 contacts and 500 emails per month. Meanwhile paid pricing is anchored to your total audience size.

The teams that still get their money's worth

• Ecommerce businesses using Mailchimp's Shopify, WooCommerce, and ad integrations
• Marketing teams who use customer journeys, predictive segmentation, and comparative reporting
• Companies who want one vendor with phone support and a large partner ecosystem

The 250-contact free plan, and $13 as the entry price

As of July 2026: 250 contacts, 500 emails per month, maximum 250 per day, Mailchimp branding on every send. You also lose A/B testing, scheduling, and support beyond the first 30 days.

Note that 500 emails across 250 contacts is two sends per contact per month. A fortnightly newsletter to a full free-plan list exhausts the allowance exactly.

Why your bill grows while the send limit stays at 500

• You are billed on contacts, including unsubscribed and inactive addresses, unless you actively archive them
• The free plan has been cut repeatedly, so building on it is a risk
• Prices climb steeply as your list grows, and the entry rates quoted on the pricing page apply only at the smallest contact tier
• Essentials and Standard begin as 14-day trials, so the "free" path onto paid features is time-limited
• The interface carries fifteen years of accumulated features, and finding a setting can take longer than writing the email

Right for ecommerce teams, wasteful for a newsletter

Mailchimp is still the most capable platform in this category, and if you use its ecommerce and journey features it justifies its price. Most people do not use them. If your need is "send a newsletter to my list", you are paying for depth you will never open, on a model that charges you for subscribers who stopped reading in 2023. That is why this page exists.