8 Best Mailchimp Alternatives for Small Business in 2026

Mailchimp is still the email tool most small businesses start with, but it has become harder to stay on. The free plan was cut to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, paid plans are priced by every contact in your audience (including unsubscribed ones unless you archive them), and automations are limited on the cheaper tiers.

We compared the most recommended Mailchimp alternatives for small business on price as your list grows, the free plan, automation, ease of use, and whether the tool also handles your customers beyond email.

Disclosure: DoubleScale is our product, and we put it first because it was built for exactly this problem. We kept the comparison honest, including where another tool is the better fit.

Quick picks: the best Mailchimp alternatives for small business

• DoubleScale – best Mailchimp alternative with a full CRM: email campaigns, automations and unlimited contacts with no per-contact pricing
• MailerLite – best value email marketing, with a free plan for 500 subscribers
• Brevo – best for email, SMS and WhatsApp on a budget, priced by sends
• Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – best for creators and newsletter writers, free up to 10,000 subscribers
• Klaviyo – best for e-commerce stores that live on segmentation and revenue reporting
• ActiveCampaign – best for advanced marketing automation
• Constant Contact – best for local businesses and events, with phone support
• GetResponse – best for email plus webinars and landing pages

Why small businesses look for a Mailchimp alternative

1. A shrinking free plan. Free now covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (Mailchimp pricing).
2. Per-contact pricing. Essentials starts at $13 and Standard at $20 a month for 500 contacts, and costs rise with every contact you store.
3. Automation on higher tiers. Multi-step journeys need Standard or above.
4. No real CRM. You still need another tool for sales, invoices and support.

If your list is growing or you need more than newsletters, these Mailchimp alternatives for small business will likely cost less and do more.

Mailchimp alternatives for small business compared: pricing at a glance

Starting prices from each vendor, checked in October 2026. Annual means the monthly price when billed yearly; prices change often, so confirm on each vendor’s pricing page.

How we chose these Mailchimp alternatives

• Price as your list grows, not just the entry price.
• A usable free plan or trial.
• Automation available without top-tier plans.
• Ease of use and templates.
• Beyond email: SMS, CRM, landing pages and integrations.

1. DoubleScale: best Mailchimp alternative with a built-in CRM

DoubleScale replaces Mailchimp inside your own WordPress site: a drag-and-drop email builder, newsletters, segments, A/B tests, email sequences and full open and click tracking, plus a visual automation builder with 100+ triggers.

Unlike Mailchimp, it is also a full CRM (pipelines, proposals, invoices, booking and a helpdesk) and it never charges per contact. The free version on WordPress.org includes unlimited contacts and email campaigns; you send through your own provider, such as Amazon SES at about $0.10 per 1,000 emails. Pro adds SMS and WhatsApp campaigns. See DoubleScale vs Mailchimp and how to migrate from Mailchimp.

Pricing

Free forever on WordPress.org with unlimited contacts. Pro starts at $99 a year for one website with unlimited users; lifetime licenses start at $249.

Pros

• Replaces several subscriptions (CRM, email marketing, booking, helpdesk, SMTP) with one plugin
• Flat pricing: adding team members or contacts never raises the bill
• Self-hosted: customer data stays in your own database, which simplifies GDPR
• Native integrations with WooCommerce, 17 form plugins and the main LMS and membership plugins

Cons

• Needs a WordPress site and decent hosting, and you manage updates
• Email, SMS and WhatsApp go through your own providers (for example Amazon SES, Twilio or Meta), billed separately
• A younger ecosystem than the big SaaS CRMs

Best for: WordPress businesses with a growing list that want email marketing and a CRM without per-contact pricing. If you run WordPress, also read the best Mailchimp alternatives for WordPress.

2. MailerLite: best value Mailchimp alternative

MailerLite offers a clean drag-and-drop editor, automations, landing pages and sign-up forms at some of the lowest prices in email marketing.

Pricing

Free for up to 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month. Growing Business starts at about $10 a month for 500 subscribers (MailerLite pricing).

Pros

• Excellent value
• Simple, modern editor and automations
• Landing pages included

Cons

• Free plan was cut to 500 subscribers
• No CRM or sales pipeline

Best for: small businesses and creators that want affordable, easy email marketing. See DoubleScale vs MailerLite.

3. Brevo: best Mailchimp alternative for big lists

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a marketing-first platform: email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp, automation and transactional email with a light CRM. It charges by emails sent rather than contacts stored.

Pricing

Free for up to 300 emails a day. Paid plans start at about $9 a month (Starter), with automation on the Standard tier (Brevo pricing).

