6 Amazing MailChimp Alternatives for Email Marketing (2021)

There are 3.9 billion people using email online today, and the number keeps growing.

It’s probably no surprise, then, that email is one of the best ways for companies to connect with customers and nurture leads. The only problem?

Tracking your email list, sending messages at the right time, and even analyzing email response is pretty hard to do on your own.

That’s why email marketing tools exist to make the lives of business owners a little easier.

For a while, MailChimp was the number one name that came to mind whenever someone mentioned email marketing services. This innovative service came with an affordable pricing model, ease of use, and plenty of great features for companies of all sizes.

Unfortunately, changes to the MailChimp pricing model and the loss of a critical integration between MailChimp and Shopify have forced many users to start searching for an alternative.

That’s why you’re here. By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll have an insight into some of the best email marketing tools on the market, and how they compare to MailChimp.

What is MailChimp: The Benchmark

Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that promises to give you everything you need to nurture customers in one place. That includes email, websites, automation, and even direct mail postcards.

You can sign up to MailChimp for free, which is a big bonus for small businesses looking to get started on a budget. Additionally, MailChimp comes with a lot of handy tools to get you started.

There’s a drag-and-drop campaign builder, which you can use to plan out your automated email strategies.

What’s more, MailChimp offers plenty of easy templates, integrations, and add-ons too. You can even get help building a landing page.

Features include:

• Marketing CRM solution
• Audience dashboard
• Tags and segmentation
• Website building
• Insights and reports

Pricing: Starts with a freemium plan for limited features. Essentials starts at $9.99 for 500 contacts and go up from there, the Standard plan starts at $14.99 for 500 contacts, and the Premium plan is $299.00 a month.

MailChimp is great if:

You’re looking for a detailed reporting strategy and a great way to track your newsletter performance. Integrations with social media and Google analytics make examining your metrics easy.

Plus, if you’ve got a small email list, then you’ll be able to access the free plan. MailChimp also offers great support for good-looking emails with its drag-and-drop format.

You can even integrate MailChimp with your WordPress website.

MailChimp isn’t for you if:

You’re on a tight budget. Once you leave the restrictive freemium plan, the prices start to soar at MailChimp, particularly now that they’re based on your total number of contacts.

Everything from SendInBlue to MailerLite is a lot cheaper. What’s more, the automations from MailChimp just aren’t that great. They’re good for beginners, but you’ll need to look elsewhere for campaigns based on split tests and user behavior.

We’d also recommend leaving MailChimp behind if you want to manage multiple lists. If you place the same contact in two different lists on MailChimp, you’ll pay for that user twice.

Plus, MailChimp doesn’t offer a lot of support for building powerful landing pages with A/B testing either.

1. SendinBlue

SendinBlue stands out as one of the most affordable and easy to use alternatives to MailChimp on the market. The great thing about this service is how flexible it is. You can pick the tools that you need and pay just for those. There’s access to everything from landing pages, to email marketing, and SMS marketing too.

SendinBlue’s email marketing is packed with handy capabilities, like instant chat integrations, CRM for building stronger customer relations, marketing automations, and more. There’s also the option to build your own landing pages and Facebook ads.

SendinBlue features include:

• Facebook Ads
• Landing pages and signup forms
• Retargeting campaigns
• Marketing automation
• Segmentation and lists
• Transactional emails
• CRM integrations
• Email, SMS and chat messaging
• A/B testing
• Live support

Pricing:

Like MailChimp, SendinBlue comes with a free version for up to 300 emails a day. The “Lite” option starts at $25.00 for 40,000 emails a month, and there’s also Essential for $39, and Premium for $66. Enterprise users with more advanced needs can ask for a quote.

Where Does SendinBlue Beat MailChimp?

MailChimp might be more intuitive and easier to use than SendinBlue, with a much more efficient template editor, but SendinBlue exceeds elsewhere. SendinBlue is cheaper than MailChimp, the automation system is more advanced; the workflow editor is easy-to-use too.

2. GetResponse

GetResponse is one of the top solutions on the market for email automation. The product is designed to help you grow your audience, promote services, and strengthen your relationships with customers. With GetResponse, you can tap into a host of unique professional features, including a webinar editor and landing page creator.

GetResponse comes with ready-made automation templates if you’re not sure how to get started. What’s more, the automation tools are one of the most intuitive on the market.

There are also tons of extra tidbits in the form of smartphone apps and iStock photo access. This is a great tool for increasing your chances of regular orders.

Features include:

• Webinar support
• Landing pages
• Automation with pre-built templates
• Auto funnel features
• Plenty of great templates
• Ecommerce tools to convert your visitors
• Traffic reports and analytics
• Forms and surveys
• Account and campaign management
• Integrations with leading tools

Pricing:

Pricing for GetResponse starts at $15 per month for a basic selection of tools including autoresponders. For $49, you can access things like webinars, and an automation builder. For $99 per month, you get paid webinars, unlimited sales funnels, and more.

Where Does GetResponse Beat MailChimp?

GetResponse might not have a free version like MailChimp, and it’s analytics options aren’t as powerful either. However, GetResponse does provide far more powerful email marketing automation, allowing you to trigger more advanced sales conditions.

There’s A/B testing, and the option to easily move subscribers between lists. What’s more, the multimedia center from GetResponse includes access to everything from QR codes to stock photos.

3. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is a MailChimp alternative designed for digital marketers. This state-of-the-art product is all about transparency, providing plenty of useful information for businesses getting started online. Since the company launched in 2013, they’ve gained tends of thousands of subscribers.

