Brevo vs Mailchimp for Drip Campaigns: Pricing, Limits and Which to Pick
Brevo or Mailchimp for drip campaigns? Compare how each prices contacts and sends, what the free plans allow, cost at real list sizes, and how to build and move a sequence.
For most drip programs with a list of a few thousand contacts or more that send a few emails each month, Brevo is the better starting pick. Its paid plans are priced by monthly email volume rather than by how many people sit on the list, and its Starter plan begins at $9 a month for 5,000 emails. Mailchimp is the better pick when the list is small and actively emailed, when you want a broad catalogue of integrations, or when you already run your business inside its ecosystem. Mailchimp's Standard plan starts at $20 a month for 500 contacts on the default selector.
This review compares the two platforms only on the things that decide a drip budget: how each one bills, what the free plans allow, what a sequence costs at realistic list sizes, which features sit behind which tier, and how much work it takes to move a live sequence from one to the other. Prices below are the figures published on each vendor's pricing page, checked on 7 October 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a price for a given size, the table says so rather than estimating one.
Quick Comparison
The two tools answer different questions. Brevo asks how many emails you send. Mailchimp asks how many people you store. A drip sequence sits between those two numbers, so the same program can look cheap on one platform and expensive on the other depending on whether your list is large and quiet or small and busy.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price (plan and billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Large lists with moderate sending, and drips that mix email with SMS or WhatsApp | Free plan: 300 sends a day and up to 100,000 contacts. Starter: $9/month, starting at 5,000 emails/month, no daily sending limit. | Automation and A/B testing are included from the Standard plan ($18/month, starting at 5,000 emails/month), not on the free or Starter plans. |
| Mailchimp | Small, actively emailed lists, and teams that want a wide set of integrations | Free plan: up to 250 contacts and 500 sends/month (250 a day at most). Essentials at 500 contacts: $13/month, monthly billing. | Billed per contact, so every address on the list adds to the bill whether or not it opens your emails. |
How Each Platform Charges for a Drip Program
Brevo prices its paid plans by the number of emails you send in a month. The plan you need is set by your monthly volume, and a plan's starting price applies at its starting volume. Its Professional plan covers 150,000 to 10 million sends a month and allows up to 2 million contacts, with a list price of $499 a month on the monthly view. The practical effect is that adding a large batch of inactive contacts does not, on its own, move you to a more expensive plan. Sending more often does.
Mailchimp prices by contact tier. Each tier sets a contact ceiling and a monthly send allowance. The monthly send allowance grows with the tier, so a list that grows also raises the price even if you keep the same sending habits. A drip program that emails a long, mostly dormant list pays for every name on it.
The table below puts both models next to each other at three list sizes. Where a platform does not publish a price for the exact size, the cell says "pricing on request" and does not guess. Brevo's paid tiers are sized by send volume, so its column is built on the send volume a typical program at that list size would produce.
| Contacts on the list | Sends per month (example) | Brevo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 contacts | About 2,000 | Free plan covers 300 sends a day, with no monthly fee. Starter from $9/month at 5,000 emails. | Essentials at 500 contacts: $13/month, monthly billing. Standard at 500 contacts: $20/month, up to 6,000 emails. |
| 3,000 contacts | About 12,000 | Starter from $9/month at 5,000 emails. Price at 12,000 emails: pricing on request. | Contacts 2,501 to 5,000: $100/month, up to 60,000 emails. |
| 10,000 contacts | About 60,000 | Price at 60,000 emails: pricing on request. Standard from $18/month at 5,000 emails covers the automation features. | Contacts 5,001 to 10,000: $135/month, up to 120,000 emails. |
| 15,000 contacts | About 150,000 | Professional: $499/month for 150,000 to 10 million sends. | Contacts 10,001 to 15,000: $230/month, up to 180,000 emails. |
Read the table as a sensitivity check, not a verdict. At 500 contacts sending about 2,000 emails a month, Brevo's free plan can carry the program if the daily cap suits your schedule. At 15,000 contacts sending 150,000 emails a month, the Mailchimp contact tier is cheaper than Brevo's Professional plan on the monthly view, because Mailchimp is pricing a list of that size while Brevo is pricing a high send volume. The gap reverses when the list is very large and the sends are light, because Brevo does not raise the price with each new contact. Model your own pair of numbers, contacts and sends, before choosing.
Two costs are easy to miss. Mailchimp's send allowance is tied to the tier, so a list that grows past a ceiling moves you to the next tier even if your monthly sends stay flat. Brevo's send allowance is tied to the plan, so a sudden burst of campaigns can push you up a tier even if your list has not changed. Track both numbers for at least three months before you commit to an annual term.
