Starter
For your first email program.
$16USD / month
$192 billed yearly.
20,000 emails / month
Choose Starter- 5 brands · 3 seats
- 5 custom sending domains
- 500 email verifications/month
- $1.50 / 1,000 extra emails
Nitrosend is the best Mailchimp alternative in 2026 if you want your AI assistant to run your email, with the top score of 76.5 out of 100 across the eight reviewed here. Your assistant, whether Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex, writes a campaign in your brand's colors, fonts and voice and sends it once you approve it, without anyone opening a dashboard. Contacts are unlimited on every plan, so you pay for the emails you send and never for the list you store, which is the exact thing a Mailchimp invoice charges for. It also costs the least here: $20 a month for 20,000 emails and $650 for a million on Scale including overage, where Mailchimp is $110 at 10,000 contacts. To start, connect its MCP server at api.nitrosend.com/mcp, sign in with OAuth, and ask for the campaign. The others suit different jobs. Brevo (74) puts email, SMS and a CRM on one bill. Klaviyo (64) and Omnisend (61.5) fit online stores. MailerLite (61.5) is the shortest move to a clean newsletter. ActiveCampaign (58.5) suits behavior-driven automation. Zoho Campaigns (54.5) fits teams already on Zoho, and Kit (52) fits creators. Every price and feature was checked on each company's own pages on November 10, 2026.
The ranking
Rank 1Nitrosend
76.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Emails sent
- Free plan
- 5,000 emails, then 500 a month
- Entry plan
- $20 a month, 20,000 emails
- Works from your AI assistant9 out of 10Official MCP server runs campaigns, flows and sends from the chat; campaigns and flows stay drafts until approved (MCP registry).
- Emails in your brand, no designer9 out of 10Brand Kit scans the site for colors, fonts and voice, and applies them to every draft on every plan (docs).
- Price8.5 out of 10Unlimited contacts on every plan. $20 a month for 20,000 emails and $650 for a million emails on Scale including overage (pricing).
- Free plan7 out of 105,000 emails to start, then 500 a month, unlimited contacts. New accounts start at 100 recipients per rolling 24 hours (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Transactional and marketing email share one allowance and one API on every plan, Free included (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand6 out of 10A block builder exists for editing by hand, but it is plainer, because the agent is the main way in.
- Integrations, support and track record5 out of 10Shopify, Stripe, HubSpot, Attio and Mailchimp, five bring-your-own sending providers, a Node SDK, a CLI and signed webhooks for transactional email, but a young product from a small team (docs).
Nitrosend
Ask your agent for the next campaign
Connect Nitrosend to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex, point Brand Kit at your site, and describe the email. Contacts are unlimited on every plan.
Free: 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month. No credit card.
Start free
Rank 2Brevo
74 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Emails sent
- Free plan
- 300 emails a day, 100,000 contacts
- Entry plan
- $9 a month, 5,000 emails
- Works from your AI assistant7 out of 10Official MCP server manages campaigns, contacts and templates, but lists no module for automations (Brevo developers).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand library fetches logo, colors, fonts and links from your site into the editor, not voice (Brevo help).
- Price6 out of 10Priced by emails sent. $69 a month for 20,000 on Standard, $32 on Starter without automation, and $999 for a million on Professional (pricing).
- Free plan8 out of 10300 emails a day, up to 100,000 contacts, transactional email included, free forever (Brevo help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Every plan, Free included, has transactional email by API and SMTP in the same volume (pricing FAQ).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Drag-and-drop editor and templates, 4.5 of 5 across 2,722 reviews, Ease of Use the top tag (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record8 out of 10150+ integrations, SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in one account, phone support on Professional (pricing).
Rank 3Klaviyo
64 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Active profiles
- Free plan
- 250 profiles, 500 emails a month
- Entry plan
- $20 a month, 500 profiles
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official remote MCP server with more than 300 tools, including
send_campaignandcreate_flow(Klaviyo developers). - Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand library detects logos, colors, buttons and fonts from your site, but not voice (Klaviyo help).
- Price2 out of 10Billed by active profiles. $150 a month at 10,000, and 500,000 is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan4 out of 10250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, with email support for 60 days (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan6 out of 10Transactional runs as approved flow messages on the same plan, with each message reviewed by Klaviyo first (help).
