Mailchimp built the market for small business email marketing — but its pricing has climbed steadily while competitors have closed the feature gap significantly. At 5,000 contacts the Standard plan runs $75/mo; at 25,000 contacts you’re over $299/mo. Businesses that started on Mailchimp’s free plan are often shocked by how fast costs accumulate as their list grows. Meanwhile, tools like MailerLite and Brevo offer comparable or better features at 30–50% lower cost. The switching cost is real but manageable — most businesses migrate in a weekend.

Price growth is the most common trigger — Mailchimp’s contact-based pricing compounds quickly as lists grow. Automation limits are the second — Mailchimp’s automation (available on Standard and above at $20+/mo) lags behind ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo at comparable price points. The third is template flexibility — Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop editor is functional but designers often prefer Flodesk’s templates or Brevo’s flexibility. If you’re hitting one of these three walls, switching is typically worth the effort.