The short answer
- Up to 10,000 subscribers and no automations? Kit's free plan covers broadcasts, landing pages and forms. Modeled first-year saving against Essentials: $106. the math
- Need automations: MailerLite includes its automation builder from the free plan (3 active automations), and paid plans start at $12/mo for 500 subscribers. the math
- Mailchimp's list price rises with contacts: $13/mo for 500 contacts, $385/mo for 50,000. mailchimp.com
- Stay on Mailchimp if you rely on its templates, A/B tests, reporting, or signup forms and landing pages. recipe
Who should switch, and who shouldn't
Switch if
- You send a newsletter or announcements to one list and don't use automated sequences. the math
- Your list is under 2,500 subscribers: beehiiv's free Launch plan allows unlimited sends to that many. beehiiv.com
- You have a server and time: listmonk is free, self-hosted and AGPL-licensed, and pairs with Amazon SES for sending. the math
What Mailchimp costs today
List prices from the vendor's pricing page, as stored in the Stackcut catalog. Each price links its source.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Essentials | $13/mo | not shown | 500-contact tier; sends 10x contacts; 3 seats; up to 50,000 contacts |
| Mailchimp Standard | $20/mo | not shown | 500-contact tier; sends 12x contacts; 5 seats; automation flows; up to 100,000 contacts |
| Mailchimp Premium | $350/mo | not shown | 10,000-contact tier; sends 15x contacts; unlimited seats |
| Mailchimp Essentials (50,000 contacts) | $385/mo | not shown | Top Essentials tier: up to 50,000 contacts, sends 10x contacts |
| Mailchimp Standard (100,000 contacts) | $800/mo | not shown | Top Standard tier: up to 100,000 contacts, sends 12x contacts |
- Mailchimp's Free plan allows Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day), 1 seat, 1 audience. mailchimp.com
The alternatives, ranked
4 ways out, ranked by modeled saving in the first year after setup and upkeep (4 priced). Modeled, not measured: each figure links the math on the recipe page.
- Paths are modeled for 1 user against Mailchimp Essentials at $13/mo; a larger list makes every path save more. recipe
What a newsletter costs at 500, 2,500 and 10,000 subscribers
Every tool here prices by list size. Free plans are real free plans, but Kit and beehiiv leave out automations on theirs.
| Subscribers | 500 | 2,500 | 10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Essentials today | $13Essentials | tier not in the catalog | tier not in the catalog |
| Kitfree plan has no automations | $0Free | $0Free | $0Free |
| beehiivfree plan has no automations | $0Free | $0Free | tier not in the catalog |
| MailerLiteautomations from the free plan | $12Comfort | $33Comfort (2,500 subscribers) | $89Comfort (10,000 subscribers) |
| Ghost(Pro) | $18Ghost(Pro) | $55Publisher (2,500 members) | $105Publisher (10,000 members) |
| listmonk (self-hosted)AGPL-3.0; pair with Amazon SES to send | $0+ your server | $0+ your server | $0+ your server |
How to leave Mailchimp
Export first, then cancel. Every step links the vendor's own help page, checked on the date shown.
How to leave Mailchimp
Export first
- Account data: emails, audiences, reports, templates and more: Profile icon → Account → Settings → Manage my data → Export Data (ZIP of CSV and HTML files). Large exports can take up to 24 hours, and you get 1 export per 24-hour period. mailchimp.com
What you lose
- Audiences, campaign archives and reports, if you delete rather than pause
Cancel
- Export your account data first (see export).
- To stop billing but keep your data: profile icon → Account & billing → Settings → Manage my plan → Pause my plan, for 3 or 6 months.
- To leave for good: Manage my plan → Delete my account → type DELETE → confirm.
- After you cancel
- Deleting removes all data tied to audiences, campaign archives and reports. Pausing is limited to 2 pauses in 12 months.
Not covered by the paths above, per the recipe: Signup forms and landing pages, Templates, A/B testing, Reporting. If you rely on one of these, keep the incumbent or check the path closely.
Open-source and forkable options
- listmonk: Free self-hosted list manager; pair with Amazon SES for sending at cents per 1,000. License: AGPL-3.0 · source code
Open source means no license fee, not free to run: the server, backups and upgrades are yours. Read the license before you fork or resell; several of these are open-core or source-available.
FAQ
Should I pause or delete my Mailchimp account?
Pause if you might come back: billing stops and your data stays, for 3 or 6 months at a time and up to 2 pauses in 12 months. Delete only after exporting, because it removes audiences, campaign archives and reports. mailchimp.com
How do I export my Mailchimp list?
Profile icon → Account → Settings → Manage my data, tick what you need and Export Data. You get one ZIP, which can take up to 24 hours to prepare. mailchimp.com
Is Kit really free up to 10,000 subscribers?
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Or ask your agent
Connect the Stackcut MCP server (https://stackcut.io/mcp, no API key) and ask: “We have 2,000 subscribers on Mailchimp and send one newsletter a week, no automations. What should we do?”
find_alternatives({"vendor": "Mailchimp",
"features_used": ["Email campaigns", "Audience/contact management"],
"usage": {"contacts": 2000}})