- Editor for building by hand9 out of 10Mature editor and flow builder, 4.6 of 5 across 1,362 reviews, Ease of Use the top tag (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 10400+ pre-built integrations, deep Shopify data, and SMS, WhatsApp and reviews in one account (Klaviyo).
Rank 4Omnisend
61.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts emailed
- Free plan
- 250 contacts, 500 emails a month
- Entry plan
- $16 a month, 500 contacts
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official Claude connector and ChatGPT plugin, connected by OAuth, whose execute tool runs Send campaign, Create automation workflow and Enable automation workflow (docs).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Imports logo, colors and fonts from your Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce store, not voice (Omnisend help).
- Price3 out of 10Billed by contacts. Standard is $132 a month at 10,000, and above 150,000 it is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan4 out of 10500 emails a month to up to 250 contacts, with 24/7 support (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan6 out of 10Order and shipping emails run as automations on every plan, triggered by store events (Omnisend help).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 104.6 of 5 across 1,245 reviews, but Limited Templates is a recurring complaint (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record8 out of 10335+ integrations, web push and 24/7 live chat on every plan, and SMS on Pro (pricing).
Rank 5MailerLite
61.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Subscribers
- Free plan
- 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month
- Entry plan
- $12 a month, 500 subscribers
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official MCP server with
create_campaign,schedule_campaignandcreate_automationtools (MailerLite help). - Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand styles pull logo, colors, fonts and links from your site's URL, but not voice (MailerLite help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by subscribers. $89 a month at 10,000 on Comfort, and a quote above 200,000, where Comfort is $819 (pricing).
- Free plan5 out of 10250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations and knowledge base support (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional email is MailerSend, a separate product the pricing table links out to (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Three editors on every plan, drag-and-drop included, and 4.6 of 5 across 1,113 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10100+ integrations, sites and landing pages built in, and 24/7 live chat on Power (pricing).
Rank 6ActiveCampaign
58.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts held
- Free plan
- None, a 14-day trial
- Entry plan
- $15 a month, 1,000 contacts, billed annually
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official MCP server creates a campaign and sends or schedules it once you approve its summary in the chat, and manages contacts, lists, tags and automations (tools).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10AI Brand Kit imports colors, fonts and logos from your URL and builds templates in its editor (ActiveCampaign).
- Price2 out of 10Priced by contacts. Starter is $149 a month at 10,000, billed yearly because no monthly price is published, and above 50,000 it is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan1 out of 10No free plan. A 14-day trial with up to 100 email sends (help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional email is Postmark, a separate product with its own account and bill, linked by an app (ActiveCampaign).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Mature email designer and automation builder, 4.4 of 5 across 14,799 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 101,000+ apps and integrations, premium Salesforce and Dynamics connectors, and a built-in CRM (apps).
Rank 7Zoho Campaigns
54.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts
- Free plan
- 2,000 contacts, 6,000 emails a month
- Entry plan
- Standard, $4 a month, 500 contacts
- Works from your AI assistant2 out of 10Zoho MCP now lists Campaigns as a live service but publishes no tool list for it, so sending a campaign from an agent is not documented (Zoho MCP).
- Emails in your brand, no designer4 out of 10Templates, drag-and-drop, HTML import and generative AI. No brand import from your website is described (pricing).
- Price6 out of 10Priced by contacts with unlimited emails. $49 a month at 10,000 on Standard, $1,380 at 500,000 on Professional (pricing).
- Free plan7 out of 10Forever free for 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional email is ZeptoMail, a separate Zoho product with its own account (ZeptoMail).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 10Drag-and-drop editor and 120+ templates, 4.3 of 5 across 1,042 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record8 out of 10Native Zoho suite integrations, from CRM to Desk, and telephone support (pricing).
Rank 8Kit
52 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Subscribers
- Free plan
- Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts
- Entry plan
- Creator, $39 a month at 1,000 subscribers
- Works from your AI assistant5 out of 10Official Kit MCP drafts broadcasts, but a send only fires when someone clicks Confirm inside the Kit app (Kit help).