Brevo in Depth
Where Brevo fits a drip program
Brevo suits drip programs that need more than email. The vendor's own product lineup includes SMS and WhatsApp messaging, so a sequence can send an email on day one, an SMS on day three for an unopened message, and a WhatsApp reminder before a renewal date, all from one account. If your drip program is a single channel, that breadth is not a reason to pick Brevo. If you do run several channels, it means one consent record and one reporting surface instead of two.
The send-based model also suits lists that grow through content, referrals or a long-running lead magnet. Those lists often include many contacts who open only a few times a year. On a contact-based plan, each of those contacts costs money every month. On Brevo, the bill follows the volume of messages you send, so a large but quiet list does not push the price up by itself.
The free plan is a useful place to build and test a short sequence before paying. It allows 300 sends a day and up to 100,000 contacts. For a welcome series of four or five emails sent to a few hundred new signups a week, the daily cap is rarely the constraint. It becomes the constraint when you run a broadcast to a large segment on the same day as the drip is firing.
Where Brevo falls short
Automation depth is the first limitation. The published plan details place automation, A/B testing and advanced reports in the Standard plan, which starts at $18 a month at 5,000 emails. A team that expects to build branching, multi-step journeys on the free or Starter plan will hit a wall. Check the feature list on the pricing page for the plan you intend to use before you design the sequence.
The second limitation is send metering. A program that sends several emails a week to a large list will reach the top of its tier faster than a program that sends one email a month, even if the two lists are the same size. That is the intended trade-off, but it means the cheapest Brevo plan is not always the right one for a high-frequency sequence. Sends per month, not contacts, is the number to watch.
The third point is operational scope. Brevo bundles email, SMS, WhatsApp, transactional sending and a CRM. Each channel has its own rules on consent and sending limits, so a team running a multi-channel drip has to track those rules per channel. Teams that only need email will not use most of the bundle, and the extra surface can make the account harder to administer.
Price: free plan with 300 sends a day; Starter from $9/month at 5,000 emails; Standard from $18/month at 5,000 emails; Professional $499/month on the monthly view for 150,000 to 10 million sends. Full details and the current yearly view are on Brevo's pricing page.
Mailchimp in Depth
Where Mailchimp fits a drip program
Mailchimp suits small, active lists. When most of your contacts open and click, a contact-based bill is predictable and easy to forecast. Its free plan, with up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, is enough to build and test a sequence for a small audience with no spend at all. The Standard plan, starting at $20 a month for 500 contacts, is the usual step up once the free limits no longer fit.
Integrations are the second reason to choose it. A team that already runs an online store, a booking tool, a membership site or a CRM will often find a ready connector for the tool it uses. For a drip sequence that is triggered by a purchase or a signup in another system, the time saved by a prebuilt connector can outweigh a small difference in price. Confirm the specific connector you need before you commit, because the catalogue changes and the level of support varies by integration.
Mailchimp is also a common choice for teams that want one place to manage audiences, campaigns and the templates they reuse. Familiar workflows reduce the training time for new marketers, which matters more than most pricing comparisons for a small team.
Where Mailchimp falls short
Contact-based billing is the main limitation. Every address on the list counts toward the bill. A list of 10,000 contacts costs more than a list of 5,000 contacts even if the same 2,000 people open every email and the other 8,000 never do. Before you buy a higher tier, clean the list: remove addresses that have not engaged for a long time and suppress addresses that bounced. Those steps usually lower the bill more than any single feature choice.
Sending capacity is tied to the tier. A monthly send allowance that fits a 2,500-contact list may not fit a sequence that sends several emails a week to the same people. Mailchimp's published tiers, such as up to 60,000 emails a month at 2,501 to 5,000 contacts, show how the allowance grows with the list, but a high-frequency program can outgrow an allowance before the list does.
Transactional email is a separate product. If your drip sequence depends on order confirmations or password resets sent from the same domain, you will need Mandrill, which is priced on its own. Check its pricing at Mandrill's pricing page before you assume one platform handles both.
Price: free plan with up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month; Essentials at 500 contacts from $13/month with monthly billing; Standard at 500 contacts from $20/month; contact tiers from $100/month at 2,501 to 5,000 contacts. Some contact sizes have no published price, and the pricing page shows the current options: Mailchimp's pricing page.
The Free Plans Side by Side
Both platforms offer a free plan, and the two are built around different limits. Brevo's free plan is generous on contacts, allowing up to 100,000, but caps sending at 300 emails a day. Mailchimp's free plan is tight on contacts, allowing up to 250, but caps total sends at 500 a month and no more than 250 a day.
