Brevo vs Mailchimp – My Personal Experience (And Why I Switched)

Last Updated: 12 Nov 2025

In this article, we’ll compare Brevo (Sendinblue) and Mailchimp, two popular email marketing tools for small businesses.

Mailchimp, based in Atlanta, is one of the biggest names in email marketing. Millions of people use it to send newsletters and run campaigns. But after trying it myself, I started to wonder if its popularity comes more from its name than from what it actually offers.

Recently, Mailchimp changed how it charges users — now you pay for every contact in your list, not just the active subscribers. That made me curious to test another tool that doesn’t limit contacts: Brevo (Sendinblue).

Brevo, a fast-growing company from Paris, is known for being affordable and easy to use. It also includes features like a built-in CRM, SMS marketing, and unlimited contacts — something Mailchimp doesn’t offer.

Both tools have their pros and cons, so in this post, I’ll compare Brevo vs Mailchimp in terms of ease of use, design, automation, deliverability, and pricing — and share which one I think is the better choice for your business.

Short on Time? Here’s My Quick Verdict

After testing both Brevo and Mailchimp side by side, I found that while Mailchimp offers a beautiful email editor and great analytics, Brevo packs much more value overall — especially when it comes to automations, CRM tools, and pricing.

Brevo feels faster, cleaner, and more practical for everyday use. Plus, its new AI features for writing subject lines and optimizing send times make it even more impressive. Mailchimp, on the other hand, shines in design and reporting, but its costs climb quickly as your list grows.

If you’re comparing Brevo vs Mailchimp, it’s probably because:

• You’re a Mailchimp user tired of the growing bills

• You’re new to email marketing and looking for the right starting tool

• Or Brevo’s affordable “pay-per-email” pricing caught your eye, but you’re not sure if it can really compete with Mailchimp

In this comparison, I’ll break down everything — from pricing and automations to templates and AI tools — so you can decide which platform truly fits your email marketing goals.

Brevo Pros & Cons

What I Liked ✅

• Clean, modern interface with minimal learning curve

• Advanced automations available even on free plans

• Built-in CRM, SMS, and transactional emails

• AI Writing Assistant and Send-Time Optimization actually improve performance

• Excellent deliverability and overall value for money

What Could Be Better ❌

• Reporting dashboard feels basic compared to Mailchimp’s

• Limited third-party integrations

• Email template customization could be smoother

 Mailchimp Pros & Cons

What I Liked ✅

• Intuitive drag-and-drop editor with premium-quality templates

• Detailed analytics and ecommerce tracking

• Massive integration ecosystem

• Great for data-driven teams and ecommerce brands

What Frustrated Me ❌

• Expensive as your list grows

• Most automation and AI tools locked behind higher-tier plans

• CRM and transactional features are limited

• SMS only available in the U.S.

My Final Take
👉 Choose Brevo if you want advanced features, automation, and AI tools at a lower price — perfect for small businesses, creators, and growing brands.

👉 Choose Mailchimp if you need deep ecommerce insights, visual reports, and hundreds of integrations with your favorite tools.

🏆 Overall Winner: Brevo (13–6) — A smarter choice for most marketers in 2025.

Ease of Use

Many people choose Mailchimp because it looks simple and beginner-friendly — and for the most part, it is. The dashboard feels clean, and everything is neatly organized. But after spending some time with it, I realized a few important settings can be tricky to locate.

For example, adding an opt-in form or setting up a landing page isn’t always straightforward. You’ll find yourself clicking through multiple menus before getting where you need to be.

Still, once you get used to its layout, Mailchimp does a good job of walking you through the steps of creating and launching a campaign.

On the other hand, Brevo (Sendinblue) also delivers a great experience when it comes to usability. Their drag-and-drop editor is fast, modern, and has all the essential content blocks — buttons, images, columns, text, and more.

I especially like how Brevo guides you through each stage of your email setup, ensuring you don’t miss anything important.

One small detail that stands out — Brevo lets you revert to a previous version of your email with a single click, which can save you a lot of time if you ever need to undo changes.

Winner: Honestly, both Brevo and Mailchimp make it easy to get started and design campaigns quickly. Their editors are clean, responsive, and intuitive enough for most users. This round is a tie.

Design & Flexibility

The design of your emails matters more than most people think. A clean, professional design can instantly grab attention and improve conversions — which is why most marketers prefer using ready-made templates from their email marketing tool. So it’s important that these templates are attractive, mobile-friendly, and easy to customize.

Mailchimp does an impressive job here. It offers over 100 templates (or “themes,” as they call them), all fully mobile-responsive and quite modern-looking.

