Brevo vs Mailchimp 2026: Which Email Marketing Platform is Better?

Choosing between Brevo and Mailchimp is one of the most common dilemmas for anyone entering the email marketing world. Both platforms are well-established, both have millions of users, and both claim to be the best solution for your business. So which one actually delivers more value?

We spent weeks testing both platforms side by side to give you an honest, detailed comparison based on real usage — not marketing promises.

Pricing: Where Brevo Wins Clearly

This is the area where the difference between these two platforms is most dramatic. Mailchimp charges based on how many contacts you have in your account, while Brevo charges based on how many emails you send each month.

To put this in perspective: if you have 10,000 subscribers and send them one email per week, you are looking at roughly 40,000 emails per month. With Mailchimp, just storing those 10,000 contacts on the Standard plan costs around $100 per month. With Brevo, you would pay significantly less because you are only charged for the emails you actually send.

Brevo also offers a genuinely useful free plan with 300 emails per day and up to 100,000 contacts. Mailchimp’s free plan limits you to just 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month, which is barely enough to test the platform.

Email Editor and Templates

Both platforms provide drag-and-drop email editors that work well for beginners. Mailchimp has a slight edge in terms of the sheer number of templates available and some more advanced design customization options.

However, Brevo’s editor has improved significantly over the past year. The templates look clean and professional, and for most business use cases, you will not feel limited by the design options available.

Marketing Automation

This is where Brevo punches above its weight class. Brevo offers marketing automation on its Business plan starting at $18 per month. The automation builder is visual and intuitive, allowing you to create complex workflows with multiple triggers, conditions, and actions.

Mailchimp also offers automation, but the more advanced features like customer journey mapping and behavioral targeting are locked behind higher-tier plans that cost considerably more.

CRM Features

Brevo includes a built-in CRM with every plan, including the free one. You get contact management, deal tracking, task management, and a visual sales pipeline. This is a significant advantage if you need both marketing and sales tools.

Mailchimp introduced some CRM-like features in recent years, but they feel more like add-ons than a fully integrated solution. For serious CRM functionality with Mailchimp, you would likely need to integrate a separate CRM tool.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Brevo supports email, SMS, and WhatsApp marketing from the same platform. You can create coordinated campaigns across all three channels without needing additional tools or subscriptions.

Mailchimp is primarily focused on email marketing. While it does offer some social media posting features and basic SMS capabilities, it does not match the breadth of Brevo’s multi-channel approach.

Deliverability

Both platforms maintain strong deliverability rates. Brevo offers shared and dedicated IP addresses, with dedicated IPs available on Professional and Enterprise plans. They also support full email authentication with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

Mailchimp also has good deliverability infrastructure, though dedicated IPs are only available as a paid add-on on higher plans.

Ease of Use

Mailchimp has a more polished user interface that feels slightly more intuitive for absolute beginners. The dashboard is well-organized, and the onboarding process is smooth.

Brevo’s interface is clean and functional, though it can feel slightly overwhelming at first because of the sheer number of features available. Once you spend a day or two with it, navigation becomes second nature.

Customer Support

Brevo offers email support on all plans, with phone support available on the Business plan and above. Response times are generally quick, and the support team is knowledgeable.

Mailchimp’s free plan only offers email support for the first 30 days, after which you are limited to knowledge base articles. Paid plans include email and chat support, with phone support reserved for the Premium plan.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Brevo if you want the best value for money, need built-in CRM functionality, want multi-channel marketing (email plus SMS plus WhatsApp), have a large contact list but moderate sending volume, or are working with a limited budget.

Choose Mailchimp if you prioritize the most polished user interface, need the widest selection of email templates, prefer a larger ecosystem of third-party integrations, or are primarily focused on email-only marketing.

Our Recommendation

For most small to medium businesses in 2026, Brevo offers significantly better value. You get more features at a lower price point, and the gap between the two platforms in terms of quality has narrowed considerably. The built-in CRM and multi-channel capabilities give Brevo a clear edge for businesses that want an all-in-one marketing solution.

The best part is that you can test Brevo completely free with 300 emails per day and decide for yourself.

→ Start Your Free Brevo Account — No Credit Card Needed