- Emails in your brand, no designer4 out of 10Brand settings for name, colors, font, favicon and links are entered by hand, with no import from a website (Kit help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by subscribers. Creator is $139 a month at 10,000, and the published slider stops at 400,000 subscribers, $2,299, with a demo request above that (pricing).
- Free plan9 out of 10Free for up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, but no automations, sequences or MCP (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan2 out of 10The pricing page lists no transactional email on any plan (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 10A block-based editor with starting point, classic and HTML templates, and 4.4 of 5 across 236 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10100+ direct app integrations, a Kit App Store, and 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans (pricing).
How they compare
How each one scores
Scores out of 10, November 10, 2026| What we compared | Nitrosend | Brevo | Klaviyo | Omnisend | MailerLite | Zoho Campaigns | Kit | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works from your AI assistant20 points | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 |
| Emails in your brand, no designer10 points | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 |
| Price20 points | 8.5 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 |
| Free plan10 points | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 1 out of 10 |
| Receipts and newsletters on one plan10 points | 9 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 |
| Editor for building by hand15 points | 6 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 |
| Integrations, support and track record15 points | 5 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 |
| Total scoreout of 100 | 76.5 out of 100,1st | 74 out of 100,2nd | 64 out of 100,3rd | 61.5 out of 100,tied 4th | 61.5 out of 100,tied 4th | 54.5 out of 100,7th | 52 out of 100,8th | 58.5 out of 100,6th |
Here are the seven yes-or-no questions people usually ask before they move off Mailchimp. A tick means the platform does it, as described on its own pages today. A dash means the answer is not a clean yes or no.
8 services, side by side
Checked November 10, 2026QuestionNitrosendBrevoKlaviyoOmnisendMailerLiteZoho CampaignsKitActiveCampaign
NitrosendBrevoKlaviyoOmnisendMailerLiteZoho CampaignsKitActiveCampaignSend a campaign from the chatCan an agent send a marketing campaign without anyone opening the web app?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Not a yes or no.Klaviyo: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Zoho Campaigns: Not a yes or no.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes, through the MCP server. Campaigns stay drafts until approved. |
| Brevo | Not a yes or no. Its MCP server creates and manages email campaigns. Its docs list no module for automations. |
| Klaviyo | Yes. Yes. The official MCP server has a send_campaign tool. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes. Its MCP server can send a campaign once you grant it write access. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes. Its MCP server can create and schedule campaigns. |
| Zoho Campaigns | Not a yes or no. Campaigns is live on Zoho MCP, with no published tool list. |
| Kit | No. No. The MCP drafts and schedules, but the send fires only after a Confirm click inside the Kit app. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes. Its MCP server sends a prepared campaign after you approve its summary in the chat. |
Official MCP serverIs there a first-party MCP server an AI assistant can connect to?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Klaviyo: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Zoho Campaigns: Yes.Kit: Yes.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Listed as com.nitrosend/nitrosend on the official MCP registry. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, remote-hosted, with 27 modules. |
| Klaviyo | Yes. Yes, remote-hosted, with more than 300 tools. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes, as a ChatGPT plugin and a Claude connector. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes. It can also build automations, with create_automation. |
| Zoho Campaigns | Yes. Yes. Campaigns is now a live service on Zoho MCP. |
| Kit | Yes. Yes. Kit hosts its own server at app.kit.com/mcp, on paid plans. It is not on the official MCP registry. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, a remote MCP URL on every plan. |
Brand kit from your siteDoes it pick up your logo, colors and fonts from your website?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Klaviyo: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Zoho Campaigns: No.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Brand Kit reads colors, fonts and voice from your site. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes. The brand library fetches logo, colors, fonts and links. |
| Klaviyo | Yes. Yes. The brand library detects logos, colors, buttons and fonts. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes. It imports logo, colors and fonts from the connected store. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes. Brand styles pull logo, colors, fonts and links. |
| Zoho Campaigns | No. Not described. |
| Kit | No. No. Brand settings are entered by hand. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, with the AI Brand Kit. |
