Choosing the right email marketing platform is one of the most important decisions for your business. In this detailed comparison, we put Brevo and Mailchimp head-to-head across every metric that matters — features, pricing, ease of use, automation, deliverability, and customer support.
By the end of this article, you will have a clear understanding of which platform is the better fit for your specific needs and budget.
Quick Overview
Both Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and Mailchimp are well-established email marketing platforms, but they take fundamentally different approaches to pricing and features. Brevo positions itself as an all-in-one marketing and CRM platform with pricing based on email volume, while Mailchimp charges based on the number of contacts in your list.
This difference in pricing philosophy has significant implications, especially for businesses with large contact lists but moderate sending volumes.
Pricing Comparison
Pricing is where the biggest difference between these two platforms becomes apparent.
Brevo offers a free plan with 300 emails per day and unlimited contacts. Their paid plans start at $9 per month for 5,000 emails. Critically, all Brevo plans include unlimited contact storage, meaning you never pay more just because your list grows.
Mailchimp free plan limits you to 500 contacts and 1,000 emails per month. Their Standard plan starts at $13 per month for 500 contacts, and the price increases as your list grows. For 10,000 contacts, you could be paying $100 or more per month.
The winner here is clear: Brevo is significantly more affordable for most businesses, especially those with larger contact lists. The pay-per-email model means your costs stay predictable and manageable as your audience grows.
Email Editor and Templates
Both platforms offer intuitive drag-and-drop email editors, but there are subtle differences. Brevo provides 40+ professionally designed templates that are fully customizable. The editor is clean and intuitive, making it easy to create beautiful emails without any design experience.
Mailchimp offers a larger template library and their editor has a few more advanced design options. However, some of the best templates are locked behind higher-tier plans.
For most users, both editors will get the job done effectively. Brevo wins on accessibility since all templates are available on all plans, while Mailchimp reserves some features for premium subscribers.
Marketing Automation
This is where Brevo really shines. Their visual automation builder is available on all plans, including the free plan. You can create complex multi-step workflows with behavioral triggers, conditional branching, and multi-channel integration (email, SMS, and WhatsApp in the same workflow).
Mailchimp offers automation features, but the more advanced capabilities — like branching logic and behavioral triggers — require the Standard plan ($13/month or more). Their Customer Journey Builder is powerful but comes with a steeper learning curve.
Brevo takes the lead in automation by offering more advanced features at a lower price point and making them accessible to all users.
CRM and Contact Management
Brevo includes a full-featured CRM on all plans. You can manage sales pipelines, track deals, store contact information, and view complete interaction histories — all within the same platform. This eliminates the need for a separate CRM tool.
Mailchimp offers basic audience management and recently introduced CRM-like features, but they are not as fully developed as Brevo built-in CRM. For businesses that need a combined marketing and sales solution, Brevo offers significantly more value.
Multichannel Marketing
Beyond email, Brevo natively supports SMS marketing, WhatsApp campaigns, web push notifications, and live chat — all from the same platform. This multichannel approach means you can reach customers wherever they are without juggling multiple tools.
Mailchimp has expanded beyond email with postcards, social media management, and SMS (via add-on), but the integration is not as seamless as Brevo all-in-one approach.
Deliverability
Both platforms maintain excellent deliverability rates. Brevo reports a 99% inbox deliverability rate, backed by enterprise-grade sending infrastructure. They also offer dedicated IP addresses on higher plans for maximum control over your sender reputation.
Mailchimp has historically strong deliverability, though some users have reported declining rates as they have scaled. Both platforms provide SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication to help ensure your emails reach the inbox.
Customer Support
Brevo offers email support on all plans and phone support on the Business plan. Their knowledge base is comprehensive, and response times are generally fast.
Mailchimp has reduced their support options in recent years, eliminating email support on the free plan and limiting it on lower tiers. Phone support is only available on the Premium plan.
Our Verdict
For the majority of businesses — from startups to established companies — Brevo offers better value, more features, and greater flexibility than Mailchimp. The unlimited contact storage, built-in CRM, native multichannel marketing, and competitive pricing make it the stronger choice for businesses serious about growth.
Mailchimp may still be the better option if you specifically need advanced design tools or deeper social media integration, but for pure email marketing power and value, Brevo is the clear winner in 2025.
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