Brevo and Mailchimp both sit in the email marketing category, which is the first thing to note about this comparison: the head-to-head is about which tool earns the seat. On the 8020 rubric, Brevo scores 70 against Mailchimp at 68. The gap is meaningful on some dimensions and narrow on others — the rest of this page explains exactly where.
What's the real difference between Brevo and Mailchimp?
Brevo is built for budget-conscious teams with large contact lists. Mailchimp is built for small businesses sending one newsletter a week. The tools overlap on surface features but diverge on the workflow each is designed around — Brevo optimises for send-based pricing so unlimited contacts cost nothing extra, while Mailchimp optimises for drag-and-drop email builder with 100+ pre-built templates.
Brevo's positioning: Pricing by emails sent rather than contacts stored, which makes Brevo dramatically cheaper for teams with large lists, plus native SMS and WhatsApp in the same platform — the budget pick when contact count drives competitors' bills sky-high.
Mailchimp's positioning: The largest brand name in email marketing and the most accessible free tier — but Intuit ownership has slowed product development as rivals pulled ahead on automation depth.
The 8020 rubric weighs four things — value for money (30%), depth and power (30%), time to results (25%), and ecosystem (15%). Brevo scores 74/71/72/79 on those dimensions; Mailchimp scores 66/72/68/73. The biggest spread is on value for money — see the table above.
When should you pick Brevo?
Pick Brevo when budget-conscious teams with large contact lists is the job that has to be done well. Its free tier covers budget-conscious teams with large contact lists without a credit card, and the 8020 Score of 70 reflects how well it executes against its rubric.
Brevo is the right call when:
- Budget-conscious teams with large contact lists.
- Businesses needing email plus SMS in one tool.
- Small teams sending transactional and marketing email together.
- You want to evaluate it before committing budget — the free tier is real, not a teaser.
- Your stack already includes one of the 6 platforms it integrates with.
Brevo's standout capabilities — verified per the vendor's published specs (May 2026) — include send-based pricing so unlimited contacts cost nothing extra, email plus native sms and whatsapp campaigns in one platform, transactional email and sms api for app-triggered messages. These are the features that earn the Strong tier on the rubric.
When should you pick Mailchimp?
Pick Mailchimp when small businesses sending one newsletter a week is the job that has to be done well. Its free tier covers small businesses sending one newsletter a week without a credit card, and the 8020 Score of 68 reflects how well it executes against its rubric.
Mailchimp is the right call when:
- Small businesses sending one newsletter a week.
- Teams migrating off basic list tools.
- Non-profits needing a recognizable brand.
- You want to evaluate it before committing budget — the free tier is real, not a teaser.
- Your stack already includes one of the 6 platforms it integrates with.
Mailchimp's standout capabilities — verified per the vendor's published specs (May 2026) — include drag-and-drop email builder with 100+ pre-built templates, audience segmentation by tags, purchase history, and behavior, a/b testing for subject lines, send times, and content. These are the features that earn the Situational tier on the rubric.
How much do Brevo and Mailchimp cost?
Brevo starts at $9 per user per month on a freemium (free tier + paid plans) model. Mailchimp starts at $13 per user per month on a freemium (free tier + paid plans) model. Brevo has the lower entry price. Pricing verified May 2026.
Brevo: Free tier available. Lowest paid plan: $9/user/mo. Pricing model: freemium (free tier + paid plans). Mailchimp: Free tier available. Lowest paid plan: $13/user/mo. Pricing model: freemium (free tier + paid plans).
Entry pricing only tells you where the meter starts. Real spend scales with seats, usage limits, and the plan tier where the features you actually need become available. Check each vendor's pricing page for the tier that matches your team size — and verify it matches our last-verified date before signing.
Brevo — strengths and trade-offs
What Brevo does well, where it falls short. Both lists draw from our hands-on testing against the Strong criteria. The full review is on the Brevo profile.
Strengths
- Pricing by sends, not contacts, makes large lists dramatically cheaper than rivals
- Free tier allows unlimited contacts — only the daily send is capped
- Native SMS and WhatsApp alongside email in one platform
- Transactional and marketing email share one tool, simplifying the stack
- European data hosting appeals to GDPR-sensitive businesses
Trade-offs
- Automation is less sophisticated than ActiveCampaign's branching builder
- Free tier's 300-emails-per-day cap rules out larger campaigns
- Template editor and design tools feel less polished than Mailchimp's
- Deliverability on shared IPs can lag the premium platforms
- Support response times on lower tiers are slower than competitors
Mailchimp — strengths and trade-offs
What Mailchimp does well, where it falls short. Both lists draw from our hands-on testing against the Situational criteria. The full review is on the Mailchimp profile.
Strengths
- Free tier supports up to 500 contacts — the most generous entry point in the category
- Name recognition means clients and stakeholders trust the platform immediately
- Template library is large and polished enough to skip a designer for basic sends
- Intuit ecosystem integration is useful if you already use QuickBooks
Trade-offs
- Pricing scales aggressively past 500 contacts — costs exceed Klaviyo for ecommerce use cases at 10K+ lists
- Automation builder is more limited than Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign at every comparable price point
- Intuit acquisition in 2021 ($12B) shifted product focus toward small-business finance, diluting email-first focus
- Deliverability rates have slipped behind Klaviyo on ecommerce-domain sends
What are the alternatives to Brevo and Mailchimp?
If neither Brevo nor Mailchimp is the right fit, the closest alternatives are the other tools in the email marketing category. Both lists are ranked by 8020 Score — start with the top of the relevant category and work down.
Brevo alternatives we cover: Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign.
Mailchimp alternatives we cover: Klaviyo, Brevo, Kit (ConvertKit).
Frequently asked questions
Is Brevo or Mailchimp better overall?
Neither is strictly better — they serve different jobs. Brevo takes the 8020 composite (70 vs 68) on the rubric, while Mailchimp earns its tier (Situational) when its specific strengths match your situation. The decision turns on the four dimensions in the table above.
How much do Brevo and Mailchimp cost?
Brevo starts at $9 per user per month on a freemium (free tier + paid plans) model; Mailchimp starts at $13 per user per month on a freemium (free tier + paid plans) model. Brevo has a free tier; Mailchimp has a free tier. Pricing verified May 2026.
Does Brevo integrate with the same tools as Mailchimp?
Brevo lists 6 verified integrations in our directory; Mailchimp lists 6. Both connect to the major platforms most teams already use. Specific integration availability depends on plan tier — see each tool profile for the full integration list.
Can Brevo replace Mailchimp?
Only if your use case maps to Brevo's strengths. Pricing by emails sent rather than contacts stored, which makes Brevo dramatically cheaper for teams with large lists, plus native SMS and WhatsApp in the same platform — the budge… If Mailchimp's specific job is your primary need, it earns its seat.
Which has the better free tier, Brevo or Mailchimp?
Both Brevo and Mailchimp ship a free tier. Brevo's free tier suits budget-conscious teams with large contact lists; Mailchimp's suits small businesses sending one newsletter a week. Specific limits are listed on each vendor's pricing page.
