7 Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2023 (Free and Paid)
Mailchimp alternatives abound, and each specializes in a unique use case. Mailchimp has outstanding market saturation among small and medium-sized businesses, and in the mind of many people, they are the service to beat. Millions of customers use and love their email and digital marketing suite. This article will cover details about Mailchimp and the best email marketing services you can use to replace Mailchimp if you are looking elsewhere. You’ll probably find something you’ll be able to use for years.
Why You Should Consider Mailchimp Alternatives
Email and digital marketing have grown up. Niche providers are stepping up to offer small businesses appealing and valuable solutions in ways that Mailchimp may lag in because of their status as a “general” service provider. Just because it is the industry giant doesn’t mean you have to feel stuck with it. It offers a lot of great tools but may not be the best for your situation based on price and features.
About Mailchimp
Mailchimp got its start in 2001. Known for its popular marketing campaigns in the mid-2010s and generous free tier for new customers, Mailchimp quickly grew to hold the most market share among email marketing platforms.
In 2021, Intuit, the personal and business financial mega-corporation, purchased Mailchimp for ~$12 billion—demonstrating the value Mailchimp brings to its customers and the vast amount of small business data that Mailchimp brings to the table for Intuit.
Some have felt that Mailchimp’s gotten too generic and does too much for too many people. Others are uncomfortable with the new ownership and prefer a different provider instead. Whatever the reason or rationale, there are alternatives to Mailchimp worth looking into.
In this article, we’re exploring all the best Mailchimp alternatives. This means we’ll be focusing on email marketing a lot. But Mailchimp offers more than just email marketing, so there will be other digital marketing tools that are handy replacements for Mailchimp. If you have any questions about the services listed here, leave and comment and come back later for helpful thoughts and answers.
Best Mailchimp Alternatives
Lots of businesses use email marketing services differently, so there isn’t just one de facto alternative for Mailchimp. Here are 7 of the best:
1. Mailpoet
If you love WordPress, then you know why it’s unique. Having an infinitely extendable platform has its perks. And with MailPoet, WordPress just got a lot more power.
Competitively priced and as powerful as you’d expect your WordPress site to be, MailPoet is a genuine contender for your email marketing attention, especially if you like to keep things in-house as much as possible.
With MailPoet, you can manage your lists, craft beautiful emails, and set up segmentation—all on your WordPress installation. We love WordPress, so we love recommending MailPoet. It’s the best email marketing for WordPress websites.
Key Features:
- Option for SMTP mail service or from your server on the creator level
- Send emails when you publish new blog articles
- 50+ pre-designed templates
- WooCommerce integration to handle Woo emails
- Include dynamic content within your emails
- GDPR compliant
Best For:
If you are searching for an email marketing solution that operates within your WordPress installation, MailPoet is the ideal option. WordPress gives you the flexibility to create the solution you need and Mailpoet performs well.
Price: Plans start free for 1000 contacts, with paid plans starting at $10 a month
2. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a “Customer Experience Automation” (CXA) platform and software company. The company empowers businesses of all sizes to automate their customer experience through marketing automation, sales automation, and CRM. ActiveCampaign is often mentioned because of its powerful automation capabilities. And that automation extends beyond email marketing—while certainly including it. ActiveCampaign rightfully is named one of the best email marketing services out there.
The “Customer Experience” part of their description comes from the fact that ActiveCampaign’s tools are built for more than marketing. Its tools also empower sales with sale pipeline, lead scoring, and lead automation workflows. ActiveCampaing also helps support teams through CRM automation that helps keep tabs on customers and their needs. Automation plays a huge role in marketing where ActiveCampaign’s automations power email, SMS, website chat, and website personalization.
ActiveCampaign gives you a full-fledged CRM + Automation suite to power your business. If your head is spinning—it should be. It is big, and it is powerful. Startups and inexperienced marketers might have a long road ahead if they start with ActiveCampaign and are expected to utilize the full potential beyond the login portal.
See our full review of ActiveCampaign if you’re interested.
