Mailchimp and Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) both offer free email marketing plans, but they cap usage in fundamentally different ways — one by how many contacts you have, the other by how many emails you send per day.
Mailchimp: capped by contacts
Mailchimp’s free plan limits you by total contact count and a monthly send allowance — exact figures have shifted over time, so check Mailchimp’s current pricing page rather than relying on a fixed number. It suits a small mailing list that you email occasionally. Mailchimp is generally rated higher for template quality and its visual email editor, and its paid tiers add predictive analytics and more advanced automation.
Brevo: capped by daily sends, not contact count
Brevo’s free plan allows unlimited contacts, but caps you at 300 emails per day. That makes it a better fit for a large list you email in small batches or infrequently — a 10,000-person list you email to a rotating segment each day works fine on Brevo’s free tier; the same list on Mailchimp’s free plan would likely exceed the contact cap immediately. Brevo’s templates and editor are generally considered less polished than Mailchimp’s.
Which should you pick?
- Choose Mailchimp Free if your list is small and you want the more polished editor and templates.
- Choose Brevo Free if your contact list is large but you don’t need to email everyone every day.
Both vendors have changed free-tier limits and paid pricing more than once recently — confirm current contact caps, daily send limits, and paid-tier pricing on Mailchimp’s and Brevo’s own sites before committing.
Leave a Reply