--- title: "Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026: Stop Paying for Contacts You Never Email" description: "The best Mailchimp alternatives of 2026 compared: Reloop, Brevo, Mailjet, Loops, Customer.io, Elastic Email and Listmonk on pricing model, free tiers, automations, transactional email, inbound and self-hosting." canonical: "https://reloop.sh/blog/best-mailchimp-alternatives" last-updated: "2026-10-25" --- # Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026: Stop Paying for Contacts You Never Email > For the site documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Docs index: [llms-docs.txt](/llms-docs.txt). Marketing corpus: [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). Docs corpus: [llms-full-docs.txt](/llms-full-docs.txt). Product skill: [skill.md](/skill.md). Prefer markdown URLs (append `.md`) when available. > The best Mailchimp alternatives of 2026 compared: Reloop, Brevo, Mailjet, Loops, Customer.io, Elastic Email and Listmonk on pricing model, free tiers, automations, transactional email, inbound and self-hosting. Source: https://reloop.sh/blog/best-mailchimp-alternatives Published: 2026-10-25 **The short version:** if your email starts in your product (sign-ups, receipts, onboarding sequences), **Reloop** is the best Mailchimp alternative: it prices by emails sent instead of contacts stored, puts transactional mail, campaigns and automations in one API, and is open source. If your marketing team wants an all-in-one suite with SMS and a CRM, look at **Brevo**. If you want a free, self-hosted newsletter tool, **Listmonk** is hard to beat. We build Reloop, so factor that in. Every competitor fact below comes from our researched head-to-head posts, which link each provider's own pricing page, and each section says where that tool beats us. --- ## Why teams leave Mailchimp Mailchimp is a good product for marketers. The reasons people look elsewhere are mostly about fit and price, not quality: 1. **You pay for contacts, not sends.** Mailchimp's free tier covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Essentials starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts, and your monthly sends are capped at 10× your contact count. Every stored contact counts, even ones you never email. 2. **That model hurts SaaS products.** A product that stores 20,000 users but emails the 3,000 active ones this week pays for all 20,000. 3. **Transactional email is a separate add-on.** Mandrill (Mailchimp Transactional) is only sold on top of a paid Standard or Premium plan, billed in blocks of 25,000 emails. See [best Mandrill alternatives](/blog/best-mandrill-alternatives). 4. **It's hosted only.** You can't self-host it or read the code. If none of those apply (a small newsletter run by a marketer, with no product email), Mailchimp may still be the right tool. We say so at the end. --- ## Top picks at a glance | Category | Pick | Why | |---|---|---| | **Best overall for product teams** | Reloop | Per-email pricing, transactional + campaigns + automations in one API, open source | | **Best all-in-one marketing suite** | Brevo | Email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM and live chat, priced by sends | | **Best for marketers who want a bigger free tier** | Mailjet | 6,000 emails a month free, strong drag-and-drop editor | | **Best lifecycle tool for SaaS marketers** | Loops | Polished, focused onboarding and lifecycle flows | | **Best multi-channel engagement** | Customer.io | Journeys across email, push, in-app and SMS | | **Best budget no-code newsletters** | Elastic Email | Separate marketing app with paid newsletters and checkouts | | **Best free self-hosted newsletter tool** | Listmonk | Single Go binary, AGPLv3, bring your own SMTP | --- ## The comparison table | | Reloop | Brevo | Mailjet | Loops | Customer.io | Elastic Email (Marketing) | Listmonk | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **Pricing basis** | Emails sent | Emails sent | Emails sent | Contacts stored | Profiles stored | Contacts + emails | Free software + your SMTP | | **Free tier** | 6,000 / mo (200 / day) | 300 / day | 6,000 / mo (200 / day) | 1,000 contacts, 4,000 sends | No free plan listed | 1,000 contacts, 3,000 emails | Free (self-host) | | **Entry paid plan** | **$10 for 50,000 emails** | From $9 for 5,000 | Starter $9 | $49 / mo | $100 / mo (5,000 profiles) | $29 (2,500 contacts, 37,500 emails) | Server + SMTP cost | | **Automations** | Every plan | Standard, from $18 | Premium plan | Yes (core focus) | Yes (Journeys) | Starter and Pro | No drip sequences | | **Drag-and-drop editor** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Visual editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | | **Transactional API** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes | Separate Email API product | Yes (`/api/tx`) | | **Inbound email** | Mailboxes, API, MCP, IMAP | Webhook | Parse API | No | No | On the Email API Pro plan | No | | **Open source / self-host** | Yes (Apache 2.0) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes (AGPLv3) | Reloop's prices are on [reloop.sh/pricing](/pricing). Competitor prices come from each provider's pricing page, linked in our head-to-head posts below. They all change; check before you commit. --- ## How we evaluated We looked at what actually decides a Mailchimp replacement: 1. **Pricing model.** Per contact, per profile or per email sent. This matters more than the headline price. 2. **Who runs it.** Is it built for marketers with no developer help, or for product teams sending from code? 3. **Automations.** Are lifecycle sequences included, or gated behind a higher plan? 4. **Transactional email.** Can the same tool send receipts and password resets, or do you need a second vendor? 5. **Inbound and replies.** Can people reply to your emails into something you can work with? 6. **Lock-in.** Can you leave, or run it yourself? --- ## 1. Reloop: best overall for product teams [Reloop](/alternatives/mailchimp) is open-source email infrastructure: a transactional API, SMTP relay, contacts, broadcast campaigns, event-triggered automations and inbound mailboxes in one product. Use it hosted, or run the same code on your own server. **Pricing:** Free is 6,000 emails a month (200 a day). Pro is $10 for 50,000. Growth is $20 for 100,000 and includes a dedicated IP. Extra mail costs $0.50 per 1,000. Or skip the subscription and buy pay-as-you-go credits at $0.50 per 1,000, valid for 6 months. Contacts are free to store. Self-hosting is free under Apache 2.0. **Strengths** - **Priced by sends, not contacts.** Store 20,000 users, email 3,000, pay for 3,000. - **One API for everything your product sends:** transactional mail, campaigns and automations share one suppression list, so a hard bounce on a campaign is suppressed for receipts too. - **Event-triggered automations on every plan.** Your app tracks an event like `user.signed_up`, and Reloop runs delays, conditions and email steps. See [welcome sequences that convert](/blog/welcome-email-sequences-that-convert). - A visual drag-and-drop template builder, plus HTML and React Email. - **Inbound mail as real mailboxes**, readable over the API, the [MCP server](/docs/integrations/ai-tools/mcp-server) or IMAP. - Reloop Cloud runs on Hetzner, a German hosting company, with EU data centers. Or [self-host](/self-host) it. **Weaknesses** - Mailchimp's template library, landing pages and sign-up forms are more extensive. - No A/B testing for campaigns yet. - Fewer native integrations with e-commerce and CRM tools. **Best for:** SaaS and product teams whose email starts in their code, and anyone paying Mailchimp for a large, quiet list. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Mailchimp](/blog/reloop-vs-mailchimp) · [Compare page](/compare/mailchimp) --- ## 2. Brevo: best all-in-one marketing suite [Brevo](https://www.brevo.com/) (formerly Sendinblue) is a marketing suite from Paris: email, SMS, WhatsApp, live chat and a sales CRM in one account. Like Reloop, and unlike Mailchimp, it charges for emails sent rather than contacts stored. **Pricing:** free for 300 emails a day. Starter begins at $9 for 5,000 emails. Standard, which adds automations, starts at $18. Professional starts at $499 for 150,000 emails. Exact prices at 50k and 100k come from a volume slider on its pricing page. **Strengths** - More channels than any other tool here: SMS and WhatsApp alongside email. - A mature drag-and-drop editor, templates, landing pages, sign-up forms and A/B testing. - The free plan's 300 emails a day is generous for small senders. **Weaknesses** - Automations need Standard. - Gets expensive at higher volumes compared with developer-focused tools. - Hosted only. **Best for:** marketing-led teams that want one bill for email, SMS and CRM. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Brevo](/blog/reloop-vs-brevo) · [Best Brevo alternatives](/blog/best-brevo-alternatives) --- ## 3. Mailjet: best for marketers who want a bigger free tier [Mailjet](https://www.mailjet.com/) started in France and is now owned by Sinch. It does marketing and transactional mail with a strong drag-and-drop editor. **Pricing:** free for 6,000 emails a month (200 a day). Starter is $9. After the September 2026 update, Essential is $19 for 15,000 and $40 for 50,000; Premium is $29 for 15,000, $59 for 50,000, $112 for 100,000 and $265 for 250,000. **Strengths** - One of the two biggest free tiers in this list (6,000 a month, the same as Reloop's). - A polished editor, brand kit, forms and landing pages for non-developers. - Subaccounts for agencies managing several brands. **Weaknesses** - Automations, team management and dedicated IPs are Premium features. - $40 to $59 at 50,000 emails, vs $10 on Reloop. - Inbound arrives through the Parse API as a webhook, not a mailbox. **Best for:** small marketing teams that send under 6,000 emails a month, or agencies with many brands. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Mailjet](/blog/reloop-vs-mailjet) --- ## 4. Loops: best lifecycle tool for SaaS marketers [Loops](https://loops.so/) is a focused, polished tool for SaaS lifecycle email: onboarding flows, product announcements and newsletters. **Pricing:** free for 1,000 contacts and 4,000 sends a month. Paid plans start at $49 a month, and 100,000 contacts costs $399 a month. Like Mailchimp, it prices by contacts stored. **Strengths** - Lifecycle email is its whole product, and it's pleasant to use. - Designed for marketers in SaaS companies, not generic small businesses. - The free tier suits a small list you email often. **Weaknesses** - Contact-based pricing, so the bill grows with signups, like Mailchimp's. - Limited transactional API and no SMTP relay. - No inbound email. Hosted only. **Best for:** SaaS marketing teams that already send transactional mail elsewhere and want a lifecycle tool on top. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Loops](/blog/reloop-vs-loops) · [Compare page](/compare/loops) --- ## 5. Customer.io: best multi-channel engagement [Customer.io](https://customer.io/) is a customer engagement platform. Its Journeys builder runs campaigns across email, push, in-app messages and SMS, with deep segmentation. **Pricing:** Essentials starts at $100 a month for 5,000 profiles and 1 million emails, then $0.009 per extra profile. Premium starts at $1,000 a month, billed annually. Its pricing page lists no free plan. **Strengths** - True multi-channel journeys in one workflow. - Deep segmentation across people, accounts and event history. - Liquid templates and a visual builder that lifecycle teams can run without engineers. **Weaknesses** - Priced by profiles: about $505 a month at 50,000 profiles on Essentials list price. - No SMTP relay and no inboxes for replies. - Hosted only. **Best for:** growth teams that message users across several channels and have the budget for it. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Customer.io](/blog/reloop-vs-customer-io) --- ## 6. Elastic Email: best budget no-code newsletters [Elastic Email](https://elasticemail.com/) sells two products: an Email API for developers and a separate Email Marketing app for newsletters. **Pricing (Email Marketing):** free for up to 1,000 contacts and 3,000 emails a month, with 1 automation. Starter is $29 a month for up to 2,500 contacts and 37,500 emails, with automations, paid newsletters and checkouts. Pro is $49 with unlimited automations, webhooks and sub-accounts. **Strengths** - A drag-and-drop designer and template gallery aimed at non-technical users. - Paid newsletters and checkouts built in. - A long-running budget provider. **Weaknesses** - Marketing and transactional are separate products with separate plans. - Inbound processing and webhooks sit on the Email API's Pro plan. - Hosted only. **Best for:** small businesses and creators who want cheap no-code newsletters, maybe with paid subscriptions. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Elastic Email](/blog/reloop-vs-elastic-email) --- ## 7. Listmonk: best free self-hosted newsletter tool [Listmonk](https://listmonk.app/) is an open-source newsletter and mailing list manager (AGPLv3): a single Go binary plus Postgres. It doesn't send mail itself; it hands each message to an SMTP server you configure. **Pricing:** free software with no hosted plan. You pay for a small server and your SMTP provider. **Strengths** - Very light: its homepage cites a 7+ million email campaign at a peak of 57 MB of RAM. - Lists with single and double opt-in, SQL segmentation, and visual, WYSIWYG, Markdown and HTML editors. - No per-contact fees, ever. **Weaknesses** - Needs an external SMTP provider, which owns your deliverability. - No drip sequences or event-triggered automations. - No inbound email. You run and maintain it. **Best for:** technical teams that want a free newsletter tool and already have a sending provider. It works well on top of Reloop's SMTP relay. Full breakdown: [Reloop vs Listmonk](/blog/reloop-vs-listmonk) --- ## How to choose Answer these in order and stop at the first "yes": 1. **Does your email start in your product** (sign-ups, receipts, lifecycle sequences), or do you store far more contacts than you email? → Reloop. 2. **Do you need SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in the same tool?** → Brevo. 3. **Do you message users across push, in-app and SMS with complex segments?** → Customer.io. 4. **Do you want a focused SaaS lifecycle tool and already have transactional mail elsewhere?** → Loops. 5. **Do you send under 6,000 emails a month and want a marketer-friendly editor?** → Mailjet. 6. **Do you want cheap no-code newsletters with paid subscriptions?** → Elastic Email. 7. **Do you want free, self-hosted newsletters and have SMTP sorted?** → Listmonk. Count two numbers before you choose: how many contacts you'll store, and how many emails you'll actually send. If the first is much bigger than the second, a per-email tool (Reloop, Brevo, Mailjet) will almost always cost less than a per-contact one (Mailchimp, Loops, Customer.io). ### When to stay on Mailchimp - Your email is run by marketers with no engineering help, and you rely on its template library, landing pages and forms. - Your store, CRM and forms already plug into Mailchimp's integrations. - You send a newsletter or two a month to a few hundred contacts, where contact pricing is cheap. --- ## Switching from Mailchimp The steps are similar for every tool here: 1. **Export your audience**, including unsubscribed and cleaned contacts, so they stay suppressed in the new tool. 2. **Verify your sending domain.** Add the new DKIM record and merge the new provider into your existing SPF record. Never publish a second SPF record. Our [SPF, DKIM and DMARC guide](/blog/spf-dkim-dmarc-setup-guide) covers it. 3. **Rebuild templates.** Mailchimp uses merge tags like `*|FNAME|*`. In Reloop, placeholders use triple braces: `{{{first_name}}}`. 4. **Recreate automations**, triggered by events from your app where possible. 5. **Warm up gradually.** Send to your most engaged contacts first and grow volume over one to two weeks. If you have product email too, use separate subdomains for marketing and transactional mail (for example `news.acme.com` and `mail.acme.com`) so each keeps its own reputation. --- ## FAQ It depends on your shape. Reloop and Mailjet both give 6,000 emails a month free; Reloop adds unlimited contacts, while Mailjet has the more polished visual editor. Listmonk is free software you host yourself, with your own SMTP provider. For sending real volume, Reloop: $10 for 50,000 emails and $20 for 100,000, with no charge for stored contacts. Self-hosted Reloop or Listmonk cost only the server, plus an SMTP provider for Listmonk. Yes. Reloop (Apache 2.0) covers campaigns, automations, transactional mail and inbound mailboxes, hosted or self-hosted. Listmonk (AGPLv3) is a self-hosted newsletter manager that sends through an SMTP server you provide. One that prices by sends and handles product email. Reloop sends transactional mail, campaigns and event-triggered automations from one API. Loops and Customer.io are strong lifecycle tools, but both price by contacts or profiles. Yes. Export unsubscribed and cleaned contacts from Mailchimp and import them into the new tool as unsubscribed or suppressed, so you don't email people who opted out.