True cost comparison — not just what the pricing page says
Quick Verdict
Mailchimp saves you 5%
Best for SendGrid
Email marketing platform with automation. Free for 500 contacts, then contact-based pricing creates
Best for Mailchimp
Twilio's email delivery platform for transactional and marketing emails. Free for 100 emails/day, th
Twilio's email delivery platform for transactional and marketing emails. Free fo...
Advertised
$0
/month
True Cost
$105
/month (typical)
Dedicated IP Required for Deliverability
Shared IP on lower plans hurts deliverability. Dedicated IP costs $20-$40/mo extra and requires Pro ...
Email Validation Add-On
Email address validation to reduce bounces costs $0.003-$0.01 per validation. Validating a 50K list ...
Overage Email Charges
Exceeding monthly email limit incurs overage at $0.00085-$0.001 per email. 100K extra emails = $85-$...
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...
Mailchimp advertises $0/mo. SendGrid advertises $0/mo.
Mailchimp has 4 documented hidden fees. SendGrid has 3.
Mailchimp confidence: 80%. SendGrid confidence: 75%.
| Metric | SendGrid | Mailchimp | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $0/mo | $0/mo | SendGrid |
| True Monthly Cost | $105/mo | $113/mo | SendGrid |
| Hidden Fee Total | +$105/mo | +$113/mo | SendGrid |
| # Hidden Fees | 3 | 4 | SendGrid |
| Confidence Score | 75% | 80% | Mailchimp |
| Pricing Tiers | 3 | 4 | — |
| Affiliate Program | None | No public affiliate program (discontinued 2022) | — |
SendGrid advertises $0/mo and Mailchimp advertises $0/mo. However, when you include hidden fees, SendGrid has 3 documented hidden fees adding +$105/mo, while Mailchimp has 4 hidden fees adding +$113/mo. Based on true cost, Mailchimp is typically 5% cheaper.
SendGrid has 3 documented hidden fees: Dedicated IP Required for Deliverability, Email Validation Add-On, Overage Email Charges. These add approximately +$105/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
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.
Choose SendGrid if: Email marketing platform with automation. Free for 500 contacts, then contact-based pricing creates . Choose Mailchimp if: Twilio's email delivery platform for transactional and marketing emails. Free for 100 emails/day, th. 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. SendGrid data has a 75% confidence score and Mailchimp has 80%. Prices were last verified in April 2026. For the most accurate estimate, enter your specific usage in our calculator.
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