You can easily tweak colors, layouts, and images to match your brand — and once you find a design you like, you can save it for future campaigns.

Another nice touch is that you can upload your own HTML templates using code, a URL, or even a ZIP file. Plus, Mailchimp lets you filter templates by category, which makes finding the right style super convenient.

The only downside? If you’re on Mailchimp’s free plan, you’ll only get access to a few older-looking templates — and the nicer ones are locked behind paid tiers.

Brevo (Sendinblue) also includes a selection of pre-made templates. While there aren’t as many as Mailchimp, Brevo’s templates cover common email types — newsletters, promotional emails, announcements, event invitations, and more.

They are fully mobile-responsive, clean, and easy to customize using Brevo’s drag-and-drop editor. You can change text, images, buttons, and even layout blocks without touching any code.

Brevo also allows you to import HTML templates from another Brevo account using a shared URL, or create one from scratch by pasting HTML code. The only limitation is that you can’t import templates from other third-party platforms.

Winner: This one’s close. Mailchimp has more templates and slightly more polished designs — but most require a paid plan. Brevo’s templates are simpler but all available for free, and they cover the most common email needs. So this round is another tie.

List Management

Managing your email list properly is crucial. It helps you organize subscribers, target the right people, and avoid paying for duplicate contacts. For me, a good list management system makes running campaigns much smoother.

One problem I’ve noticed with Mailchimp is that lists are mutually exclusive. That means each list is separate. So if you have the same person in different list, you can’t send a single email to both lists at the same time. You’d have to send it to each list separately.

You also can’t automatically move subscribers from one list to another — something other tools like GetResponse handle easily.

Another issue is pricing. Mailchimp charges for every contact, so if the same person is on multiple lists, you end up paying for them multiple times. Combine that with confusing terminology — audiences, segments, tags, and groups — and it’s easy to see why users feel overwhelmed.

Mailchimp does let you create segments and tags, but the setup can feel more complicated than necessary, especially if you’re a beginner.

Brevo (Sendinblue) makes this much easier. You can create lists based on contact fields and subscriber behavior — like opens, clicks, or form submissions. You can also add multiple conditions to make your lists very precise.

One of my favorite features is automation. When a new subscriber signs up, Brevo can automatically add them to a specific list based on your conditions. This keeps everything organized without me having to manually sort contacts.

My Verdict
For me, Brevo wins this round. Its list management is simple, intuitive, and powerful. I don’t have to worry about duplicate contacts or confusing setup steps, making it a great alternative to Mailchimp.

Winner: Brevo ✅ (3–2 in favor of Brevo)

Email Automations

Automation saves time and helps you send the right emails to the right people at the right time. For me, a strong automation system is a game-changer — it means I don’t have to manually follow up with every subscriber or customer.

Mailchimp claims to have “all the automation triggers,” and technically, it does. I tried setting up a welcome email sequence for new subscribers, which worked fine. It helped me engage my audience immediately and keep them interested.

The problem? I had to upgrade to a paid plan just to use this basic feature. On the Free plan, automation isn’t available at all.

This was frustrating because I just wanted to test a simple workflow without paying extra. Also, setting up more advanced automations felt a bit clunky — I had to dig through multiple menus to find triggers and conditions.

Brevo (Sendinblue) surprised me in a good way. I used its workflow automation to send follow-up emails based on real subscriber behavior, and it was really smooth.

For example:

• When a live chat ends (Brevo Conversations), I automatically send an opt-in request like “Can we stay in touch?” — this boosted my email list instantly.

• After an online meeting (Brevo Meetings), I send an automated email with a discount for the next session, which saved me a lot of manual work.

I also love that Brevo lets me test my automation before it goes live and even schedules campaigns at the best time based on previous results. This has helped me get more opens and clicks without constantly monitoring campaigns.

Honestly, for the price, I was impressed. Brevo’s automations are advanced, flexible, and easy to set up — and unlike Mailchimp, I didn’t feel limited by my plan.

Winner: Brevo takes this round. Its automation features help me save time and engage my audience better, while Mailchimp felt expensive and slightly confusing for the same tasks. Point to Brevo! (4–2)

Registration Forms

A registration form might seem like a basic feature, but it’s actually really important — it’s how new subscribers get onto your list. So let’s see how easy it is to create one with Mailchimp and Brevo.

At first, I had trouble finding where to create a registration form in Mailchimp. It’s not in the main menu — you have to dig under the Audience tab. Once you find it, you can create embedded forms, pop-ups, or landing pages.

