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MailChimp has the best free subscription plan of any email marketing service provider out there. Along with the long list of features including unlimited image hosting, Google Analytics, and the integration with hundreds of apps, MailChimp is an excellent choice for beginners or those who have limited funding.
However, based on numerous customer reviews we’ve found, you may want to look elsewhere for more advanced features. Here, we give you the information you need to make the best decision about whether MailChimp is right for you.
Article Overview
- Pros & Cons
- Key Features
- Pricing
- How To Use Facebook Ads With MailChimp (Video)
- Customer Feedback
- Is MailChimp Right For You?
MailChimp
Pros
- Free for up to 2,000 subscribers
- Knowledge base includes animated videos and screenshots
- MailChimp’s HTML templates are easy to use, and you can use their WYSIWYG editor to customize your own designs
- An Inbox Inspector add-on that lets you generate over 25 screenshots of your email in all major email applications, as well as live tests from all the major ISPs to see if spam filters are triggered
- Track where your sign-ups originated, which will help you optimize your opt-out prevention methods
- Hundreds of integrations, including Google Analytics
- Sign-up forms can be customized and embedded anywhere
- Straightforward contact list management and easy import of contacts via cvs file
- Internal surveys
- Automation feature makes autoresponding, segmentation and triggering easy
Cons
- Customer complaints about their Acceptable Use Policy
- No phone support and live chat often has long wait times
- Fewer templates than other email marketing services
- Importing of contact lists could be easier
- Importing templates from existing website graphics would be a great add-on
- Slow to refresh and can be slow when the site is busy
- Segmentation is very limited with free plan
Other Pros
- Automatically removes old/incorrect email addresses that bounce to keep lists healthy
- Automation included in all plans for no cost
- Allows attachments
Key Features
MailChimp has many features that appeal to email marketers including its new automation feature and the capability to set up a multi-user account. MailChimp Coupon Scanner is also available through the merge tags, and this feature allows store owners to send QR code coupons to their subscribers.
- Ecommerce native integrations (Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce)
- Marketing CRM
- Drag and drop designer
- Collaboration style workflow capabilities like multi-user accounts and adding comments inside the editor
- Free automation for all plans
- Behavior-based automations
- Advanced reporting features
- Google Analytics integrations
- Social sharing with Twitter and Facebook
- Social post scheduling
- API documentation
- Apply tags in landing pages to new contacts
- Shoppable landing pages
- Postcards
Price
MailChimp offers the best free plan for the price, number of subscribers/emails sent, and variety of features than any other email marketing service. They also provide monthly pricing and pay as you go fees for those who need more than what you can do with the free plan.
Forever Free Plan
One of the great things about MailChimp is their Forever Free plan. You get up to 2,000 subscribers and 10,000 emails you can send each month, no credit card required. It’s great for low-volume senders, beginners, or nonprofits who don’t have the budget for more.
Monthly Subscriptions
With MailChimp’s monthly subscriptions you pay per number of contacts, but you get an unlimited number of emails you can send each month.
| Number of Contacts | Price Per Month for Essentials | Price Per Month for Standard | Price Per Month for Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $9.99 | $14.99 | n/a |
| 2,500 | $30.99 | $51.99 | n/a |
| 5,000 | $52.99 | $79.99 | n/a |
| 10,000 | $78.99 | $99 | $299 |
| 15,000 | $135.99 | $170 | $370 |
| 20,000 | $170 | $200 | $420 |
| 25,000 | $200 | $230 | $480 |
| 30,000 | $230 | $270 | $530 |
| 50,000 | $270 | $320 | $640 |
| 100,000 | n/a | $540 | $750 |
| 200,000 | n/a | n/a | $1,190 |
Pay As You Go Plan
MailChimp gives you the option of buying packages of email credits, which you use like postage stamps. These can be a great option if you’re on the free plan but occasionally need to send more emails than the 12,000 limit.
| Number of Credits | Price |
|---|---|
| 5,000 | $150 |
| 10,000 | $200 |
| 15,000 | $300 |
| 50,000 | $1.00 |
| 75,000 | 1,500 |
| 200,000 | $2,000 |
| 2,000,000 | $2,500 |
| 5,000,000 | $5,000 |
| 25,000,000 | $10,000 |
What Are Users Saying About MailChimp?
We scoured the web to find out how real users rate MailChimp. Here are some of the reviews we’ve found to give you an overall picture of MailChimp, from the customers’ perspectives.
Positive Reviews
Mailchimp provides a great service that is intuitive and easy, plus they make it fun along the way. Whenever you send off a campaign, the chimp gives you cute phrases and sayings that are encouraging and fun. It’s easy to manage your mailing lists, as well. No more forgetting which list you have sent to and which list you haven’t. Easy to make changes directly after a campaign as well. That way you don’t keep emailing those that don’t want to receive communications from you. – Jessica B., G2Crowd 3/19/2019
I have used many email platforms, this one is definitely the best. It’s the cleanest UI experience. Make sure you clean your lists before uploading, they are strict on bounces, etc. – David W., Sitejabber 8/12/2018
Negative Reviews
It is pretty easy to format and use. However, it is still fairly basic in some of the customizations. You don’t have a lot of font, format, or alignment options to really make it your own, & the photo/image editor is mediocre at best. – Administrator, G2Crowd 3/18/2019
Their salesforce integration isn’t working, which is an issue they’re development team is “aware of” however there is no mention of this anywhere. I am a paying client and was unable to get any real help addressing my integration issues, or any timing for the fix. I only received a “check back in a few weeks”. Which in my experience is terrible customer service and and management. I was considering using their landing page and a/b systems for my department but now have no trust in their product. – Andrea K., Trustpilot 1/11/2019
Want To Use Facebook Ads?
In the past 2 years, content consumption on Facebook has increased 57%1. So, what are you waiting for? You can use Facebook ads with MailChimp. Just watch the video below for a brief overview.
Is MailChimp The Email Marketing Service For You?
If you’re just starting out with email marketing, first check out our all-inclusive guide, and then you’ll probably want to check out MailChimp’s Forever Free plan. Its monthly paid subscriptions are competitively priced.
However, if you’re a larger business or just need more advanced features, you may want to look elsewhere. It comes down to your specific needs. See how MailChimp compares to the competition with our email marketing service comparison.
Think you might consider MailChimp?
Sources: [1] Hubspot
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Solid review. I used to use Mailchimp when I was first getting started with email marketing, but now it doesn’t have the functionality to handle my needs anymore. I’ve since experienced with several other tools, and I’ve landed on GetResponse as my platform of choice. Their automation is strong, but I’m just getting my feet wet with it. Anyone have any tips?
Check out our GetResponse Review and comments section for any inside scoop about GetResponse.
One issue that is not mentioned in the review is that even when a MailChimp sender is added to a user’s safe sender list, the images in MailChimp emails will not display correctly in PC-based Outlook (all versions)unless the user manually clicks the download link. This is because the “From” address changes with each email campaign sent. MailChimp uses different servers and you, the customer, have no control over it. It doesn’t matter how many times the recipient adds the sender to the safe sender list. MailChimp does this to catch spammers, but what it means in practice is that you can create the most beautiful email template in the world, but your recipients will never see it unless they click to view the images in the email (or click through to the web version), an extra step that many won’t bother with.
very nice guide, thanks!