Overview
Note: this article may contain affiliate links, which means I could earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you.
I spent over 65 hours testing Mailchimp, Brevo, and 7 other email marketing tools. In this Mailchimp vs Brevo comparison, I’ll break down their key features, like the landing page builder, email marketing automations, customer support and their pricing plans. I’ll also score both platforms out of 5 and give you my personal recommendations.
Ease of Use
Both platforms are user-friendly, but Brevo takes the lead for simplicity. Mailchimp has a clean interface and their tools are easy to use. The setup process is straightforward and they do a good job making sure you complete all steps when creating campaigns. However, navigation could be clearer since some functions are slightly hidden, like finding the automation builder takes some digging around. Brevo’s platform is fast and easy to navigate. The layout makes sense. The interface is clean, and whether you’re brand new to email marketing or you’ve been doing it for years, you’ll feel comfortable right away. The dashboard gives you helpful suggestions for getting started, and there’s a smooth campaign creation process that’s simple to follow.
Email Editors
Both platforms offer solid editors with different philosophies. Mailchimp’s editor is fast and easy to use. You have all the main content blocks like image and social buttons, plus some unique blocks like surveys and products. Brevo has a drag and drop email editor that is easy to use and runs smoothly. There are 13 blocks you can choose from to create your emails. Even though it’s missing some engagement focused blocks like surveys and countdown timer blocks that other platforms offer, it still gets the job done efficiently.
Templates
Mailchimp has the advantage in template variety. Mailchimp offers over 274 modern looking templates that work well on all devices. You can upload your own HTML templates and save colors, fonts and logos in a brand kit. You can save and reuse templates, but you can’t do the same for individual content blocks. Brevo provides 48 email templates that all work well on all devices and their design looks professional and appealing. You can also upload your own HTML templates and save colors, fonts, and logos in a brand library for consistent branding. Plus, you can save content blocks like footers to reuse across different emails, which can save a lot of time.
Landing Pages and Forms
Both platforms offer basic landing page functionality, but neither excels here. Mailchimp’s landing page section is hard to find, offering only nine plain looking templates. The editor isn’t flexible and there’s no AB testing for landing pages. The form builder is super basic with no templates and no AB testing as well. Brevo’s landing page editor provides an okay selection of 16 simple templates, but you only start having access to use one landing page from the standard plan onwards, which is a real negative. The landing page feels clunky and disconnected from their much smoother email editor. The forms are surprisingly advanced, though. You can let subscribers choose which list they want to join and even ask multiple-choice questions. However, there are no form templates and you can’t AB test forms.
Ease of Use Verdict
Brevo wins ease of use with a more streamlined interface and better campaign creation flow. While Mailchimp offers more templates, Brevo’s cleaner navigation, faster performance, and more intuitive dashboard make it easy to use. Both platforms have basic landing page builders, but Brevo’s advanced form capabilities give it a slight edge despite the template limitations.
Features
This is where Brevo pulls ahead, thanks to its multi-channel tools and more accessible automation.
Segmentation
Mailchimp offers decent segmentation, letting you combine filters like email, client usage, and engagement levels. You can add tags to organize contacts. However, each list is separate, making tasks complicated, and they charge you for unsubscribe and duplicate contacts. Brevo lets you create filters that work as segments based on contact information and behavior like email opens and clicks.
Automation
Both platforms offer automation, but Brevo is more accessible across plans. Mailchimp’s automation features are pretty robust with over 100 templates. You can send follow-up emails based on opens, clicks, and abandoned carts. However, automation features aren’t available on free or pay as you go plans, and you can’t AB test automations. Brevo is the stronger option here. Their automation editor lets you set up smart triggered campaigns based on contact data, email engagement, web behavior, and e-commerce activity. They also have lead scoring and the ability to test workflows before launching them, which is much more advanced than you’d expect from a platform at this low price point.
Integrations
Mailchimp has a clear advantage in integration quantity. With over 300 integrations available, from e-commerce like Shopify and WooCommerce to social media website integrations, you’d be hard-pressed to find an area that’s not covered here. Brevo connects with key platforms like WordPress, WooCommerce, and Shopify, which makes e-commerce workflows much easier. The Zapier integration opens up connections to hundreds of additional tools for more flexibility. However, the total number of native integrations is lower than Mailchimp’s extensive library.
Multi-Channel Marketing
Brevo has a big edge in this category. Mailchimp primarily focuses on email marketing with some basic additional features. Their multi-channel options are limited and often require higher tier plans or additional costs. Unlike most email platforms that only focus on email, Brevo handles email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications, and live chat all in one place. This makes it a good fit for businesses that want to reach customers across multiple channels without juggling different platforms.
