Brevo vs Mailchimp: An Independent Comparison for 2026

Brevo and Mailchimp are two of the most popular email marketing platforms, but they take meaningfully different approaches to pricing, features, and positioning. We tested both platforms extensively to help you understand which one fits your specific needs. This is not a ranking — it is an honest comparison of strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases.

Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Our recommendations are based on independent research and editorial standards. Brevo® and Mailchimp® are registered trademarks of their respective owners. LatestJob is not affiliated with either company.

Overview

Mailchimp has been in the email marketing space since 2001 and is one of the most recognized names in the industry. It was acquired by Intuit in 2021 and has expanded beyond email into a broader marketing platform. Mailchimp charges based on the number of contacts in your account.

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) launched in 2012 and has grown into an all-in-one marketing platform. Headquartered in France, Brevo charges based on the number of emails you send rather than the number of contacts you store.

This pricing difference is the single most important distinction between the two platforms and often determines which one is more cost-effective for a given business.

Pricing Comparison

The fundamental pricing difference deserves detailed attention because it affects the total cost more than any individual feature comparison. Mailchimp charges based on your subscriber count. As your list grows, your monthly cost increases regardless of how many emails you actually send. Brevo charges based on email volume, allowing unlimited contacts on every plan including the free tier.

For businesses with large lists that email infrequently, Brevo’s model is typically more affordable. An ecommerce business with 20,000 contacts that sends two campaigns per month would pay significantly more on Mailchimp than on Brevo. Conversely, businesses with small lists that send very frequently might find the pricing comparable.

Both platforms offer free plans. Mailchimp’s free plan has tightened restrictions in recent years, limiting contacts and features. Brevo’s free plan includes unlimited contacts with a daily sending limit of 300 emails. The free plan comparison generally favors Brevo for businesses just getting started.

We recommend checking both platforms’ current pricing pages directly, as prices and plan structures can change. The comparison here reflects general pricing philosophy rather than specific dollar amounts that may have shifted since publication.

Email Editor and Templates

Both platforms offer drag-and-drop email builders that produce professional-looking emails without coding knowledge. Mailchimp’s email builder has been refined over many years and offers extensive design options, a larger template library, and more granular design controls. It also supports a wider range of content blocks and layout options.

Brevo’s email builder is clean and functional, covering the most common design needs well. It offers fewer templates than Mailchimp and slightly fewer design options, but produces emails that render consistently across email clients. For most users creating standard marketing emails, both editors are more than adequate.

If email design sophistication is a primary concern, Mailchimp has an advantage in template variety and design flexibility. If simplicity and speed matter more, the platforms are essentially equivalent.

Marketing Automation

Both platforms include visual automation builders for creating multi-step email sequences. Mailchimp calls these “Customer Journeys” and offers a map-style builder with branching logic, triggers based on subscriber behavior, and integration with ecommerce events. Brevo’s automation builder offers similar functionality with event-based triggers, conditional branches, and multi-channel actions including SMS.

For basic automation workflows like welcome sequences, abandoned cart emails, and re-engagement campaigns, both platforms handle the job well. Mailchimp’s automation features are slightly more polished with more pre-built automation templates. Brevo’s automation includes SMS as a native channel, which Mailchimp handles through integrations.

Neither platform matches the automation depth of dedicated tools like ActiveCampaign or HubSpot, but both cover the needs of small to medium businesses that want automation without the complexity and cost of enterprise platforms.

CRM Capabilities

This is an area where the platforms diverge significantly. Brevo includes a built-in CRM with contact management, deal tracking, pipeline management, task management, and meeting scheduling. This CRM is included in all plans, adding considerable value for businesses that need both marketing and sales tools.

Mailchimp offers audience management features including contact profiles, tags, segments, and behavioral tracking, but it does not include a traditional sales CRM with pipeline management. Businesses using Mailchimp typically pair it with a separate CRM tool.

If having marketing and sales tools in one platform is important to you, Brevo’s included CRM is a meaningful advantage. If you already use a dedicated CRM and just need an email marketing platform, this difference is less relevant.

Transactional Email

Brevo handles both marketing and transactional email natively within the same platform. This means order confirmations, password resets, shipping notifications, and similar automated messages can be sent through Brevo alongside your marketing campaigns, with unified analytics and deliverability management.

