How Much Does Mailchimp Cost? Mailchimp Free vs Paid Plans vs Pay As You Go

Have you ever wondered “How much does Mailchimp cost”?

Mailchimp is the world’s largest marketing automation platform. It’s like a second brain that helps millions of customers -from small e-commerce shops to big online retailers – find their audience and engage their customers and build their brand.

They have a free option and 3 flexible plans which range from $9.99 – $299 per month. The main difference between these plans includes the number of contacts and audiences you’re allowed to have, monthly email sends, seats, advanced features and more.

Prices are in $USD

MailChimp also features pay as you go pricing system where you’ll just pay for the number of emails that you send. This plan comes with the same features as the monthly MailChimp plans.

Now, let us have a closer look at their prices:

How Much Does Mailchimp Cost?

Mailchimp Free Plan

You can start using Mailchimp for free using their generously provided complimentary plan which includes good features for starters.
Please note that this plan is limited to 2,000 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month. If you exceed these, you’ll have to subscribe to their monthly plan or email credits (pay as you go). Keep in mind that when sending emails, a Mailchimp self-promoting badge will appear in your campaign.

Mailchimp Pay As You Go Plans

Like your prepaid phone setup, Mailchimp allows you to only pay for the number of emails you send. They were previously known to offer credits that ‘never expire’, however, they have recently changed it and now credits expire after 12 months.

Mailchimp Pay as you go Pricing

Mailchimp’s Monthly Paid Plans

The good thing about a monthly subscription is that you’ll never run out of credits. However, it is important to note that you will incur additional charges if you go beyond your plan’s limit so always be aware and keep an eye on this. As your business grows, your needs will change, make sure to change your plan in advance, if needed.

Mailchimp’s Plan Comparison

1. Essential Plan ($9.99): If by any chance, the Mailchimp free plan doesn’t suite you, the Essential plan is the cheapest among the 3 paid plans that Mailchimp offers. It has everything that the free plan has plus these advantages:

• Restriction: Maximum of 50,000 contacts, 3 audiences/lists and a limit of 500,000 emails per month.
• Mailchimp’s delivery by timezone
• Chat and email support
• Access to all Mailchimp email templates
• Mailchimp branding will disappear

2. Standard Plan ($14.99): If the Essential plan still doesn’t suffice your needs, you may want to consider getting the Standard plan, which has everything included in the Essential plan, plus these features:

• Restriction: 100,000 contacts, 5 audiences and 1.2 million emails per month.
• Advanced CRM features
• Delivery by timezone and send time optimization
• Ability to import your own HTML templates
• Retargeting Facebook, Google and Instagram ads.
• More sophisticated workflows

3. Premium Plan ($299): This premium plan has a costly price tag if you plan to upgrade from the standard plan which is only $14.99 per month. Features include:

• Unlimited users
• Multivariate testing
• Comparative reports
• Advanced Segmentation

Is the premium plan worth it? I personally don’t think so. Unless you badly need the multivariate testing and comparative reports. For its price, I highly suggest considering other alternatives

Which Plan Should I Get?

After knowing how much does Mailchimp cost, for you to choose the best plan for you, you must know your needs first. Know how many contacts and audience you have and how many emails you’ll be sending before signing up.

If you only have less than 2,000 contacts on your list (including unsubscribed ones) and you don’t mind not having dedicated support and a self-promoting badge on your campaign, then I suggest utilizing Mailchimp’s free plan.

If the free plan is not enough for your contact list and you’re hesitating to sign up for a plan because you only send out campaigns once in a while then you can go for Mailchimp’s pay as you go plan. This way, you’ll only get charged depending on your usage.

If you frequently send out campaigns and the number of your contacts is beyond the limits of the free plan, then you may get either the essential or standard plan. Since the difference between the two plans is only $5, consider upgrading to the standard plan because of its advanced features (if you plan of utilizing them).

I personally do not suggest getting the premium plan because it is expensive. I honestly think it’s not worth the price. I would rather suggest other options if you are only planning to get the premium plan because you have a large contact list.