Rarely emailed contacts are freeDo contacts you rarely email stop counting toward the bill?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Klaviyo: No.Omnisend: No.MailerLite: No.Zoho Campaigns: No.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Contacts are unlimited on every plan. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes. The bill follows emails sent. |
| Klaviyo | No. No. Every active profile counts toward the plan. |
| Omnisend | No. No. The plan is set by list size. |
| MailerLite | No. No. The plan is set by subscriber count. |
| Zoho Campaigns | No. No. The plan is set by contact tier. |
| Kit | No. No. Paid plans are set by subscriber count. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. The plan is set by how many contacts you hold. |
Transactional includedAre receipts and resets in the same plan as newsletters?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Klaviyo: Not a yes or no.Omnisend: No.MailerLite: No.Zoho Campaigns: No.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| Klaviyo | Not a yes or no. Through approved, metric-triggered flows rather than a send call. |
| Omnisend | No. No. Transactional emails run as store-triggered automations. |
| MailerLite | No. No. Transactional is MailerSend, a separate product. |
| Zoho Campaigns | No. No. Transactional is ZeptoMail, a separate product. |
| Kit | No. No. No transactional email is listed on any plan. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. Transactional is Postmark, billed separately. |
Free planIs there a free plan with no time limit?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Klaviyo: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Zoho Campaigns: Yes.Kit: Yes.ActiveCampaign: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, 300 emails a day. |
| Klaviyo | Yes. Yes, up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes, up to 250 contacts. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes, with a cap on subscribers and on emails a month. |
| Zoho Campaigns | Yes. Yes, up to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month. |
| Kit | Yes. Yes. Up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. A 14-day trial with up to 100 sends. |
Mature drag-and-drop editorIs there a polished visual editor for a person building by hand?Nitrosend: Not a yes or no.Brevo: Yes.Klaviyo: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Zoho Campaigns: Yes.Kit: Not a yes or no.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Not a yes or no. A block builder exists. The agent is the main way in. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, with templates and a brand library. |
| Klaviyo | Yes. Yes, and reviewers rate it highly. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes, a drag-and-drop editor with prebuilt store workflows. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes, plus custom HTML and simple editors. |
| Zoho Campaigns | Yes. Yes, with 120+ templates on paid plans. |
| Kit | Not a yes or no. A block-based editor with templates, not free drag-and-drop. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, and a mature automation builder. |
Yes answersOut of the questions that have a yes or no for that service6 of 6 yes for Nitrosend6 of 6 yes for Brevo5 of 6 yes for Klaviyo5 of 7 yes for Omnisend5 of 7 yes for MailerLite3 of 6 yes for Zoho Campaigns2 of 6 yes for Kit4 of 7 yes for ActiveCampaign
At a glance
8 services, the same 7 tests, 100 points in all. In order: Nitrosend 76.5, Brevo 74, Klaviyo 64, Omnisend 61.5, MailerLite 61.5, ActiveCampaign 58.5, Zoho Campaigns 54.5, Kit 52. Nitrosend has the best score on Works from your AI assistant, Emails in your brand, no designer, Price and Receipts and newsletters on one plan. Every price and feature was read on each company's own pages on November 10, 2026.
When another platform is the better pick
Nitrosend does not win every test. Read these before you choose it.
- Pick Brevo if you want email, SMS and a CRM on one bill. It prices on emails sent too, it scores higher on free plan, 8 to 7, with 300 emails a day and no card, and it beats Nitrosend on editor and on track record. Standard, the first plan with automation, is $69 a month for 20,000 emails.
- Pick Klaviyo if you run an online store. It scores 9 on the editor and 9 on track record, and nothing else here matches its store data: abandoned carts, browse abandonment and product triggers. It bills on active profiles, so a large list costs $150 a month at 10,000 and goes to sales above 150,000.
- Pick ActiveCampaign if behavior drives your email. Multi-step branching and a built-in CRM earn it a 9 on track record and an 8 on the editor. Its MCP server can now send a campaign you approve in the chat. There is no free plan, and Starter is $149 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed yearly.
- Pick MailerLite if you want the shortest move to a clean newsletter. Its editor scores 8, and it is free to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. It still bills per subscriber, so it fixes the interface, not the invoice.
- Pick Omnisend if you want Klaviyo's shape on a smaller budget. Store email and SMS share one automation, and its integrations and support score 8.
- Pick Zoho Campaigns if you already live in the Zoho suite. It is $49 a month at 10,000 contacts with unlimited emails, the lowest price here after Nitrosend at that size, and it links natively to Zoho CRM.
