Brevo vs Mailchimp: The Real Comparison You Need

Here's the core difference: Brevo charges based on how many emails you send. Mailchimp charges based on how many contacts you have. This fundamental pricing model difference determines which platform makes sense for your business.

If you have a large list but don't email them frequently, Brevo will save you serious money. If you have a smaller list but send constantly, Mailchimp might work out better. Let's break down everything else.

Pricing Comparison: The Numbers That Matter

This is where things get interesting. Brevo's pricing structure is genuinely different from most email marketing tools.

Brevo Pricing

Key detail: Brevo offers unlimited contacts on most plans. You pay based on email volume, not list size. This is huge for businesses with large but infrequently-contacted lists. Brevo also offers a 10% discount on annual plans.

Mailchimp Pricing

Here's the catch with Mailchimp: you pay for every contact in your system, including unsubscribed contacts unless you archive them. This pricing has increased significantly in recent years, with a price increase of up to 14.5% announced in November 2023, following another increase in December 2022.

Real Cost Comparison at Scale

ScenarioBrevo CostMailchimp Cost
5,000 contacts, 20,000 emails/month$25/month (Standard)$75/month (Essentials)
10,000 contacts, 40,000 emails/month$35/month (Standard)~$100/month (Standard)
25,000 contacts, 100,000 emails/month$69/month (Standard)~$270/month (Standard)
50,000 contacts, 200,000 emails/month~$99/month~$500+/month

The savings with Brevo become dramatic as your list grows. At 25,000 contacts, you're looking at roughly 4x the cost with Mailchimp. According to recent comparison data, Brevo can work out up to 9 times cheaper per month in certain high-volume scenarios.

For more details on Brevo's cost structure, check out our Brevo pricing breakdown.

Pay-As-You-Go Options

Both platforms offer prepaid credit options for businesses that send emails infrequently.

Brevo Pay-As-You-Go: Purchase email credits that never expire. One credit equals one email sent. You get all Starter features, and the Brevo logo is automatically removed when you buy credits. This is ideal for seasonal businesses or those with unpredictable email volumes.

Mailchimp Pay-As-You-Go: Buy email credits as needed instead of a monthly subscription. Credits come in blocks and include the same features as the Essentials plan. However, credits expire after 12 months. Each block of 25,000 emails costs $20 initially, with pricing decreasing slightly at higher volumes ($18/block for 500,000+ emails).

Brevo's non-expiring credits provide more flexibility for businesses that send sporadically.

Free Plan Face-Off

Brevo wins the free tier comparison, and it's not close.

Brevo Free: 300 emails/day (about 9,000/month), unlimited contacts (up to 100,000), marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, transactional emails included, CRM features with deal pipelines, drag-and-drop email builder, 40+ templates, basic reporting, and SMS/WhatsApp integration options.

Mailchimp Free: 250 contacts only, 500 emails/month total (with a 250 daily limit), extremely basic features, no automation whatsoever, only 8 basic templates, limited reporting, no advanced segmentation.

Mailchimp gutted their free plan over the past few years. It used to offer 2,000 contacts and 12,000 emails monthly. Now it's essentially a trial, not a usable free tier. The free plan is so limited that you can't even send a basic welcome email automation-you need a paid plan for any automation features.

If you're just starting out and need a genuinely free email marketing solution that you can actually use for real business purposes, Brevo is the obvious choice. The ability to store unlimited contacts alone makes it vastly superior for growing businesses.

Email Automation: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

This is where your choice actually impacts your marketing effectiveness.

Brevo Automation

Brevo includes marketing automation on the free plan for up to 2,000 contacts. You get a visual workflow builder with triggers based on email opens, clicks, website visits (with their tracking code), and ecommerce activity.

The automation builder is clean and intuitive. You can create welcome sequences, abandoned cart emails, re-engagement campaigns, and lead scoring workflows without paying a dime (within the contact limit). The interface loads quickly, and transitions between different automation steps are smooth.

On paid plans, automation contacts become unlimited on the Standard tier ($18/month starting). You also get SMS and WhatsApp integration in your workflows-multi-channel automation at a fraction of competitor pricing. This means you can create workflows that send an email, follow up with an SMS if unopened, and then reach out via WhatsApp-all in one automation.

