Every article about email marketing eventually comes down to these two. Mailchimp is the one everyone's heard of. ConvertKit (rebranded as Kit in 2024, though most people still call it ConvertKit) is the one every serious blogger eventually switches to.
Both have free plans. Both do the basics. But they're built for pretty different people, and picking the wrong one means either paying for features you don't need or hitting frustrating limitations as you grow.
Here's a straight comparison so you can pick the right one the first time.
What Mailchimp Actually Is
Mailchimp started as an email tool for small businesses, and that's still its DNA. It's best when you're sending promotional emails to customers, running e-commerce campaigns, or need solid A/B testing and reporting built in.
Over the years they've added landing pages, a website builder, a CRM, and even ad management. Some of that's useful. A lot of it is feature bloat that makes the interface harder to navigate than it should be.
The free plan gives you 500 contacts and 1,000 email sends per month. That's enough to get started, but 500 contacts fills up faster than you'd expect, and once you cross it, you're looking at paid plans starting at $13/month for up to 500 contacts (yes, you pay even for a list that small once you've sent your first campaign in the billing period).
At 1,000 subscribers, Mailchimp's Essentials plan runs about $26/month. At 5,000 subscribers it's around $75/month. At 10,000 it can hit $100/month or more depending on the plan tier. These aren't dealbreakers, but they add up.
What ConvertKit Is
ConvertKit was built specifically for creators, bloggers, and indie developers selling digital products. That single-minded focus shows in how everything works.
The model is different from the start. Instead of organizing subscribers into separate lists, ConvertKit puts everyone in one list and uses tags and segments to organize them. So a subscriber who found you through your blog, bought your ebook, and is also interested in your course content can have three different tags, and you can target any combination of them.
With Mailchimp's traditional list-based model, that same person might appear in three separate lists, and you'd be billed for them three times. ConvertKit bills per unique subscriber, regardless of how many tags they have.
The free plan allows up to 1,000 subscribers and unlimited email sends. That's a meaningful difference from Mailchimp's 500-contact, 1,000-send limit.
Automation: Where the Real Gap Shows
Both tools have visual automation builders. Both let you set up sequences like "welcome email, then 3 days later send this, then tag them if they click."
But in practice, ConvertKit's automations are cleaner and more flexible for content businesses. You can trigger automations based on tags being added, forms being filled, purchases being made, and link clicks. The visual builder shows you the whole flow and it's easy to follow.
Mailchimp's automation is fine for simple sequences, but gets clunky when you need conditional branching. The "Customer Journey" builder they launched a few years back improved things, but it's still more confusing than it should be.
If you're building a welcome sequence that segments subscribers based on what they're interested in, ConvertKit handles this much more naturally. You just add a "subscriber clicks link A = add tag X, subscriber clicks link B = add tag Y" logic step, and your list self-segments over time.
Landing Pages and Forms
Both tools include landing page builders. Both are fine but not outstanding.
Mailchimp's landing pages are more polished visually, with more templates and customization options. If you need a branded lead magnet page without using a separate tool, Mailchimp's is slightly better.
ConvertKit's landing pages are simpler but faster to set up. They're clean and convert well. You won't win a design award, but for a "download my free guide" page, they work.
Both let you embed signup forms on external websites. ConvertKit's forms are easier to customize with CSS if you're a developer, and they don't add Mailchimp branding to the form by default.
Pricing as You Scale
Let's be specific because "it gets expensive" is vague.
At 1,000 subscribers:
- Mailchimp Essentials: around $26/month
- ConvertKit: free (up to 1,000 subscribers on the free plan)
- ConvertKit Creator: $25/month (adds automations, integrations, and support)
At 5,000 subscribers:
- Mailchimp Essentials: around $75/month
- ConvertKit Creator: $66/month
At 10,000 subscribers:
- Mailchimp Essentials: roughly $100-110/month
- ConvertKit Creator: $100/month
They're actually pretty comparable at scale, which surprises most people. The gap is most obvious at the free tier and early paid tiers, where ConvertKit is genuinely cheaper for a growing creator.
ConvertKit also has a Creator Pro plan at higher prices that adds a newsletter referral system, subscriber scoring, and priority support. Most people don't need it.
Who Should Actually Use Mailchimp
Mailchimp makes sense if you're running an e-commerce business or small retail store. The integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento are solid. The abandoned cart emails, product recommendation blocks, and purchase-based segmentation are genuinely useful for shops.
It also makes sense if you're a small local business or service provider who just needs to send a monthly newsletter to existing customers. The free tier handles this well, the templates look professional, and you don't need the complexity of tagging systems.
And honestly, if you're a complete beginner who just wants to try email marketing and learn the basics before committing to anything, Mailchimp's free plan is fine. The interface is busy, but there are more tutorials and support resources available for it than any other platform.
Who Should Use ConvertKit
ConvertKit is the right choice for bloggers, newsletter writers, podcasters, indie developers selling tools or courses, and anyone building an audience to eventually sell digital products.
The tagging model pays off fast once you have subscribers interested in different things. If your blog covers multiple topics and you want to send relevant emails instead of blasting everyone with everything, ConvertKit makes this easy.
It's also the better fit if you plan to sell anything to your list, whether that's a course, an ebook, a paid newsletter, or consulting services. The automation sequences for nurturing subscribers toward a purchase are more natural to build.
The free tier at 1,000 subscribers is genuinely useful. You can grow a real list, send real campaigns, and set up basic sequences without spending anything. Mailchimp's free tier runs out fast.
The Honest Take
Here's the thing: for absolute beginners with no subscribers, Mailchimp is fine. The name recognition, the tutorials, the integrations all work in its favor.
But if you're building a content-based business, even a small one, ConvertKit is the better long-term choice. The subscriber model, the tagging system, and the creator-focused workflows will save you real headaches down the line.
Migrating from Mailchimp to ConvertKit later is doable but annoying. If you already know you're building an audience as a blogger or indie developer, just start with ConvertKit. The free plan handles the early stage, and you won't have to migrate later.
The only real reason to choose Mailchimp over ConvertKit is if you're running an e-commerce store, in which case it's the better tool, or if you're a complete beginner who just wants to try things with zero pressure. For everyone else building an audience, ConvertKit wins.
Real Pricing Summary (May 2026)
Mailchimp:
- Free: 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month
- Essentials: from $13/mo (500 contacts) to $100+/mo (10k contacts)
- Standard: from $20/mo (500 contacts), adds advanced analytics and A/B testing
- Premium: from $350/mo for large lists
ConvertKit (Kit):
- Free: up to 1,000 subscribers, unlimited sends
- Creator: $25/mo (1k subs), $66/mo (5k subs), $100/mo (10k subs)
- Creator Pro: $50/mo (1k subs) and up, adds referral system and priority support
Bottom Line
Use Mailchimp if you're running an e-commerce store, a local business, or you're a complete beginner who wants the most well-documented free tool available.
Use ConvertKit if you're a blogger, newsletter writer, developer, or creator building an audience. The free tier is better, the model fits content businesses, and you'll be glad you didn't have to migrate later.