- Pick Kit if your list is an audience you publish to. Its free plan holds 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, a free plan score of 9, and it is built around creators rather than stores.
Why people leave Mailchimp
Mailchimp bills on contacts, not on sends. That is fine if you email your list every week. It is a tax if you do not.
On November 10, 2026 Mailchimp's own pricing page listed Essentials at $110 a month for 10,000 contacts, with automated flows capped at four steps, and Standard at $135. Above 200,000 contacts there is no published price at all. Mailchimp also counts unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward the limit until you archive them by hand, so the contact count sets the bill and what you send barely moves it.
The people this hurts most are the occasional senders: a business with a large list it emails a few times a year pays for every stored address all year, and gets little back for it. Paying for what you send rather than what you store fixes that, which is why price is scored on emails sent here.
The second reason is newer, and it is about AI. Mailchimp's automation flows, which it used to call Customer Journeys, are built by hand in its app. Its Marketing API reference offers one endpoint for them, a step trigger that only works after someone has created that step in the flow builder, and its Classic Automations section says it does not include automation flows. Mailchimp's own Claude connector plans the campaign in the chat, then tells you to move into your Mailchimp account to finalize and send it. So on Mailchimp the assistant plans and a person still finishes the job in the app. On Nitrosend the assistant builds the flow, writes the campaign and sends it once you approve.
George Hartley, Nitrosend's co-founder, has changed his own advice on this in the past year. On SaaS Stories in September 2026 he said: "a year ago, I would have said, oh, you know, look, pay really close attention to engagement and, you know, manually go in and find the people who are engaging more and send them more." Now, he said, "I'll just say hey tell AI my goal is to like you know send a good volume of email to the right people set it up for me". A platform where the segments and flows can only be built by hand in the app cannot take that instruction.
The other half is fair to say. Mailchimp has one of the deepest template libraries in the category, more than 300 integrations, and reporting most marketers you hire already know. It is a poor fit for senders with a big list they rarely email, and for teams that want their assistant to do the work rather than plan it. The Nitrosend and Mailchimp head to head goes through the two line by line.
What each one costs in 2026
The platforms here charge in two ways. Nitrosend and Brevo charge by emails sent. The rest charge by the size of your list, and Zoho Campaigns and Kit do not meter sends at all within a list tier. To compare them fairly, the table prices the same two lists on every platform: 10,000 contacts emailed twice a month, which is 20,000 emails, and 500,000 contacts emailed twice a month, which is a million.
What sending costs
List prices, USD, monthly, November 10, 2026| Service | 20,000 emails a month | 1,000,000 emails a month |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrosend (pricing page) | $20Starter, contacts unlimited | $650Scale, contacts unlimited, including overage |
| Brevo (pricing page) | $69Standard, the first plan with automation. Starter is $32 without it | $999Professional. Standard stops at 500,000 emails |
| Klaviyo (pricing page) | $150Email, 10,000 active profiles | Ask salesBy quote. The published slider stops at 150,000 profiles, $1,955 |
| Omnisend (pricing page) | $132Standard, paid monthly. The page opens on a 30% prepay discount | Ask salesBy quote. Published tiers stop at 150,000 contacts, $1,456 |
| MailerLite (pricing page) | $89Comfort, 10,000 subscribers | Ask salesEnterprise, by quote. Published tiers stop at 200,000, $819 on Comfort |
| Zoho Campaigns (pricing page) | $49Standard, 10,000 contacts, unlimited emails | $1,380Professional. Standard stops at 100,000 contacts |
| Kit (pricing page) | $139Creator, the first plan with automations. Free covers 10,000 without them | Ask salesBy quote. The published slider stops at 400,000 subscribers, $2,299 |
| ActiveCampaign (pricing page) | $149Starter, billed yearly. No monthly price is published | Ask salesBy quote. Published tiers stop at 50,000 contacts |
At 20,000 emails a month Nitrosend is $20. Zoho Campaigns is $49, Brevo $69, MailerLite $89, Omnisend $132, Kit $139, ActiveCampaign $149 billed yearly and Klaviyo $150. Mailchimp itself is $110 on Essentials for the same list.