The forms work, but I found the setup a bit fiddly. Not all forms are automatically mobile-responsive, which caused some layout issues on smaller screens.

Also, new subscribers can only be added to one list if you want to avoid paying for them twice — which is annoying if you want people to join multiple interest groups.

Brevo (Sendinblue) makes this much easier. I could quickly create forms where subscribers can choose which lists or categories they want to join — like selecting by interest or industry. This made my signup process much more flexible and user-friendly.

The drag-and-drop builder is smooth and intuitive, so creating and customizing forms was a breeze. I didn’t run into any mobile issues, and it just feels like the process was designed for real users.

Winner: Brevo strikes again! Its form builder is faster, more flexible, and easier to use than Mailchimp. Point to Brevo! (5–2)

Landing Pages

Landing pages are another important feature, especially if you want to capture leads or promote offers. Here’s how Mailchimp and Brevo compare.

Mailchimp includes a landing page builder even on the free plan, which is a big plus. I tested it and found it really easy to use. You get lots of customization options, can track performance with Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics, and you can create unlimited landing pages.

The templates are clean and professional-looking, though there aren’t a huge number to choose from. Still, for a free tool, it’s surprisingly flexible and effective.

Brevo (Sendinblue) requires a Premium plan ($65/month) to access its landing page builder, and even then, you can only create 5 landing pages unless you pay extra.

The templates are modern and there’s a larger selection than Mailchimp, which is nice. Editing pages in Brevo’s fast landing page editor is smooth and intuitive, making customization simple.

Winner: Both have their strengths. Mailchimp is free and allows unlimited pages, which is huge for small businesses on a budget. Brevo offers more templates and a slick editor, but you’re limited unless you pay extra. For this round, point to Mailchimp! (5–3)

CRM

Mailchimp claims you can use it as a CRM, but honestly, it’s quite limited. I tried using it for tasks like assigning contacts to specific sales agents or setting deadlines, and it just doesn’t offer those options.

One feature I did like is Social Profiles, which allows you to create campaigns based on publicly available social media info. The catch? Enabling it can add extra costs.

Mailchimp handles ecommerce data well, though — if your store is connected, you can easily see how much revenue each contact has generated. That part definitely helped me track high-value subscribers.

Brevo (Sendinblue) offers a free CRM that makes managing contacts easier. I could assign contacts to different team members, set tasks and deadlines, and see extra info like which pages each contact visited on my website.

The downside? Importing contacts isn’t very smooth — you have to upload a file with all the data. I wish it was easier to pull contacts directly from existing subscriber lists.

Another limitation is that Brevo doesn’t let you assign lifecycle stages to contacts, like you can in advanced CRMs such as HubSpot.

Winner: Both Mailchimp and Brevo have pros and cons here. Mailchimp is strong for ecommerce tracking, while Brevo is better for basic CRM tasks and workflow management. For this round, we’ll give a point to each.

Score: 6–4

Spam & Design Testing

Testing how your emails appear across devices and email clients is crucial — you don’t want your beautifully designed campaign to look broken for some subscribers.

Mailchimp lets you preview emails on desktop, mobile, and multiple email clients like Outlook, Gmail, and more. I found this really useful because it helped me spot formatting issues before sending campaigns.

The downside? While Mailchimp offers more email clients to test, it’s not free. Paid plans come with 25 Inbox Preview tokens per month, and each test uses one token.

Unused tokens don’t carry over, and if you run out, you need to purchase more. I sometimes found this limiting when testing multiple emails in a month.

Brevo (Sendinblue) also offers desktop, mobile, and email client previews, and the interface is smooth and easy to use. The best part? It’s completely free, with no token limits.

I could test as many emails as I wanted without worrying about extra charges.

Spam Testing
Neither Mailchimp nor Brevo offers built-in spam testing. I had to rely on third-party tools for that.

Winner: Both providers have solid email previews, but Brevo wins this round because it doesn’t charge for email client testing. Point to Brevo! (7–4)

Reporting

Mailchimp provides detailed analytics on open rates, click-through rates, bounces, and unsubscribes. I like that I can also track link clicks and see where my subscribers are located. This gave me useful insights into which campaigns were performing well and which needed tweaking.

For deeper analysis, Mailchimp integrates with Google Analytics, so I can track conversions and see exactly how my emails impact my website or online store.

Ecommerce reporting is also strong — I can quickly check how much revenue each campaign generated and what products subscribers are buying.

Brevo (Sendinblue) also provides similar analytics — open rates, clicks, unsubscribes, geolocation, and ecommerce insights. I could see which campaigns were effective and how users interacted with my emails.