The drag-and-drop workflow editor lets you set delays between actions, create branching paths based on user behavior, and add conditions to personalize the journey. While Brevo offers fewer pre-built automation templates compared to Mailchimp, the workflows you can build are powerful and flexible.

Mailchimp Automation

Mailchimp removed automation from their free plan entirely. You now need a paid plan just to send a basic automated welcome email.

The Essentials plan ($13/month) only gives you single-step automations. For multi-step customer journeys with branching logic, you need Standard ($20/month for 500 contacts). This is a significant limitation if you're trying to build sophisticated nurture sequences.

Mailchimp's Customer Journey Builder (formerly called Customer Journey Builder, now referred to as Automation Flows) is more polished visually and offers more pre-built journey templates. You get helpful templates for welcome series, abandoned carts, birthday wishes, win-back campaigns, and more. These templates can significantly speed up your automation setup if you're new to email marketing.

The journey builder allows for complex branching logic-you can split paths based on whether someone opened an email, clicked a specific link, or took an action on your website. You can also add time delays, A/B test different paths, and use predictive analytics to optimize send times for each recipient.

Mailchimp was ranked No. 1 for marketing automation on Capterra's Top 20 Shortlist in 2022, and users consistently praise its ease of use for automation. However, you're paying significantly more for access to these features, especially as your list grows.

Winner: Brevo for value and multi-channel capabilities, Mailchimp for sophistication and pre-built templates. If you need advanced branching logic with predictive analytics and don't mind paying premium prices, Mailchimp Standard/Premium delivers. If you want solid automation with SMS/WhatsApp integration without breaking the bank, Brevo wins.

Email Design and Templates

Mailchimp has better templates. There, I said it.

Mailchimp offers more than 100 email templates (they call them "themes") that are mobile-responsive and visually modern. The designs are polished, professional, and well-suited for various industries. Their drag-and-drop editor is refined, intuitive, and responsive. The Creative Assistant feature (available on Standard and Premium plans) can even auto-generate branded templates from your uploaded assets, which is genuinely helpful for non-designers.

The templates are categorized by use case (announcements, sales, events, etc.), making it easy to find what you need. You can also create custom HTML templates via code, URL, or .ZIP file. However, free plan users only get access to 8 basic, somewhat outdated templates-a significant limitation.

Brevo's template library consists of around 48 email templates and 4 simple layouts. They work fine and are mobile-responsive, but they look more dated compared to Mailchimp's offerings. The designs are functional rather than stunning. The drag-and-drop editor is fast and includes all the necessary options, but it's not as smooth or polished as Mailchimp's.

That said, Brevo does offer useful features like the ability to revert to previous versions of your email during editing, which is super helpful when you make a mistake. You can also code your own templates by pasting HTML code, and all templates are categorized for easier navigation.

Most businesses customize templates heavily anyway, so this difference matters less if you're using custom HTML or have a designer on your team. But if you're relying on out-of-the-box templates and need your emails to look stunning without much effort, Mailchimp is the better choice.

Winner: Mailchimp for design quality and template variety, especially on paid plans.

Ease of Use and User Interface

Both platforms are relatively easy to use, but they have different strengths.

Mailchimp Interface

Many people are drawn to Mailchimp because of its user-friendly reputation. The backend is well-designed and easy to navigate once you get familiar with it. Mailchimp does a good job of guiding you through necessary steps when setting up a campaign, and the platform provides helpful tooltips and tutorials.

However, some functions can be hard to find. For instance, figuring out how to create a signup form or landing page isn't immediately obvious for complete beginners. The feature is buried under the "Audience" tab rather than being prominently displayed in the main navigation. Some users find the interface cluttered, with too many features competing for attention.

That said, Mailchimp excels at making sure you don't forget critical steps. The campaign builder walks you through each stage systematically, from selecting your audience to designing your email to scheduling your send.

Brevo Interface

Brevo's interface is cleaner and more streamlined. You have a clear menu for Campaigns, Contacts, Automation, Transactional, and Conversations. Navigation is straightforward, with less clutter than Mailchimp.

