Mailchimp vs ConvertKit 2026: The Definitive Comparison for Email Marketing
Choosing between Mailchimp vs ConvertKit in 2026 is one of the most common dilemmas for anyone serious about email marketing. Both platforms have evolved significantly over the past few years, but they've done so in very different directions. Mailchimp has doubled down on being an all-in-one marketing platform, while ConvertKit (which rebranded to "Kit" in late 2024 but is still widely searched as ConvertKit) has sharpened its focus on creators, bloggers, and solopreneurs.
This comparison is for you if you're a small business owner, content creator, blogger, e-commerce seller, or freelancer trying to figure out which email marketing tool deserves your money and time. I've dug into both platforms' current feature sets, pricing, usability, and support to give you an honest, detailed breakdown.
Let's get into it.
Quick Comparison Table: Mailchimp vs ConvertKit 2026
| Feature | Mailchimp | ConvertKit (Kit) |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Small businesses, e-commerce, agencies | Creators, bloggers, solopreneurs |
| Free Plan | Yes — up to 500 contacts | Yes — up to 10,000 subscribers |
| Starting Paid Price | ~$13/mo (500 contacts) | ~$25/mo (up to 1,000 subscribers) |
| Email Editor | Drag-and-drop + classic builder | Simplified drag-and-drop |
| Automation | Advanced (paid plans) | Visual automation builder (all paid plans) |
| Landing Pages | Yes (limited on free plan) | Yes (unlimited on free plan) |
| E-commerce Features | Extensive (product recs, retargeting) | Basic (digital product sales) |
| A/B Testing | Yes (subject lines, content, send time) | Yes (subject lines) |
| Reporting & Analytics | Detailed, multi-channel | Straightforward, email-focused |
| Integrations | 300+ | 120+ |
| Customer Support | Email, chat, phone (varies by plan) | Email, live chat (paid plans) |
| G2 Rating | ~4.3/5 | ~4.4/5 |
| Mobile App | Yes (iOS & Android) | Limited (subscriber management) |
Mailchimp Overview
Mailchimp started as a simple email newsletter tool back in 2001 and has transformed into a full marketing platform. In 2026, it offers email campaigns, social media scheduling, landing pages, websites, a basic CRM, postcards, and even AI-powered content generation. After its acquisition by Intuit in 2021, Mailchimp has leaned heavily into small business and e-commerce integrations, especially with platforms like Shopify (which finally reconnected its integration) and WooCommerce.
Key Features
- Drag-and-drop email builder with 100+ pre-designed templates
- Customer Journey Builder — a powerful visual automation tool
- Predictive analytics including purchase likelihood and customer lifetime value
- Multivariate testing (up to 8 combinations on Premium)
- Content Optimizer powered by AI that scores your emails
- Built-in CRM with audience segmentation, tags, and behavioral targeting
- Social media management — schedule and post to Facebook, Instagram, and X
- Website builder with free subdomain
Mailchimp Pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price (500 contacts) | Key Inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/mo, basic templates |
| Essentials | ~$13/mo | 5,000 sends/mo, A/B testing, 24/7 email & chat support |
| Standard | ~$20/mo | Automations, retargeting, advanced analytics |
| Premium | ~$350/mo | Multivariate testing, phone support, advanced segmentation |
Pricing scales with your contact list size. At 10,000 contacts, the Standard plan jumps to roughly $100/mo — something to keep in mind as you grow.
ConvertKit (Kit) Overview
ConvertKit — now officially branded as Kit since its 2024 rebrand — was built from the ground up for creators. Founded by Nathan Barry in 2013, it's always prioritized simplicity and deliverability over flashy design features. The platform is purpose-built for bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, authors, musicians, and online course creators who need to build an audience, nurture it with automated sequences, and sell digital products.
Despite the rebrand, most users and the broader market still refer to it as ConvertKit, and the platform has maintained its creator-first philosophy.
Key Features
- Visual automation builder — intuitive workflow editor for email sequences
- Subscriber-centric model — subscribers are stored once (no duplicate charges across lists)
- Tag-based organization — flexible subscriber management without traditional lists
- Creator Network — cross-promote with other creators to grow your audience
- Built-in digital product sales — sell ebooks, courses, and memberships with no third-party tool
- Newsletter referral system — built-in referral tracking to incentivize sharing
- Free landing pages and forms — unlimited, even on the free plan
- Sponsor Network — monetize your newsletter by connecting with sponsors
ConvertKit Pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price (1,000 subscribers) | Key Inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter (Free) | $0 | Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited sends, landing pages, forms |
| Creator | ~$25/mo | Automated sequences, visual automations, integrations |
| Creator Pro | ~$50/mo | Subscriber scoring, advanced reporting, Creator Network, referral system |
ConvertKit's pricing scales with subscriber count, but the free plan is remarkably generous — up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited emails. However, the free plan lacks automation, which is a significant limitation.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison: Mailchimp vs ConvertKit 2026
User Interface & Ease of Use
This is where the two platforms diverge dramatically.
