Mailchimp has been the default choice for email marketing for over a decade. But Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) has been quietly eating away at Mailchimp's small business market with better pricing and built-in SMS.
This comparison covers pricing, deliverability, automation, and ease of use to help you decide which platform scales better with your startup.
1. At a Glance
| Dimension | Mailchimp | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free (500 contacts, 1k/mo) | Free (300 emails/day) |
| Paid From | $13/mo (500 contacts) | $9/mo (5k emails) |
| SMS Marketing | ❌ Not available | ✅ Built-in |
| Automation | ⭐⭐⭐ Basic triggers | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Advanced workflows |
| Templates | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 100+ | ⭐⭐⭐ ~40 |
| Deliverability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent |
| Best For | Design newsletters | Automation & multi-channel |
2. Pricing
Mailchimp is contact-based: Free (500 contacts), paid from $13/mo. Brevo is volume-based: Free (300 emails/day), paid from $9/mo (5k emails, no contact limit). For growing lists, Brevo is significantly cheaper.
3. Core Features
Mailchimp excels at design — 100+ templates, AI-powered Creative Assistant. Brevo excels at automation + multi-channel — visual workflow builder, SMS, chat, CRM, and transactional emails all included.
4. Deliverability
Brevo has the edge with its own EU-based email infrastructure and dedicated IPs on all paid plans (97-99% deliverability). Mailchimp is also reliable but shared IPs are default.
5. Ease of Use
Mailchimp is more polished — intuitive builder, great onboarding. Brevo's interface is functional but less polished; more features means more menus.
6. Verdict
• You want the most beginner-friendly experience
• Your contact list is small (< 2,000) and you send frequently
• You need SMS + email in one platform
• Automation is key to your strategy
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. All reviews are based on actual usage and publicly available information.