Mailchimp pricing: Features and plans explained + How they built it

Mailchimp helps businesses design and send marketing emails, automate customer journeys, and analyze performance across campaigns. The platform serves marketers of all sizes, from early-stage teams to complex organizations.

Mailchimp uses flexible pricing to align with how accounts grow, primarily by contact count and sending volume, with features increasing by plan. This guide explains how their pricing works, how the feature tiers are structured, and the building blocks behind the model.

Note: For the most up-to-date pricing, check Mailchimp’s official pricing page. Plan details may change over time.

Mailchimp overview: Features and pricing

Mailchimp pricing comparison chart showing Premium, Standard, Essentials, and Free plans by feature access, support level, email volume, users, audiences, and marketing tools.

Mailchimp pricing plans include Free, Essentials, Standard, and Premium tiers. Each one offers different features and sending limits depending on how many contacts you manage and how advanced your marketing needs are. Here’s a closer look at Mailchimp features pricing:

Mailchimp Free plan

The Free plan costs $0 per month. It includes up to 500 contacts and a maximum of 1,000 email sends each month (with a daily cap of 500). There’s no annual billing option, and no usage-based variation.

What’s included:

• 1 audience and 1 user only
  
• Access to standard email templates
  
• Basic performance reports
  
• Signup forms and limited landing pages
  
• Email support for the first 30 days

Mailchimp Essentials plan

The Essentials plan starts at $13 per month for 500 contacts. Pricing increases as your contact list grows, so expect to pay about $45/month for 2,500 contacts. 

Mailchimp offers annual discounts and a 15% reduction for nonprofits under the Mailchimp pricing nonprofit program. The plan includes a 10× email send cap.

What’s included:

• Email scheduling and A/B testing
  
• All templates, including custom HTML
  
• Basic automations (up to 4 steps per journey)
  
• 3 audiences and 3 users
  
• Branding removal
  
• Live chat and 24/7 email support
  
• Access to Mailchimp SMS pricing add-on via pay-per-credit

Mailchimp Standard plan

The Standard plan starts at $20 per month for 500 contacts. As your audience grows, pricing increases, about $60/month for 2,500 contacts, and up to ~$800/month for the 100,000-contact limit. 

You’ll get a 12× monthly send cap, annual billing discounts, and a 15% nonprofit discount (same program as Essentials). Confirm current eligibility and terms on Mailchimp’s pricing page.

What’s included:

• Advanced automation with multi-step customer journeys
  
• Dynamic content personalization
  
• Predictive segmentation and behavioral targeting
  
• Multivariate testing (beyond A/B)
  
• Comparative reports to benchmark campaign performance
  
• 5 audiences and 5 user roles
  
• Onboarding support from Mailchimp’s customer success team
  
• Integration with pay-per-use SMS campaigns via Mailchimp SMS pricing

Mailchimp Premium plan

Premium starts at $350 per month for 10,000 contacts. Pricing rises with volume, around $1,300/month for 200,000 contacts and includes a 15× send cap. If your list exceeds 200,000, Mailchimp will provide custom pricing through sales.

What’s included:

• Unlimited audiences and unlimited users
  
• Advanced permissions and role-based access
  
• Maximum automation depth (200 journey points)
  
• Full reporting suite with comparative insights
  
• Priority customer support, including phone access
  
• Dedicated onboarding and account help

Remember: Pricing, plans, and features are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to Mailchimp’s pricing page.

Key elements of Mailchimp’s pricing approach

Mailchimp aligns price with account growth and campaign activity. Plans package features by tier, while allowances and governance expand as needs increase. Contact count is the core scale driver, and credits support teams that send periodically. 

The elements below show how these mechanics fit together so readers can understand the structure at a glance:

Contact-based tiers

Contact count determines the scale of an account and unlocks higher-tier capabilities. This keeps packaging consistent as lists expand.

• Scale driver: Pricing aligns with the size of the contact database during the billing period.
  
