Mailchimp vs Brevo: pay per contact or pay per email?
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Campaign Monitor Reviews · Updated October 4, 2026
Brevo costs less at every list size we checked and has the more generous free plan. It prices by email volume, so a large list you email a few times a month stays cheap, and its Standard plan includes unlimited automation workflows. It also rates higher on G2 and with organic Trustpilot reviewers.
Mailchimp is the better pick if you want live chat from the first paid plan, a 14-day trial of its paid plans, and more sends included per contact. It bills on contacts, unsubscribed ones included, so the bill follows the size of your list.
If you run email for clients, or want phone support for less than $350 a month, neither fits well. Campaign Monitor covers both; see the section below.
Mailchimp vs Brevo at a glance
| Compared on | Mailchimp | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Comparable plan | Standard (sends up to 12x contacts) | Standard (priced by monthly email volume) |
| Price at 500 contacts | $20/mo, 6,000 sends | $18/mo, 5,000 emails |
| Price at 2,500 contacts | $60/mo, 30,000 sends | $49/mo, 15,000 emails |
| Price at 10,000 contacts | $135/mo, 120,000 sends | $69/mo at 20,000 emails; $89/mo at 40,000 |
| Entry plan at 500 contacts | Essentials: $13/mo, 5,000 sends, flows up to 4 steps | Starter: $9/mo, 5,000 emails; removing Brevo branding is a $10.80/mo add-on |
| Annual billing | Through sales only, for Standard and Premium at 10,000+ contacts | 10% off |
| Free plan | 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo (250/day), Mailchimp branding, no automation flows | 300 emails/day, up to 100,000 contacts stored, Brevo branding, automations for up to 2,000 contacts |
| Free trial | 14 days of Standard or Essentials (the no-card version is capped at 100 emails) | None; free plan instead |
| Support on the comparable plan | 24/7 email and chat | |
| Phone support | Premium (from $350/mo) | Professional (from $499/mo) |
| Automation on the comparable plan | Up to 200 flows | Unlimited workflows |
| Agency sub-accounts / white label | Connected client accounts via Mailchimp & Co; no white label | Sub-accounts on Enterprise (from $2,499/mo); white label not published |
| What the bill counts | Contacts, including unsubscribed ones | Emails sent per month |
| Trustpilot, organic reviews only | 1.07 (n=29) | 1.43 (n=30) |
| G2 rating (reviews) | 4.3 (12,988) | 4.5 (2,621) |
| Owner / HQ | Intuit; founded in Atlanta | Privately held; Paris |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-10-04. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
Prices are monthly billing. Brevo sells volume steps, each with a contact allowance: 5,000 emails covers 500 contacts, 15,000 covers 2,500, and 20,000 and up covers 500,000. Trustpilot row: organic reviews only (written without an invitation or link from the company), from our pull on October 4, 2026; both samples span August to October 2026. G2 figures are each product's overall rating and review count on G2 (Mailchimp: Intuit Mailchimp Email Marketing; Brevo: Brevo Marketing Platform).
Mailchimp vs Brevo pricing: contacts or email volume
Mailchimp charges by the number of contacts in your audience, and its help center confirms that unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count. Each plan includes sends as a multiple of your contacts: 10 times on Essentials, 12 on Standard, 15 on Premium. After the free trial, Mailchimp bills overages automatically if you pass your contact or sending limit.
Brevo charges by how many emails you send each month, and each volume step comes with a contact allowance. That favors big lists you email a few times a month. With 10,000 contacts, Brevo Standard costs $69 a month for 20,000 emails (two sends each) or $89 for 40,000 (four each). Mailchimp Standard at 10,000 contacts costs $135 and includes 120,000 sends, so it suits frequent senders better than the gap suggests.
“If you miss your contact limit or add extra contacts, you get charged extra for additional contact blocks.”Dhananjay V., G2, May 2026
Free plans and trials
Brevo's free plan is the larger one. It sends 300 emails a day, stores up to 100,000 contacts, and lets up to 2,000 contacts into automations, with a Sent with Brevo sticker on each email. Mailchimp's free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day), one seat, and no automation flows, and email support ends after 30 days. Mailchimp does offer a 14-day trial of Standard or Essentials. Without a card the trial is capped at 100 emails, and the full limits need payment details. Brevo has no trial of its paid plans.
