# Mailchimp Alternatives 2027: 11 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/mailchimp/
Prices checked: 2026-11-13 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best Mailchimp alternatives in 2027 are Klaviyo (best overall, $20/mo billed monthly), MailerLite (best free plan: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails monthly) and Listmonk (best open source, AGPL-3.0). Mailchimp itself starts at $13/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 13 Nov 2026; 8 more are compared below, including 1 with a free plan and 5 open source.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp (the tool being replaced) | — | $13/mo | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month, 250 a day | — | — | 2026-11-13 | [pricing](https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/) |
| Klaviyo | Free plan + paid | $20/mo billed monthly | 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month | — | Online stores that want email, SMS and reviews | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.klaviyo.com) [pricing](https://www.klaviyo.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/klaviyo/) |
| Brevo | Free plan + paid | $9/mo billed monthly | Up to 300 emails a day | — | Daily sending cap instead of monthly sends | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.brevo.com) [pricing](https://www.brevo.com/pricing/) |
| MailerLite | Free plan + paid | $12/mo billed monthly | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats | — | Free list with automations and landing page | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.mailerlite.com) [pricing](https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing) |
| GetResponse | Paid | $19/mo billed monthly | No free plan | — | Email plus webinars and courses in one plan | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.getresponse.com) [pricing](https://www.getresponse.com/pricing) |
| ActiveCampaign | Paid | $15/mo billed yearly | No free plan | — | Multi-step automation on a small list | 2026-11-13 | [site](https://www.activecampaign.com) [pricing](https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/activecampaign/) |
| Listmonk | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | Large newsletter lists on your own server |  | [site](https://listmonk.app/) [code](https://github.com/knadh/listmonk) |
| Mautic | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | GPL-3.0 | Full marketing automation with segments and campaigns |  | [site](https://www.mautic.org/) [code](https://github.com/mautic/mautic) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/mautic/) |
| Keila | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 (some parts under a separate licence) | Simple self-hosted newsletter tool |  | [site](https://www.keila.io) [code](https://github.com/pentacent/keila) |
| phpList | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | PHP newsletter manager with bounce handling |  | [site](https://www.phplist.org) [code](https://github.com/phpList/phplist3) |
| Dittofeed | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | Automated journeys across email, SMS and push |  | [site](https://www.dittofeed.com) [code](https://github.com/dittofeed/dittofeed) |
| BillionMail | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | One stack for mail server and campaigns |  | [site](https://github.com/BillionMail/BillionMail) [code](https://github.com/BillionMail/BillionMail) |

## How each alternative compares with Mailchimp

- **Klaviyo** (Free plan + paid, $20/mo billed monthly, checked 2026-11-13): Email is $20 for 500 active profiles and 5,000 emails; the free plan adds $5 of mobile messages, reviews for 50 orders and a Customer Hub alongside email. Switch if you sell online and want reviews, SMS credit and a customer hub in the same account as email. Stay with Mailchimp if you send plain newsletters and want the lowest-cost route for a very small list.
- **Brevo** (Free plan + paid, $9/mo billed monthly, checked 2026-11-13): Free plan sends up to 300 emails a day, against Mailchimp Free at 500 a month; Starter is $9 for 5,000 emails and SMS credit is sold separately. Switch if you send often to a small list and prefer a daily cap to a monthly one, at $9. Stay with Mailchimp if you use Mailchimp's multivariate tests on Standard or its Analytics AI.
- **MailerLite** (Free plan + paid, $12/mo billed monthly, checked 2026-11-13): Free plan allows 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month with automations, a landing page and 2 user seats; Mailchimp Free caps at 250 contacts and 500 sends. Switch if you want a free or low-cost list under 500 subscribers with automations and landing pages. Stay with Mailchimp if you need Mailchimp's SMS add-on or Standard-plan multivariate tests.
- **GetResponse** (Paid, $19/mo billed monthly, checked 2026-11-13): Starter gives unlimited monthly sends at 1,000 contacts, and Creator at $69 bundles webinars, a website builder and a course creator with up to 500 students. Switch if you sell courses or run webinars and want them inside the email platform. Stay with Mailchimp if your list is under 250 contacts and you want the free plan.
- **ActiveCampaign** (Paid, $15/mo billed yearly, checked 2026-11-13): Starter includes multi-step automation and 10,000 sends for 1,000 contacts; Plus adds cross-channel marketing and landing pages, and Pro adds predictive send times at each contact. Switch if your priority is multi-step automation and predictive send times, and annual billing suits you. Stay with Mailchimp if you send occasional newsletters and want the free plan or the $13 Essentials tier.
- **Listmonk** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Single Go binary backed by PostgreSQL that manages newsletters and mailing lists; you connect your own SMTP or email API, so sending costs come from that provider, not per-contact tiers. Switch if you have technical help and a large list, and want sending costs without per-contact pricing. Stay with Mailchimp if you want drag-and-drop templates, hosted deliverability and support included.
- **Mautic** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Marketing automation suite covering email, social and more with a contact database; it installs with Composer on PHP, and the README says you must be comfortable on the command line. Switch if you want campaign-level marketing automation and segmentation under your own control. Stay with Mailchimp if nobody on your side can maintain PHP, a database and version updates.
- **Keila** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Newsletter tool positioned as a Mailchimp and Sendinblue alternative; the Docker image sends through your own SMTP, AWS SES, Sendgrid, Mailgun or Postmark account. Switch if you want a simple self-hosted newsletter tool and already have a sending account. Stay with Mailchimp if you need Mailchimp's automation flows and hosted support.
- **phpList** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Long-running PHP email manager with bounce processing, segmentation and plugins; a hosted phpList.com account exists if you do not want to run PHP and MySQL yourself. Switch if you want a mature PHP newsletter manager with bounce handling on your own server. Stay with Mailchimp if you want a modern drag-and-drop editor and no server upkeep.
- **Dittofeed** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Sends broadcasts and automated journeys across email, mobile push, SMS, WhatsApp and Slack from one self-hosted platform; Mailchimp sells SMS as an add-on. Switch if you want automated customer journeys across several channels and can run Docker Compose. Stay with Mailchimp if your needs are a monthly newsletter and a template editor.
- **BillionMail** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Installs a full mail server with Roundcube webmail beside campaign sending, so it replaces a sending provider as well as Mailchimp; deliverability then rests on your own server. Switch if you want one self-hosted stack for mailboxes, newsletters and sending, and can manage DNS. Stay with Mailchimp if you want a provider that handles deliverability for you.

