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Mailchimp used to be the obvious starting point. Everyone knew it, everything integrated with it, and the forever-free plan meant you could grow your list to 2,000 subscribers without spending a dollar. That was the deal.
Then they changed the deal. Multiple times.
The forever-free plan is gone for new users. Pricing restructured in ways that caught a lot of small businesses off guard – suddenly paying for subscribers they’d added but weren’t actively emailing. Features that used to be included got moved to higher tiers. The confusion on the pricing page is not accidental.
If you’re shopping for alternatives, you’re in good company. And the good news: 2026 has genuinely strong options across every use case.
Quick Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Starting Price | Free Plan | Pricing Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | $9/mo | Yes (300 emails/day) | Email volume |
| MailerLite | $9/mo | Yes (1K subs, 12K emails/mo) | Subscriber count |
| ConvertKit | $9/mo | Yes (up to 10K subs, limited) | Subscriber count |
| ActiveCampaign | $15/mo | No (14-day trial) | Subscriber count |
| GetResponse | $15/mo | Yes (limited, 500 contacts) | Subscriber count |
| Klaviyo | $20/mo | Yes (up to 250 contacts) | Subscriber count |
| Moosend | $7/mo | No (30-day trial) | Subscriber count |
| Drip | $39/mo | No (14-day trial) | Subscriber count |
1. Brevo — Best All-Around Replacement
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is the alternative I recommend most often to people leaving Mailchimp. The reason is simple: it prices by email volume, not subscriber count.
This is a big deal. Most email marketing tools charge you based on how many contacts are in your list – which means the moment you have 10,000 subscribers, your bill jumps, even if you only email 2,000 of them regularly. Brevo charges based on how many emails you actually send. If you have a large list but send infrequently, Brevo can be dramatically cheaper than subscriber-count competitors.
Beyond the pricing model, the platform is solid. The drag-and-drop editor is clean, the automation builder handles complex workflows better than most tools in this price range, and deliverability is consistently strong. SMS marketing is included if you need it.
The free plan gives you up to 300 emails per day – which works out to about 9,000 per month. The Starter plan is $9/month for 5,000 emails/month, Business is $18/month for 20,000 emails/month and adds the automation workflows and A/B testing.
The one honest criticism: the template library isn’t as polished as Mailchimp’s. It’s functional but not beautiful. If template variety is a priority, note this.
Try Brevo here – and we have a full breakdown in our Brevo review if you want the deep version.
2. MailerLite — Best for Simplicity and Value
MailerLite is the pick if you want something clean, easy to use, and genuinely affordable for a small list.
Free for up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. Paid plans start around $9/month. The editor is excellent – probably the cleanest drag-and-drop in this list. Landing pages are included on all plans, which is a real bonus that most tools charge extra for.
The automation is good for basic sequences. Not great for complex multi-branch workflows. But for a newsletter or a simple welcome → nurture → offer sequence, it handles it well.
Full breakdown in our MailerLite review.
3. ConvertKit — Best for Creators and Bloggers
ConvertKit is built for a specific person: the creator, blogger, or course seller who’s building an audience and monetizing through content. If that’s you, it fits better than almost anything else on this list.
The tag-based subscriber system is its main differentiator. Instead of putting people in lists and segments, you tag them based on actions (downloaded lead magnet, clicked specific link, purchased product). This makes it genuinely powerful for audience segmentation without complicated setup.
Commerce features are also built in – you can sell products and subscriptions directly through ConvertKit without a separate payment processor.
Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers (with limited features). Creator plan is $9/month for up to 300 subscribers, scales up from there.
One thing to know: ConvertKit’s email editor is intentionally simple. No fancy drag-and-drop template builder. Clean, text-focused emails. A lot of creators love this. Teams used to Mailchimp’s visual templates sometimes don’t.
4. ActiveCampaign — Best for Advanced Automation
ActiveCampaign is where you go when you’ve outgrown MailerLite or ConvertKit and need automation that can get genuinely complex.