Automation and support on the plans most people buy
On Standard, Mailchimp allows up to 200 automation flows and Brevo allows unlimited workflows. The entry plans differ more: Mailchimp Essentials limits flows to 4 steps, and Brevo Starter caps automations at 2,000 contacts.
Support runs the other way. Mailchimp includes 24/7 email and chat from Essentials, its cheapest paid plan. Brevo offers email support on Starter and Standard and adds phone support on Professional at $499 a month. Mailchimp's phone support starts on Premium at $350 a month.
Where Mailchimp wins
- 24/7 email and chat support from Essentials, its cheapest paid plan.
- A 14-day trial of Standard or Essentials before you pay.
- More sends per contact on Standard: 12 times your list, so 30,000 a month at 2,500 contacts, where Brevo's $49 step includes 15,000.
- Phone support from Premium at $350 a month, below Brevo's $499 Professional plan.
- The bigger review base: 12,988 G2 reviews, averaging 4.3.
Where Brevo wins
- Lower prices at each list size we checked: $18, $49, and $69 a month against Mailchimp's $20, $60, and $135.
- A free plan with 300 emails a day, storage for up to 100,000 contacts, and automations for up to 2,000 contacts.
- Unlimited automation workflows on Standard.
- Volume pricing that keeps a large, rarely mailed list affordable.
- Higher review scores like for like: 4.5 on G2 and a 1.43 organic Trustpilot average, against Mailchimp's 4.3 and 1.07.
- G2 reviewers in our pull often mention running email, SMS, and WhatsApp campaigns from one account.
When neither fits: Campaign Monitor
Agencies are the clearest case. Mailchimp publishes no sub-accounts or white label, and Brevo keeps sub-account management on Enterprise, starting from $2,499 a month. One G2 reviewer who handles client websites on Brevo described the workaround.
“Right now, we have to set up individual Brevo accounts for each client, which isn't ideal.”Verified User, G2, Sep 2026
Campaign Monitor includes client sub-accounts and private labeling on Lite, Essentials, and Premier, so you run every client under one login with your own branding. Premier adds phone support from $171 a month at 500 contacts, below both Mailchimp Premium and Brevo Professional. Essentials has no monthly send cap, at $31 a month for 500 contacts.
G2 users gave Campaign Monitor its Easiest To Use and Best Support (Small Business) badges for Fall 2026 (see awards). Its organic Trustpilot average of 1.44 across 18 reviews is level with Brevo's and above Mailchimp's, on a smaller sample that spans January 2023 to September 2026. It has no free plan; the 30-day trial covers 500 contacts and 500 emails with no card at signup. Head-to-head pages: Campaign Monitor vs Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor vs Brevo.
Try Campaign Monitor freeMailchimp vs Brevo FAQ
Is Brevo cheaper than Mailchimp?+
Yes, at every list size we checked. Brevo Standard costs $18 a month at 500 contacts, $49 at 2,500, and $69 for 10,000 contacts at 20,000 emails a month. Mailchimp Standard costs $20, $60, and $135. Brevo prices by email volume, so the gap is widest on big lists that you email a few times a month. Prices checked October 4, 2026.
Which has the better free plan, Mailchimp or Brevo?+
Brevo. Its free plan sends 300 emails a day, stores up to 100,000 contacts, and lets up to 2,000 contacts into automations. Mailchimp's free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day), with no automation flows. Both add their own branding to free-plan emails.
Do Mailchimp and Brevo offer phone support?+
Only on their higher plans. Mailchimp includes phone support on Premium (from $350 a month) and 24/7 email and chat from Essentials. Brevo includes phone support on Professional (from $499 a month) and email support on Starter and Standard. Campaign Monitor includes phone support on Premier, from $171 a month at 500 contacts.
Which is better for agencies, Mailchimp or Brevo?+
Neither is built for it on the usual plans. Mailchimp's free Mailchimp & Co program connects client accounts, but each client keeps its own plan, and Mailchimp publishes no white label. Brevo offers sub-account management on Enterprise, starting from $2,499 a month. Campaign Monitor includes client sub-accounts and private labeling on all of its paid plans.
How do Mailchimp and Brevo reviews compare?+
Brevo is ahead on both measures we compare like for like. It rates 4.5 on G2 from 2,621 reviews, against Mailchimp's 4.3 from 12,988. Among organic Trustpilot reviews (written without an invitation), Brevo averages 1.43 across 30 and Mailchimp 1.07 across 29, both from August to October 2026.