About 10; min
Brevo charges per email sent. Mailchimp charges per contact stored. At 10,000 contacts, Brevo costs $25/month. Mailchimp costs $135/month. The pricing model difference saves — or costs — you thousands per year depending on how often you email your list. We calculated the crossover point.
All pricing verified March 2026.
Pricing Model: The Fundamental Difference
| Brevo | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing based on | Emails sent/month | Contacts stored |
| Contacts | Unlimited (all plans) | Counts toward plan limit |
| Unsubscribes count? | No (they don’t matter) | Yes (you pay for them) |
| Free plan | 300 emails/day (unlimited contacts) | 250 contacts, 500 emails/mo |
This matters more than any feature comparison. Brevo’s unlimited contacts means your list size never triggers a price increase. Mailchimp charges more as your list grows — even for contacts who unsubscribed.
Cost Comparison by Scenario
| Scenario | Brevo Business | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 contacts, weekly emails | $18/mo | $30/mo |
| 5,000 contacts, weekly emails | $25/mo | $100/mo |
| 10,000 contacts, weekly emails | $35/mo | $135/mo |
| 10,000 contacts, daily emails | $99/mo | $135/mo |
| 50,000 contacts, monthly newsletter | $35/mo | $385/mo |
$35 vs $385 /month at 50K contacts
50,000 contacts, monthly newsletter (50K emails)
Brevo Business: $35/month (20K email tier, send in batches)
Mailchimp Standard: $385/month (pays for 50K stored contacts)
Brevo saves $4,200/year. The larger your list and lower your frequency, the more Brevo saves.
When Mailchimp Is Actually Cheaper
Mailchimp wins when you have a small list but email frequently:
- 500 contacts, daily emails → Brevo needs higher email volume tier. Mailchimp’s $30/month covers unlimited sends to 500 contacts.
- Under 1,000 contacts → Mailchimp Essentials at $13/month is competitive with Brevo Starter at $9.
But these scenarios are rare. Most businesses have growing lists and send weekly or monthly — exactly where Brevo dominates.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Brevo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Email templates | Good | Better (100+ polished) |
| Automations | Good | Good (customer journeys) |
| CRM | Built-in (free) | Basic tags only |
| SMS marketing | Built-in | Add-on |
| WhatsApp campaigns | Yes | No |
| Transactional emails | Included | Separate product (Mandrill) |
| Landing pages | Yes | Yes |
| A/B testing | Yes | Yes (more options) |
| Ease of use | Good | Easier |
| Integrations | Good | More (everyone integrates with Mailchimp) |
Where Brevo Wins
- Price at scale — 5-10x cheaper for large lists. The per-email model rewards list growth.
- Built-in CRM — free deal pipeline with every plan. Mailchimp has no real CRM.
- SMS + WhatsApp — multi-channel messaging without additional tools.
- Transactional emails — order confirmations, password resets included. Mailchimp charges separately via Mandrill.
- No penalty for unsubscribes — unsubscribed contacts don’t count. Mailchimp charges for them until you manually archive.
Where Mailchimp Wins
- Templates — prettier emails out of the box. Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop builder produces more visually polished campaigns with less effort.
- Ease of use — Mailchimp’s interface is slightly more intuitive for beginners. Brevo works fine but takes a bit more exploration.
- Integrations — every SaaS tool has a “Connect to Mailchimp” button. Brevo’s integration list is growing but smaller.
- Brand recognition — recipients recognize the Mailchimp name. “Sent via Brevo” doesn’t carry the same trust signal (though most recipients don’t notice either way).
Who Should Pick What
Large list (5,000+ contacts): Brevo. The savings are too significant to ignore. $1,200-4,200/year cheaper than Mailchimp at the same list size.
Monthly newsletter to big list: Brevo. Unlimited contacts + pay only for sends = the cheapest option for low-frequency emailers.
Small list, want pretty emails: Mailchimp. Better templates and easier builder for lists under 2,500.
Need email + SMS + CRM: Brevo. All three included without separate subscriptions.
E-commerce (Shopify): Mailchimp or Klaviyo. Better Shopify integration and product recommendation features.
$0 budget: Brevo Free (300 emails/day, unlimited contacts) beats Mailchimp Free (250 contacts, 500 emails/month) by a wide margin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brevo as reliable as Mailchimp?
Deliverability is comparable in recent tests. Brevo has improved significantly since the Sendinblue days. Both deliver emails reliably to major providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo).
Can I switch from Mailchimp to Brevo?
Yes. Export contacts as CSV from Mailchimp, import to Brevo. Email templates and automations need to be rebuilt manually. Budget 2-3 days for migration.
All pricing verified March 2026.