Pros

• Unlimited contacts on every plan
• Email, SMS and WhatsApp in one place

Cons

• CRM and sales tools are basic
• Free plan’s daily cap slows large sends

Best for: businesses with big lists that email occasionally. See DoubleScale vs Brevo.

4. Kit (formerly ConvertKit): best Mailchimp alternative for creators

Kit is built for creators: newsletters, landing pages, a creator network and paid newsletters, with clean visual automations on paid plans.

Pricing

Free Newsletter plan for up to 10,000 subscribers. Creator starts at $39 a month for 1,000 subscribers (about $33 billed annually) (Kit (formerly ConvertKit) pricing).

Pros

• Very generous free plan
• Built for creators and paid newsletters

Cons

• Paid plans got more expensive in 2025–2026
• Limited design flexibility for e-commerce

Best for: bloggers, creators and newsletter businesses.

5. Klaviyo: best Mailchimp alternative for e-commerce

Klaviyo is the e-commerce email and SMS platform: deep Shopify and WooCommerce data, predictive segments and revenue attribution for every flow.

Pricing

Free for 250 active profiles and 500 sends a month. The Email plan starts at about $20 a month (Klaviyo pricing).

Pros

• Best-in-class e-commerce segmentation
• Revenue attribution on every message

Cons

• Billed on every active profile, so costs rise fast
• Overkill outside e-commerce

Best for: online stores with a growing customer list.

6. ActiveCampaign: best Mailchimp alternative for automation

ActiveCampaign is the automation specialist: a powerful workflow builder, conditional content, lead scoring and strong deliverability, popular with e-commerce brands, coaches and SaaS companies.

Pricing

No free plan, 14-day trial. Plans start at about $15 a month billed annually for 1,000 contacts (Starter); the CRM with deal pipelines is part of higher tiers or an add-on (ActiveCampaign pricing).

Pros

• One of the most powerful automation builders
• Strong deliverability and e-commerce integrations

Cons

• Per-contact pricing climbs quickly
• No helpdesk, booking or invoicing

Best for: marketing-led businesses that live in email automation. See DoubleScale vs ActiveCampaign.

7. Constant Contact: best Mailchimp alternative for local businesses

Constant Contact is a long-standing email platform for local businesses and nonprofits, with event registration, social posting and live phone support.

Pricing

No free plan. Lite starts at $12, Standard at $35 and Premium at $80 a month for 500 contacts (Constant Contact pricing).

Pros

• Phone support and onboarding help
• Event and social tools included

Cons

• Expensive as contacts grow
• Automation on the Standard tier and above

Best for: local businesses and nonprofits that value hands-on support.

8. GetResponse: best Mailchimp alternative for webinars and funnels

GetResponse combines email marketing with landing pages, a website builder and webinars, so you can run lead-generation funnels in one tool.

Pricing

Starter starts at about $19 a month for 1,000 contacts, and Marketer at about $59 (cheaper billed annually) (GetResponse pricing).

Pros

• Webinars and landing pages built in
• Good automation on Marketer

Cons

• Per-contact pricing
• Interface can feel busy

Best for: marketers who run webinars and lead-generation funnels.

What 5,000 contacts really cost

A small business with 5,000 contacts that sends a few campaigns a month:

• Mailchimp Standard: about $100 a month.
• MailerLite Growing Business: about $39 a month.
• Brevo Starter: priced by emails sent, from $9 a month.
• DoubleScale: free (or $99 a year for Pro), plus Amazon SES at about $2 for 20,000 emails.

How to choose the right Mailchimp alternative

• You want email plus a CRM, and you run WordPress: DoubleScale.
• You want cheap, simple email: MailerLite.
• You have a big list and email occasionally: Brevo.
• You are a creator: Kit.
• You run an online store: Klaviyo.
• You need advanced automation: ActiveCampaign.

How to move from Mailchimp

1. Export your audience (Audience › Export audience) as CSV, including subscribed, unsubscribed and cleaned contacts.
2. Import subscribed contacts with their tags, and keep unsubscribed contacts marked as unsubscribed.
3. Recreate your sign-up forms and welcome automation.
4. Warm up your sending domain with smaller sends first.

Mailchimp alternatives for small business: FAQ

The verdict

For simple, affordable newsletters, MailerLite is hard to beat, and Kit is the creator favourite. If you want email marketing and a full CRM in one place, on your own WordPress site and without per-contact fees, DoubleScale is the Mailchimp alternative for small business that grows with your list instead of charging for it. Download it free or try the live demo.