Brevo vs Mailchimp 2026: Which Email Platform Should Small Businesses Pick?
· Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and Mailchimp are the two most-recommended all-purpose email marketing platforms for small businesses in 2026 — but they price differently and bundle features differently in ways that matter once your list starts to grow. Mailchimp prices by contacts stored. Brevo prices by emails sent. Brevo includes transactional email, SMS, WhatsApp, and a basic CRM in the same account. Mailchimp wins on template polish and US e-commerce integration depth. This guide breaks down pricing, features, real use cases, and the questions that come up most.
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Read individual reviews: Brevo Review · Mailchimp Review.
TL;DR — Quick Verdict
Choose Brevo if…
- You have a growing list and want pricing that doesn't scale with contact count
- You need transactional email (order confirmations, password resets) and marketing in one tool
- You want SMS and WhatsApp marketing without extra integrations
- You're EU-based and want GDPR-native defaults
Choose Mailchimp if…
- You run a US-based e-commerce store with deep Shopify needs
- You want the most polished drag-drop email templates
- You want a mature, branded marketing platform with broad ecosystem support
- You have a smaller list (under 1,000 contacts) and value the polish
Both fall short if…
- You're a creator monetizing newsletters (use Kit)
- You need a full CRM with sales pipelines (use HubSpot or Pipedrive)
- You need true marketing automation with complex lead scoring (use ActiveCampaign)
Quick Recommendation
- Best free plan with unlimited contacts: Brevo Free — unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, transactional API, basic CRM.
- Best for US e-commerce stores under 5K contacts: Mailchimp Standard at $20/month — deepest Shopify integration.
- Best for growing lists past 5K contacts: Brevo Business at $18/month for 5,000 emails — pricing doesn't scale with list size.
- Best for small businesses sending both marketing and transactional email: Brevo Starter at $9/month — unified pricing for both.
- Best for European businesses with GDPR needs: Brevo Free or Starter — EU-native data residency.
Mailchimp prices by total contacts stored — perfect for small, slow-growing lists, painful as you scale. Brevo prices by emails sent per month — perfect for large lists with moderate send frequency, less optimal if you broadcast aggressively. Run both pricing calculators with your actual list size and weekly send schedule before deciding.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Category | Brevo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, transactional API | 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month |
| Entry-paid plan | Starter — $9/month for 5,000 emails | Essentials — $13/month for 500 contacts |
| Mid-tier plan | Business — $18/month for 5,000 emails | Standard — $20/month for 500 contacts |
| Pricing model | By emails sent (unlimited contacts) | By contacts stored |
| Transactional email | Included in every plan | Mandrill add-on (~$20/mo) |
| SMS marketing | Included, pay per SMS | Standard tier and above |
| WhatsApp marketing | Built-in | – |
| CRM | Built-in basic CRM | Marketing CRM (limited) |
| Live chat / Conversations | Brevo Conversations | – |
| Email template polish | Solid, fewer templates | 100+ templates, polished |
| Automation | Visual builder, Business unlimited | Customer Journeys, polished |
| E-commerce integration (US) | Shopify, WooCommerce | Deep Shopify, polished US e-comm |
| Landing pages | Business tier and above | Included on most plans |
| GDPR / EU data residency | EU-native (French company) | Available, US-based by default |
| Deliverability reputation | Strong, especially in EU | Strong, especially in US |
| Best for | Growing lists, EU businesses, transactional + marketing | US e-commerce, polish, small lists |
Legend: ✓ = strong native support, basic / limited = available but indirect, – = not available. Pricing is monthly billing. Source: brevo.com/pricing and mailchimp.com/pricing as of June 2026.
Pricing — The Full Picture
Brevo
- Free: $0. Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day (~9,000/month), email builder, marketing automation (limited to 2,000 contacts in workflow), transactional API, basic CRM, signup forms.
- Starter: $9/month for 5,000 emails. Removes daily send limit, no Brevo logo, basic reporting, A/B testing.
- Business: $18/month for 5,000 emails. Marketing automation (unlimited contacts in workflow), advanced reporting, send-time optimization, multi-user access, landing pages.
- BrevoPlus: Custom pricing. Enterprise security, SSO, customer success manager, custom send volumes.
- Pricing scales with monthly send volume, not contacts. 20K emails/month on Business = ~$29/month. 100K emails/month = ~$149/month. Add-ons: SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email volume.
Mailchimp
- Free: $0. Up to 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month, basic email templates, marketing CRM, 30 days of email support.
