Mailchimp's free tier now caps at 500 contacts with 1,000 sends per month, and paid Essentials plans start at $13/month. Competitors like MailerLite and Brevo give you 3-5x more free volume and better automation at zero cost. Here are the best free Mailchimp alternatives.
| Alternative | Price | Best For | No Signup? |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Free (1,000 subscribers) | Newsletters and landing pages | Account needed |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | Free (300 emails/day) | Unlimited contacts | Account needed |
| SendPulse | Free (500 subscribers) | Multi-channel campaigns | Account needed |
| Benchmark Email | Free (500 subscribers) | Simple campaigns | Account needed |
MailerLite's free plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month - 12x Mailchimp's free send volume - with a drag-and-drop builder, automation, landing pages, and a newsletter editor. It is the closest and most generous Mailchimp replacement.
Brevo's free plan allows unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day - about 9,000 per month - plus SMS credits, a visual automation builder, and transactional email API access. Unlimited contacts alone beats Mailchimp's 500-contact free cap.
SendPulse offers 500 free subscribers with 15,000 emails per month, plus push notifications, chatbots, and SMS in one platform. The free tier is generous enough for small shops and creators to run full multi-channel campaigns.
Benchmark Email's free plan includes 500 contacts, 3,500 emails per month, templates, and basic automation. It is a solid choice if you want a straightforward, Mailchimp-style editor without limits on your list growth strategy.
Mailchimp costs $13-20/month (Essentials). That is $156+/year every year — money that could go toward building an AI-powered income stream instead. Our case studies show that you can build complete revenue-generating systems using only free tools.
| Option | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | 5-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | $13-20 | $156-240 | $780-1,200 |
| Free Alternatives | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Savings | $156+/year/year saved | ||
The best free alternative to Mailchimp depends on your needs. MailerLite is ideal for newsletters and landing pages. Brevo (Sendinblue) is ideal for unlimited contacts. SendPulse is ideal for multi-channel campaigns. All of these alternatives are free or have generous free tiers.
Mailchimp costs $13-20/month (Essentials). For most individual users and small projects, the free alternatives listed here provide 80-100% of the functionality at zero cost. Teams with complex collaboration needs may find the paid version worthwhile, but solo creators and small businesses can save hundreds per year.
Yes. The alternatives we list are production-ready tools used by millions. Most people switching from Mailchimp find that 2-3 free tools combined cover all their needs, often with better specialised features than the all-in-one paid product.
Yes. Every alternative listed is a well-established tool with active development, large user bases, and transparent privacy policies. Open-source options like those from Hugging Face and Ollama are additionally auditable — you can inspect the code yourself.
Switching from Mailchimp ($13-20/month (Essentials)) to free alternatives saves you $156+/year per year. Over 5 years, that is enough to fund a side business or invest in other tools.
Browse All Free Alternatives →