The drag-and-drop editor is fast, and transitions between tabs are quick (though some users note that clicking on certain tabs can take a few seconds to load, which isn't quite as seamless as Mailchimp). Brevo also guides you through each step of campaign creation so you don't forget anything, and the option to revert to previous versions of your email is particularly useful.

For users who prioritize simplicity and speed over feature depth, Brevo's interface is often easier to navigate. The learning curve is shallow, and you can get campaigns out the door quickly without wading through excessive options.

Winner: Tie. Brevo for simplicity and speed; Mailchimp for comprehensive guidance and polish. Your preference will depend on whether you value streamlined efficiency or feature-rich depth.

Contact Management and Segmentation

How you organize and target your audience can make or break your email marketing effectiveness.

Brevo Contact Management

Brevo's list management is simpler and more straightforward. You can create segments based on contact fields, email engagement (opens, clicks), website behavior (with tracking code installed), and transactional activity. Adding conditions is intuitive, and you can automate list assignment when subscribers sign up.

One of Brevo's standout features is unlimited contacts on most plans. This means you're never penalized for growing your audience. You can have multiple lists, and contacts can be on several lists simultaneously without incurring extra charges-a significant advantage over Mailchimp.

Brevo also offers AI Segmentation, where you can describe segments in plain English and the system will automatically create the appropriate filters. This makes segmentation accessible even for non-technical users.

The built-in CRM functionality allows you to manage leads, track deals through sales pipelines, and view contact history all in one place. This integration between marketing and sales is powerful for B2B companies or businesses with longer sales cycles.

Mailchimp Contact Management

Mailchimp uses "audiences" (formerly called "lists") to organize contacts. You can then segment or tag subscribers within each audience. The system offers tags, segments, and groups-which are all slightly different concepts that can be confusing for new users.

The segmentation options are extensive on paper. You can segment by engagement, demographics, purchase behavior, predicted demographics, and purchase likelihood (on higher plans). Mailchimp's advanced segmentation features kick in on the Standard plan ($20/month), allowing you to build highly targeted groups dynamically.

However, here's the critical issue: Mailchimp charges you for contacts across all audiences. If someone is on two lists, you pay twice. This pricing structure can get expensive quickly and discourages smart list management practices.

For advanced predictive segmentation (like identifying customers most likely to purchase), Mailchimp has an edge on Premium plans. These AI-powered insights can be valuable for ecommerce businesses. But for straightforward segmentation that most businesses actually use, Brevo is cleaner and more cost-effective.

Winner: Brevo for simplicity, unlimited contacts, and integrated CRM. Mailchimp for advanced predictive segmentation on Premium plans.

Reporting and Analytics

Understanding how your campaigns perform is crucial for optimization.

Mailchimp Reporting

Mailchimp offers superior native reporting and analytics. You get customizable dashboards, comparative reports (comparing multiple campaigns side-by-side), geolocation data showing where your subscribers are opening emails, and social/ecommerce tracking built-in.

For ecommerce users, Mailchimp really shines. You can track campaign revenue, revenue by subscriber, ROI, and customer lifetime value. The reports are beautifully designed with easy-to-understand charts and tables, plus actionable recommendations to help you improve.

The Standard and Premium plans include advanced features like click heatmaps (showing exactly where people click in your emails), 24-hour open and click data (showing the best times to send), and comparative industry benchmarks. If data-driven decision making is central to your email strategy, Mailchimp gives you more insight without needing third-party tools.

Brevo Reporting

Brevo's reporting covers the essentials-opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, and automation performance. You get basic metrics like open rates, click rates, and geographic data on the Standard plan and higher. Campaign-level reports include heatmaps and device data.

However, reporting features are somewhat scattered throughout the tool. You'll find statistics under Campaigns > Statistics for an overview, or under individual campaign reports for detailed views. Setting up conversion tracking involves navigating to Settings > Conversions, which is more complex and time-consuming than Mailchimp's approach.

For advanced insights and deeper funnel analysis, you'll likely need to integrate with Google Analytics or use third-party tools. Brevo does offer revenue attribution for ecommerce and transactional reporting (which is valuable for developers), but the reporting interface isn't as polished or comprehensive as Mailchimp's.