Key Features:
- Powerful integrations to unite your tech stack
- Website and behavior automation
- Automations and A/B tests
- Leverage an email builder with hundreds of free templates
- CRM and Sales Tools
Best For:
ActiveCampaign is a great option for businesses needing an all-in-one email marketing solution with excellent integration capabilities. It’s marketing automation, and CRM components are ideal for creating personalized campaigns and building strong customer relationships.
Price: Marketing plans start at $49 a month
3. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a worthy alternative to Mailchimp. They’ve been rivals since the beginning, and both command a lot of brand recognition. Constant Contact is a great platform for email marketing, offering pre-made templates, campaign reporting, and automation features. It integrates with WooCommerce and can segment customers based on purchase activity.
Using Constant Contact, you can send abandoned cart emails, collect online donations, and manage contacts with an ultra-simple UI. The service also includes ad functionality for multiple platforms, including Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram.
Although their Core plan lacks some functionality, such as automated emails, those features are available in Plus. Constant Contact starts at only $9.99 per month after a free trial.
Key Features:
- Integrates with WooCommerce and other eCommerce solutions
- Enables you to send emails based on customer behavior
- Integrates with tons of website platforms, including a Divi integration
- Integrates with Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram
- Generative AI writing for email copy and subject lines
- Phone support for all customers
Best For:
Constant Contact is an excellent email marketing platform for businesses seeking a user-friendly and straightforward solution that provides phone support from customer service agents. If you’re unsure which email marketing platform to use, Constant Contact is worth considering and is used by hundreds of thousands of small businesses.
Check out our dedicated article comparing Constant Contact vs Mailchimp.
Price: Plans start at $12 a month
4. ConvertKit
ConvertKit stands as an excellent alternative to Mailchimp for Creators and Solopreneurs. The toolset within is perfect for a one-person band with its hands in many things.
With ConvertKit, you can create landing pages, sell digital products, and sign up users to your email list. The platform provides all the tools for someone trying to make cash with a side hustle or one-person business. Its free account includes landing pages, forms, broadcasts (email campaigns), segmentation, and eCommerce (digital downloads). Paid tiers introduce 3rd party integrations, automations (including a visual builder), and customer support.
Although ConvertKit offers a free tier, you won’t get the most out of the service unless you opt for the Creator plan or higher. That option starts at $9 a month (paid yearly) for up to 300 subscribers.
Key Features:
- Create landing pages that can include eCommerce functionality
- Create email signup forms and send campaigns to your subscribers
- Design intricate automation workflows using flowcharts
Best For:
ConvertKit is a top choice for businesses that want an all-in-one solution for increasing conversions, including email marketing and a variety of other tools. With ConvertKit, you can build landing pages, create automated sequences, and segment your audience, all designed to help improve your overall conversion rates.
Price: Free and premium options are available, with the latter starting at $15 a month
5. Emma
This platform holds no punches back and doesn’t try to go the budget service provider route. Emma is built for medium to enterprise-sized businesses that have teams of email marketers. The cheapest plan starts at $99/mo for basic email marketing.
For that price, you get up to 10,000 contacts on your list and unlimited emails per month. Emma is particularly appealing to teams because of its built-in approval system. Users can be assigned various roles to create a hierarchal approval process. That means no emails are sent without the proper checks and balances.
With Emma, you get real-time reporting and analytics, segmentation, A/B testing, and dynamic content, all using its “Essentials” plan ($159/mo). They aren’t going after brand-new businesses or email marketers. But, for established brands with up to 10,000 contacts, Emme offers an exciting option.
Key Features:
- Easy form builder
- Monitor your campaigns with analytics
- Email approval workflows
- Segment and Automate email campaigns
- Include dynamic content within your emails
- Email and Phone Support for all customers
Best For:
Emma might be the perfect fit for you if you want an email marketing solution that is both premium and packed with features but still easy to use. It’s not the cheapest starting price, so smaller businesses and freelancers should look below for other services.