For a new sequence on a small list, Mailchimp's free plan can be enough for a few weeks of testing. For a sequence on a list of several thousand people, Brevo's free plan can hold the whole list, but a daily cap of 300 means a single large campaign will take several days to reach everyone. Pick the free plan whose limit is least likely to get in the way of the first month of real use.
Neither free plan should be treated as a production home for a revenue-critical sequence. The daily and monthly limits, the feature gaps and the absence of higher-tier support make the paid plan the realistic starting point once the sequence is live.
Building a Drip Sequence on Either Platform
The steps for building a drip sequence are similar on both platforms, and most of the time goes into the content and the trigger logic rather than the tool. Start by writing down the goal of the sequence and the single action you want the reader to take at the end. A welcome sequence aims at a first purchase or a first booking. A re-engagement sequence aims at a click that proves the contact still wants email. Write each email to that goal, not to a generic schedule.
Next, decide the trigger. A signup form, a purchase event, a tag added in a CRM and a date field are all common triggers. Choose the one that matches the moment the reader gave you permission to email them. A trigger that fires on the wrong event is the most common cause of a sequence that sends too often or too late.
Then set the wait times and the exit conditions. A sequence should stop when a contact buys, books or unsubscribes. Without an exit rule, a converted customer keeps receiving the sales sequence, which is the fastest way to lose trust. Test the exit rules with two or three internal addresses before the sequence goes live.
Finally, pilot with a small segment, read the results for a full cycle and then widen the audience. The following checklist covers the setup and migration steps that apply to either platform.
| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Export and clean the list | Export contacts with their tags, custom fields and subscription status. Remove addresses that bounced or have not engaged for a long period. | On a contact-based plan this lowers the bill directly. On a send-based plan it keeps the volume you send under control. |
| 2. Map fields and tags | Match each custom field and tag to its equivalent on the new platform before importing. Write the mapping down. | Segments and triggers depend on these fields. A mismatch silently breaks targeting. |
| 3. Authenticate the sending domain | Add the domain and the sender records each platform asks for, and confirm the status before the first send. | Unauthenticated mail is more likely to land in spam, which harms every sequence on the account. |
| 4. Rebuild the sequence | Recreate each email, delay and branch on the new platform. Automations and templates do not move across. | Budget a rebuild window. Copying the content is quick; re-testing the logic takes longer. |
| 5. Test exit rules | Run test contacts through each path, including the purchase and unsubscribe exits. | A converted customer who keeps receiving sales emails is a common and avoidable mistake. |
| 6. Run in parallel, then switch | Keep the old sequence active for one full cycle while the new one runs on a small segment. | Comparing results across one cycle shows whether the migration changed open and click rates. |
Which One Should You Choose?
The choice comes down to two numbers and one question: how many contacts you store, how many emails you send each month, and whether you need channels beyond email. The decision table below turns those answers into a starting point. It does not replace the cost check in the table above, which you should run with your own numbers.
| If your situation is | Lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Large list, moderate sends | Brevo | Send-based plans do not rise with each new contact, so a big quiet list costs the same as a small one at the same volume. |
| Small list, frequent sends | Mailchimp | A contact-based tier is predictable for a compact list, and the Essentials tier at 500 contacts starts at $13 a month. |
| Email plus SMS or WhatsApp in one sequence | Brevo | Those channels sit in the same platform, with one account to manage consent and reporting. |
| Many third-party apps feeding the sequence | Mailchimp | A wide integration catalogue reduces the custom work needed to connect your store or CRM. |
| Branching, multi-step journeys on a tight budget | Compare both paid tiers | Brevo places automation in Standard at $18/month; check Mailchimp's current feature list for the tier you need. |
Two other factors can change the answer. The first is who runs the account. A marketing team of one, who wants to build a sequence and leave it alone, will often prefer the simpler mental model of a contact-based tool. A team that runs several channels across several people may prefer Brevo's single surface, even with its additional rules. The second factor is growth. If your list is growing quickly, model the next two tiers on both platforms before you sign, because the cost curves are different and a tier change can cost more than the difference you saw at the start.
Other Options Worth Pricing
Brevo and Mailchimp are not the only platforms built for drip sequences, and a short comparison with a few alternatives can help you test your assumptions. ActiveCampaign's Starter plan is $15 a month at 1,000 email contacts, billed monthly or annually at the same rate, and it offers a free trial but no ongoing free plan. Its Plus plan at $49 a month adds standard segmentation and landing pages. For teams that expect deep automation, the comparison of ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp sets out where automation depth tends to matter more than breadth.
