Mailchimp Email Pricing: Which Plan Is Right for Your Business?
Mailchimp email pricing can be confusing at first glance, but understanding the tiers can help small businesses choose the right plan and maximize ROI from day one. In this guide, we’ll break down Mailchimp’s pricing, who each tier is best for, and how small businesses—especially in retail, restaurants, and local service industries—can use email marketing to increase revenue fast.
Understanding Mailchimp Email Pricing
Mailchimp offers four primary pricing plans:
| Plan | Monthly Cost (Starting) | Contacts | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500 | New businesses or side hustles just getting started |
| Essentials | $13+ | 500–50,000 | Businesses who need A/B testing and more design options |
| Standard | $20+ | 500–100,000 | Growing teams needing automation, segmentation, and predictive insights |
| Premium | $350+ | 10,000–200,000+ | Large orgs managing multiple audiences and advanced reporting |
💡 Note: Pricing increases based on contact volume. Visit Mailchimp’s pricing calculator for a tailored quote.
When Should You Upgrade Mailchimp Plans?
Most businesses should start with the Free or Essentials plan. But here’s when it makes sense to upgrade:
- Upgrade to Essentials if you need email templates, A/B testing, and customer support.
- Upgrade to Standard once you have revenue and need automation, dynamic content, or audience segmentation to increase conversions.
- Upgrade to Premium if you’re a larger business managing multiple audiences or sending high volumes of emails regularly.
How Mailchimp Helps Small Businesses Grow Revenue
📦 Retail Businesses
Retailers can recover abandoned carts, upsell to past customers, and promote sales using automated campaigns. Mailchimp’s product recommendation engine and Shopify/Shoplaza integrations can generate revenue passively.
🍽️ Restaurants
Restaurants can grow repeat business through promotions, events, and loyalty emails. Use geotargeted campaigns or birthday discounts to increase foot traffic and customer engagement.
🛠️ Local Service Providers
Whether you’re a cleaning business, consultant, or contractor, email marketing helps you stay top-of-mind with past customers and promote seasonal offers or new services.
Our Final Verdict on Mailchimp Email Pricing
Start with the Free or Essentials plan if you’re just getting started. If your business is growing steadily and you want to unlock automation and deeper insights, Standard is the sweet spot. Only upgrade to Premium when you’re managing multiple brands or large-scale email lists.
P.S. – Founder’s Note
Hey y’all we hope you learned which Mailchimp tier is right for your business. As I was writing this article I thought about a recent interview MailChimp founder Ben Chestnut did with Kleiner Perkins a legendary VC Firm that invested in companies like Google and Amazon in their early days. In the interview he discusses all the things MailChimp did to stay independent and how they focused solely on small businesses while most SaaS companies focused on enterprises. While you may not be looking to exit your small business for $12 Billion Dollars like Ben, the lessons here can be applied to any entrepreneur.
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