Choosing an email marketing platform can feel like a defining moment for your business. Two of the biggest names you’ll encounter are Brevo and Mailchimp. Both are powerful, popular, and promise to help you grow. But here’s the secret: they are built on fundamentally different philosophies. Choosing the wrong one can lead to frustration and unnecessary costs down the line.
This guide is here to provide a clear, unbiased, and in-depth comparison to help you make a confident choice. We’ll go beyond the surface-level features to explore their core differences, real-world costs, and ideal use cases, ensuring you select the platform that’s the perfect fit for your specific needs and budget.
Brevo vs. Mailchimp: Which is Better? (The Short Answer)
For those in a hurry, here’s our expert summary.
| Brevo | Mailchimp | |
| Winner | ⭐ Brevo | |
| Best For | All-in-one value, scalability, and businesses on a budget. | Simplicity, brand recognition, and basic newsletters. |
| Pricing Model | Based on email sends (unlimited contacts). | Based on contacts (penalizes list growth). |
| Free Plan | Very generous (Unlimited contacts, 9k emails/mo, CRM). | Very limited (500 contacts, 1k emails/mo). |
The Core Difference: All-in-One Platform vs. Email-First Tool
Before we dive into features, it’s crucial to understand this key distinction.
Mailchimp is an email-first tool. It started as the best and most user-friendly email newsletter service on the market, and it still excels at that. Over time, it has added other features like a CRM and landing pages, but they often feel like separate products bolted onto the core email service.
Brevo, on the other hand, was built from the ground up to be an all-in-one platform. Its philosophy is to unify your marketing and sales tools into a single, seamless dashboard. The email marketing, CRM, automation, and live chat are all part of one integrated system, designed to work together from day one.
Pricing & Value: A Head-to-Head Cost Comparison
This is where the difference between the two platforms becomes most apparent.
- Brevo’s Pricing (Send-Based): Brevo’s plans are primarily based on the number of emails you send per month. Critically, every plan, including the free one, allows you to store unlimited contacts. This is a massive advantage, as you are never punished for growing your audience.
- Mailchimp’s Pricing (Contact-Based): Mailchimp’s plans are based on the number of contacts in your list. This means your monthly bill automatically increases as you gain more subscribers, even if you don’t send more emails.
Let’s look at a “True Cost” scenario for a growing business with 5,000 contacts that sends four newsletters per month (20,000 emails).
| Platform | Plan Required | Estimated Monthly Cost | Notes |
| Brevo | Starter | ~$25 | Includes automation and unlimited contacts. |
| Mailchimp | Standard | ~$85 | Required for automation features at this scale. |
(Note: Prices are estimates for 2025 and can vary. This is for comparison purposes.)
The difference is clear. For a growing business, Brevo’s pricing model is significantly more affordable and predictable.
Feature Showdown: Email Marketing, Automation, and More
Email Editors & Templates
Both platforms offer excellent, user-friendly drag-and-drop email editors. Mailchimp has long been praised for its beautiful templates and polished design experience. However, Brevo has caught up significantly, offering a vast library of modern templates and an editor that is just as intuitive and powerful. For email design, it’s a very close call, with a slight edge to Mailchimp for absolute beginners due to its hyper-simplified interface.
Marketing Automation
Here, Brevo takes a clear lead. Brevo’s visual workflow builder is available on its free plan (up to 2,000 contacts), allowing you to create multi-step welcome series and other automated journeys from day one. Mailchimp’s automation capabilities are much more limited on its free and basic plans; to get access to its full, multi-step workflow builder, you need to be on its more expensive “Standard” plan.
Beyond Email: Comparing the “Extras”
This is where Brevo’s all-in-one philosophy creates a massive gap between the two platforms.
| Feature | Brevo | Mailchimp |
| Built-in CRM | ✅ Yes, on all plans | ❌ No, requires a separate, paid plan |
| Landing Pages | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes, but with limits on cheaper plans |
| Live Chat | ✅ Yes, on all plans | ❌ No, requires third-party integration |
| Transactional Email | ✅ Yes, with a high send limit | ✅ Yes, but as a paid add-on (Mandrill) |
Pros and Cons: An Honest Look
Brevo
- Pros: Incredible value for money, generous free plan with unlimited contacts, true all-in-one platform (CRM, Chat included), advanced automation on cheaper plans.
- Cons: The sheer number of features can feel slightly overwhelming for absolute beginners.
Mailchimp
- Pros: Extremely user-friendly interface, beautiful templates, strong brand recognition.
- Cons: Very expensive as your list grows, limited free plan, core features like CRM and advanced automation are locked behind expensive tiers.
If you want to compare brevo with 10 other alternatives, Read this article.
The Final Verdict: Who Should Choose Brevo and Who Should Choose Mailchimp?
Choose Brevo If…
You are a budget-conscious small business, startup, or e-commerce store that wants a powerful, scalable platform. If you plan to grow your email list and want your marketing, sales, and support tools to work together seamlessly, Brevo is the clear winner.
Choose Mailchimp If…
Your primary need is sending simple, beautifully designed newsletters, and you have a small, relatively static contact list. If you value a very polished user experience for basic tasks and have the budget for it, Mailchimp is a solid choice.
Conclusion: Making the Right Choice for Your Business
While Mailchimp built its legacy on being a great email tool, Brevo has built its future on being a great business tool. For growing businesses, the choice is clear. Brevo offers better value, a wider and more integrated feature set, and a pricing model that supports your growth instead of penalizing it.
Common Questions:
1. Is Brevo’s free plan really better than Mailchimp’s? Yes, for most growing businesses, Brevo’s free plan is significantly better. It allows for unlimited contacts and 9,000 emails per month, and includes a full CRM and marketing automation. Mailchimp’s free plan is much more limited, capping you at 500 contacts and 1,000 emails per month.
2. Is it difficult to switch from Mailchimp to Brevo? No, the process is quite straightforward. Brevo has a simple contact import feature that allows you to upload a CSV file of your subscribers directly from Mailchimp. Most users can migrate their list and set up their first campaign in under an hour.
3. Which is cheaper for a small business, Brevo or Mailchimp? For businesses that are actively growing their email list, Brevo is almost always cheaper. This is because Brevo’s pricing is based on the number of emails you send, while Mailchimp’s is based on the number of contacts you have, which can become expensive very quickly.
4. Does Brevo have a built-in CRM like Mailchimp? Brevo includes a full, integrated CRM on all its plans, including the free one. Mailchimp’s CRM is a separate product that is not as seamlessly integrated into its core email marketing platform and requires a higher-tier plan for full functionality.
5. For automation, is Brevo or Mailchimp more powerful? Brevo offers more powerful and accessible automation. You can build multi-step, complex workflows on Brevo’s free and entry-level paid plans. To get comparable automation features in Mailchimp, you typically need to upgrade to their more expensive “Standard” plan.
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