Winner: Mailchimp for comprehensive, beautiful, native analytics. Brevo is adequate for basic reporting but lags behind in advanced insights.

Email Deliverability: Getting to the Inbox

All the great content and design in the world means nothing if your emails don't reach the inbox. Deliverability is arguably the most important factor in email marketing success.

Brevo Deliverability

Brevo's deliverability has fluctuated over the years but currently sits at a respectable rate. According to recent independent testing, Brevo achieved an 88.3% deliverability rate in early testing rounds, with their latest performance in February 2025 showing 89.1% inbox placement.

However, Brevo has had some ups and downs historically. They started strong in 2017-2018 with around 84% deliverability, dipped to about 76% in 2018, then improved significantly between 2020-2022, reaching a high of 96.3% in March 2021. A dip occurred in 2023, showing that deliverability isn't always consistent.

Breaking down by email provider: Gmail is particularly challenging for Brevo, with nearly 1 in 4 emails going to spam. Outlook sends almost 1 in 5 Brevo emails to spam. These numbers matter significantly if your list consists primarily of Gmail or Outlook users.

Brevo provides several deliverability tools: domain authentication support (DKIM, SPF, DMARC), a deliverability score dashboard with personalized recommendations, automatic handling of bounces and complaints, and dedicated IP options (available for $251/year on Professional and Enterprise plans). They also offer best practices guides and deliverability monitoring.

The platform automatically blocklists contacts who unsubscribe or mark emails as spam to protect your sender reputation. However, users are responsible for maintaining list hygiene and following best practices-Brevo won't automatically clean your list.

Mailchimp Deliverability

Mailchimp boasts "more than 99%" delivery rates and has invested heavily in maintaining a strong sending reputation. Independent testing shows Mailchimp achieving approximately 77.6% inbox placement, with 18.85% going to spam and 3.62% not reaching recipients at all.

These numbers are similar to Brevo's performance, showing that while both platforms claim strong deliverability, real-world results are comparable. Gmail and Outlook remain challenging for Mailchimp users as well.

Mailchimp's deliverability advantages include: their strict policies against purchased lists and spam content (protecting all users' reputations), the Omnivore abuse-prevention system that automatically monitors for risky behavior, authentication support (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) with clear setup guides, dedicated IP options ($29.95/month with warmup schedules), and a trained deliverability support team available on higher-tier plans.

However, Mailchimp lacks a centralized deliverability dashboard or health score. Unlike platforms like Klaviyo or Omnisend, you won't see sender reputation metrics, inbox placement data, or overall deliverability health in one place. You only get standard campaign-level metrics (opens, clicks, bounces), which aren't enough to diagnose deeper deliverability problems.

Mailchimp also doesn't include built-in list cleaning or email verification tools. While they offer segmentation based on engagement, there's no direct way to verify email validity or proactively clean your list without using external tools.

Winner: Tie. Both platforms achieve similar real-world deliverability rates (around 77-89% inbox placement depending on testing methodology). Brevo offers a deliverability dashboard with health scores; Mailchimp has stricter policies and better infrastructure but lacks centralized deliverability monitoring. Your actual deliverability will depend more on your practices (list hygiene, content quality, engagement) than the platform you choose.

Integrations and Compatibility

How well does each platform play with your existing tools?

Mailchimp Integrations

Mailchimp has over 300 native integrations, covering virtually every major platform you might use. This includes ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce), CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho), social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), analytics tools, website builders, and much more.

The depth of these integrations varies, but for popular tools, the connections are usually robust and well-maintained. Mailchimp's large user base means that third-party developers prioritize building and maintaining Mailchimp integrations.

For businesses running complex tech stacks or using niche software, Mailchimp's extensive integration library is a significant advantage. You're more likely to find a native integration for whatever tool you're using.

Brevo Integrations

Brevo offers around 150+ native integrations, covering most popular tools (WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, etc.) but with less breadth than Mailchimp. For mainstream platforms, you'll find what you need, but niche software may not have direct integrations.

Both platforms work with Zapier, which fills most integration gaps. Zapier supports thousands of apps, so you can usually create automated connections between Brevo or Mailchimp and virtually any other tool. However, Zapier connections often require a paid Zapier account and can be slower or less reliable than native integrations.