At a million emails a month Nitrosend is $650. Brevo is $999 and Zoho Campaigns $1,380. Klaviyo, Omnisend, MailerLite, Kit and ActiveCampaign publish no price at that size, and neither does Mailchimp. What email marketing really costs has the wider math.
The bigger difference is what the $20 buys. Contacts are unlimited on every Nitrosend plan, receipts and password resets go out on the same allowance as your newsletters, and your AI assistant runs the account. If you hold 100,000 addresses and email 30,000 of them, a per-contact platform bills you for all 100,000. Count your real contacts and your real monthly sends before you compare.
How we scored
Every platform gets a score out of 10 on the same seven tests. Each test is worth a set number of points, 100 in all. Working from your AI assistant and price are worth the most, 20 points each, because they decide what running email costs you in time and money. The editor and track record, where the older platforms are strongest, share 30 points, so a platform that is better there gets full credit for it.
Each test is a question with one answer per service, checked against the service's own pages on November 10, 2026. A 10 means it does the job fully on its normal plans. A 5 means it does part of it, or only on a higher plan or in a second product.
Works from your AI assistant, 20 points. Can an agent inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex compose a marketing campaign, test it, and send it, with no person opening the web app between the prompt and the send? An approval step the person answers in the chat counts as inside the agent. Moving into the web app to finish does not. Scored on one written rule for every vendor: a first-party server the vendor runs and that can send counts fully; a third-party wrapper (Zapier, Composio, Kanopi, community servers) counts for less; a server that only drafts or reads counts for less than one that sends.
Emails in your brand, no designer, 10 points. Does the product learn your logo, colors, fonts and voice from your own site and apply them to every email it drafts, on the plan most small teams start on?
Price, 20 points. What does email cost each month at 20,000 emails, a 10,000-contact list emailed twice, and at 1,000,000, a 500,000-contact list emailed twice? Scored on list prices in US dollars, paid monthly, at the cheapest plan that holds the contacts, covers the sends and includes automated emails such as a welcome series. Every ranking on this site uses the same fixed scale. At 20,000 emails, $20 or less scores 10, then $25 scores 9, $32 scores 8, $40 scores 7, $50 scores 6, $70 scores 5, $100 scores 4 and $140 scores 3. At 1,000,000, $500 or less scores 10, then $625, $800, $1,000, $1,250, $1,750, $2,500 and $3,500 step down the same way. Anything dearer, or a price given only by quote, scores 2. A free product scores 10. The score is the average of the two.
Free plan, 10 points. How far can a team get on the free plan before it has to pay: contacts, total sends, and the daily ceiling.
Receipts and newsletters on one plan, 10 points. Can receipts, password resets and newsletters go out from one account, on one bill, through one API?
Editor for building by hand, 15 points. For a person who wants to build the email themselves: how mature are the visual editor and the template library?
Integrations, support and track record, 15 points. How many tools does it plug into, what support comes with the plan, and how long has it been doing this at scale?
One thing is not scored: inbox placement. None of these platforms publishes a comparable deliverability number, so a score there would be a guess dressed up as a measurement.
Which Mailchimp alternative is cheapest for a big list you rarely email?
Nitrosend, then Brevo, because both charge on emails sent rather than contacts stored. Zoho Campaigns is the cheapest of the platforms that bill by list size, at $49 a month for 10,000 contacts against Mailchimp's $110, though 500,000 contacts puts it on Professional at $1,380. Before you compare headline prices, work out your real contact count and your real monthly send volume, because the way a platform counts decides the bill more than the price does.
Can I keep Mailchimp for the store and move only the newsletter?
Yes, and for a while it is often the calm way to do it. What it takes is DNS: the new sender's DKIM record added alongside Mailchimp's, and both senders in the single SPF record on your sending domain. Then move one type of message at a time and watch the bounce and complaint rates on each. Check your contact count before you make the split permanent, because if both platforms hold the same people you are paying twice for one list.
How to move off Mailchimp without hurting deliverability
You are usually carrying a list that has been stored longer than it has been engaged with, so treat this as a warm-up rather than a swap.
- Export contacts and engagement history together. Engagement history is what lets you pick a safe first segment.
