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The Best Mailchimp Alternatives
Mailchimp's free plan now covers just 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, and costs climb with your list. These six alternatives offer bigger free plans, more automation for the money or tools built for selling.
Beginners and solo creators who want funnels, email and courses on a budget
Free plan; paid from $17/mo
Yes
Prices in USD from each provider's pricing page, checked November 2, 2026. Plans and prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why look beyond Mailchimp?
Small free plan. 250 contacts and 500 emails a month is tight for a growing list.
Send caps. Paid plans limit monthly sends to 10×–15× your contacts.
Automation costs more. Real automation starts on Standard; Essentials allows only basic flows.
1. Kit: best for creators and newsletters
Kit's free plan holds up to 10,000 subscribers, 40 times Mailchimp's, and lets you sell digital products and paid subscriptions. Creator ($39 a month) adds unlimited automations. Drawback: fewer design-heavy templates than Mailchimp. See Kit vs Mailchimp.
2. MailerLite: best value for small lists
Same 250-subscriber free plan as Mailchimp but 2,500 emails a month instead of 500, and paid plans from $12 a month with 50 automations. Drawback: prices rise with subscribers like Mailchimp's. See MailerLite vs Mailchimp.
3. GetResponse: best for webinars and courses
Unlimited sends on paid plans, unlimited automation from Marketer (about $59) and webinars and courses on Creator (about $69). Drawback: Starter allows only one automation workflow. See GetResponse vs Mailchimp.
4. ActiveCampaign: best for advanced automation
Built for complex, behaviour-based journeys, with an optional CRM. From about $19 a month ($15 yearly) for 1,000 contacts. Drawback: no free plan and a steeper learning curve. See ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp.
5. Constant Contact: best for local businesses and nonprofits
From about $12 a month, with event tools and a reputation for support. Drawback: no free plan, and automation costs more (Standard about $35). See Mailchimp vs Constant Contact.
6. Systeme.io: best if you also sell
Email marketing plus sales funnels, checkout and courses, with unlimited emails and 0% transaction fees. The free plan covers 2,000 contacts; paid plans run $17–$97. Drawback: simpler email design tools than dedicated email platforms. See Systeme.io pricing.
How to choose
Creator or newsletter writer → Kit
Smallest budget → MailerLite
Webinars or courses → GetResponse or Systeme.io
Complex automation → ActiveCampaign
Selling products from your list → Systeme.io
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Mailchimp?+
Kit, for list size (up to 10,000 subscribers free). Systeme.io if you also want funnels and courses (2,000 contacts free with unlimited emails).
What is cheaper than Mailchimp?+
MailerLite's paid plans start at $12 a month, and both Kit and Systeme.io have larger free plans.
Which Mailchimp alternative has the best automation?+
ActiveCampaign is built around advanced automation. GetResponse Marketer and Kit Creator also include unlimited automations.
Can I move my list from Mailchimp?+
Yes. Export your audience as a CSV and import it into the new tool, then recreate your forms and automations.
This guide is based on each provider's official pricing page, documentation and published features, checked on November 2, 2026.
Where a provider shows prices in local currency or loads them dynamically, US prices were cross-checked against several pricing trackers and are labelled as such.
See how we review software.