Price: Plans start at $99 a month
6. Buffer
Mailchimp provides impressive social media management, given that most people only associate email marketing with them. But, Buffer stands as a better all-around experience with social media management stands as a true alternative to Mailchimp in its own right.
With Buffer, business owners can connect their social profiles to their accounts and reap massive benefits for having everything “under one roof.” Buffer allows social managers to schedule and post to their various accounts. They can save time using the same content but tailoring it to specific platforms in a simple workflow. Buffer handles the posting.
More than posting, Buffer pulls back social data into your account for robust reporting and analytics. This shows you what channels are performing and what types of content. The beauty is that you also get cross-channel reporting to see your combined stats—giving you a picture of the whole enchilada, as they say.
If Buffer didn’t do enough for you yet, it handles engagement for all your channels. Reply to customers and fans that have commented on your posts. Buffer’s ML can categorize and prioritize incoming comments based on negative sentiment, questions, and purchase intent.
Key Features:
- Create “link in bio” web pages
- Publish, Engage, and Report on all social efforts
- Work in one place while working on Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and more
Best For:
Buffer is a great option for businesses looking for an all-in-one tool to manage their social media presence. While it doesn’t offer email marketing features, it excels at social media management, allowing you to easily schedule posts, track analytics, and engage with your followers across multiple platforms. With Buffer, you can streamline your social media strategy and save time by managing all of your accounts in one place.
Price: Free option available with the paid plans starting at $5 a month per channel
7. Omnisend
Omnisend is one of the best email marketing automation platforms for eCommerce businesses. It allows companies to send omnichannel marketing campaigns and segment their customers. What does that mean? Well, Omnisend’s automation works across email, SMS, push notifications, and ads. Omnisend’s segmentation works across the board to power a true omnichannel marketing initiative.
The best part is that it is an eCommerce data machine. It can pull all your product and store data and create dynamic customer segments that can be used across these various channels. Gone are the days of manually building lists and hoping you get them right.
Key Features:
- Omnichannel eCommerce campaigns
- Powerful forms
- Detailed cross-channel reporting
- Detailed segmentation options
Best For:
Omnisend is an ideal solution for businesses running large eCommerce stores that want to increase their conversion rates and average order value. With its powerful automation features, including abandoned cart recovery and product recommendations, Omnisend helps to drive sales and improve customer engagement. Omnisend’s advanced segmentation capabilities also allow you to create highly targeted campaigns and deliver personalized messaging to your audience. Overall, if you want to optimize your eCommerce store for success, Omnisend is an excellent choice.
Price: Free and premium options are available, with paid plans starting at $16 a month
Best Mailchimp Alternatives: Price Comparison
Mailchimp is a robust tool, but it can’t be for everybody. Many people are searching for true replacements and alternatives to Mailchimp that better suits them and their businesses. Many platforms on this list have specialties that Mailchimp can’t match. Here’s our list of the best replacements for Mailchimp and how they compare in price.
| Rank | Mailchimp Alternatives | Starting Price | Free Option | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Mailpoet | $10/mo | ✔️ | Get |
| 🥈 | ActiveCampaign | $49/mo | ❌ | Get |
| 🥉 | Constant Contact | $12/mo | ❌ | Get |
| 4 | ConvertKit | $15/mo | ✔️ | Get |
| 5 | Emma | $99/mo | ❌ | Get |
| 6 | Buffer | $6/mo | ✔️ | Get |
| 7 | Omnisend | $16/mo | ✔️ | Get |
What is The Best Mailchimp Alternative?
For avid WordPress users, we heartily recommend Mailpoet as being an excellent email marketing service and alternative to Mailchimp.
For anyone looking at SaaS email marketing services, we’d have you look at ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, and ConvertKit. Anyone running a large eCommerce operation would also do well to consider Omnisend.
Want to grow your email list like a pro? Check out these top email opt-in plugins that work with all the popular email marketing platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Featured Image via Nikolai V Titov / shutterstock.com
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