Mailchimp has a polished, modern interface with a lot going on. The dashboard gives you an overview of campaigns, audience growth, and revenue — but the sheer number of features can feel overwhelming, especially for beginners. The email editor is powerful but occasionally finicky when moving elements around. Mailchimp has improved its UX over the years, but the "jack-of-all-trades" approach means there's a learning curve.
ConvertKit takes a minimalist approach. The interface is clean, focused, and feels fast. Setting up an email sequence or automation takes minutes, not hours. The email editor is intentionally simple — it favors plain-text-style emails over heavily designed ones, which actually aligns with best practices for creator newsletters (plain emails tend to have better deliverability and engagement).
Winner: ConvertKit, for ease of use. Mailchimp, if you want more design control.
Core Features (Email & Automation)
Both platforms offer solid email marketing and automation, but the depth varies.
Mailchimp's Customer Journey Builder is genuinely impressive. You can create multi-step, branching automations based on purchase behavior, email engagement, site activity, and more. It supports send-time optimization, multivariate testing, and predictive segmentation. For e-commerce businesses, features like abandoned cart emails, product recommendations, and retargeting ads add serious value.
ConvertKit's visual automation builder is elegant and easy to use. You can trigger sequences based on tags, form submissions, purchases, and custom events. It's less complex than Mailchimp's system but covers 90% of what most creators need. Where ConvertKit shines is its subscriber-centric model — one subscriber exists once in your account, and you segment using tags rather than separate lists. This eliminates the duplicate contact problem that plagues Mailchimp users and inflates their bills.
Winner: Mailchimp for raw automation power and e-commerce. ConvertKit for simplicity and smart subscriber management.
Integrations
Mailchimp integrates with over 300 apps and platforms. Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Salesforce, Canva, Google Analytics, Zapier — you name it. Its broad integration ecosystem makes it suitable for businesses that rely on a complex tech stack.
ConvertKit offers 120+ integrations, with strong connections to creator-focused tools like Teachable, Gumroad, Patreon, WordPress, Squarespace, and Zapier. The integrations it does have are well-built, but the total count is smaller.
Winner: Mailchimp, by volume and breadth. ConvertKit is sufficient for most creators, but businesses with complex needs may find gaps.
Pricing & Value
This deserves careful analysis because the pricing models work differently.
ConvertKit's free plan is significantly more generous — 10,000 subscribers vs. Mailchimp's 500. For a new creator just building an audience, this is a massive advantage.
However, at scale, the comparison shifts:
| Subscriber Count | Mailchimp (Standard) | ConvertKit (Creator) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | ~$20/mo | ~$25/mo |
| 5,000 | ~$60/mo | ~$66/mo |
| 10,000 | ~$100/mo | ~$100/mo |
| 25,000 | ~$270/mo | ~$200/mo |
| 50,000 | ~$385/mo | ~$316/mo |
At higher subscriber counts, ConvertKit tends to be more affordable — and remember, ConvertKit counts each subscriber once, while Mailchimp counts contacts per audience. If you have overlapping lists in Mailchimp, you're paying for the same person multiple times.
Winner: ConvertKit for most users, especially at scale and on the free tier. Mailchimp offers more features per dollar if you actually use its full marketing suite.
Customer Support
Mailchimp offers email and chat support on the Essentials plan and above. Phone support is reserved for Premium users ($350+/mo). The free plan gets no support at all — just self-service documentation. Mailchimp's knowledge base is extensive, but response times can be slow during peak periods.
ConvertKit provides email support on all plans (including free) and live chat on paid plans. The support team is smaller but highly regarded by the creator community. Response times are typically faster, and the team tends to be more knowledgeable about creator-specific use cases. ConvertKit also runs an active community and offers free workshops.
Winner: ConvertKit. More accessible support across all tiers, and the quality is consistently praised.
Mobile App
Mailchimp has a solid mobile app for iOS and Android that lets you create and send campaigns, view reports, manage contacts, and even buy Facebook/Instagram ads on the go. It's one of the better email marketing mobile apps available.
ConvertKit's mobile experience is limited. There's a basic app for managing subscribers and viewing stats, but you can't build emails or automations from your phone. For creators who work primarily from a laptop, this may not matter. But if you need on-the-go campaign management, it's a gap.
Winner: Mailchimp, decisively.
Security & Compliance
Both platforms take security and compliance seriously.
Mailchimp is GDPR-compliant, offers two-factor authentication, and provides data processing agreements. It supports CCPA compliance tools and has SOC 2 Type II certification. For businesses operating in regulated industries, Mailchimp's compliance infrastructure is robust.
ConvertKit is also GDPR-compliant, supports double opt-in by default (which helps with compliance and list quality), and provides data processing agreements. It offers two-factor authentication and follows industry-standard security practices.
Winner: Tie. Both are compliant and secure. Mailchimp has a slight edge for enterprise-level compliance documentation.