Multi-step conditional automations, CRM integration, lead scoring, predictive sending, site tracking – it does all of it. The automation builder is the best in this price range. If you need “if this contact clicked this link AND visited this page AND hasn’t bought in 30 days, send this email AND notify a sales rep,” ActiveCampaign handles it.
The tradeoff: it’s not beginner-friendly. The feature set is dense, the interface has a learning curve, and you’ll get more out of it after you’ve been using email marketing for a while. Starter plan is $15/month (up to 1,000 contacts).
Not a Mailchimp replacement for simplicity seekers. The right tool for teams ready to do serious marketing automation.
5. GetResponse — Solid Mid-Tier Option
GetResponse is a capable all-in-one that doesn’t get enough credit. Email marketing, automation, landing pages, webinar hosting (yes, included), and a website builder in one platform.
The webinar integration is the genuinely unusual part. If your business runs webinars as part of lead generation or product marketing, having them baked into your email platform without a separate Zoom/Demio subscription is a real cost saver.
Email Marketing plan starts at $15/month for up to 1,000 subscribers. The automation and CRM features live on higher tiers. Free plan available for up to 500 contacts, limited features.
GetResponse doesn’t win any single category – but it’s solid across the board, and the webinar inclusion tips the value equation for businesses that use them.
6. Klaviyo — Best for E-Commerce
If you’re running an e-commerce store – particularly on Shopify – Klaviyo is the gold standard. Deep product catalog integration, purchase behavior-based segmentation, pre-built e-commerce automation flows (abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back), and revenue attribution that actually shows you which campaigns made money.
Free for up to 250 contacts. Paid starts at $20/month for up to 500 contacts and scales by subscriber count – which gets expensive fast for larger stores.
For e-commerce use cases, Klaviyo’s revenue attribution is worth the premium. You’ll know exactly which emails are driving sales, and the built-in flows are configured for e-commerce out of the box.
Not the right tool if you’re not running an online store. The pricing doesn’t make sense for newsletters or service businesses.
7. Moosend — The Budget Pick
Moosend is cheap. That’s its primary value proposition, and I don’t mean that dismissively – being genuinely affordable while being actually capable is harder than it sounds.
Plans start at $7/month for up to 500 subscribers. The automation builder is better than you’d expect at this price. Deliverability is respectable. The template library is limited but covers the basics.
Where it falls short: advanced features, integrations, and polish. It’s not building anything as capable as ActiveCampaign’s automation. The interface is functional rather than elegant. Support can be slow.
But if you’re a small business with a tight budget and standard email needs (newsletters, simple automations, contact management), Moosend gets the job done without drama.
8. Drip — Best for E-Commerce Automation (Klaviyo Alternative)
Drip sits in similar territory to Klaviyo – e-commerce focused, automation-heavy, deep Shopify integration. The practical difference: Drip is slightly more approachable and somewhat less expensive at lower subscriber counts.
E-commerce workflows (abandoned cart, post-purchase, VIP customer sequences) are well-built. The email builder is clean. Revenue tracking is included.
Starts at $39/month for up to 2,500 contacts. Not cheap, but if you’re doing e-commerce email and find Klaviyo too complex or too expensive at your subscriber count, Drip is the natural alternative.
So Which One?
Most people leaving Mailchimp should try Brevo first. The volume-based pricing is usually a better deal than subscriber-count pricing, the automation is solid, and the migration from Mailchimp is well-documented.
If simplicity is the priority and your list is under 5,000: MailerLite.
If you’re a content creator monetizing an audience: ConvertKit.
If you’re in e-commerce: Klaviyo (Shopify) or Drip (slightly simpler).
If you need enterprise-grade automation: ActiveCampaign.
Mailchimp made some choices that didn’t go over well with their existing users. The good news is that “switching email platforms” is significantly less painful than it sounds – a weekend afternoon and you’re probably done.