## Open-source options in detail

- **Listmonk** (https://github.com/knadh/listmonk): Licence: AGPL-3.0; Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.; Runs on: Any server that runs Docker or a Go binary, plus PostgreSQL.; Setup: moderate: Docker Compose plus PostgreSQL and an SMTP provider.; Last commit: 2026-11-11; Last release: 2026-11-12; GitHub stars: 24,300 (2026-11-13)
- **Mautic** (https://github.com/mautic/mautic): Licence: GPL-3.0; Commercial use: Yes (GPL-3.0); distributed changes must stay GPL-3.0.; Runs on: Web server with PHP and a MySQL-compatible database.; Setup: moderate: Composer install, database and web server configuration.; Last commit: 2026-11-13; Last release: 2026-10-26; GitHub stars: 11,000 (2026-11-13)
- **Keila** (https://github.com/pentacent/keila): Licence: AGPL-3.0 (some parts under a separate licence); Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.; Runs on: Any host that runs Docker; needs a database and sending account.; Setup: moderate: Docker image plus a database and an SMTP or SES account.; Last commit: 2026-11-13; Last release: 2026-11-04; GitHub stars: 2,300 (2026-11-13)
- **phpList** (https://github.com/phpList/phplist3): Licence: AGPL-3.0; Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.; Runs on: Web server with PHP and MySQL; Docker image available.; Setup: moderate: Web server, PHP and MySQL setup; Docker image also available.; Last commit: 2026-10-19; Last release: 2026-08-09; GitHub stars: 883 (2026-11-13)
- **Dittofeed** (https://github.com/dittofeed/dittofeed): Licence: MIT; Commercial use: Yes (MIT).; Runs on: Any host that runs Docker Compose.; Setup: moderate: Docker Compose stack; message providers configured separately.; Last commit: 2026-10-12; Last release: 2026-10-04; GitHub stars: 3,100 (2026-11-13)
- **BillionMail** (https://github.com/BillionMail/BillionMail): Licence: AGPL-3.0; Commercial use: Yes; AGPL-3.0 means sharing changes if you run it as a service.; Runs on: Linux server with Docker; README gives no RAM figure.; Setup: moderate: Install script or Docker Compose plus .env edits.; Last commit: 2026-06-11; Last release: 2025-12-11; GitHub stars: 16,300 (2026-11-13)

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to Mailchimp in 2027?
Klaviyo is the best overall Mailchimp alternative on this page ($20/mo billed monthly). For no cost, MailerLite has a free plan (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats). To self-host, Listmonk is open source (AGPL-3.0).

### Is there a free version of Mailchimp?
Yes. Mailchimp has a free plan: 250 contacts, 500 sends a month, 250 a day. Paid plans start at $13/mo, checked on 13 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to Mailchimp?
Yes. Listmonk, Mautic, Keila, phpList, Dittofeed, BillionMail are open source and free to self-host. Klaviyo, Brevo, MailerLite have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### What is cheaper than Mailchimp?
Brevo starts at $9/mo billed monthly, against $13/mo for Mailchimp, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 13 Nov 2026.

### How much do Mailchimp alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 13 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Brevo $45/mo, MailerLite $60/mo, ActiveCampaign $75/mo, against Mailchimp $65/mo for Mailchimp. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, Klaviyo or Mailchimp?
Email is $20 for 500 active profiles and 5,000 emails; the free plan adds $5 of mobile messages, reviews for 50 orders and a Customer Hub alongside email. Choose Klaviyo if you sell online and want reviews, SMS credit and a customer hub in the same account as email. Stay with Mailchimp if you send plain newsletters and want the lowest-cost route for a very small list.

### Why are people leaving Mailchimp?
The documented reasons are: Multivariate test audiences launched for Standard and Premium plans only, so multivariate experiments sit above the Essentials tier (16 Jun 2026); Enterprise single sign-on launched and is listed as available on Premium plans, which start at $350 a month on the pricing page (30 Sep 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### Is there an open-source alternative to Mailchimp?
Yes. Listmonk, Mautic, Keila and phpList can be self-hosted. They have no licence fee but need a server, a database and an SMTP or email API provider.

## Related on Zekai

- [AI for Marketing & Content Creation](https://zekaiwork.com/professions/ai-marketing-content-creation-automation/)

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Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/mailchimp/