Brevo's API documentation is comprehensive, with guides, SDKs, libraries, and code recipes. For developers comfortable building custom integrations, Brevo provides the tools needed.

Winner: Mailchimp for breadth and depth of native integrations, especially important for businesses with complex or niche tech stacks.

Transactional Email

Transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets, shipping notifications, etc.) are critical for many businesses.

Brevo Transactional Email

This is a major Brevo strength. Transactional emails are included on all Brevo plans, even free. You get RESTful APIs, SMTP relay, outbound webhooks, unlimited log retention, and comprehensive documentation-all at no extra cost.

This is incredibly valuable for SaaS companies, ecommerce businesses, or any organization needing to send automated transactional messages. You can manage marketing emails and transactional emails in one platform without juggling multiple services or paying extra fees.

The transactional email interface is developer-friendly, with clear API documentation and testing tools. You can track delivery, opens, and clicks for transactional emails just like marketing emails.

Mailchimp Transactional Email

Mailchimp offers transactional email through a separate add-on called Mailchimp Transactional (formerly Mandrill). It's only available on Standard and Premium plans, and it costs extra.

Pricing starts at $20 per block of 25,000 emails. While this is reasonable for high-volume senders, it's an additional expense on top of your marketing plan. The service is designed for developers and requires HTML and API knowledge to implement.

The upside is that Mailchimp Transactional is robust and reliable, with excellent deliverability. But the separation from the main marketing platform and additional cost make it less attractive than Brevo's included transactional email.

Winner: Brevo, without question. Included transactional email on all plans (even free) is a massive advantage for businesses needing this functionality.

SMS and Multi-Channel Marketing

Email isn't the only communication channel that matters.

Brevo Multi-Channel

Brevo was built as a multi-channel platform from the ground up. SMS, WhatsApp, and web push notifications are integrated directly into the platform and automation workflows. You can create sophisticated omnichannel journeys that combine email, SMS, and WhatsApp seamlessly.

SMS credits are purchased separately, with pricing varying by country. For US/Canada audiences, rates are competitive compared to standalone SMS platforms-often half the price of dedicated SMS services. WhatsApp is available on Professional and Enterprise plans, with the first 1,000 messages free each month.

The unified inbox approach means you can manage conversations across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat from one interface. This is genuinely powerful for businesses wanting to provide consistent multi-channel experiences.

Brevo also offers a live chat widget that you can embed on your website, with built-in chatbot features to handle common questions automatically. This level of integration is rare at Brevo's price point.

Mailchimp Multi-Channel

Mailchimp added SMS as an add-on feature on paid plans, but it's only available in select countries (primarily US and Canada). Credits are purchased in blocks that automatically renew monthly, and unused credits expire each month (they don't roll over).

WhatsApp isn't integrated in the same way as Brevo. While Mailchimp offers Facebook and Instagram ad integration, the social media capabilities are more limited compared to dedicated social media management tools.

Mailchimp does include social media post scheduling, which Brevo lacks. You can manage email and social campaigns in one place, which is convenient for small teams running multi-channel marketing.

However, for truly omnichannel automation (email > SMS > WhatsApp in one workflow), Brevo is ahead.

Winner: Brevo for genuine omnichannel automation with SMS, WhatsApp, and chat. Mailchimp for basic SMS and social media scheduling.

Customer Support: When You Need Help

Quality support can save you hours of frustration.

Mailchimp Support

Mailchimp provides faster, more responsive support overall. Email and live chat support are available 24/7 on paid plans, with generally quick response times. Premium plan users get phone support, which is valuable when you need immediate help with critical issues.

The knowledge base is extensive, with detailed articles, video tutorials, and guides covering virtually every feature. Many users find they can solve problems without contacting support thanks to the comprehensive self-service resources.

However, support quality can vary. Some users report excellent experiences, while others find support slow or unhelpful. Phone support is only available in English, which may be a limitation for international users.

Brevo Support

Brevo's support is primarily email-based on lower tiers, with slower response times compared to Mailchimp. This is a genuine weakness if you need quick answers or encounter urgent issues. Higher-tier plans get access to phone support and dedicated account managers.

