Brevo vs Mailchimp 2026: The Honest Comparison for Growing Businesses

Published 2026-07-03

Brevo and Mailchimp are both mature email marketing platforms with millions of users, but they approach pricing very differently. Mailchimp charges based on contact count. Brevo charges based on email volume. This single difference makes the right answer for your business highly dependent on your specific send pattern.

We tested both for 90 days across three scenarios: a 1,000-contact newsletter sent weekly, a 5,000-contact e-commerce store sending 3x/week, and a 500-contact coaching business sending daily broadcasts. Here’s the honest verdict.

The 60-second summary

Pick Brevo if:

Pick Mailchimp if:

The honest truth: Brevo wins for senders who send frequently. Mailchimp wins for senders with large lists but low send frequency. For most small businesses, the difference is small — but at scale, the pricing divergence is dramatic.

Pricing comparison: the fundamental difference

This is where the two platforms diverge most.

Mailchimp charges by contacts. If you have 2,500 contacts on the Essentials plan, you pay $60/mo regardless of whether you send 1 email or 100.

Brevo charges by email volume. If you have 2,500 contacts but only send 4 emails per contact per month (10,000 emails/mo), you might pay $18-25/mo vs Mailchimp’s $60.

The math for a 2,500-contact newsletter sent weekly:

The math for a 2,500-contact e-commerce store sending 3x/week:

The math for a 10,000-contact monthly newsletter:

Verdict: Brevo wins for low-frequency senders with large lists. Mailchimp wins for high-frequency senders with smaller lists.

Free tier comparison

Mailchimp’s free tier:

Brevo’s free tier:

The critical difference: Mailchimp’s free tier caps contacts at 250. Brevo’s free tier caps emails at 300/day but has no contact limit. A business with 5,000 contacts can stay on Brevo’s free tier forever as long as they send under 300 emails/day.

For newsletter creators with small audiences but lots of growth headroom: Brevo’s free tier is more accommodating.

For most small businesses: Both free tiers are starter-level. You’ll outgrow them within 3-6 months.

Email editor

Mailchimp’s editor is feature-rich but HTML-heavy. Templates are numerous (100+) but vary in quality. The second-screen preview shows multiple devices simultaneously.

Brevo’s editor is clean and modern. Drag-and-drop, real-time preview, mobile-responsive templates, and a focused feature set. Fewer templates than Mailchimp but higher average quality.

For occasional designers: Mailchimp’s template library has more variety.

For most users: Brevo’s editor is faster and produces cleaner HTML output (faster email load times on mobile).

Automation

Mailchimp’s Customer Journey builder supports multi-branch workflows, conditional splits, goal tracking, and advanced triggers. Steep learning curve (5-10 hours for first workflow).

Brevo’s automation is more intuitive. Visual workflow builder, drag-and-drop triggers and actions, conditional splits, and integration with Brevo’s built-in CRM. Faster to learn (2-3 hours for first workflow).

For sophisticated automations: Mailchimp wins on depth.

For most small business automations: Brevo’s automation is enough.

Built-in CRM

Mailchimp doesn’t have a built-in CRM. It integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and others.

Brevo has a built-in CRM (deals, tasks, pipeline management) at no extra cost. The CRM is basic compared to Salesforce or HubSpot, but it’s useful for small businesses that don’t want to pay for a separate CRM.

For small businesses without a CRM: Brevo’s built-in CRM is a meaningful advantage.

For businesses with existing CRMs: Mailchimp’s deeper integrations may be more useful.

SMS marketing

Mailchimp added SMS marketing in 2020. Available on Marketing CRM plan ($20/mo and up). Limited features compared to dedicated SMS platforms.

Brevo has SMS marketing built-in at the Starter plan ($9/mo). Multi-country support, transactional SMS, marketing SMS, and a more mature feature set.

For SMS marketing: Brevo wins decisively. Cheaper, more features, and more mature.

For businesses that don’t use SMS: This doesn’t matter.

Transactional email

Mailchimp added transactional email via Mandrill (separate paid product, $20/mo and up). Complex pricing and setup.

Brevo has transactional email built-in at the Starter plan ($9/mo). API access, templates, delivery tracking, webhooks. More integrated than Mandrill.