- Essentials: Starts at $13/month for 500 contacts. Email and SMS, all templates, multi-step Customer Journeys (limited), 24/7 email and chat support, A/B testing.
- Standard: Starts at $20/month for 500 contacts. Advanced Customer Journeys, retargeting ads, send-time optimization, content optimizer, dynamic content.
- Premium: Starts at $350/month for 10,000 contacts. Phone support, unlimited seats, advanced segmentation, comparative reporting.
- Pricing scales with contact count. 5,000 contacts on Standard = ~$75/month. 10,000 contacts on Standard = ~$110/month. Mandrill (transactional) sold separately.
Use Case: Local Service Business with 8,000 Customer Records
A local home-services business has 8,000 customer records, sends a monthly newsletter, occasional service reminders, and order confirmations (transactional).
Brevo Starter is the obvious value pick. 8,000 contacts × 1 newsletter/month + ~500 transactional emails = roughly 8,500 emails/month, well within Brevo Starter's 5K + small overage budget (or upgrade to Business). Total cost: ~$15-20/month. Mailchimp at 8,000 contacts on Essentials = $75/month + $20/month for Mandrill = ~$95/month. The business saves $70+/month with Brevo for the same functionality.
Mailchimp Standard is the upgrade pick if templates and US e-commerce features matter more than cost. If the business is also running paid social retargeting from Mailchimp's audience builder, the higher cost may be worth it.
Use Case: US Shopify Store with 3,000 Customers
An e-commerce jewelry store has 3,000 customers and subscribers on Shopify, runs abandoned-cart recovery, post-purchase flows, product recommendations, and quarterly campaigns.
Mailchimp Standard is the safer pick at this size. Native Shopify integration depth is meaningfully better than Brevo's — product sync, customer journey templates, and US e-commerce features are more refined. Total cost for 3,000 contacts on Standard: ~$50/month.
Brevo Business is the budget pick if cost matters more than polish. Brevo's Shopify integration covers the main needs (abandoned cart, post-purchase) with slightly less polish. Total cost for ~5K emails/month: $18/month — significantly cheaper, with transactional email (order confirmations) included.
Use Case: SaaS Startup Sending Marketing + Product Email
A SaaS startup with 4,000 trial sign-ups and 800 paying customers sends weekly product updates, onboarding sequences, and transactional emails (password resets, billing notifications, alerts).
Brevo wins decisively. Transactional email is included in every Brevo plan — the startup runs marketing and transactional from the same account with one API key. Marketing Automation handles onboarding sequences and re-engagement campaigns. Brevo Business at $18/month covers a comfortable send volume; transactional volume scales separately as needed. Total cost: ~$25-40/month.
Mailchimp Standard + Mandrill is significantly more expensive. Mailchimp at 4,800 contacts on Standard = ~$70/month + Mandrill at $20/month = $90/month, with a clunkier split between marketing and product email. Brevo saves ~$50-65/month and reduces operational complexity.
Hidden Costs and Friction Points
Brevo
- Daily send cap on Free. 300/day means a one-time blast to 500 subscribers exceeds the daily allowance.
- Template polish trails Mailchimp. Solid drag-drop builder, fewer pre-designed templates.
- Landing pages require Business tier. $18/month entry.
- SMS and WhatsApp pay-per-message. Volume costs accumulate.
Mailchimp
- Per-contact pricing scales steeply. 25K contacts on Standard = ~$285/month.
- Transactional requires Mandrill add-on. +$20/month minimum.
- Inactive subscribers count toward billing. List hygiene is critical.
- Daily sends are unlimited on paid plans — different model than Brevo.
Verdict
For most small businesses with growing lists, Brevo is the better value pick. The per-email pricing model, included transactional email, and bundled SMS/WhatsApp/CRM mean the all-in cost is meaningfully lower than the equivalent Mailchimp + Mandrill stack — typically 30-50% cheaper at moderate scale.
- If you have a small list under 1,000 contacts: Mailchimp Free or Essentials — at this size, the cost difference is small and Mailchimp's polish is real.
- If you have a list of 1K-10K+ contacts: Brevo Starter or Business — pricing model wins.
- If you run a US Shopify store: Mailchimp Standard — integration depth matters more than cost at this stage.
- If you need transactional email + marketing in one tool: Brevo — by a wide margin.
- If you're an EU-based business: Brevo's EU-native data residency simplifies GDPR documentation.