  
• Tier progression: Higher tiers introduce deeper automation, testing, analytics, and team controls.
  
  
• Continuity: Accounts move through tiers within the same overall structure.
  
  

Plan-based send allowances

Each plan includes a monthly sending allowance sized for that tier. This helps teams match campaign frequency to plan scope.

• Right-sizing: Allowances increase with plan level and contact scale.
  
  
• Clarity: Allowances make the expected monthly sending straightforward to plan.
  
  
• Room to grow: Moving up a tier increases available sends alongside features.
  

Feature gating by tier

Capabilities are organized so teams can add sophistication as they grow.

• Foundational: Email design, sending, and basic reporting appear on entry tiers.
  
  
• Advanced: Journey automation, testing options, and deeper analytics expand on higher tiers.
  
  
• Collaboration: Admin roles, permissions, and approvals increase for larger organizations.
  

Credit-based sending (pay-as-you-go)

Credits provide an option for infrequent or seasonal campaigns without a monthly subscription.

• Simple mapping: One credit corresponds to one email sent.
  
  
• Seasonal fit: Teams with irregular schedules can align spending with active periods.
  
  
• Coexists with tiers: Credits are an alternative, not a replacement, for plan-based sending.
  

Add-ons and channels

Optional capabilities can be layered without changing a core plan.

• Channel flexibility: Add channels (such as SMS) based on program needs.
  
  
• Usage alignment: Add-ons typically follow a usage-based structure.
  
  
• Modular approach: Teams can pilot new channels before broad rollout.
  

Support and service levels

Support expands alongside the tier scope.

• Coverage: Response targets and channels improve on higher tiers.
  
  
• Enablement: Larger teams get more guidance for complex programs.
  
  
• Continuity: Support levels match operational scale.
  

Governance and roles

Larger organizations need clear workflows and controls.

• Permissions: Role-based access and approvals help coordinate campaigns.
  
  
• Auditability: Activity visibility supports review and compliance.
  
  
• Scale: Governance increases with team size and campaign volume.
  

Billing cadence and proration

Plan changes are reflected in regular billing cycles.

• Cadence: Charges follow a predictable billing schedule.
  
  
• Alignment: Proration keeps invoices consistent with the timing of changes.
  
  
• Transparency: Clear timing reduces confusion during upgrades.
  

Data and reporting

As tiers increase, so does analytical depth.

• Granularity: More detailed reporting helps optimize performance over time.
  
  
• Attribution: Insights connect activity to outcomes.
  
  
• Iteration: Teams refine journeys using richer data.
  

Note: For packaging structure and plan-design context, see our article on pricing and packaging strategy.

Why do companies like Mailchimp adopt usage-based billing?

Usage-aligned pricing ties spend to activity. As lists grow or campaigns ramp up, costs increase in proportion to the value teams receive. Credits provide a practical option for irregular schedules.

Value alignment

Linking price to usage helps maintain a clear connection between activity and spend. As audiences expand or programs become more sophisticated, pricing scales within the same structure. Teams see how changes in contacts and sending translate into charges.

Flexibility for different cadences

Organizations run marketing on many rhythms. Some send every week; others run seasonal bursts. A model that supports both monthly tiers and credit-based sending lets each team match pricing to its actual cadence.

Clear expansion path

Growth often happens in stages. Teams start with foundational features, then add advanced automation, testing, and analytics as needs evolve. Usage-based pricing offers a predictable way to unlock more capability and higher allowances without switching frameworks.

Operational clarity

Simple constructs, like send allowances and credit balances, make planning straightforward. Product, marketing, and finance work from the same definitions, which reduces ambiguity in budgeting. The result is easier forecasting and cleaner handoffs.

Note: For model selection guidance and real-world patterns, see pricing models for products and tiered pricing examples.

Why is usage-based billing becoming the default?

