True cost comparison — not just what the pricing page says
Quick Verdict
ConvertKit saves you 20%
Best for Mailchimp
E-commerce businesses wanting advanced marketing automation, segmentation, and Shopify integration
Best for ConvertKit
Creators, bloggers, and newsletter writers wanting simple automation with subscriber-friendly pricing
Email marketing platform with automation. Free for 500 contacts, then contact-ba...
Advertised
$0
/month
True Cost
$113
/month (typical)
Unsubscribed Contacts Count
Mailchimp counts unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward your billing limit. A list of 10K w...
Steep Contact Tier Scaling
Pricing jumps dramatically: 500 contacts = $13.99/mo, 2,500 = $45/mo, 10K = $100/mo, 50K = $350/mo. ...
Pay-As-You-Go Email Credits
Over-limit sends cost extra as email credits. Standard plan allows 12x your contact limit per month....
Advanced Automation Paywall
Free and Essentials include only basic automations. Customer journeys with branching, A/B testing, a...
Creator-focused email marketing platform (now branded as Kit). Free for 10,000 s...
Advertised
$0
/month
True Cost
$109
/month (typical)
Subscriber-Based Pricing Scaling
Creator plan: 1K subs = $29/mo, 5K = $79/mo, 10K = $119/mo, 55K = $379/mo. Cost roughly doubles ever...
Free Plan Send Restriction
Free plan allows only 1 email broadcast per month to 10,000 subscribers. Daily or weekly newsletters...
No A/B Testing on Free or Creator
A/B testing subject lines requires Creator Pro ($59/mo minimum). Creator plan only supports basic br...
$25/mo annual
$50/mo annual
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission
Mailchimp charges for unsubscribed contacts. ConvertKit only bills for active subscribers
ConvertKit free tier allows 10K subscribers (1 broadcast/mo). Mailchimp free allows only 500 contacts
Mailchimp has steeper pricing tiers — $350/mo for 50K contacts vs ConvertKit's ~$259/mo for 55K subscribers
ConvertKit is built for creators (newsletters, courses, digital products). Mailchimp targets e-commerce and SMBs
| Metric | Mailchimp | ConvertKit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $0/mo | $0/mo | Mailchimp |
| True Monthly Cost | $113/mo | $109/mo | ConvertKit |
| Hidden Fee Total | +$113/mo | +$109/mo | ConvertKit |
| # Hidden Fees | 4 | 3 | ConvertKit |
| Confidence Score | 80% | 76% | Mailchimp |
| Pricing Tiers | 4 | 3 | — |
| Affiliate Program | No public affiliate program (discontinued 2022) | 30% recurring for 24 months | — |
Try the tool that fits your needs. Both offer free trials or free tiers.
From $0/mo
✓ Saves 20% on true costAffiliate link — we may earn a commission
Mailchimp advertises $0/mo and ConvertKit advertises $0/mo. However, when you include hidden fees, Mailchimp has 4 documented hidden fees adding +$113/mo, while ConvertKit has 3 hidden fees adding +$109/mo. Based on true cost, ConvertKit is typically 20% cheaper.
Mailchimp has 4 documented hidden fees: Unsubscribed Contacts Count, Steep Contact Tier Scaling, Pay-As-You-Go Email Credits, Advanced Automation Paywall. These add approximately +$113/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
ConvertKit has 3 documented hidden fees: Subscriber-Based Pricing Scaling, Free Plan Send Restriction, No A/B Testing on Free or Creator. These add approximately +$109/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
Choose Mailchimp if: E-commerce businesses wanting advanced marketing automation, segmentation, and Shopify integration. Choose ConvertKit if: Creators, bloggers, and newsletter writers wanting simple automation with subscriber-friendly pricing. The right choice depends on your team size, usage volume, and which features you need most.
This comparison is based on manual research of official pricing pages, terms of service, and user reports. Mailchimp data has a 80% confidence score and ConvertKit has 76%. Prices were last verified in April 2026. For the most accurate estimate, enter your specific usage in our calculator.
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