Looking for adjacent comparisons? See Mailchimp vs Kit (ConvertKit), our full Brevo review, and our full Mailchimp review. For more options, browse all marketing tools or all freelancer guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brevo or Mailchimp better for small businesses?
Depends on list size and feature mix. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is the value pick for businesses with large or fast-growing lists — its pricing is based on emails sent per month, not contacts stored, so a 30,000-subscriber list paying for 20K monthly sends costs the same as a 5,000-subscriber list with the same send volume. Brevo also bundles transactional email, SMS, WhatsApp, and a basic CRM into a single account. Mailchimp is the more polished, broader marketing platform — stronger templates, deeper e-commerce integration (especially with Shopify and WooCommerce in the US), and a more mature automation builder. For very small lists under 1,000 contacts, Mailchimp's pricing is comparable; above that, Brevo usually wins on price.
Why did Sendinblue rebrand to Brevo?
Sendinblue rebranded to Brevo in 2023 to reflect a broader product vision — adding deeper CRM, WhatsApp marketing, and conversations (live chat) under one brand. The transition was a name and visual refresh; all features, integrations, accounts, and pricing carried over unchanged. If you see Sendinblue and Brevo used interchangeably in 2026, they refer to the same company and product.
Which is cheaper, Brevo or Mailchimp?
Brevo is significantly cheaper for businesses with growing lists. Brevo Starter is $9/month for 5,000 emails (with unlimited contacts), Brevo Business is $18/month for 5,000 emails, BrevoPlus is custom. Mailchimp Essentials starts at $13/month for 500 contacts, Standard at $20/month for 500 contacts — and both scale up steeply as contact count grows. A list of 10,000 contacts on Mailchimp Standard runs about $110/month; on Brevo Business with 20,000 emails/month it's around $30-40/month. The trade-off: Mailchimp's per-contact pricing rewards small lists (under 1K), Brevo's per-email pricing rewards larger lists with moderate sending.
Does Brevo have a free plan?
Yes — Brevo Free is one of the most generous free plans in the email category. It includes unlimited contacts, 300 emails per day (~9,000/month), an email builder, marketing automation (limited), transactional email API, basic CRM, and signup forms. The 300/day cap is the binding constraint; if you send 600 emails to 600 subscribers, you've used the day's budget. For a business with a list of any size that sends roughly twice a week, Brevo Free works indefinitely. Compare to Mailchimp Free at 500 contacts and 1,000 sends/month.
Can Brevo replace Mailchimp for e-commerce?
For small e-commerce stores, yes — Brevo has direct integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and PrestaShop. Brevo's e-commerce automation covers abandoned cart, post-purchase flows, product recommendations, and transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping updates) under one platform. Mailchimp's e-commerce integration depth, particularly with Shopify, is slightly stronger — more refined product sync, better-developed customer journeys, and more US-market features. For US-based stores, Mailchimp is often the safer pick. For EU-based stores or stores with growing lists where cost matters, Brevo is the value pick.
Which has better automation?
Both are strong. Mailchimp's Customer Journeys offer visual flowcharts with branching logic, conditional waits, e-commerce-specific triggers, and content optimizer. Brevo's Marketing Automation builds visual workflows with triggers from events, attribute changes, and transactional API events; Business tier ($18/month) unlocks unlimited workflow runs. Brevo's automation feels less polished than Mailchimp's but covers similar functional ground. For typical small-business automation (welcome series, abandoned cart, win-back), both deliver. For complex multi-step customer journeys with deep e-commerce data, Mailchimp Standard is slightly more refined.
Which is better for transactional email (order confirmations, password resets)?
Brevo by default. Transactional email is included in every Brevo plan (Free includes the transactional API with the same 300/day limit as marketing). Mailchimp's transactional service runs as Mandrill, a separate paid add-on (~$20/month for 25K transactional emails). For a small business sending both marketing emails and transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets, account notifications), Brevo's unified platform is meaningfully cheaper and simpler than Mailchimp + Mandrill.
Is GDPR compliance easier with Brevo or Mailchimp?
Brevo is the simpler choice for EU-based businesses on GDPR grounds. Brevo is a French company (Paris-based), data is hosted in EU data centers by default, and the platform includes GDPR-specific tools (signup form compliance, double opt-in defaults, easy unsubscribe handling). Mailchimp is a US company (now part of Intuit) with both EU and US data centers; while Mailchimp is GDPR-compliant, EU-based businesses sometimes prefer Brevo for the simpler data-residency picture. For US-only businesses, this distinction doesn't matter.
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