Drip's own pricing starts at $39 a month for 1 to 2,500 people, with unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, onsite campaigns and up to 50 workflows. It has a 14-day free trial that does not require a credit card and no ongoing free plan. Check the current figures on Drip's pricing page before you compare them with the plans above.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most frequent mistake is comparing entry tiers alone. The starting price of a plan applies only at its starting volume, and most drip programs grow past it within a few months. Model twelve months at your expected contact count on Mailchimp and your expected monthly sends on Brevo, then compare the totals.
The second mistake is ignoring the free plan's daily and monthly caps. A welcome sequence that works in testing can stall in production because a single campaign used up the day's allowance. Schedule large broadcasts on a separate day from time-sensitive drips.
The third mistake is keeping a sequence running after a contact has converted. Make sure a purchase, booking or renewal ends the sales path. This matters more on Mailchimp, where converted contacts still count toward the bill until they are removed or suppressed, and on Brevo, where the same contacts still generate sends.
The fourth is migrating without a parallel run. Moving a sequence and switching it off the same day gives you no baseline to compare against. Run both for a full cycle, even if the old platform is only kept on a small segment.
Related Reading
- ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp: when automation depth matters more than breadth at a similar price point.
- Best drip tools for startups: how the free-plan limits on either platform play out for early-stage teams.
- Re-engagement campaigns: how to clean up inactive subscribers on either platform before the bill goes up.
- Drip email best practices: the fundamentals that apply to both tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, Brevo or Mailchimp?
It depends on the shape of your program. Brevo's paid plans are priced by monthly sends, so a large list that is emailed moderately stays at the same price. Mailchimp's plans are priced by contacts, so a compact, actively emailed list is usually the cheaper option. At the sizes in the cost table above, Mailchimp's Essentials plan at 500 contacts starts at $13 a month, while Brevo's Starter starts at $9 a month for 5,000 emails. Run both numbers with your own contact count and send volume.
Does Brevo's free plan support drip campaigns?
Yes, for simple sequences. The free plan allows 300 sends a day and up to 100,000 contacts, which is enough to run a short welcome or onboarding series for a modest audience. Automation and A/B testing are listed under the Standard plan, which starts at $18 a month at 5,000 emails, so a multi-branch sequence will need a paid tier. Confirm the current feature list on Brevo's pricing page before you build a production sequence on the free plan.
Does Mailchimp's free plan support drip campaigns?
It can run a small test sequence. The free plan allows up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 sends a day. That is tight for a live drip on a growing list, so most teams move to a paid tier once the sequence is working. Check the current automation options on Mailchimp's pricing page for the plan you plan to use.
Can I move my sequences from Mailchimp to Brevo without losing data?
Contacts, custom fields and subscription status can be exported as CSV and imported into Brevo, provided the fields are mapped correctly first. Automations, tags and templates do not transfer, so each sequence has to be rebuilt. Engagement history can be exported, but historical reports and automation definitions stay behind. Run both platforms in parallel for one full cycle before you switch off the old one.
Does Brevo include SMS and WhatsApp in its plans?
Brevo offers SMS and WhatsApp messaging as part of its platform, so you can combine them with email in one sequence. Usage of those channels is billed according to Brevo's pricing for each channel, so check the channel rates on the pricing page before you design a multi-channel drip. Mailchimp does not present SMS as a core part of its drip offering, and its transactional sending is a separate product, Mandrill.
Is Mailchimp's contact-based pricing a problem for large lists?
It can be. Every contact counts toward the bill, whether or not the person opens or clicks. Mailchimp's published tiers rise at each contact ceiling, for example from $100 a month for 2,501 to 5,000 contacts to $135 a month for 5,001 to 10,000. Cleaning inactive addresses before you move up a tier is the most direct way to control that cost. For very large lists with light sending, Brevo's send-based model often costs less.
What should I check before signing an annual plan on either platform?
Check three things: the send allowance at the tier you pick, the features that only appear in higher tiers, and the price you will pay when your list or your send volume grows. Model the next two tiers as well as the current one. Both vendors publish their current prices and limits on their pricing pages, and those pages are the reference to use when you sign.
Which platform is better for a team of one?
A solo marketer who wants a simple, predictable setup often prefers Mailchimp, because the contact-based model is easy to forecast and the interface is familiar to many people. A solo operator who needs SMS or WhatsApp alongside email, or who expects to send often to a large list, may prefer Brevo. Start on the free plan of whichever platform fits your audience size, and move up only when the limits start to affect the sequence.