The mailchimp vs brevo for small business question has a short answer and a longer one. The short answer is that Mailchimp wins for most freelancers and small businesses, because it covers the core job at a lower entry price with a free tier that lets you test it properly. The longer answer is that the right pick depends on how you work, how many clients you have, and whether you bill hours or sell products.
This guide compares the two tools on the same five questions, with real prices read from each vendor pricing page in October and November 2026. Promotions rotate, so treat the first-month figure as a bonus and the list price as the real cost, and confirm the checkout total before you pay.
Prices change often, and both vendors run introductory discounts for the first few months. The comparison below uses list prices throughout, so the winner on price is the winner at renewal, not just in month one.
Quick jump
- Quick Answer. Mailchimp vs Brevo for Small Business in 30 Seconds
- Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Pricing Model
- Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Free Plan
- Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Automation
- Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Templates and Design
- Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Support and Integrations
- Mailchimp in Depth
- Brevo in Depth
- The Cost Math at One, Five and Ten Clients
- Switching Costs and the Free Plan Test
- The Free Plan Test
- A Week With Each Tool
- How to Choose Between Them
- Related Guides
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Bottom Line
Quick Answer. Mailchimp vs Brevo for Small Business in 30 Seconds
The renewal date deserves a calendar entry, because a plan that renews silently can cost a full year of a tool nobody uses.
A vendor that publishes its prices plainly is easier to trust than one that hides them behind a sales call, and the tools on this list all publish theirs.
For mailchimp vs brevo for small business, pick Mailchimp if you want the lowest entry price and the simplest start. Pick Brevo if you bill hours, sell packages, or want the client-facing workflow to feel polished from the first invoice. Both tools are good, and the wrong pick is the one whose limits you discover a month after paying.
The table below sets the two tools side by side on the facts that decide the purchase, then each section below tests one dimension in depth.
| Mailchimp | Brevo | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Contact-based email marketing with the biggest template and integration ecosystem. | Send-based email marketing with SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in one account. |
| Entry paid plan | $13 a month for Essentials at 500 contacts | $9 a month for Starter at 5,000 emails |
| Free plan | Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. | Free plan covers 300 emails a day with up to 100,000 contacts stored. |
| Best for | owners who want a familiar all-in-one suite | large lists that you email infrequently |
Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Pricing Model
A feature that looks impressive in a demo is only useful if the team uses it every week, so rank features by the hours they actually save.
The cheapest plan is not always the cheapest year, because a free tier with a hard cap can cost more than a paid plan once the business grows past it.
Mailchimp charges rent on the list, billing by contacts stored, including unsubscribed contacts until you archive them. Essentials starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts and climbs to about $75 at 5,000, so a growing list gets expensive fast.
Brevo charges postage on the sends, billing by emails sent per month, with the volume tier setting a contact cap. Starter at $9 a month covers 5,000 emails, and a 5,000-contact list emailed once a month costs a fraction of Mailchimp price.
The verdict on pricing model is clear once the job is named. Mailchimp wins when the priority is the lower price and the simpler setup, and Brevo wins when the priority is the workflow that turns work into money with the least friction. Most buyers should weigh this dimension against price, because the two rarely point the same way.
What this means in practice is that the pricing model decision should follow the job, not the brand. A buyer who spends an hour a day on pricing model will feel the difference every week, while a buyer who touches it once a month will not, so rank the dimensions by the hours they actually take in your week before you decide.
Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Free Plan
The total cost includes the time the team spends learning the tool, so a simple tool that everyone learns in a day can be cheaper than a powerful tool that takes a month.
Read the reviews from businesses the same size as yours, because a tool that works for a fifty-person team can be the wrong tool for a team of three.
Mailchimp free plan is tight in 2026, covering 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a 250 daily cap and no scheduling. Beyond 250 contacts, sending is placed on hold until you upgrade or reduce the list, so it is a test drive, not a home.
Brevo free plan is far more generous, storing up to 100,000 contacts and sending 300 emails a day with no time limit and no card. Automation covers up to 2,000 contacts on the free plan, which is enough to run a real welcome sequence.
The verdict on free plan is clear once the job is named. Mailchimp wins when the priority is the lower price and the simpler setup, and Brevo wins when the priority is the workflow that turns work into money with the least friction. Most buyers should weigh this dimension against price, because the two rarely point the same way.
