---
title: "Reloop vs Mandrill"
description: "Reloop vs Mandrill (Mailchimp Transactional) for developers: block pricing and the required Mailchimp plan, API and templates, webhooks, inbound, dedicated IPs, and how to migrate."
canonical: "https://reloop.sh/compare/mandrill"
---

# Reloop vs Mandrill

> 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.

> Reloop vs Mandrill (Mailchimp Transactional) for developers: block pricing and the required Mailchimp plan, API and templates, webhooks, inbound, dedicated IPs, and how to migrate.

HTML: https://reloop.sh/compare/mandrill
Markdown: https://reloop.sh/compare/mandrill.md
Canonical pricing: https://reloop.sh/pricing.md

Reloop vs Mandrill (Mailchimp Transactional) for developers: block pricing and the required Mailchimp plan, API and templates, webhooks, inbound, dedicated IPs, and how to migrate.

Reloop is the email service / infrastructure (ESP + MTA). It is not a multi-ESP connector that sits on SendGrid, Mailgun, Resend, or SES.

## Reloop vs Mandrill

| Feature | Reloop | Mandrill |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buy on its own | Yes | No: add-on to Mailchimp Standard or Premium |
| Free tier | 6,000 / mo, 200 / day | Up to 500 trial sends to a verified domain |
| Billing unit | Monthly plan + $0.50 per 1,000 over | Blocks of 25,000 emails |
| 50,000 emails / mo | $10 | $40 in blocks + Mailchimp plan |
| 100,000 emails / mo | $20 | $80 in blocks + Mailchimp plan |
| Dedicated IP | Included on Growth ($20) | $29.95 / mo add-on |
| Templates | {{{variables}}}, visual editor | Merge tags `*\ |
| Webhook signing | HMAC-SHA256, Reloop-Signature | HMAC-SHA1, X-Mandrill-Signature |
| Inbound email | Mailboxes with threads, API, MCP, IMAP | Routes posted to your webhook |
| SMTP relay | Yes | Yes |
| Open source / self-host | Yes (Apache 2.0) | No |

## FAQ

### Can I use Mandrill without a paid Mailchimp plan?

No. Mailchimp Transactional is an add-on to the Standard or Premium Marketing plans (or the legacy Monthly Plan). The Essentials plan isn't eligible. New users get up to 500 trial sends to a verified domain.

### How much does Mandrill cost for 100,000 emails?

Four blocks of 25,000 at $20 each, so $80 a month, plus your Mailchimp Standard or Premium plan. On Reloop, 100,000 emails a month is $20 on Growth, with a dedicated IP included.

### Do my Mandrill Handlebars templates work in Reloop?

Simple variables do, once you switch them to triple braces: {{{first_name}}}. Conditionals and loops don't; resolve them in your code and pass the result in as a variable.

### Is there a free Mandrill plan?

There's no ongoing free tier, only up to 500 trial sends. Reloop's free tier is 6,000 emails a month with a 200-a-day cap.

### Does Reloop support SMTP like Mandrill?

Yes. Use smtp.reloop.sh on port 587 with STARTTLS, with your API key as both the username and password.

## Related

- Pricing: https://reloop.sh/pricing.md
- Compare index: https://reloop.sh/compare.md
- License (Apache 2.0): https://reloop.sh/license