Brevo vs Mailchimp: Which is Better in 2026?

Brevo and Mailchimp are two of the most recognised names in email marketing. Both are well-established, feature-rich platforms — but they serve different use cases and come with significantly different pricing models.

This comparison covers what actually matters: pricing, automation depth, deliverability, integrations, and which use cases each platform serves best.

Pricing: Where Brevo Has a Clear Advantage

This is the most significant difference between the two platforms and the most common reason businesses switch from Mailchimp to Brevo.

Mailchimp pricing is based on the number of contacts you store. The more contacts in your account, the more you pay — even if you email them infrequently.

Brevo pricing is based on the number of emails you send per month, not contacts. You can store unlimited contacts for free.

Example at 10,000 contacts:

• Mailchimp Essentials: ~$100+/month
• Brevo Starter (sending 30K emails/month): ~$25/month

For businesses with large lists but moderate send frequency, Brevo is dramatically cheaper. As your list grows, this gap widens.

Winner: Brevo for cost efficiency, especially as list size grows.

Free Plan Comparison

Mailchimp free plan: Up to 500 contacts, 1,000 emails/month, limited features, Mailchimp branding on all emails, no automation.

Brevo free plan: Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day (~9,000/month), basic automation, transactional email, Brevo branding.

The Brevo free plan is substantially more useful for businesses getting started. Unlimited contacts means you can import your full list immediately without hitting a paywall.

Winner: Brevo

Email Design and Templates

Both platforms offer drag-and-drop editors and template libraries. Mailchimp has a slight edge in template quantity and visual polish — it's been building its template library for longer. But Brevo's editor is more than capable for most use cases.

Mailchimp's "Creative Assistant" uses AI to suggest brand-matched designs based on your website. Brevo doesn't have an equivalent feature, though it has improved its template variety in 2024–2026.

Winner: Mailchimp (marginally, on design variety)

Marketing Automation

Mailchimp automation is available on paid plans only (Essentials and above). The visual builder is decent but limited in conditional logic depth. Complex multi-branch workflows require the Standard or Premium plan.

Brevo automation is available on the free plan (basic triggers) and Business plan (advanced logic). Brevo's visual builder supports multiple condition types, A/B splits within workflows, and behavioural triggers based on website activity.

For businesses that rely on sophisticated automation — cart abandonment, behavioural sequences, complex lead nurturing — Brevo's automation is more powerful and accessible at a lower price point.

Winner: Brevo

Transactional Email

Mailchimp offers transactional email through a separate product called Mandrill, which requires a separate paid add-on.

Brevo includes transactional email (SMTP and API) on all plans, including the free tier. No separate product or add-on required.

For businesses that need both marketing and transactional emails, Brevo is the more integrated and cost-effective solution.

Winner: Brevo

Integrations and Ecosystem

Mailchimp has been around since 2001 and has a significantly larger integration ecosystem. Most major SaaS tools offer native Mailchimp integrations. Brevo's integration catalogue has grown substantially but still trails Mailchimp in breadth.

That said, Brevo covers all the major platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Salesforce, Zapier) and continues to expand. For most businesses, both platforms have sufficient integration coverage.

Winner: Mailchimp (on breadth of integrations)

Customer Support

Mailchimp offers 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans. Free plan users have very limited support access.

Brevo offers email support on all plans and phone/priority support on Business and Enterprise.

Winner: Roughly equal on paid plans.

Who Should Choose Brevo?

• Businesses with growing contact lists who want to avoid per-contact pricing
• E-commerce stores needing both marketing and transactional email
• Businesses where automation is a core strategy
• Teams on a budget who need powerful features without high costs
• Anyone starting fresh who wants a generous free plan

Who Should Choose Mailchimp?

• Businesses deeply integrated with Mailchimp-first tools (some niche apps only support Mailchimp)
• Teams that heavily value visual template variety
• Enterprises already on Mailchimp with complex migration concerns

Verdict

For most small to medium-sized businesses, Brevo is the better choice in 2026 — primarily due to its pricing model, automation capabilities, and the inclusion of transactional email at no extra cost. Mailchimp remains a strong product but its contact-based pricing model becomes a significant disadvantage as lists grow.

Brevo Pricing at a Glance

All plans include unlimited contact storage. See full pricing on Brevo →