Mailchimp’s Free plan covers under 500 contacts with a maximum of 500 emails per month (250/day), one seat, and one audience. The Standard plan is advertised at $5.99/month for 12 months, then starts at $11.98/month. All figures are from Mailchimp’s own pricing page, accessed 3 August 2026.
Compiled from Mailchimp’s published pricing page (US/USD view) on 3 August 2026. Hands-on testing was not performed, so this guide contains no performance benchmarks, no deliverability figures, and no numeric rating. Pricing and plan limits change frequently — confirm current terms on Mailchimp’s own site before purchasing.
Quick Verdict
On its published numbers, Mailchimp’s Free plan is best understood as an extended trial rather than a workable long-term tier: 500 contacts is a reasonable starting allowance, but a 500-emails-per-month ceiling means a single monthly newsletter to a full 500-contact list consumes the entire quota. Mailchimp’s own pricing page directs businesses with fewer than 500 contacts to the Free plan, and everyone else to paid tiers.
The jump to paid is where the decision actually sits. Standard is advertised at $5.99/month for the first 12 months, then starts at $11.98/month — so the headline price roughly doubles at renewal, which is worth planning for rather than discovering later.
Mailchimp Pricing
Mailchimp prices on a sliding scale tied to contact count, with tiers running from 0–500 contacts up to 1,000,000+. The figures below are for the entry 0–500 contact tier in USD, captured on 3 August 2026.
At the time of writing, all three paid tiers are discounted 50% for the first 12 months. The ongoing rate is the number worth budgeting against, since it is roughly double the introductory price in every case.
| Plan | First 12 months | Ongoing rate |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Essentials | $4.01/mo | from $8.02/mo |
| Standard | $5.99/mo | from $11.98/mo |
| Premium | $119.84/mo | from $239.69/mo |
At the 0–500 contact tier, Standard includes up to 6,000 emails per month. Mailchimp describes Premium as including “unlimited contacts” alongside its most advanced tools and priority support.
One difference between Free and the paid tiers is worth knowing before you pick. On paid plans, Mailchimp’s page states that overage charges apply if you exceed your contact or send limit. On the Free plan, it states that sending is paused instead. Free fails closed; paid plans fail expensive.
What the Free Plan Actually Includes
Per Mailchimp’s plan comparison, the Free tier includes 1 seat, 1 audience, and a monthly send cap of 500 emails or 250 per day, whichever is reached first.
Several features common on competitors’ free tiers are excluded. Marketing automation flows are listed as “Not included” on Free. Email scheduling is “Not included.” Mailchimp branding cannot be removed. Pre-built email templates are marked “Limited” rather than fully included, and custom-coded templates can be created but require an upgrade to send. Role-based access is unavailable, and customer support is limited to email for the first 30 days only.
One notable inclusion: Mailchimp lists 300+ integrations and popup forms as available on every tier including Free.
Plan Comparison
All values below are as published on Mailchimp’s plan comparison, accessed 3 August 2026.
| Feature | Free | Essentials | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly email sends | Max 500/mo or 250/day | 10× contacts | 12× contacts | 15× contacts |
| Seats | 1 | 3 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Audiences | 1 | 3 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Role-based access | Not included | 2 roles | 4 roles | 5 roles |
| Marketing automation flows | Not included | Up to 4 flow steps | Up to 200 flows | Up to 200 flows |
| Generative AI features | Not included | Not included | No-cost add-on | No-cost add-on |
| Custom-coded templates | Create — upgrade to send | Create — upgrade to send | Create and send | Create and send |
| Email scheduling | Not included | Included | Included | Included |
| Remove Mailchimp branding | Not included | Included | Included | Included |
| Branded templates | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom reports | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Dynamic content | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Pre-built templates | Limited | Included | Included | Included |
| Popup forms | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| 300+ integrations | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Customer support | Email, first 30 days | 24/7 email & chat | 24/7 email & chat | Phone & priority |
| Personalized onboarding | Not included | Not included | 1 session | 4 sessions |
| Dedicated onboarding specialist | Not included | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Premium migration services | Not included | Not included | Not included | Contact sales |
Who Should Consider Mailchimp
Based on the published feature split rather than hands-on use:
Small teams needing multiple seats. Standard’s 5 seats and 4 roles, and Premium’s unlimited seats, are aimed at teams where more than one person touches campaigns. Free’s single seat rules out shared workflows entirely.
Businesses wanting automation without a separate tool. Automation flows are absent on Free and capped at 4 flow steps on Essentials, but Standard and Premium both list up to 200 flows.