What this means in practice is that the free plan decision should follow the job, not the brand. A buyer who spends an hour a day on free plan will feel the difference every week, while a buyer who touches it once a month will not, so rank the dimensions by the hours they actually take in your week before you decide.
Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Automation
Write down the reason you chose the tool, and the date, so the next review starts from the original decision instead of from scratch.
A tool that the team actually opens every day is worth more than a tool with a longer feature list that nobody touches after the first week.
Mailchimp automation is a preview on the free plan, with 4 flows on Essentials and multi-step automation from Standard at $20 a month. The flows are polished and the reporting is clear, but the best automation sits behind the higher tiers.
Brevo automation is limited to 2,000 contacts on Free and Starter, and unlimited from Standard at $18 a month. The builder covers welcome series, abandoned carts and lead scoring, and it is the cheaper route to real automation.
The verdict on automation is clear once the job is named. Mailchimp wins when the priority is the lower price and the simpler setup, and Brevo wins when the priority is the workflow that turns work into money with the least friction. Most buyers should weigh this dimension against price, because the two rarely point the same way.
What this means in practice is that the automation decision should follow the job, not the brand. A buyer who spends an hour a day on automation will feel the difference every week, while a buyer who touches it once a month will not, so rank the dimensions by the hours they actually take in your week before you decide.
Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Templates and Design
A tool that sends a reminder automatically is worth more than a tool that relies on memory, because memory is the first thing to fail on a busy week.
Set a reminder to review the subscription every quarter, and cancel the tools the team stopped using, because unused subscriptions are the easiest money to save.
Mailchimp templates are the best here, with a large library that looks good out of the box and an editor anyone can use. Landing pages are included on every plan, and the design quality is the reason many small businesses stay.
Brevo templates are fewer and plainer, and the editor is simpler than Mailchimp. The design is good enough for a weekly newsletter, but a business that sells on visual polish will notice the gap.
The verdict on templates and design is clear once the job is named. Mailchimp wins when the priority is the lower price and the simpler setup, and Brevo wins when the priority is the workflow that turns work into money with the least friction. Most buyers should weigh this dimension against price, because the two rarely point the same way.
What this means in practice is that the templates and design decision should follow the job, not the brand. A buyer who spends an hour a day on templates and design will feel the difference every week, while a buyer who touches it once a month will not, so rank the dimensions by the hours they actually take in your week before you decide.
Mailchimp vs brevo for small business on Support and Integrations
The onboarding experience tells you a lot about the vendor, because a tool that is hard to set up is usually hard to use every day.
The setup is the moment to get the data right, because a clean start saves a week of fixing later, and a dirty start costs a month.
Mailchimp connects to more tools than any rival here, with over 300 integrations covering shops, CRMs and social platforms. Support is 24/7 chat from Essentials, and the help centre is the most complete in this list.
Brevo integrations are fewer, but the built-in SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email and CRM cover jobs that need a second tool on Mailchimp. Support is email on the lower tiers, with phone support on Professional.
The verdict on support and integrations is clear once the job is named. Mailchimp wins when the priority is the lower price and the simpler setup, and Brevo wins when the priority is the workflow that turns work into money with the least friction. Most buyers should weigh this dimension against price, because the two rarely point the same way.
What this means in practice is that the support and integrations decision should follow the job, not the brand. A buyer who spends an hour a day on support and integrations will feel the difference every week, while a buyer who touches it once a month will not, so rank the dimensions by the hours they actually take in your week before you decide.
Mailchimp in Depth
Check the file formats the tool exports, because a PDF is good for a client and a CSV is good for a migration, and you will need both.
Ask the vendor what happens to your data if you cancel, and get the answer in writing, because a clean export is the difference between leaving freely and being stuck.
Mailchimp remains the default recommendation because everything connects to it. Templates look good out of the box, landing pages and basic CRM sit beside email, and the integration shelf is the deepest in this list, covering shops, CRMs and social tools.
The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, Essentials starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts, and Standard at $20 adds multi-step automation. The price climbs with the list, reaching about $75 a month at 5,000 contacts on Essentials.
The weakness is the pricing model. Mailchimp counts inactive and unsubscribed contacts until you archive them, so a list with years of dead addresses costs real money, and the free plan shrank in 2026 to 250 contacts.