The downside? Brevo’s reports aren’t as user-friendly. I found myself clicking around a bit to find the exact data I needed. Advanced analytics are also limited unless you upgrade to a higher-tier plan.

Winner: Mailchimp! While both platforms offer solid reporting, Mailchimp’s reports are easier to read and understand, making it better for users who want clear, accessible data.

Score: Brevo: 7 – Mailchimp: 5

Deliverability

Getting your emails into subscribers’ inboxes is critical — it’s not just about content or design. The platform you use can make a big difference with built-in deliverability tools, which help ensure your emails actually reach your audience.

In 2025, ETT moved away from just testing with seed lists. Now, I look at features that support good deliverability practices, like email authentication, bounce suppression, sender reputation tools, and more.

Mailchimp covers the basics. It supports authentication and bounce suppression, which helps prevent your emails from bouncing or being marked as spam. I noticed it works fine for standard campaigns, but it lacks advanced features like list cleaning, FBL (Feedback Loop) data, or a deliverability dashboard. For someone like me who wants to monitor and improve inbox placement over time, this is a limitation.

Brevo (Sendinblue) offers slightly more advanced tools. I really liked the authentication wizard and IP warmup support, which made setting up new campaigns safer and more reliable. You also have access to their support team for deliverability questions. The only downside is it doesn’t provide full SPF alignment or built-in list hygiene tools.

Winner: Brevo takes this round. While Mailchimp handles the basics well, Brevo’s extra features, like IP warmup and setup wizard, give you more control over inbox placement.

Score: Brevo 8 – Mailchimp 5

Transactional Emails

Transactional emails are those automatic messages like order confirmations, shipping updates, or password resets. They’re essential if you run an online store or any service that relies on timely updates.

Mailchimp does offer transactional emails, but there’s a catch — you have to pay extra. For example, 25,000 emails cost $20 on top of your monthly plan. I found this frustrating because it adds to the cost if you want to send important notifications to your subscribers.

Brevo Transactional Emails
Brevo (Sendinblue) includes transactional emails in its main offering, which is a big plus. On the free plan, there’s a cap of 300 emails/day, which isn’t ideal for time-sensitive or high-volume communications. For serious use, I recommend the paid plan ($39), which removes this limitation.

Winner: Brevo takes this round. Since Mailchimp charges extra and Brevo includes it in the main service, Brevo is clearly the better option for transactional emails.

Score: Brevo 9 – Mailchimp 5

SMS Marketing

SMS campaigns are a great way to reach subscribers directly, especially for time-sensitive updates or promotions. Here’s how Mailchimp and Brevo compare.

Mailchimp SMS Marketing
Sending SMS through Mailchimp is quite limited. You can only do it if you sell products through a Mailchimp store. For service-based notifications, you first need to create appointments that contacts can book through Mailchimp. On top of that, SMS is only available in the United States, which is a big limitation if you have an international audience.

Brevo SMS Marketing
Brevo (Sendinblue) is much more flexible. You can send SMS campaigns on any plan, but you’ll need to purchase credits. Pricing depends on the country — for example, sending SMS in the US costs €5 for 500 SMS, €10 for 1,000, and so on. The charges are in Euros, regardless of your location.

The best part? Brevo doesn’t restrict who you can send SMS to or tie it to other features like stores or appointments. I found it very easy to reach my audience wherever they are.

Winner: Brevo takes this round. It’s far more versatile and flexible than Mailchimp for SMS marketing. Point to Brevo! (10–5)

Integrations & Extras

Mailchimp is well-known for a reason — it integrates with hundreds of marketing tools. I was able to connect almost every tool I needed for my campaigns, from CRMs to landing page builders, ecommerce stores, and analytics platforms. This made automating my workflow much easier.

Brevo (Sendinblue) doesn’t have nearly as many direct integrations as Mailchimp. That said, it’s part of Zapier, so you can still connect it with many apps, just with a few extra steps. I was able to set up what I needed, but it required more effort than Mailchimp.

Winner: Mailchimp takes this round. With over 300 integrations, it’s much easier to plug into your existing marketing stack.

Score: Brevo 10 – Mailchimp 6

Support

Mailchimp offers knowledge base, email, and live chat, but there’s a catch — if you’re on the free plan, you get almost no support.

I found this frustrating because sometimes you just need quick guidance, and it’s not available unless you upgrade. Even when I tried live chat on a paid plan, it was slightly slower than I expected.

Brevo (Sendinblue) also has knowledge base, email, and live chat. Their Help button sometimes shows fewer options depending on the moment, which can be annoying if you need instant assistance.

