Pick Brevo if you want simple subscriber campaigns on a tighter budget, and pick Mailchimp if you want polished templates, stronger brand tools, and a friendlier starter experience. Brevo’s free plan includes 300 emails per day, which is handy for small lists that send often [source: Brevo]. Mailchimp feels more playful and polished. Brevo feels more practical and direct.
TLDR: Mailchimp is best for beginners who want pretty emails fast. Brevo is best for teams that care about cost, SMS, and sending many campaigns without contact-based sticker shock. For example, a bakery with 2,000 subscribers sending 8 promos per month may find Brevo cheaper, while a new creator with 300 fans may enjoy Mailchimp’s easier editor. If your open rate is around 35%, both tools can help you test subject lines and squeeze out a few more clicks.
Quick verdict
Mailchimp wins for ease. It has cute templates. It explains things well. It makes email marketing feel less like homework.
Brevo wins for value. It packs email, SMS, automation, CRM, and transactional emails into one tidy tool. It is less flashy. But it gets the job done.
Honestly, it feels like Mailchimp invites you into a bright studio with snacks. Brevo hands you a toolbox and says, “Let’s ship the campaign.” Both can work. The better pick depends on your list size, budget, and patience.
Mailchimp vs Brevo at a glance
- Best for beginners: Mailchimp
- Best for tight budgets: Brevo
- Best templates: Mailchimp
- Best built in CRM feel: Brevo
- Best for SMS plus email: Brevo
- Best for ecommerce polish: Mailchimp
- Best for high volume sending: Brevo, in many cases
Ease of use
Mailchimp is easier on day one. The dashboard is friendly. The email builder is smooth. You can build a decent newsletter in minutes.
Its drag and drop editor feels natural. Add a logo. Add a product block. Add a button. Done. No drama.
Brevo is simple too, but less charming. It feels more like business software. That is not always bad. It just has fewer “ooh, nice” moments.
The catch is that Brevo sometimes hides useful settings in places that feel oddly plain. Expect to click around a bit. Not forever. Just enough to sigh once.
Email design and templates
Mailchimp has better templates. They are cleaner. They look modern. They are good for brands that care about style.
If you run a clothing shop, coffee brand, art store, or creator newsletter, Mailchimp is a sweet pick. You can make emails that look expensive without hiring a designer.
Brevo templates are solid. But they feel more basic. They work well for coupons, service updates, launch emails, and regular newsletters.
So ask yourself this. Do you need your email to sparkle? Pick Mailchimp. Do you need it to send, track, and convert? Brevo is fine.
Subscriber management
Both tools let you manage subscribers with tags, lists, segments, forms, and contact fields.
Mailchimp uses audiences, tags, and segments. It is powerful, but it can confuse new users. One big annoyance is that contacts can count in ways people do not expect, depending on plan and setup. That can make billing feel annoying.
Brevo uses contacts, lists, folders, and attributes. It feels more database-like. If you enjoy neat folders and simple labels, Brevo may click faster.
For a small business, Brevo’s contact management can feel calmer. You can group customers by interest, location, purchase type, or signup form. Then you send more relevant emails.
Campaign creation
Mailchimp makes campaign creation feel guided. You choose a goal. Pick a template. Add content. Preview. Send. It is tidy.
Brevo also supports regular campaigns, A/B tests, scheduling, and personalization. It is straightforward. It does not hold your hand as much.
Both support:
- Email newsletters
- Promo campaigns
- Automated welcome emails
- Abandoned cart flows
- Personalized subject lines
- Basic reporting
The small difference is feel. Mailchimp says, “Let’s make this pretty.” Brevo says, “Let’s send this to the right people.”
Automation
Automation is where both tools matter most. Manual email gets old fast. Nobody wants to send welcome emails by hand like it is 2009.
Mailchimp automation is friendly. You can build welcome journeys, product follow-ups, birthday emails, and cart reminders. Its visual builder is easy to understand.
Brevo automation is strong too. It includes email, SMS, contact updates, lead scoring, and CRM tasks. That makes it useful for sales teams and service businesses.
For example, a fitness studio could use Brevo like this:
- A person downloads a free workout plan.
- Brevo adds them to a “fitness lead” list.
- They get a welcome email right away.
- Two days later, they get a class offer.
- If they click, a sales task is created.
Mailchimp can do much of this too. But Brevo feels more natural when email and sales follow-up sit together.
Pricing and value
Pricing changes often, so check both sites before you commit. Mailchimp’s plans are based heavily on contacts and features [source: Mailchimp]. Brevo is often more focused on email volume and plan limits.
This difference matters a lot.
If you have 10,000 contacts but only email them twice a month, Brevo can be appealing. If you have 800 contacts and want beautiful campaigns, Mailchimp may feel worth it.
It drives me crazy when email tools punish you for old contacts sitting around. Clean your list. Remove cold subscribers. Your open rates will thank you. So will your wallet.
Reporting and analytics
Both tools show the basics.
- Open rate: who opened your email
- Click rate: who clicked a link
- Bounces: emails that failed
- Unsubscribes: people who left
- Revenue tracking: useful for ecommerce stores
Mailchimp reports look cleaner. They are easier to scan. Brevo reports are useful, but plainer.
If you only care about quick answers, Mailchimp feels nicer. If you want practical numbers without fuss, Brevo works fine.
Integrations
Mailchimp has a bigger app ecosystem. It connects well with ecommerce platforms, form tools, website builders, analytics tools, and social apps.
Brevo connects with many popular tools too. It also has useful API and transactional email features. That makes it attractive for developers and SaaS teams.
Use Mailchimp if your stack is simple and marketing-led. Use Brevo if your stack mixes marketing, sales, SMS, and system emails.
Who should choose Mailchimp?
Choose Mailchimp if you want:
- A very beginner-friendly tool
- Better looking templates
- Strong ecommerce campaign options
- Clean reports
- A fun brand experience
Mailchimp is great for creators, shops, bloggers, local brands, and small teams that want attractive campaigns without much training.
Who should choose Brevo?
Choose Brevo if you want:
- Good value for larger lists
- Email plus SMS
- Built in CRM tools
- Transactional email options
- Simple contact organization
Brevo is great for service businesses, sales teams, SaaS companies, nonprofits, and stores that send frequent campaigns.
Final pick
Choose Mailchimp for comfort. It is easier, prettier, and nicer for beginners. It removes friction when you just want to send a sharp newsletter.
Choose Brevo for control and value. It gives you more practical tools in one place. It is not as cute. But cute does not always pay the bills.
If you are unsure, start with this rule. Under 1,000 subscribers and design matters? Try Mailchimp. Over 2,000 subscribers, sending often, or using SMS? Try Brevo. Either way, send useful emails. No one needs another “big news” message that says nothing.