Brevo in Depth
A small team should pick the tool the least technical person can use, because the tool that only one person understands breaks when that person is away.
A short trial with real work tells you more than a long demo with sample data, so use the trial the way you would use the tool on a normal Tuesday.
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, wins on the pricing model, because you pay per email sent rather than per contact stored. A store with 25,000 contacts sending one newsletter a month pays $9, while contact-based rivals charge for all 25,000 subscribers, and the free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts.
Starter at $9 a month covers 5,000 emails, Standard at $18 adds automation, A/B testing and landing pages, and the free plan caps sending at 300 emails a day. SMS, WhatsApp and a basic CRM sit in the same account.
The weakness is the template library, which is smaller than Mailchimp, and the free plan daily cap, which limits a business that sends every day. The automation is good, but the editor is plainer than Mailchimp.
The Cost Math at One, Five and Ten Clients
The price on the homepage is the price for the smallest plan, so read the tier that adds the feature you need before you compare two tools.
The best time to buy is after the test, not before it, because a tool that proves itself with real data is a tool the team will actually keep.
Run the numbers at your real client count before you decide, because the cheapest tool changes as the count grows. At the smallest scale, Mailchimp wins on price, with a free plan and an entry tier at $13 a month for Essentials at 500 contacts, against Brevo at $9 a month for Starter at 5,000 emails. At a larger scale the gap narrows, and the tool with the higher entry price can become the cheaper one, because its plan covers more clients without a jump.
Work out the first-year total for each tool at your real client count, including the per-user fees, the card processing and the add-ons you will actually buy. A tool that looks cheaper at entry can cost more by month six, and the renewal price is the figure that decides whether the tool is affordable for a full year.
Do not forget the card processing fee, because it is a bigger line than the subscription for a busy freelancer. At 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction, a freelancer who takes $5,000 a month by card pays about $145 a month in fees, which dwarfs the difference between a $20 plan and a $43 plan.
Switching Costs and the Free Plan Test
A trial that runs for two weeks is long enough to test the real workflow, and a trial that runs for seven days is only long enough to test the setup.
Check whether the plan includes the users you need, because a per-seat price that looks low can double once the whole team is added.
Test both tools with real data for a week before you pay, using the same five clients and the same three jobs in each. Send a real invoice, record a real expense, and check the report at the end of the week, because a test with demo data hides the friction that real data reveals.
Check the export before you commit to either tool, because the day you outgrow it, a clean export to CSV or PDF is the difference between a weekend move and a rebuild. Both tools here export cleanly, and both offer import wizards, so the switch is a weekend job, not a project.
Keep a copy of the old data for a month after the switch, and run the two tools side by side for the first invoice cycle. A side-by-side run catches the mapping errors and the missing fields before they cost a client, and it gives the team time to learn the new tool without pressure.
The Free Plan Test
The support team is part of the product, because a fast answer on a stuck payment or a broken booking is worth more than a longer feature list.
A tool that works on a phone matters more than most buyers expect, because the work that happens away from a desk still needs to land in the right place.
Run the free plan test before you pay for either tool, because the free plan shows the real workflow in a way a pricing page never can. Sign up for both free plans on the same day, enter the same five clients and the same three jobs in each, and use both for a week of real work. The tool that feels natural on day three is the one the team will still use in month three.
Check three things during the test week. First, whether the core job takes fewer steps than it does today. Second, whether the reports answer the questions you actually ask, such as who owes money and what is overdue. Third, whether the tool exports cleanly, because the day you outgrow it, the export is what saves you.
Note the friction as well as the features, because a tool with a longer feature list and a clumsy workflow will lose to a simpler tool that gets out of the way. A test week with real data is worth more than a month of reading reviews, and it costs nothing on either free plan.
A Week With Each Tool
A tool that grows with the business is worth more than a tool that fits today and breaks next year, so check the upgrade path before you buy.
The invoice, the reminder and the report should all carry the same numbers, so check that the tool reconciles them without manual copying.
Day one with Mailchimp is for setup, and it takes under an hour to enter the first clients, connect the bank feed, and send the first invoice. Day two is for the daily work, recording expenses and checking the reports, and day three is for the first follow-up on a late payment. By the end of the week, the routine is clear and the time saved is visible.
