Campaign Monitor is the better choice if your priority is polished, brand-controlled email design with unlimited sends on its higher plans, while Mailchimp is the better choice if you want an all-in-one marketing platform with a free tier, more integrations, and broader audience and automation tools. For most small businesses starting out, Mailchimp's entry price and breadth win. For design-led teams and agencies, Campaign Monitor has a clear case.
This comparison uses each vendor's published plans and consistent patterns in user reviews. Campaign Monitor documents a 30-day trial and subscriber-based tiers, while Mailchimp documents a free plan and contact-based paid tiers. Third-party price figures conflict in 2026, so verify current pricing on both sites.
How We Compared Campaign Monitor and Mailchimp
We compared the two on their public pricing pages, documented feature lists, and recurring themes in published reviews. We did not send live campaigns from either account. The same four questions apply to both: what does a small list cost, what does each plan unlock, how good are the design and automation tools, and what trips people up as lists grow.
Campaign Monitor: design control and send volume
Campaign Monitor positions itself around clean templates, drag-and-drop editing, and brand consistency. Its documented plans are Lite, Essentials, Premier, and a custom Enterprise tier. Lite includes core features such as drip campaigns and automated emails, with a monthly send cap tied to your subscriber count. Essentials adds unlimited sends, priority support, and inbox preview. Premier adds phone support, advanced segments, send time optimization, and a website builder.
The vendor lists a 30-day free trial with up to 500 contacts and a 500-email limit, not a permanent free plan. Subscriber tiers run from 0 to 500 contacts up to 50,000 and beyond, with a 10% discount for annual billing and 15% for verified nonprofits through sales. A third-party tracker lists entry pricing near $11 for Lite and $19 for Essentials, but that source is unverified, so check the live page.
Mailchimp: the broader platform with a free tier
Mailchimp covers email, landing pages, forms, a basic CRM, social posting, and a large integration list. Reported 2026 pricing at 500 contacts is about $13 per month for Essentials and $20 for Standard, with Premium reported near $350 per month and aimed at much larger lists. The free plan was reported cut in early 2026 to around 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, though sources differ.
The recurring complaint is cost growth. Reviewers note that Mailchimp counts all contacts, including unsubscribed ones, toward billing, and that prices climb quickly with list size. See our roundup of the best email marketing software for alternatives.
Plans and pricing side by side
| Item | Campaign Monitor | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | 30-day trial, 500 contacts | Free plan, small limits (reported) |
| Entry paid | Lite (verify price) | Essentials, about $13 at 500 contacts (reported) |
| Mid tier | Essentials, unlimited sends | Standard, about $20 at 500 contacts (reported) |
| Top self-serve | Premier, phone support | Premium, reported near $350 |
| Annual discount | 10% | Available on paid plans |
| Website builder | Optional add-on, $10 per month | Included in the platform |
Design, automation, and segmentation
Campaign Monitor's editor and template tools are what reviewers most often praise, especially for agencies producing branded emails. Its automation covers drip campaigns and automated emails, with more advanced engagement segments reserved for Premier. Mailchimp offers broader automation, audience tags, and AI-assisted content on Standard, plus more integrations. If advanced journeys are your goal, compare both against tools reviewed in our CRM guide that bundle email.
What a growing list does to your bill
List size is the variable that changes the answer. Both vendors price by contacts or subscribers, so a 500-contact list and a 10,000-contact list are very different decisions. Campaign Monitor documents eight subscriber tiers, from 0 to 500 up to 50,001 and above, and its Essentials and Premier plans remove send caps, so cost depends on list size rather than how often you email. Mailchimp also scales by contacts, and sources report that Standard at around 10,000 contacts costs several times the 500-contact price.
That difference matters for businesses that email often. If you send weekly to a modest list, unlimited sends are a real benefit. If you email rarely to a large list, a per-send model or a lower-cost platform might cost less. Run your own numbers: multiply your expected sends per month against each plan's cap, and price the exact subscriber tier you will be in at the end of the year, not today.
Support, deliverability, and ease of use
Support follows the plan tier on both platforms. Campaign Monitor lists priority support on Essentials and phone support on Premier, while Mailchimp reports priority phone support on Premium. Reviewers describe Mailchimp as easy to start with and Campaign Monitor as clean and focused, which suits teams that only need email. We found no reliable independent data comparing inbox placement between them, so treat deliverability claims from either side with caution and test on your own sending domain once authentication records are set up.
Where each one falls short
Campaign Monitor has fewer integrations and no lasting free plan, and its website builder costs extra. Mailchimp's weaknesses are contact-based price growth, feature gating across tiers, and a free plan that keeps shrinking. Evidence on deliverability differences is thin, so we do not claim one inboxes better than the other.
Which one fits your business
Choose Campaign Monitor if you send frequent, design-heavy campaigns and want unlimited sends without per-send worries. Choose Mailchimp if you want a low entry cost, a free option to start, and an all-in-one toolset. If you are leaving Mailchimp, both support CSV list exports, so moving subscribers is straightforward, though automations must be rebuilt.
The bottom line: pick Mailchimp for a low-cost, all-in-one start, and pick Campaign Monitor if polished design and unlimited sends matter more to your brand.