Mailchimp offers transactional email through its Mandrill add-on, which requires an additional subscription and operates as a somewhat separate product. For businesses that need transactional email, Brevo’s integrated approach is simpler and often more cost-effective.

Integrations

Mailchimp has a significant advantage in native integrations. With over 300 integrations available, Mailchimp connects directly to most popular ecommerce platforms, CMS systems, social media tools, and business applications. The Intuit ecosystem also provides tight integration with QuickBooks and other Intuit products.

Brevo’s integration library is smaller but growing, covering the most popular platforms and tools. For integrations not natively available, both platforms support Zapier connections, which extends compatibility to thousands of additional applications.

If you rely on specific tools and need native integration without Zapier, check both platforms’ integration directories before deciding. Mailchimp is more likely to have the direct integration you need.

Deliverability

Both platforms maintain strong sender reputations and deliver emails reliably. In our testing, deliverability rates were comparable between the two platforms, with both achieving inbox placement rates above 90% across major email providers.

Both platforms offer authentication support (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), dedicated IP options for high-volume senders, and deliverability reporting. Brevo’s European data centers may offer advantages for businesses primarily serving European audiences, while Mailchimp’s infrastructure is primarily US-based.

Deliverability differences between the two platforms are minimal and unlikely to be a deciding factor for most businesses.

Ease of Use

Both platforms are accessible to beginners, though they take different approaches. Mailchimp invests heavily in its user interface and onboarding experience, with a polished design and guided setup process. Brevo offers a more streamlined interface that prioritizes function over polish.

New users will find either platform manageable. Mailchimp may feel more intuitive for those accustomed to modern SaaS applications, while Brevo’s more straightforward approach appeals to users who prefer efficiency over aesthetics. Both platforms provide documentation, tutorials, and customer support to help users get started.

Reporting and Analytics

Both platforms provide standard email marketing analytics including open rates, click rates, bounce rates, unsubscribe rates, and campaign comparison tools. Mailchimp offers slightly more detailed reporting with industry benchmarks, predictive analytics on some plans, and more granular audience insights.

Brevo’s reporting covers the essentials well and includes transactional email analytics alongside marketing metrics. The unified reporting view is convenient for businesses that use Brevo for both marketing and transactional email.

Which Should You Choose

Choose Brevo if you have a large contact list relative to your sending volume, need transactional email alongside marketing email, want a built-in CRM without additional cost, prefer pay-by-email pricing for predictable costs, or are primarily serving a European audience.

Choose Mailchimp if you need extensive native integrations, want the most polished email editor and template selection, rely heavily on ecommerce integrations (especially Shopify), value detailed analytics and industry benchmarks, or are already embedded in the Intuit ecosystem.

For many small businesses, both platforms will serve their needs well. The decision often comes down to pricing model preference and whether you need the CRM and transactional email features that Brevo includes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch from Mailchimp to Brevo?

Yes. You can export your Mailchimp contacts as a CSV and import them into Brevo. Templates and automations need to be recreated manually. Brevo provides migration documentation to assist with the process.

Which platform has better customer support?

Support quality and availability vary by plan on both platforms. Mailchimp offers email and chat support on paid plans, with phone support on higher tiers. Brevo offers email support on all plans with phone support on paid plans. Both maintain knowledge bases and tutorials.

Is one platform better for ecommerce?

Mailchimp has stronger native ecommerce integrations, particularly with Shopify. Brevo supports ecommerce use cases through its automation and transactional email features, and integrates with major ecommerce platforms, but the integration depth is not as extensive as Mailchimp’s.

Do both platforms support SMS marketing?

Brevo includes native SMS marketing capabilities with SMS credits available as an add-on. Mailchimp supports SMS through its platform as well, though the feature set and availability may vary by region and plan.

Which is better for agencies managing multiple clients?

Both platforms offer agency and multi-account features. Mailchimp’s partner program and multi-client management tools are more established. Brevo supports agency use through its enterprise plans and API capabilities.

Conclusion

Both Brevo and Mailchimp are capable email marketing platforms that serve millions of businesses. The right choice depends on your specific situation: your list size relative to sending volume, your need for CRM and transactional email, your integration requirements, and your budget. We recommend signing up for free accounts on both platforms to test the interface and features firsthand before committing.

Last Updated: June 2026 | Reviewed by the LatestJob Editorial Team

Disclaimer: This comparison reflects our independent editorial assessment. Brevo® and Mailchimp® are trademarks of their respective owners.