The knowledge base is good and covers essential topics, but it's not as comprehensive as Mailchimp's. Some users report that support responses can be slow (taking days rather than hours), and getting issues resolved may require multiple back-and-forth exchanges.

For businesses that rely heavily on responsive support or prefer phone conversations, this is a notable disadvantage of Brevo.

Winner: Mailchimp for faster response times, 24/7 availability, and phone support on higher plans.

Advanced Features Comparison

Let's look at some additional features that might influence your decision.

Landing Pages

Both platforms offer landing page builders, but with different strengths.

Brevo's landing page builder is available on the Standard plan and higher. It's more intuitive and flexible than Mailchimp's, with built-in traffic tracking, a wider range of templates, and deeper branding options. Users report that it's easier to create high-converting landing pages in Brevo.

Mailchimp's landing page builder is available on all plans (including free) but is more basic. It covers the essentials for simple lead capture pages but lacks the depth of dedicated landing page tools or Brevo's builder.

Winner: Brevo for landing page functionality and ease of use.

A/B Testing

Both platforms offer A/B testing capabilities, but availability varies by plan.

Brevo includes A/B testing on the Standard plan ($18/month), allowing you to test subject lines, sender names, and content variations. The interface is straightforward, and you can set winner criteria based on opens or clicks.

Mailchimp offers A/B testing starting on the Essentials plan ($13/month) for subject lines and content. The Standard plan adds multivariate testing (testing multiple variables simultaneously), which is more sophisticated. Premium plans include predictive analytics to automatically select winning variants.

Winner: Mailchimp for more advanced multivariate testing on higher plans.

Forms and Signup Tools

Collecting email addresses effectively is critical for list growth.

Mailchimp offers embedded forms, pop-up forms, and landing pages. However, finding where to create forms isn't immediately obvious-it's nested under the Audience tab. Setup can be slightly fiddly, and not all forms are mobile responsive. When subscribers sign up, they're added to one audience (list) only-having them on multiple audiences means paying twice.

Brevo makes forms more accessible in the navigation. You can create embedded forms, pop-up forms, and landing pages easily. The standout feature is that subscribers can select which list(s) they want to join during signup (for example, based on interests), and having contacts on multiple lists doesn't cost extra. This flexibility is valuable for businesses with diverse content offerings.

Winner: Brevo for better multi-list subscription options and unlimited contacts across lists.

Ecommerce Features

For online stores, both platforms offer ecommerce-specific features.

Mailchimp excels here with deep ecommerce integrations, product recommendations in emails, abandoned cart automation (on Standard and higher), purchase-based segmentation, and comprehensive revenue tracking. The platform can automatically generate product recommendation emails based on browsing and purchase history.

Brevo offers ecommerce integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other platforms, plus abandoned cart emails and transactional order confirmations. However, the ecommerce features aren't as deeply integrated or automated as Mailchimp's.

Winner: Mailchimp for comprehensive ecommerce marketing capabilities.

Pros and Cons Summary

Brevo Pros

Brevo Cons

Mailchimp Pros

Mailchimp Cons

Who Should Choose Brevo?

Who Should Choose Mailchimp?

Migration and Switching Considerations

If you're considering switching from one platform to another, here's what to expect.

Switching from Mailchimp to Brevo

Many users report that the transition is seamless. Brevo offers import tools that work with Mailchimp exports. You can export your contacts from Mailchimp as CSV files and import them directly into Brevo without losing data.

User testimonials frequently mention finding Brevo "more user friendly and not as clunky" than Mailchimp. The cost savings are immediate-one reviewer noted that their subscription model "makes it a perfect option for any size company" because you don't worry about costs exploding as your database grows.

The biggest adjustment is usually getting used to where features are located in the interface. Automation workflows work similarly, so rebuilding existing automations in Brevo is straightforward. Templates will need to be recreated, but most businesses use custom designs anyway.

Switching from Brevo to Mailchimp

Moving from Brevo to Mailchimp is equally straightforward from a technical perspective. Export your contacts from Brevo and import them into Mailchimp audiences.

The main shock is usually the price increase, especially for businesses with large lists. You'll need to carefully manage your contacts to avoid paying for unsubscribed users-make sure to archive them in Mailchimp to keep costs down.