Pricing is moving toward usage so teams can experiment, scale gradually, and keep spending aligned with activity. This model also gives product and finance clearer data to plan and communicate changes confidently:

• Market and buyer expectations: Modern buyers want to start quickly, try features, and scale inside the same pricing framework. Usage ties cost to activity, creates evaluation clarity with simple metrics, and lets accounts grow without switching models.
  
  
• Product and engineering needs: Teams iterate faster when packaging is configurable. Usage pricing supports thresholds, allowances, and credit bundles without code rewrites, and metering connects product events to billing with precision. Cohort rollouts make changes safe to test.
  
  
• Finance and revenue operations: Granular usage data improves forecasting and margin discipline. Pricing scales with workload and cost drivers, while itemized invoices increase trust. Historical usage supports scenario modeling before a change goes live.
  
  
• Customer experience: Clear rules and visibility build confidence. Dashboards show allowances and actual usage so customers can plan campaigns and upgrade smoothly. Right-sized plans and credits keep the model familiar as needs evolve.

Note: For guidance on communicating price changes as your model evolves, see how to announce a price increase.

FAQs 

How much does Mailchimp cost?

Mailchimp pricing ranges from $0 per month to over $350 per month, depending on your plan and contact count.

Chimp mail pricing in the Free plan costs $0, Essentials starts at $13/month, Standard starts at $20/month, and Premium begins at $350/month for 10,000 contacts. Pricing rises as your list grows, and add-ons like SMS or pay-as-you-go credits can increase your total cost.

What affects Mailchimp open rates?

Subject lines, list quality, send frequency, and send-time optimization drive most open-rate swings. Mailchimp’s send-time optimization uses engagement data to time delivery per contact, which can lift open rates when your audience spans multiple time blocks.

How does Mailchimp's send time optimization work?

Mailchimp’s send time optimization uses machine learning to determine when each contact is most likely to open an email. It analyzes past engagement data to choose the optimal delivery time per recipient. This feature is available on Standard and Premium plans.

Is Mailchimp free?

Yes, Mailchimp has a Free plan for up to 500 contacts and 1,000 email sends per month.

It includes basic templates, a single audience, and limited support for the first 30 days. However, automation, scheduling, and advanced tools are only available on paid tiers.

How much is Mailchimp a month?

Mailchimp starts at $13/month for the Essentials plan and scales based on contact volume. The Standard plan begins at $20/month, and Premium starts at $350/month for 10,000 contacts. Actual costs vary depending on usage and plan level.

How many emails can I send a month with Mailchimp?

You can send between 1,000 and 15× your contact count of emails per month, depending on your plan.

For example, Essentials includes 10× your contact total, Standard includes 12×, and Premium allows 15×. The Free plan limits you to 1,000 emails per month, with a daily cap of 500.

Learn how Orb supports usage-based billing

Understanding Mailchimp pricing is just part of the equation. Now you’ll want to know how to offer usage-based billing for your company.

Orb is the done-for-you billing platform that allows this level of complexity, without the technical pains. Orb helps you launch and scale with confidence. Here’s how Orb gives you the foundation for flexible pricing that evolves with your business:

• Manage and version plans without breaking workflows: With plan versioning, you can deploy updates progressively, segment customer groups, and roll out pricing changes over time, all without touching production code.

• Transparent billing that matches real usage: Orb makes it easy to provide line item-level invoicing that reflects exactly how a customer used your product, critical for trust and retention. Usage data and pricing rules stay perfectly in sync.
• Simulate before you ship: With Orb Simulations, you can test new pricing strategies against historical data to understand the impact on revenue and usage. Model different outcomes, then pick the one that aligns best with your growth strategy. 

• Define your pricing without coding: With tools like the Orb SQL Editor and a visual editor, teams can easily build and refine pricing logic and billable metrics.

• Built to scale with modern SaaS teams: Orb integrates directly into your financial stack and becomes your billing system of record. It supports all major pricing models, ingests all raw usage data, and offers a scalable API that supports high-volume data ingestion.

Check out Orb’s flexible pricing tiers and start building pricing that fits your product, your data, and your future.