Pros and Cons
Mailchimp
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| All-in-one marketing platform | Can feel bloated and overwhelming |
| Excellent e-commerce integrations | Free plan is very limited (500 contacts) |
| Advanced automation and testing | Contacts counted per audience (duplicates cost extra) |
| Strong mobile app | Pricing jumps steeply as you grow |
| 300+ integrations | Support lacking on lower-tier plans |
| AI-powered content tools | Email deliverability has been inconsistent for some users |
ConvertKit
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Built specifically for creators | Limited email design options |
| Generous free plan (10,000 subscribers) | Fewer integrations than Mailchimp |
| Tag-based system prevents duplicate charges | No advanced e-commerce features |
| Excellent deliverability reputation | Basic mobile app |
| Built-in digital product sales | Reporting could be more detailed |
| Creator Network for cross-promotion | Less suitable for traditional businesses |
Who Should Choose Mailchimp?
Mailchimp is the better choice if you:
- Run an e-commerce store and need product recommendations, abandoned cart emails, and retargeting ads
- Want an all-in-one platform for email, social media, ads, landing pages, and basic CRM
- Need highly designed emails with complex layouts, images, and branding
- Have a team that needs different access levels and collaboration features
- Rely on a broad tech stack and need 300+ integrations
- Are a small business or agency managing multiple clients or campaigns
Mailchimp is essentially a marketing hub. If you need more than just email, it offers solid value — especially on the Standard plan.
Who Should Choose ConvertKit?
ConvertKit is the better choice if you:
- Are a content creator — blogger, YouTuber, podcaster, author, or course creator
- Prioritize deliverability and want emails that land in the primary inbox
- Want to start for free with a generous subscriber limit
- Sell digital products and want a built-in checkout without third-party tools
- Prefer simplicity over feature overload
- Want to grow through cross-promotion using the Creator Network
- Care about subscriber organization and don't want to pay for duplicates
ConvertKit does fewer things than Mailchimp, but it does them exceptionally well for its target audience.
Verdict: Mailchimp vs ConvertKit 2026
Here's my honest take: the right choice depends entirely on what you're building.
If you're a creator building an audience — writing a newsletter, launching a course, growing a podcast, or selling digital products — ConvertKit is the better tool. It's simpler, more affordable at scale, has better deliverability, and its subscriber-centric model saves you money. The free plan alone makes it worth trying before committing to anything else.
If you're a small business, e-commerce brand, or agency that needs email marketing as part of a broader marketing strategy — Mailchimp is the stronger platform. Its e-commerce features, advanced automations, multivariate testing, and extensive integrations make it a more versatile tool for business marketing.
Neither tool is universally "better." They're built for different people with different needs. The worst thing you can do is choose a platform based on someone else's use case instead of your own.
My recommendation: If you're unsure, start with ConvertKit's free plan (10,000 subscribers is hard to beat) and test it for 30 days. If you find yourself needing more design flexibility, e-commerce tools, or multi-channel marketing, switch to Mailchimp. Both platforms make it relatively easy to import/export your subscriber list.
For alternatives worth considering: Try ActiveCampaign offers a middle ground with powerful automation and CRM features, while Beehiiv has emerged as a strong competitor for newsletter-focused creators.
FAQ: Mailchimp vs ConvertKit 2026
Is ConvertKit really called Kit now?
Yes. ConvertKit officially rebranded to Kit in late 2024. However, most users, reviewers, and search queries still use "ConvertKit," and the company acknowledges this. The product, features, and pricing remain the same — it's a name change, not a platform change.
Which has better email deliverability — Mailchimp or ConvertKit?
ConvertKit has a strong reputation for deliverability, partly because it encourages plain-text-style emails (which spam filters favor) and enforces double opt-in by default. Mailchimp's deliverability is generally good but can vary depending on your account's sending reputation and the type of content you send. For newsletter creators who want maximum inbox placement, ConvertKit has a slight edge.
Can I switch from Mailchimp to ConvertKit (or vice versa) easily?
Yes. Both platforms allow you to export your subscriber list as a CSV file and import it into the other. ConvertKit even offers free migration assistance for creators with 5,000+ subscribers on paid plans. You'll lose your automation workflows and email templates in the transfer, so budget time to rebuild those.
Which is cheaper for 10,000 subscribers?
On a paid plan, both are approximately $100/month at 10,000 subscribers. However, ConvertKit's free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers (without automation), making it technically free if you only need basic broadcast emails and landing pages.
Does Mailchimp work with Shopify in 2026?
Yes. Mailchimp and Shopify restored their official integration, and it works well for e-commerce email marketing — including abandoned cart flows, product recommendations, and purchase-based segmentation.
Can I sell products directly through ConvertKit?
Yes. ConvertKit has a built-in commerce feature that lets you sell digital products (ebooks, courses, templates, memberships) and accept payments without needing a separate platform like Gumroad or Teachable. Transaction fees apply (3.5% + $0.30 per sale on paid plans), but it's a convenient all-in-one option for creators.