Deliverability
Both platforms have different deliverability performance. In this comparison, Mailchimp’s deliverability score was 92.6%, which is up there with the very best. Brevo’s deliverability rate came in at 74.7%, which is acceptable but not among the industry leaders. While this means most of the emails will still reach the inbox, it’s not as strong as some competitors who achieve rates in the ’90s.
Reporting
Mailchimp offers more comprehensive reporting overall. Their reporting features are really detailed, including email performance reports, Google Analytics integrations, revenue tracking, location tracking, click mapping, and social media reports. They let you exclude automated Apple Mail opens for more accurate data. Also, Brevo provides most of the reports you’ll need, including click maps, location tracking, and Google Analytics integration. You can also access conversion data if you connected an e-commerce platform. However, custom reports aren’t available, and if you’re on the starter plan or lower, your access to data is quite limited.
Features Verdict
Brevo wins features with its pricing model, multi-channel marketing, and better automation accessibility. While Mailchimp has more integrations and better deliverability, Brevo’s unlimited contact storage, multi-channel capabilities, advanced automation available on lower plans, and email-based pricing make it a better choice for many businesses.
Customer Support
Both platforms offer limited migration support, but Brevo is more helpful.
Migration Support
Mailchimp offers migration service, but only if you sign up for their most expensive premium plan at $267 per month. They’ll import audience lists and organized segments, but email templates and forms aren’t included. Paying hundreds of dollars just for migration support feels steep to me. Brevo doesn’t offer hands-on migration support, positioning themselves as a self-serve platform. However, they offer built-in tools for importing contacts from email platforms like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign, which comes in handy and doesn’t require expensive premium plans.
Reviews
Both platforms have mixed reviews, but Brevo performs better. Mailchimp has a reported 3 rating with over 1,000 reviews on Trustpilot. Their main complaint is poor customer service and value for money due to recent price increases. Brevo has a reported 4.3 rating with almost 7,000 reviews, which is very good. However, the main complaints are about their strict policy on account usage and sometimes slow support. If they detect any suspicious activity, they won’t hesitate to freeze your account. So, keep an eye out for these issues.
Support Across Plans
Brevo provides more consistent support across all plans. Mailchimp has a good knowledge base, but you only get live chat support on paid plans, and it’s quite slow as well. Phone support is only available on their most expensive premium plan. Brevo provides a universal help button that gives you access to their comprehensive knowledge base or lets you leave a message for support. There’s also the Brevo Academy, which is great for email marketing beginners. Phone support is available to professional and enterprise users Monday through Friday, but they no longer have live chat support on any plans.
Customer Support Verdict
Brevo wins customer support with better ratings, more consistent quality, and better free plan access. Brevo’s 4.3 Trustpilot rating versus Mailchimp’s 3 suggests higher customer satisfaction. Brevo also provides better migration tools and doesn’t charge premium prices for basic migration help while Mailchimp restricts migration support to their most expensive plan only.
Pricing
The pricing difference between the two is dramatic.
Mailchimp Pricing
Mailchimp offers a free plan for up to 500 contacts, but it’s really limited. Only 1,000 emails per month, no scheduling, and automation features are completely removed. The paid plans are expensive with essentials starting at $75 per month for 5,000 contacts, standard at $100 per month, and premium jumping to $350 per month. The biggest problem is charging for all contacts, including unsubscribed and inactive ones.
Brevo Pricing
Brevo has a unique pricing model. Instead of charging based on the number of contacts like most competitors, Brevo charges based on how many emails you send. The free plan gives you 300 emails per day, totaling 9,000 per month, with unlimited contact storage. The starter plan begins at $9 per month for 5,000 emails with unlimited contacts, and the standard plan costs just $18 per month.
Pricing Verdict
Brevo comes out well ahead on pricing with a much cheaper email-based model and unlimited contact storage. The pricing difference is massive. For a business with 5,000 contacts sending 10,000 emails per month, you’ll pay $17 with Brevo versus $75 for Mailchimp. That’s over four times more expensive if you choose Mailchimp. Brevo’s model means you can build a huge email list without worrying about costs until you actually send more emails, while Mailchimp charges for every contact, including inactive ones. In my view Brevo is the clear winner here, and Mailchimp’s contact-based approach feels outdated. Brevo now offers much better value in most of the categories I compared.
If I had to pick one, Brevo is the one I’d go with for many small businesses, though Mailchimp still makes sense if you care most about its larger template library, extra integrations, and stronger deliverability.