The benefit is access to Mailchimp's more extensive template library, advanced analytics, and broader integrations. If you were hitting limitations with Brevo's reporting or needed specific integrations, Mailchimp will likely solve those issues (at a cost).

Real User Experiences

What do actual users say about these platforms?

Brevo User Feedback

Positive reviews consistently mention: "What I liked most about Brevo is how incredibly easy it is to use," praising simplicity in campaign creation and automation. Users love the pricing model: "Their subscription model (emails sent, not number of people in your database) makes it a perfect option for any size company." The value proposition resonates: "Unlike Mailchimp, Brevo doesn't nickel-and-dime you for every extra contact or feature."

Negative feedback includes: Some users find the email templates "limited" and less attractive than competitors. Support can be "very slow" with users "struggling to get answers." A few users report occasional platform performance issues or slow loading times.

Mailchimp User Feedback

Positive reviews highlight: Users appreciate the "intuitive interface" and availability of tutorials. The email templates are consistently praised as "professional and visually appealing." The comprehensive analytics help users "understand campaign performance at a deeper level."

Negative feedback includes: Frequent complaints about pricing: "What happened to your pricing plans? 500+ contacts is $27/month?!" Users feel the "pricing is over the top" and find the "pricing chart very deceiving." Many report that Mailchimp's UI "makes no fucking sense about 50% of the time." Several users warn: "Don't go down the Mailchimp path. They'll burn you eventually, either through pricing, or through their increasingly terrible UI and product."

Alternative Options Worth Considering

Neither Brevo nor Mailchimp is perfect. Here are alternatives worth exploring:

ActiveCampaign: If you need more sophisticated automation than Brevo but don't want Mailchimp's pricing, ActiveCampaign offers powerful marketing automation with excellent deliverability. Pricing is between Brevo and Mailchimp.

MailerLite: Consistently ranks highest for deliverability (94.41% average over five test rounds). Offers more reasonable pricing than Mailchimp with simpler list management. The free plan includes automation workflows, landing pages, and survey tools.

Kit (formerly ConvertKit): Ideal for creators, bloggers, and course sellers. Focuses on simplicity and subscriber-first features. Pricing is contact-based like Mailchimp but with better features on lower tiers.

Omnisend: Best for ecommerce businesses, with features specifically designed for online stores. Offers powerful automation and segmentation at competitive prices. Free plan includes all features up to certain limits.

AWeber: Reliable, established provider with unlimited email sends on paid plans. Good for businesses wanting straightforward email marketing without complexity.

For more comprehensive comparisons, check out our best email marketing software guide.

The Bottom Line: Which Platform Should You Choose?

For most small to medium businesses, Brevo is the smarter choice. You get more features at dramatically lower prices, especially as your list grows. The free plan actually works for real business use cases, and the unlimited contacts model means you're never penalized for growing your audience.

The math is compelling: A business with 25,000 contacts sending 100,000 emails monthly would pay approximately $69/month with Brevo versus $270/month with Mailchimp. That's over $2,400 in annual savings-real money that could fund other growth initiatives.

Mailchimp makes sense if you specifically need their advanced automation features with predictive analytics, polished design tools with extensive template libraries, comprehensive ecommerce capabilities with revenue tracking, or an extensive integration library for niche software. You'll also benefit if responsive customer support is critical and you're willing to pay significantly more for these advantages.

However, for the majority of businesses-especially those with growing lists, budget constraints, or multi-channel marketing needs-Brevo delivers better value. The included transactional email, unlimited contacts, genuine free plan, and multi-channel automation capabilities make it hard to justify Mailchimp's premium pricing unless you have specific needs that only Mailchimp can address.

The pricing difference becomes extreme at scale. The larger your list grows, the more sense Brevo makes financially. Unless you're a large enterprise with substantial marketing budgets and highly specific requirements that only Mailchimp fulfills, Brevo offers a better combination of features, flexibility, and affordability.

Ready to make your choice? Both platforms offer free plans, so you can test them risk-free before committing. Start with Brevo if budget is a primary concern or if you have a large list. Try Mailchimp if design quality and advanced ecommerce features are your top priorities.

For more email marketing insights and comparisons, explore our other guides on email marketing platforms.