Pricing for Mailchimp
How pricing changes as you scale: upgrade triggers, cost cliffs, and plan structure (not a live price list).
Freshness & verification
Pricing behavior (not a price list)
These points describe when users typically pay more and what usage patterns trigger upgrades.
Actions that trigger upgrades
- Need real automation beyond basic drip—requires Standard ($13.99/mo) or Premium ($299/mo)
- Need advanced segmentation and comparative reporting—Premium tier only ($299/mo)
- Contact count exceeds free tier (500)—forced to Standard plan
- Need to remove Mailchimp branding from emails—requires Essentials ($13/mo minimum)
- Need multivariate testing (4+ variants)—Premium tier only
What gets expensive first
- Free tier reduced from 2,000 to 500 contacts after Intuit acquisition—legacy grandfathered accounts expire
- Audience management: contacts in multiple audiences count multiple times toward billing
- Unsubscribed contacts still count toward your contact limit unless archived
- API rate limits: 10 concurrent connections; batch operations limited to 500 per request
- Transactional email is a separate add-on (Mandrill)—not included in any marketing plan
- Content restrictions: affiliate marketing, cryptocurrency, and some health claims prohibited
Plans and variants (structural only)
Grouped by type to show structure, not to rank or recommend SKUs.
- Free - $0 for 500 contacts - 1,000 sends/mo, basic automation, HubSpot branding
- Essentials - $13/mo for 500 contacts - Remove branding, A/B testing, 24/7 support
- Standard - $13.99/mo for 500 contacts - Automation, send time optimization, retargeting
- Premium - $299/mo for 10,000 contacts - Advanced segmentation, multivariate testing
Compare pricing trade-offs head-to-head
Use these comparisons when you are down to two finalists and need a clearer trade-off view.
Next step: constraints + what breaks first
Pricing tells you the cost cliffs; constraints tell you what forces a redesign.
Sources & verification
Pricing and behavioral information comes from public documentation and structured research. When information is incomplete or volatile, we prefer to say so rather than guess.
Something outdated or wrong? Pricing, features, and product scope change. If you spot an error or have a source that updates this page, send us a correction. We prioritize vendor-verified updates and linkable sources.