7 Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026 (Cheaper & Better)

Last updated: February 2026 · 10 min read

Mailchimp was the default email platform for a decade. Then Intuit acquired it, prices increased, the free tier shrank, and the interface became bloated with features most newsletter creators never use. In 2026, there are better options in nearly every category.

Whether you are a solo newsletter creator who needs something simpler, a small business looking for lower prices, or a creator who wants actual growth tools, these alternatives deliver more for less.

Short Answer

Beehiiv is the best Mailchimp alternative for newsletter creators. It costs less, grows your audience faster with built-in tools, and is purpose-built for newsletters rather than being a general marketing platform. If you sell courses or digital products, Kit is the better fit with its visual automations and native commerce features.

Why People Leave Mailchimp

1. Beehiiv - Best for Newsletter Creators

Best for: Anyone running a newsletter who wants growth tools and simpler pricing

Beehiiv was designed from the ground up for newsletters. Where Mailchimp bolted newsletter features onto a marketing platform, Beehiiv built everything around the newsletter use case. The referral program lets subscribers earn rewards for sharing. The ad network connects you with sponsors automatically. The boost system lets you cross-promote with other newsletters. All of this comes standard, not as add-ons.

Try Beehiiv Free

2. Kit (ConvertKit) - Best for Creator Commerce

Best for: Creators who sell digital products, courses, or memberships

Kit is the best alternative if you are using Mailchimp to support a business that sells digital products. The visual automation builder is far more intuitive than Mailchimp's customer journey tool. You can sell ebooks, courses, and memberships natively without connecting Shopify or Gumroad. The free tier supports up to 10,000 subscribers, which is 20x what Mailchimp offers for free.

Try Kit Free

3. Ghost - Best for Independent Publishers

Best for: Writers and publishers who want full control and ownership

Ghost replaces both Mailchimp and your website. It is a complete publishing platform with built-in email newsletters, memberships, and payments. Open-source, self-hostable, and with zero platform fees on revenue. If you are tired of Mailchimp's pricing games and want to own your entire stack, Ghost is the cleanest path. Ghost(Pro) managed hosting starts at $9/month.

Try Ghost

4. Buttondown - Best for Simplicity

Best for: Writers who want a clean, no-bloat newsletter tool

Buttondown is the opposite of Mailchimp's complexity. Markdown-first editor, minimal interface, and exactly the features you need for a newsletter with nothing extra. It handles paid subscriptions, has a strong API, and supports RSS-to-email for automated content delivery. If Mailchimp made you feel like you were using 10% of what you paid for, Buttondown will feel like a relief.

Try Buttondown

5. Brevo (Sendinblue) - Best Budget Marketing Platform

Best for: Small businesses that need Mailchimp-like features at lower prices

If you actually use Mailchimp's marketing automation features and just want the same thing cheaper, Brevo is the direct replacement. It offers email marketing, SMS, transactional emails, and CRM in one platform. The key pricing difference: Brevo charges by emails sent, not contacts stored. You can have unlimited contacts on every plan, including the free tier. For businesses with large lists but moderate send frequency, this alone can cut costs by 50-70%.

6. MailerLite - Best Value for Features

Best for: Creators and small businesses wanting Mailchimp features at half the price

MailerLite is what Mailchimp would be if it were still a small company focused on doing email well. It includes a drag-and-drop editor, automation workflows, landing pages, a website builder, and paid subscriptions. The free plan supports 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 emails per month. Paid plans start at $9/month. The interface is clean and intuitive. It lacks Mailchimp's depth in e-commerce integrations but covers everything else at a fraction of the cost.

7. Constant Contact - Best for Local/Small Businesses

Best for: Local businesses, nonprofits, and organizations that need event marketing

Constant Contact is another legacy email platform, but it has a niche where it still works well: local businesses, nonprofits, and organizations that combine email marketing with event management. It includes event registration and management tools, surveys and polls, social media scheduling, and a simple drag-and-drop editor. If you need event marketing alongside email, Constant Contact handles both in one place. Pricing starts at $12/month for up to 500 contacts.

How to Migrate From Mailchimp

  1. Export your audience. Go to Audience > All Contacts > Export Audience. You will receive a CSV with all contact data, tags, and engagement metrics.
  2. Document your automations. Screenshot each customer journey and automation sequence. No platform imports Mailchimp automations directly.
  3. Save your email templates. If you have custom templates, save the HTML. Note that Mailchimp templates use proprietary merge tags that will need to be converted.
  4. Choose your new platform. For newsletters, start with Beehiiv. For creator businesses, try Kit.
  5. Import your contacts. Upload the CSV. Clean your list first by removing unsubscribed and bounced contacts to avoid paying for dead weight.
  6. Update your signup forms. Replace any embedded Mailchimp forms on your website with forms from your new platform. Check pop-ups, footer forms, and landing pages.
  7. Verify your sending domain. Set up DKIM and SPF authentication on your new platform to maintain deliverability.

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