The Fundamental Billing Difference
This comparison comes down to one question: do you have more contacts than you email regularly?
Mailchimp charges based on how many contacts you store. Brevo charges based on how many emails you send. For businesses with a large contact list that only emails a subset regularly, Brevo can be dramatically cheaper. For businesses with a small list that emails frequently, the difference narrows or reverses.
Brevo billing model
Pay per emails sent. Store unlimited contacts for free. Standard plan: $18/mo for 5,000 emails/month.
Mailchimp billing model
Pay per contacts stored. Standard plan: $20/mo for 500 contacts (6,000 sends/mo).
Side-by-Side Pricing
| Plan | Brevo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 — 100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day, Brevo branding | $0 — 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo, limited automations |
| Entry paid | Starter $9/mo ($108/yr) — 5,000 emails/mo, no daily limit | Essentials $13/mo ($156/yr) — 500 contacts, 5,000 sends/mo |
| Standard | Standard $18/mo ($216/yr) — 5,000 emails/mo, automation, A/B testing | Standard $20/mo ($240/yr) — 500 contacts, 6,000 sends/mo, advanced automations |
| Professional | Professional $499/mo ($5,988/yr) — 150,000+ emails, dedicated IP | Premium $350/mo ($4,200/yr) — 10,000 contacts, 150,000 sends/mo, phone support |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | No separate enterprise tier |
Brevo's free tier allows 100,000 contacts (300 emails/day). Mailchimp's free tier caps at 250 contacts. The free tier gap alone makes Brevo the obvious starter choice for large-list businesses.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Brevo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Email editor | Functional, improving | Industry-leading drag-and-drop |
| SMS marketing | Built-in — SMS campaigns native | Available via add-on |
| WhatsApp campaigns | Yes — native | No |
| CRM | Built-in CRM included | Audience management (not a true CRM) |
| Transactional email | Yes — SMTP relay included | Mandrill add-on (separate pricing) |
| Live chat widget | Yes — built-in | No |
| E-commerce integrations | Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop | Shopify, WooCommerce, Square — deeper |
| Template library | Smaller, simpler | Large, polished, content optimizer |
What Brevo Does Better
Unlimited contacts. Store 100,000 contacts on the free plan. Mailchimp's free plan caps at 250. For businesses with large lists, Brevo's pricing model is fundamentally more affordable.
Multi-channel in one tool. Email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, transactional email, and live chat are all built in. Mailchimp would require add-ons or separate tools for most of these.
Transactional email. Brevo's SMTP relay handles password resets, order confirmations, and shipping notifications. Mailchimp requires Mandrill — a separate product with separate pricing.
What Mailchimp Does Better
Email editor and templates. Mailchimp's drag-and-drop editor is the industry benchmark. The template library is larger, more polished, and includes a content optimizer that suggests improvements.
E-commerce depth. Mailchimp's Shopify and WooCommerce integrations are deeper, with product recommendations, purchase behavior triggers, and abandoned cart workflows that require less configuration.
Integration ecosystem. Mailchimp integrates with virtually everything. Brevo's integration library is growing but still narrower.
Cost at Real Contact Counts
| Contacts | Brevo (Standard) | Mailchimp (Standard) |
|---|---|---|
| 500 contacts | $18/mo (5,000 emails) | $20/mo |
| 2,500 contacts | $18/mo (5,000 emails) | ~$45/mo |
| 10,000 contacts | $18/mo (5,000 emails) | ~$100/mo |
| 50,000 contacts | $18/mo (5,000 emails) | ~$350/mo |
Brevo's price stays at $18/mo regardless of contact count (limited by emails sent). Mailchimp's price scales with contacts. At 50,000 contacts, Brevo saves approximately $3,984/year vs Mailchimp Standard.
Decision Framework
Choose Brevo if:
- ✓You have a large contact list but send selectively
- ✓You need email + SMS + WhatsApp + CRM
- ✓You need transactional email (SMTP relay)
- ✓Budget is a primary concern
Choose Mailchimp if:
- ✓Email design quality matters (best editor)
- ✓You need deep e-commerce integrations
- ✓You want the broadest third-party integration ecosystem
- ✓Your team already knows Mailchimp
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Brevo count emails vs Mailchimp counting contacts?
Brevo's Standard plan includes 5,000 emails per month regardless of how many contacts you have (unlimited contacts). Mailchimp's Standard plan charges based on the number of contacts in your audience, including unsubscribed contacts that haven't been archived.
Does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?
Yes, unless you manually archive them. This is one of the most common complaints about Mailchimp's billing model. Brevo doesn't have this problem since contacts are free to store.
Can Brevo handle high-volume sending?
Yes. The Professional plan at $499/mo handles 150,000+ emails. Brevo also offers transactional email via SMTP relay, which is separate from marketing email quotas.
Which has better deliverability?
Mailchimp has a longer track record and historically stronger deliverability reputation. Brevo has improved significantly since the rebrand from Sendinblue and offers dedicated IPs on the Professional plan. Both are acceptable for business use.
What about ActiveCampaign or Kit as alternatives?
ActiveCampaign ($15/mo Starter) is better for sophisticated automation. Kit ($0 for 10,000 subscribers) is better for solo creators. Neither matches Brevo's unlimited-contact pricing model or Mailchimp's email editor polish.
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