Brevo and Mailchimp both send newsletters, run automations and collect signups. The biggest difference for a small business is how they charge. Mailchimp prices mostly by how many contacts you keep. Brevo prices mostly by how many emails you send. Which one is cheaper depends on your list and how often you write to it.
All facts below come from the Brevo pricing page, Brevo's help page on free plan limits and Mailchimp's plan comparison, as of October 2026. Prices are in US dollars.
The short verdict
- Pick Brevo if you have a large list but send a few times a month, or you want shop receipts and other transactional emails in the same account.
- Pick Mailchimp if your list is small, you want 24/7 email and chat support on your first paid plan, or the tools you use already connect to it.
Free plans side by side
Brevo Free:
- Up to 300 emails a day. Unused sends do not roll over.
- Up to 100,000 contacts stored.
- Up to 2,000 contacts can enter your automations.
- 1 user.
- Every email includes a Sent with Brevo sticker.
- No A/B testing or landing pages.
Mailchimp Free:
- Up to 250 contacts.
- Up to 500 emails a month, and no more than 250 a day.
- 1 seat and 1 audience.
- No automation flows.
- Email support for the first 30 days.
One catch on Brevo's free plan. If you send a campaign to more than 300 people, only 300 get it that day. You have to requeue the rest by hand on later days. For a list of 1,000, that is four days of sending.
Paid plans
Brevo:
- Starter: $9 a month billed monthly, for 5,000 emails a month. Brevo says yearly billing saves 10%. 1 user. Removing the Brevo logo is an add-on.
- Standard: $18 a month billed monthly, for the same email volume. Adds marketing automation, A/B testing, send time optimisation, 1 landing page and no Brevo logo.
- Professional: from 150,000 emails a month, with 10 seats and phone support. Check the pricing page for its price.
Brevo's price rises with the number of emails you send each month. Each email tier also has a contact limit, so check both numbers for your list.
Mailchimp:
- Essentials: from $13 a month. 3 seats, flows of up to 4 steps, monthly sends up to 10 times your contacts.
- Standard: from $20 a month. 5 seats, up to 200 flows, sends up to 12 times your contacts.
- Premium: from $350 a month, for larger teams, with phone and priority support.
At the time of writing, Mailchimp offered 50% off for the first 12 months on these plans. Its prices rise with your number of contacts.
The differences that matter
How each one counts
This affects your bill more than the starting price. Say you have 3,000 contacts and send two newsletters a month. That is 6,000 emails.
- On Mailchimp, you pay for the 3,000 contacts, whether you send once a month or every week, up to the plan's send limit.
- On Brevo, you pay for the 6,000 emails. Check that the email tier you pick also allows 3,000 contacts.
If you send rarely to a big list, Brevo's model often costs less. If you send often to a small list, Mailchimp's can.
Support
- Brevo: email support on Starter, in 6 languages, and phone support on Professional.
- Mailchimp: 24/7 email and chat on Essentials and Standard. Phone and priority support on Premium.
Transactional email
Brevo includes transactional email on all plans, through its API and SMTP. That covers order confirmations and receipts from your shop or app. Mailchimp lists transactional email under a separate tab of its pricing page. Check it if you need receipts sent from your shop.
Other channels
Brevo lists SMS on Starter, with credits sold separately, and WhatsApp, push and popups on Professional. Mailchimp lists SMS as an add-on to paid plans in some countries.
How to decide
- Write down your contact count and how many emails you send in a normal month.
- Price both tools at those two numbers, on monthly and yearly billing.
- List the automations you need, such as a welcome email for new signups.
- Check that your shop, booking tool or forms connect to the one you pick.
- Send a test campaign from each free plan and see which editor you prefer.
If you move from one to the other, only bring people who agreed to hear from you, and keep their signup dates.
For more options, see Mailchimp vs MailerLite and Mailchimp alternatives for small business. If you are just starting, read how to build an email list first.