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Mailchimp alternatives: cheaper options at 1k–25k subscribers (2026)
Last verified against official pricing pages · USD, monthly billing, excluding tax
Prices change often. Every price here was checked against the platform's official pricing page on the date shown, but plans, promos and taxes vary. Always confirm on the official site before you buy or switch. Not financial advice.
Mailchimp prices by stored contacts, its free plan stops at 250 contacts, and automation flows start on Standard. Newsletter-focused tools often cost less at the same list size.
Short answer
- With automations, 5,000 subscribers: Mailchimp Essentials costs $75/mo. Cheapest alternative: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo (saves $46/mo, $552/yr).
- Basic newsletter, 5,000 subscribers: Mailchimp Essentials costs $75/mo. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $0/mo (saves $75/mo, $900/yr).
- Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included), 5,000 subscribers: Mailchimp has no option in our verified data. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $145/mo.
Try Buttondown Try EmailOctopus
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Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)
All alternatives at 5,000 subscribers (with automations)
Mailchimp Essentials: $75/mo. Cheapest fitting plan on each platform, monthly billing. Diff = monthly cost compared with Mailchimp (− = cheaper).
| # | Alternative and plan | Total /mo | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buttondown Paid (usage-based) Visit site | $29 | −$46 |
| 2 | EmailOctopus Pro Visit site | $31.50 | −$43.50 |
| 3 | Brevo Starter, limited Visit site · vs Mailchimp | $32 | −$43 |
| 4 | MailerLite Comfort Visit site · vs Mailchimp | $49 | −$26 |
| 5 | GetResponse Starter, limited Visit site · vs Mailchimp | $54 | −$21 |
| 6 | AWeber Lite, limited Visit site (paid link) · vs Mailchimp | $60 | −$15 |
| 7 | Constant Contact Lite, limited Visit site · vs Mailchimp | $80 | +$5 |
| 8 | Kit Creator Visit site · vs Mailchimp | $89 | +$14 |
| 9 | ActiveCampaign Starter Visit site · vs Mailchimp | $99 | +$24 |
| 10 | beehiiv Lite Visit site (paid link) · vs Mailchimp | $109 | +$34 |
Not available or not verified for this scenario: Ghost, Substack.
Cheapest alternative at each list size
With automations
Mailchimp plan used: Essentials.
| Subscribers | Mailchimp | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $26.50 | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | $26.50 |
| 2,500 | $45 | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | $45 |
| 5,000 | $75 | Buttondown $29 Paid (usage-based) | $46 |
| 10,000 | $110 | EmailOctopus $44.50 Pro | $65.50 |
| 25,000 | $270 | Brevo $82 Starter, limited | $188 |
Basic newsletter
Mailchimp plan used: Essentials.
| Subscribers | Mailchimp | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $26.50 | beehiiv $0 Free | $26.50 |
| 2,500 | $45 | beehiiv $0 Free | $45 |
| 5,000 | $75 | Kit $0 Free | $75 |
| 10,000 | $110 | Kit $0 Free | $110 |
| 25,000 | $270 | Substack $0 Free + 10% of paid revenue | $270 |
Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included)
Mailchimp has no option for this in our verified data (n/a).
| Subscribers | Mailchimp | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | n/a | Kit $29 Free | n/a |
| 2,500 | n/a | Kit $72.50 Free | n/a |
| 5,000 | n/a | Kit $145 Free | n/a |
| 10,000 | n/a | Kit $290 Free | n/a |
| 25,000 | n/a | Ghost $904 Publisher | n/a |
Cheapest plan on each platform that covers the list size and needs. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack and AWeber); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees. "limited" = feature capped on that plan.
Switching? Mailchimp → Buttondown cost · Mailchimp → EmailOctopus cost · Rank all platforms for your needs
What you'd give up
Cost isn't everything. What Mailchimp does well, from its official pages: Small businesses that want an all-round email marketing tool with automation flows (Standard and up) and are fine with contact-based pricing and overage billing.
- Priced by stored contacts (the peak in each billing period); each tier includes a monthly send limit of 10× (Essentials), 12× (Standard) or 15× (Premium) your contacts. source
- Going over the contact or send limit on a paid plan adds overage charges rather than pausing sending. source
- Free plan: 250 contacts and 500 emails/month (250/day), no automation flows, Mailchimp branding stays. source
- Annual billing is only available through sales (Standard and Premium, 10,000+ contacts). On 2026-10-20 the page offered 15% off the first 12 months at 10,000+ contacts. source
FAQ
What is the cheapest Mailchimp alternative?
With automations at 5,000 subscribers: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo vs Mailchimp $75/mo. Basic newsletter at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $0/mo vs Mailchimp $75/mo. Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included) at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $145/mo. Monthly billing, prices verified 2026-10-20.
Is Mailchimp more expensive than the alternatives?
For a newsletter with automations, at least one tracked platform is cheaper than Mailchimp at 5 of the 5 list sizes we checked (1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000). Cheaper is not always better: check the features you need on each platform page.
How much would I save by switching from Mailchimp?
Use the migration cost calculator with your own list size. At 5,000 subscribers (with automations), the cheapest alternative saves $46 a month.
Sources
- beehiiv pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Kit pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- MailerLite pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Ghost pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Buttondown pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Substack pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- EmailOctopus pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Brevo pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Mailchimp pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- AWeber pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Constant Contact pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- ActiveCampaign pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- GetResponse pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Stripe pricing (card-fee estimate)
- Stripe Billing pricing (0.7% on recurring payments)
More: Substack alternatives · beehiiv alternatives · Kit alternatives · Mailchimp pricing · best platform by use case · cheapest by list size