The 10 best Mailchimp alternatives in 2026
SendFox is the best Mailchimp alternative if you send a newsletter and don't want a bill that grows every month. It's free for 1,000 contacts and $29 once for 5,000. Mailchimp is $100 a month at that size. Pick Kit if you grow through recommendations, MailerLite if you want Mailchimp's builder for less, and ActiveCampaign if you need a CRM.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. No card.
Mailchimp is a good product that got expensive. It's $100 a month at 5,000 contacts and $800 at 100,000, and it counts people who unsubscribed. I make SendFox, so it's listed first. Each tool below says what it does better than us.
| # | Tool | Best for | At 5,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SendFoxBest value | Newsletters on a budget | $29 once |
| 2 | Kit | Growing through recommendations | $89/mo |
| 3 | beehiiv | A newsletter run like a media business | $89/mo |
| 4 | MailerLite | Mailchimp's builder for half the price | $49/mo |
| 5 | EmailOctopus | The lowest monthly bill | $31.50/mo |
| 6 | Substack | Starting from zero, for free | $0 + 10% of paid |
| 7 | Ghost(Pro) | A real website with a newsletter | $75/mo |
| 8 | Flodesk | Beautiful emails | $59/mo |
| 9 | GetResponse | Webinars and sales funnels | $54/mo |
| 10 | ActiveCampaign | Sales teams that need a CRM | $145/mo |
01 SendFox Best value
- Price
- Free to 1,000 contacts. $29 once for 5,000. Pro from $19/month.
- Moves
- Imports from Mailchimp, Kit, Google Contacts or a CSV
I built SendFox for creators who send one good email a week and don't want to think about their email bill. You get a signup page, forms, a welcome automation, RSS-to-email and a subscriber referral program. It is not a CRM. If you need one, pick something else on this list.
Good
- Free for 1,000 contacts and 3,000 sends a month
- $29 once for 5,000 contacts and 300,000 total sends
- Smart Pages, RSS-to-email and referrals included
Not so good
- The $29 plan has a send pool. Weekly to 5,000 people uses it in about 13 months, then you move to Pro
- No CRM or sales pipeline
- Paid newsletters and removing branding need Pro
02
- Price
- $89/month at 5,000 (Creator). Free to 10,000 without automations.
Kit is the strongest creator tool on this list. The Recommendations network is a real way to grow and its sequences are excellent. You pay for that: $89 a month at 5,000 subscribers and $199 at 25,000. If growth through other newsletters matters more than the bill, pick Kit.
Good
- Recommendations network and an advertiser marketplace
- Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers
- Store for digital products built in
Not so good
- The first welcome sequence needs a paid plan
- Takes 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale
- Bills for subscribers who stopped opening
03
- Price
- $89/month at 5,000 (Scale). Launch is free to 2,500.
beehiiv is built for people who want to sell ads, run a website and grow through Boosts. If that is you, it is great. If you just send a weekly email, you are paying for a media company you will not use.
Good
- Ad Network and paid sponsorships
- Boosts and a recommendation network
- Website and podcast in the same place
Not so good
- Automations start on the paid Scale plan
- Removing beehiiv branding needs Max
04
- Price
- $49/month at 5,000 (Comfort).
The closest thing to Mailchimp that costs less. Drag-and-drop editor, landing pages, a website builder and 100+ integrations. $49 a month at 5,000 against Mailchimp's $100.
Good
- Website and landing page builder included
- Preference center and 100+ integrations
- Sells digital products and bookings
Not so good
- Free plan is now 250 subscribers
- Comfort caps you at 10 emails per subscriber a month
- Jumps to $89 at 10,000
05
- Price
- $31.50/month at 5,000 (Pro).
If you want to pay monthly and pay little, this is it. $31.50 a month at 5,000 subscribers. It is plain, and that is the point. Over three years it still adds up to more than a one-time plan.
Good
- Cheapest monthly price we found up to 50,000 subscribers
- Unlimited users and landing pages
Not so good
- Free plan puts EmailOctopus branding on your emails
- Free keeps only 30 days of reports
06
Substack
- Price
- Free to send. Keeps 10% of paid subscriptions.
Substack is free until you charge, then it keeps 10% forever. Its app and recommendations can bring you readers on day one, which no email tool can. The trade is that your readers live in Substack's app, next to other writers.
Good
- Discovery through the app and recommendations
- Free if you never charge
- Podcasts, video and a reader app included
Not so good
- 10% of paid subs plus Stripe fees, for as long as you publish
- Email tools are thin next to the rest of this list
07
Ghost(Pro)
- Price
- $75/month at 5,000 (Publisher).
Ghost is a publishing platform first. You get themes, a CMS and paid memberships with 0% payment fees. Worth it if the website matters. Overkill if the email is the product.