That said, whenever I’ve contacted Brevo support directly, they’ve been very responsive and helpful, answering my questions quickly and clearly.

Winner: Brevo takes this round. Since Mailchimp makes it almost impossible to get support on the free plan, Brevo’s responsiveness and availability give it the edge.

Score: Brevo 11 – Mailchimp 6

Prices

And here we arrive at the final round: pricing.

To be honest, we’re not big fans of Mailchimp’s pricing. While they offer a freemium plan and pay-as-you-go options, the fact that they now charge for unsubscribed contacts or those who haven’t confirmed opt-in makes it expensive for many small business owners and marketers.

Compared to other tools, Mailchimp isn’t the most expensive, but when you stack it up against Brevo, it feels steep.

Brevo (Sendinblue) charges based on the number of emails sent rather than contacts, and their plans include generous allowances for list sizes. This makes it one of the most affordable all-in-one email marketing platforms. For example, if you have a large list but only send one or two campaigns per month, Brevo is perfect. That’s one of the reasons we consider it a top alternative to ActiveCampaign.

Here’s a quick look at their lowest-level plans:

You can see the difference — Mailchimp’s free plan has dropped sharply, making it less appealing. Meanwhile, Brevo includes many key features like marketing automation, CRM, advanced segmentation, and SMS, all at reasonable prices.

To unlock Mailchimp’s multistep automation, you need their Standard plan ($90 for 5,000 users). For advanced segmentation, comparative reports, multivariate testing, and premium support, you need the Pro plan — much more expensive.

Winner: Brevo! Considering all the features included for a much lower price, this round clearly goes to them.

Score: Brevo 12 – Mailchimp 6

AI Email Marketing Features

Surprise! We have a bonus round…

Artificial intelligence is changing the game in email marketing, making it easier than ever to create, optimize, and personalize campaigns. Let’s see how Mailchimp and Brevo compare when it comes to AI-powered tools.

Brevo AI Features
Brevo takes the lead in accessibility — its AI email builder is available even on the free plan. I tried it out and was able to generate email content in seconds, refine my copy, adjust styles, and even optimize send times for each subscriber to boost engagement. It’s fast, intuitive, and really helped me save time while improving campaign performance.

Mailchimp AI Features
Mailchimp offers “Intuit Assist,” an AI-driven assistant that helps with content generation, tone adjustments, and template customization based on your brand. I liked that it gives helpful suggestions, but the send-time optimization isn’t as precise — it calculates a general best time for the entire list instead of tailoring it to each recipient.

Winner: Brevo, once again. With more accessible AI tools and smarter send-time optimization, Brevo outperforms Mailchimp in this category.

This means we have a final winner… Brevo!

Final Score: Brevo 13 – Mailchimp 6

Final Verdict: Brevo vs Mailchimp — Which One Should You Choose?

After testing both tools side by side for weeks — creating campaigns, setting up automations, checking reports, and even running AI content experiments — here’s my honest conclusion:

Brevo clearly offers more value for money. It’s affordable, feature-rich (even on lower plans), and includes powerful tools like automation, SMS marketing, CRM, and AI email generation without forcing you to upgrade too early. I especially loved how simple it was to build campaigns and how fast the AI features worked.

Mailchimp, on the other hand, still has one of the most polished interfaces and a huge list of integrations. It’s also the safer choice if you’re already using other marketing tools and want a well-known platform with deep ecosystem connections. However, it does get expensive quickly, and many key features are locked behind higher plans. Have a look on these Mailchimp Alternatives.

 learn using Mailchimp by using this tutorial

Here’s how I’d sum it up based on my experience 👇

✅ Choose Brevo if:

• You want maximum value without paying extra for every feature
• You have a big subscriber list but don’t send emails very often
• You prefer a simple, clean workflow for automations, CRM, and transactional emails
• You want to add SMS or AI-powered content generation to your marketing mix
• You appreciate transparent pricing and dislike hidden costs or upgrade traps
• You’re looking for a reliable deliverability record and flexible sending limits

✅ Choose Mailchimp if:

• You rely heavily on ecommerce tracking and advanced analytics

• You want an easy-to-use landing page builder included for free

• You need to connect dozens of third-party tools like Shopify, Canva, or Zapier

For me, Brevo comes out as the smarter long-term pick — especially for solopreneurs, small businesses, and growing marketers who want powerful automation and personalization without breaking the bank.

Final Score: 🏆 Brevo 13 – Mailchimp 6
Winner: Brevo — more features, better value, and smarter AI at a fraction of the cost.