- Know what comes across. Nitrosend's Mailchimp connector brings over audiences, members and common merge fields, and anyone unsubscribed, cleaned or archived arrives as not subscribed. Campaign history, templates and reports stay behind, so save the reports you need before you close the account.
- Check what you exported. A list does not become clean by changing platforms, and the email blacklist checker tells you what you are carrying.
- Authenticate the new sender on your domain. Keep both senders in one SPF record during the overlap. The email authentication guide covers the records.
- Add your postal address before the first campaign. US law requires a valid physical postal address in every marketing email. In Nitrosend it lives in the Brand Kit, and until it is set, campaign approval and live sends are blocked, so ask your assistant to add it when it sets up your brand.
- Warm up rather than switching in one send. How to warm up an email domain has the ramp.
- Send to your most engaged segment first. Widen only once bounce and complaint rates hold, and run an inbox placement test before the first large send.
- Rebuild the flows that earn money first. Automations never import cleanly between platforms, and that is the migration cost nobody quotes.
The same moves apply if you are also weighing up Brevo's alternatives, Klaviyo's, ActiveCampaign's or MailerLite's.
Mailchimp alternatives FAQ
Nitrosend, with the top score in this review, 76.5 out of 100. Contacts are unlimited on every plan, it is $20 a month for 20,000 emails, and your AI assistant can write and send campaigns in your brand. Pick Brevo if you want SMS and a CRM on the same bill, Klaviyo or Omnisend for an online store, ActiveCampaign for deep behavioral automation, MailerLite for a simple newsletter, and Kit for a creator's audience.
Nitrosend, with 9 out of 10 on working from your AI assistant, the heaviest of the seven tests. Its official MCP server, listed as com.nitrosend/nitrosend on the official MCP registry, covers campaigns, flows, contacts, templates and domains, and campaigns and flows stay drafts until approved. Klaviyo and MailerLite score 8, both with official MCP servers that can create campaigns (Klaviyo's tools, MailerLite's). Omnisend also scores 8, since its MCP server can send a campaign and switch on an automation. ActiveCampaign also scores 8, since its MCP server sends a prepared campaign once you approve its summary in the chat. Brevo scores 7 and Kit 5. Kit's MCP drafts broadcasts, but the send fires only after a Confirm click inside the Kit app. Zoho Campaigns scores 2, because Zoho MCP now lists Campaigns but publishes no tool list for it, so sending from an agent is not documented. Mailchimp itself has a Claude connector, but it plans the campaign and leaves the send to you in Mailchimp.
Connect Nitrosend's MCP server at api.nitrosend.com/mcp, or add the Nitrosend connector in Claude or ChatGPT, and sign in with OAuth. No API key is needed. Connect Mailchimp under Integrations to bring your audience across, then ask the assistant to set up your Brand Kit from your website and draft your first campaign or welcome flow. It shows you a preview, can send you a test, and nothing goes to your list until you approve it.
Because it bills on contact count rather than on emails sent, and it keeps counting unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts until they are archived. A list that grows over years pushes you up the tiers whether you email it or not. On November 10, 2026 Essentials listed at $110 a month for 10,000 contacts and Standard at $135, and lists over 200,000 contacts are priced only by sales.
Several, capped in different ways. Kit is free to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts but no automations. Zoho Campaigns is free to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month. Brevo is free at 300 emails a day. MailerLite is free to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails. Klaviyo and Omnisend are both free to 250 contacts and 500 emails. Nitrosend gives 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month, with unlimited contacts and full API, MCP and CLI access.
For the email half, yes: campaigns, flows, segments, templates, contacts and transactional sending in one account, with unlimited contacts on every plan. What does not come across is Mailchimp's wider marketing suite, its ads and social posting, its landing page library and the templates you have built inside it.
No. Every platform models flows differently, so automations are rebuilt rather than imported. Mailchimp's automation flows cannot even be read out through its Marketing API, which only triggers a step built in the app, so no tool can copy them across for you. Describe each flow to your assistant instead, trigger, waits and emails, and let it rebuild the flow in Nitrosend as a draft you approve. The rebuild is often a chance to cut steps rather than copy them. Rebuild the flows that earn money first and leave the rest until your sending reputation on the new platform has settled.
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