Day one with Brevo is also for setup, and the invoice workflow is the first thing to test, because it is the heart of the product. Track an hour of work, turn it into an invoice line, send the invoice, and check how the client sees it. Day two is for expenses and mileage, and day three is for the first proposal or retainer if the plan covers it.
At the end of the week, compare the two tools on the same three questions. Which one sent the invoice faster, which one showed the money owed more clearly, and which one the team would rather open on a Monday morning. The answers to those three questions are the buying decision, and no pricing page can answer them for you.
How to Choose Between Them
The data you enter is the asset, not the tool, so keep a copy outside the subscription and check the export every quarter.
A yearly plan saves money only if the team is still using the tool in twelve months, so test on monthly billing first and switch to annual once the choice is proven.
Choose Mailchimp if the budget is tight, the client list is small, and the books matter more than the invoice design. Choose Brevo if invoicing is the centre of the week, if hours turn into invoices, and if the client-facing polish is worth the higher monthly price. Either way, test both free plans with real data for a week before paying.
Work out the first-year total for each tool at your real client count, including per-user fees and card processing. A tool that looks cheaper at entry can cost more by month six, and the renewal price is the figure that decides whether the tool is affordable for a full year.
Related Guides
- Presentation Software Pricing for Small Business
- QuickBooks vs FreshBooks for Freelancers
- AI Writing Tool Pricing
Frequently Asked Questions
A simple workflow that runs every week beats a clever workflow that runs once a month, because the habit is what saves the time.
The help centre is worth reading before you buy, because the questions other users ask are usually the questions you will ask in month two.
Which one is cheaper for a solo freelancer?
At list price, Mailchimp is cheaper to start, with a free plan and a lower entry tier. Brevo costs more per month, but the gap narrows once the client list grows, so price the plan you will actually land on, not the entry tier.
Can I move my data from one to the other?
Yes. Both tools export invoices, clients and expenses to CSV, and both offer import wizards. Export a full copy before you cancel, and test the import with a small batch first so nothing is lost in the move.
Which one does my accountant prefer?
Most accountants know Mailchimp already, and its reports match what they ask for at tax time. Brevo is friendlier for the freelancer, and its Plus tier adds the double-entry reports an accountant wants to see.
Is there a free plan worth using?
Mailchimp has a free plan that covers the basics, though the invoice cap is tight for a busy freelancer. Brevo has no free plan, only a 30-day trial, so the free test is shorter but the trial covers the full feature set.
Which one is better for billing hours?
Brevo is better for billing hours, because time tracking feeds straight into the invoice and the workflow is built around that loop. Mailchimp tracks time as a separate product, so the loop takes more steps.
What should I check before I pay?
Check the renewal price, the client and user caps, and whether the feature you need sits on the tier you are buying. Confirm the card processing fee too, because it is a bigger line than the subscription for a busy freelancer.
How long does it take to switch from one to the other?
A switch takes a weekend for a solo freelancer, including the export, the import, and a check of the first fifty records. Keep a copy of the old data for a month after the switch, and run the two tools side by side for the first invoice cycle.
Do I need both tools, or is one enough?
One is enough for most freelancers, because the two tools overlap heavily. A business that needs both usually has a specific reason, such as an accountant who works in one and a team that bills in the other, and that reason should be named before paying for two subscriptions.
How do I know when to upgrade?
Upgrade when a limit slows the work down, such as a client cap, a user cap, or a feature that sits behind the paywall. Until then, the free plan is the right plan, and the money saved is better spent on the work itself.
Can I use two tools together?
Yes, and many small businesses do. A free invoicing tool beside a paid CRM is a common setup, and the integration between them matters more than either tool alone. Check the native integration before you commit to a pair.
The Bottom Line
The decision should be made by the people who will use the tool every day, not by the person who read the most reviews.
A tool that integrates with the calendar and the email you already use will be adopted faster than a tool that asks the team to learn a new inbox.
The mailchimp vs brevo for small business verdict is simple. Mailchimp is the best pick for most freelancers, because the free plan and the lower entry price cover the real job without a big monthly bill. Brevo is the best pick for freelancers who bill hours or sell packages, because the invoice workflow saves time every single week.
Try both free plans with real work for a week, price the first year at your real client count, and pick the tool whose limits you will not hit in month three. The right tool is the one that gets you paid on time, every time.
1 thought on “Mailchimp vs Brevo for Small Business”