Mailchimp
The familiar all in one that pairs an easy builder with the widest integration library, if you can manage the contact based bill.
Mailchimp is the name most people reach for first, and it earns that with a friendly drag and drop builder, a deep template gallery and one of the largest app ecosystems in the category. Newer AI assists, a basic CRM and a website builder round it into a small marketing suite. The tradeoffs are price and counting: every subscribed, unsubscribed and non subscribed contact can count toward your tier, the free plan was cut to 250 contacts and 500 sends in early 2026, and automation depth still trails ActiveCampaign. For many small teams the ease and reach win anyway.
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The easiest place to start, if you watch how it counts your contacts.
In its favour
Held against it
Ease and reach lead, value is the soft spot.
Mailchimp scores highest on integrations and ease, the two things it has always done well. Value drags the total down because contact counting and tier jumps make the real bill bigger than the headline.
Scored against the same five weighted criteria we use across email marketing. See the rubric →
a small team that wants the simplest start and the widest set of integrations and add ons.
a sender watching cost per contact, or one that needs the deepest automation for the price.
What it costs
Per month, billed monthly, 500 contactsPricing as of June 2026. Prices scale with contacts, and unsubscribed contacts can still count. Check the vendor for current pricing.