ConvertKit offers some of the best email marketing automation software in the business, with easy-to-use drag and drop tools that are perfect for beginners.

There are endless tools to choose from, including tags and segments that allow you to send more personalized communications to your customers. ConvertKit even makes it easy to switch from another provider.

Features include:

• Email marketing automations
• Forms and landing pages
• Easy email designer
• Trigger-based emails
• Tags and segmentation
• Reporting and analytics
• Integrations with leading tools (like Shopify)
• Easy switching (migration)

Pricing:

Like MailChimp, ConvertKit provides a free account for beginners to start their creative projects. The free plan includes unlimited landing pages and support for up to 500 subscribers. The “Complete” package is $29 per month, with access to more than 1000 subscribers, automated sequences, reporting, and more.

Where Does ConvertKit Beat MailChimp?

ConvertKit isn’t as good as MailChimp when it comes to reporting and analytics, but since the arrival of its free plan, it has been able to compete more aggressively with MailChimp. ConvertKit makes email marketing automation easy and intuitive. The automation system is much easier to use than MailChimp’s, and the options for managing contacts and lists are more flexible too.

4. ConstantContact

ConstantContact is, by far, one of the most exciting options for email marketing when you’re in search of simplicity and user-friendliness. The company boasts more than 650,000 customers, making it one of the most popular marketing tools in the world.

The great thing about ConstantContact is that the service offers a lot more than you would typically get from most email providers, including surveys and social media campaigns.

You can also implement things like events management tools into your email strategy, thanks to Eventbrite. There’s a robust app marketplace with ConstantContact that gives you access to more than 400 apps and integrations.

Features of ConstantContact include:

• Emails optimized to your industry
• Endless integrations with leading tools
• No-code email design
• Drag and drop editing
• In-depth analytics and reporting
• Automated emails
• eCommerce email marketing
• Easy subscriber management
• Surveys and forms
• Social media integrations

Pricing:

Pricing for ConstantContact is a little higher than the costs you would pay elsewhere. For 500 subscribers, you’ll pay $50 per month. The price goes up depending on the number of subscribers you have, with a $95 price tag for 10,000.

Where Does ConstantContact Beat MailChimp?

ConstantContact doesn’t have the best pricing package on the market for those who are looking for something budget-friendly. There’s no free version like with MailChimp.

However, there are a lot of niche features that you can’t get elsewhere, including surveys, social media, and more. The deliverability rate for ConstantContact is great too.

5. AWeber

AWeber is often regarded as a classic email marketing tool, ideal for those that need reliable email. The company has an incredible campaign builder to offer, that’s perfect for beginners.

What’s more, AWeber offers more templates than virtually anyone else in the market. All templates come with different color palettes too.

You can use rudimentary popups to capture emails, but there’s no exit intent. Additionally, you can access various add-ons to take your email to the next level. AWeber even offers industry-leading deliverability.

Features include:

• Excellent autoresponder functionality
• More templates and themes than most providers
• Segmentation for your audience
• Thousands of stock photos
• Integrations with countless popular services
• Pop-ups and sign-up forms
• Industry-leading deliverability
• Easy-to-use email creation
• Simple email automation.

Pricing:

There’s a thirty-day free trial to get you started, then prices start at $19 per month for 400 subscribers, $29 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, and $49 per month for up to 5000 subscribers.

Where Does AWeber Beat MailChimp?

MailChimp beats AWeber with things like a free plan tier, and various advanced options for customization. However, AWeber is excellent if you’re looking for something very basic for your small business. The list management and sales tracking tools are also a lot more comprehensive from AWeber.

6. Campaign Monitor

Finally, Campaign Monitor might not be the cheapest MailChimp alternative on the market, but it’s excellent for those who are willing to pay extra for things like detailed automation. Segmentation through Campaign Monitor is excellent, which means that you can design more personalized messages to convert your readers.

With Campaign Monitor, you can easily personalize and upgrade your emails without having to know a lot about coding. Additionally, you’ll get an automation flow builder that’s on par with ConvertKit too.

All that along with a well-designed UI that’s great for beginners means that Campaign Monitor is a great choice for most.

Features include:

• Easy to use automations
• Customization throughout
• Mobile optimization
• Complete template management
• Excellent segmentation
• Lots of free templates
• Detailed analytics
• Visual journey designer
• Dynamic feature set

Pricing:

Pricing for Campaign Monitor starts with a basic option at $9 per month. You can upgrade to Unlimited for $29 per month, or Premier for $149 per month when you need to send more emails. Premier also comes with unlimited inbox previews, spam testing, and an email design consultant.

Where Does Campaign Monitor Beat MailChimp?

Campaign Monitor is excellent if you’re looking for focused automation and personalization. Although you’ll pay a little more for the advanced features from this company than you would for MailChimp, it may be worth the cost. Campaign Monitor is also excellent for beginners, thanks to its user—friendly interface.

Which is the Best MailChimp Alternative?

The best MailChimp alternative for your needs will depend on what you’re looking for as a company. If you need something affordable and easy to access for beginners, then SendinBlue is the top choice. SendInBlue is a lot cheaper than MailChimp, and the workflow editor will be easier to use if you’re a complete beginner.

Alternatively, if you’re willing to pay a little extra for advanced features that you can’t get elsewhere, ConstantContact is the top choice. ConstantContact comes with access to everything from social media integrations to advanced surveys to help capture leads.

What’s more, you get an excellent deliverability rate with ConstantContact too.

Which tool will you be switching to this year? Let us know in the comments below!