Good
- Full website and CMS
- 0% fees on paid memberships
- Posts on the open web through ActivityPub
Not so good
- Starter stops at 1,000 members
- You pay for hosting you might barely use
08
- Price
- $59/month at 5,000 (Pro).
The prettiest templates here. Flodesk used to be flat-priced, which was its big draw. That ended for new members in December 2025, and now it climbs with your list like everyone else.
Good
- Best-looking templates
- Checkout and sales pages built in
- Doesn't bill for unsubscribed or bounced contacts
Not so good
- Flat price retired in December 2025
- Free plan does not send email
- $389/month at 50,000
09
- Price
- $54/month at 5,000 (Starter).
GetResponse bundles webinars, funnels and abandoned-cart emails with email marketing. Useful if you sell online. Starter includes 1 custom automation, so you may outgrow it fast.
Good
- Webinars in the same tool
- Abandoned-cart emails and funnels
- Advertises a 50% nonprofit discount
Not so good
- Starter has 1 custom automation
- Free plan is 500 contacts with no autoresponders
10
- Price
- $145/month at 5,000 (Plus, paid yearly).
ActiveCampaign is the most powerful automation tool here, with a CRM, deal pipelines and lead scoring. If you have a sales team, it is the better tool. If you send a newsletter, you are paying for a CRM.
Good
- CRM and deal pipeline next to your email
- Branching automations and conditional content
- Predictive sending
Not so good
- Prices shown are yearly only
- New accounts are billed for every contact, whatever their status
What each costs as your list grows
| Tool (plan) | 5,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SendFox | $29 once | $39 | $79 | $79 | $149 |
Mailchimp
Standard |
$100 | n/a | n/a | $450 | $800 |
|
Creator |
$89 | $139 | $199 | $379 | $679 |
|
Scale |
$89 | $109 | $169 | $249 | $329 |
|
Comfort |
$49 | $89 | $179 | $319 | $439 |
|
Pro |
$31.50 | $44.50 | $94.50 | $178 | $345 |
|
Ghost(Pro)
Publisher |
$75 | $105 | $169 | $249 | $329 |
|
Pro |
$59 | $79 | $169 | $389 | $689 |
|
Starter |
$54 | $79 | $174 | $299 | $539 |
|
Plus (annual) |
$145 | $189 | $389 | $609 | n/a |
|
Substack
Free + 10% of paid subs |
$0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Monthly price by number of subscribers, monthly billing unless noted, read from each vendor's pricing page in September 2026. n/a means the vendor does not publish a price at that list size (custom quote or no tier there). SendFox: $29 once covers 5,000 contacts and 300,000 total sends; above that, Pro plans are monthly.
When Mailchimp is enough
Stay on Mailchimp if you run an online store and use its product recommendations and ecommerce integrations, if you rely on its big template library and popup forms, or if your team lives in its reports and switching would cost more than the bill.
Checked, but not ranked
AWeber. Fine, but $60 a month at 5,000 on Lite, which allows 1 list, 3 landing pages and 3 automations. There is no free plan on its pricing page. MailerLite does more for less. SendFox vs AWeber
Moosend. $48 a month at 5,000 with no free plan, just a 30-day trial. Good if you also need transactional email. Otherwise EmailOctopus is cheaper. SendFox vs Moosend
How we checked
Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, read on September 22, 2026, at monthly billing unless noted. We priced each tool at 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000 subscribers on the plan named in the table. The ranking is for one person sending a weekly newsletter. Nobody paid to be on this list. SendFox prices come straight from our billing system, so they match what you will pay.
How to switch
- Create a free SendFox account.
- Connect Mailchimp and import your audience, or upload a CSV.
- Swap your signup form for a SendFox form or Smart Page.
- Send your next email.
Questions people ask
What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?
For a creator sending a newsletter, SendFox: free for 1,000 contacts and $29 once for 5,000. If you grow through recommendations, Kit. If you want Mailchimp's builder for less, MailerLite. If you need a CRM, ActiveCampaign.
What is the cheapest alternative to Mailchimp?
At 5,000 subscribers, Mailchimp Standard is $100 a month. SendFox is $29 once. EmailOctopus is the cheapest monthly option at $31.50 a month.
Is there a free alternative to Mailchimp?
Yes. SendFox is free for 1,000 contacts and 3,000 sends a month. Kit is free to 10,000 subscribers without automations. Substack is free to send but keeps 10% of paid subscriptions.
Is Mailchimp still free?
Mailchimp Free stops at 250 contacts, and Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your plan.
Can I move my Mailchimp list to another tool?
Yes. SendFox connects to Mailchimp and imports your audience directly, or you can upload a CSV export.
Start free. Pay once if you grow.
Free for 1,000 contacts. $29 once for 5,000. Import from Mailchimp, Kit or a CSV in minutes.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. No card.
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