Anyone already using tools in Mailchimp’s integration directory. 300+ integrations are included on every tier, including Free — unusual, since integration access is often gated behind paid plans elsewhere.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Anyone planning to send regularly on a free plan. The 500-emails-per-month ceiling is the binding constraint, not the 500-contact limit. One monthly send to 500 contacts exhausts it.
Solo creators who need automation on a budget. Automation is unavailable on Free and limited to 4 flow steps on Essentials.
Anyone who needs white-labelled email immediately. Mailchimp branding cannot be removed on the Free tier.
Buyers optimising purely on entry price. The $5.99 rate applies for 12 months; the ongoing rate starts at $11.98. Compare against competitors’ standard rates, not their promotional ones.
Support by Tier
Support is one of the clearer tier differentiators on Mailchimp’s published comparison. Free includes email support for the first 30 days only. Essentials and Standard both list 24/7 email and chat support. Premium adds phone and priority support, four personalized onboarding sessions, and a dedicated onboarding specialist; Standard includes one onboarding session.
Mailchimp’s Own Marketing Claims
Two claims appear prominently in Mailchimp’s pricing materials, both carrying vendor-defined methodology in the page’s own disclaimers. We reproduce them as positioning rather than as independently verified fact.
Mailchimp describes itself as the “#1 email marketing and automation platform,” which its disclaimer bases on “December 2023 publicly available data on competitors’ number of customers.” That is a customer-count basis, and the underlying data is now more than two years old.
Mailchimp also cites a “27X ROI” figure for Standard plan users, which its disclaimer attributes to e-commerce revenue from Standard users’ campaigns between 1 December 2024 and 30 November 2025. This is vendor-attributed to its own users’ results, not an independent study, and is not a return any individual account should expect.
Alternatives
MailerLite is the closest comparison we’ve published so far — see our MailerLite review for its free-tier limits and entry pricing. Additional alternatives will be added to this section as they’re published.
Mailchimp FAQ
Is Mailchimp free, and what does the free plan include?
Yes. Mailchimp’s Free plan is aimed at businesses with fewer than 500 contacts and includes 1 seat, 1 audience, popup forms, and 300+ integrations. Sending is capped at 500 emails per month or 250 per day. Automation flows, email scheduling, and branding removal are not included, per Mailchimp’s plan comparison.
How much does Mailchimp cost per month?
At the 0–500 contact tier in USD, Mailchimp’s ongoing rates start at $8.02/month for Essentials, $11.98/month for Standard, and $239.69/month for Premium. All three are currently discounted 50% for the first 12 months ($4.01, $5.99 and $119.84 respectively). Pricing scales with contact count, and overage charges apply on paid plans if limits are exceeded.
How many emails can you send on Mailchimp’s free plan?
Mailchimp’s plan comparison lists the Free tier’s send limit as a maximum of 500 emails per month, or 250 per day. For a list at the 500-contact ceiling, that allows roughly one send to the full list per month before the limit is reached.
Does Mailchimp’s free plan include automation?
No. Mailchimp’s plan comparison lists marketing automation flows as “Not included” on the Free tier. Essentials allows up to 4 flow steps, while Standard and Premium both list up to 200 flows.
Can you remove Mailchimp branding from emails?
Not on the Free plan — Mailchimp lists “Remove Mailchimp branding” as not included at that tier. It is listed as included on Essentials, Standard, and Premium.
What is the difference between Mailchimp’s Standard and Premium plans?
Per Mailchimp’s comparison, Premium adds unlimited seats and audiences (Standard has 5 each), 5 roles versus 4, phone and priority support versus 24/7 email and chat, four onboarding sessions versus one, a dedicated onboarding specialist, and access to premium migration services. Monthly sends scale at 15× contacts on Premium versus 12× on Standard.
Final Verdict
On documented facts: Mailchimp’s paid tiers are feature-dense — automation flows, generative AI at no extra cost on Standard and above, unlimited seats on Premium, and integrations included at every level. The Free plan is more restrictive than its 500-contact headline suggests, because the 500-email monthly cap binds first.
Not covered here: how the campaign builder, automation editor, and deliverability actually perform in practice. We haven’t used the product, so we make no claims about it and publish no rating. When we say a tool is good, we want that to mean we tested it.
Best fit, on paper: a small team that needs multiple seats and real automation, and is budgeting against the $11.98/month ongoing Standard rate rather than the $5.99 introductory offer.
Disclosure
RightToolHQ has no affiliate relationship with Mailchimp at the time of writing, and this page contains no affiliate links. If that changes, this notice will be updated and any affiliate link will be clearly disclosed. Our editorial policy and affiliate disclosure explain how we handle this.