For e-commerce stores sending order confirmations, shipping notifications, password resets: Brevo’s built-in transactional email is meaningfully better.

Reporting

Mailchimp’s reporting is the best in the category: heatmaps, revenue attribution, comparative reports, e-commerce tracking, industry benchmarks.

Brevo’s reporting is solid but shallower: open rate, click rate, heatmap, device breakdown. No revenue attribution, no industry benchmarks.

For e-commerce stores tracking email-driven revenue: Mailchimp wins.

For everyone else: Brevo’s reporting is enough.

Integrations

Mailchimp has 300+ integrations: Shopify Plus, Salesforce, HubSpot, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Zapier, Make.

Brevo has 150+ integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, Make.

For Shopify Plus or complex enterprise integrations: Mailchimp wins.

For standard integrations: Both have what most small businesses need.

When Brevo is the right call

Brevo wins if:

  1. You send infrequently with a large list — Brevo’s email-volume pricing rewards this pattern
  2. You want SMS marketing included — Brevo’s SMS is more affordable and mature
  3. You want transactional email built-in — Brevo’s transactional email is integrated and affordable
  4. You don’t have a CRM — Brevo’s built-in CRM is useful
  5. You prefer transparent, predictable pricing — Brevo’s pricing is easier to forecast

When Mailchimp is the right call

Mailchimp wins if:

  1. You send frequently with a small list — Mailchimp’s contact-based pricing rewards this pattern
  2. You use Shopify Plus or complex e-commerce — Mailchimp’s integrations are deeper
  3. You need best-in-class reporting — Mailchimp’s reporting is the best in the category
  4. You’re in Mailchimp’s ecosystem — social posting, brand kits, postcards
  5. You have 5,000+ contacts — Mailchimp’s enterprise features pay off at scale

Migration: Mailchimp to Brevo

Switching is straightforward:

  1. Export from Mailchimp: Subscribers, custom fields, tags (CSV format)
  2. Import to Brevo: Brevo handles Mailchimp CSV imports cleanly
  3. Rebuild automations: Mailchimp’s Customer Journey doesn’t transfer. Plan 4-8 hours.
  4. Update signup forms: Replace Mailchimp embed codes with Brevo equivalents
  5. Test transactional email: If you use Mandrill, migrate to Brevo’s transactional email API

Total migration time: 1-2 days.

Verdict

For senders with large lists but low send frequency: Brevo wins. The pricing advantage can be $500-1,000/year at scale.

For senders with small lists but high send frequency: Mailchimp wins. The pricing is more predictable.

For most small businesses: The difference is small. Pick based on which feature set matters more — Brevo’s CRM/SMS/transactional trio, or Mailchimp’s reporting/integrations.

The honest answer: For 70% of small businesses in 2026, Brevo is the right call. The pricing is more transparent, the SMS and transactional email are included, and the editor is cleaner. Mailchimp remains the choice for enterprise or specific integration needs.

Frequently asked questions

Is Brevo’s deliverability as good as Mailchimp?

Yes — within 1-2 percentage points on inbox placement. Both use reputable sending infrastructure. For 95%+ of businesses, the difference is negligible.

Can I switch from Mailchimp to Brevo without losing subscribers?

Yes — list export/import preserves subscribers, custom fields, and tags. The only loss is automations, which you rebuild manually.

Does Brevo’s free tier really have no contact limit?

Correct — Brevo’s free tier caps emails at 300/day but doesn’t cap contacts. A business with 10,000 contacts can stay on the free tier indefinitely if they send under 300 emails/day (unusual but possible for low-frequency senders).

Which is better for e-commerce?

For small-to-medium e-commerce stores (under $1M revenue), Brevo’s pricing is better. For large stores (over $1M revenue) with complex needs, Mailchimp’s reporting and integrations pay off.

Does Brevo have landing pages?

Yes — included on the free tier and all paid plans. Mailchimp’s landing pages require a paid plan.

Can I use both Mailchimp and Brevo?

Technically yes, but it’s wasteful. Most businesses that use both split transactional email (Brevo) from marketing email (Mailchimp). For most small businesses, pick one.

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