The Mailchimp alternative that costs a fifth as much
Mailchimp's free plan now stops at 250 contacts, and its cheapest paid plan runs $83/month at 5,000 contacts with automations capped at four steps. EmailFig is free up to 4,000 subscribers, then $15/month at 5,000 with full automations included. You get campaigns, automations, forms and segments on every plan. You don't get Mailchimp's SMS, ecommerce suite or its huge integration catalog.
Why people look for a Mailchimp alternative
The free plan stops at 250 contacts
Mailchimp's free tier now covers just 250 contacts, and once you cross a limit, sending is paused until you upgrade. EmailFig's free plan covers 4,000 subscribers, sixteen times as many, with every feature switched on.
Real automation starts at Standard prices
The Essentials plan caps automations at four flow steps. A welcome series with a delay and a follow-up already pushes that limit, and the full builder lives on Standard, which is $100/month at 5,000 contacts. EmailFig includes full automations on every plan, free tier included.
Overage fees, not warnings
Grow past your Mailchimp tier and overage charges are added to your bill automatically. EmailFig tells you before anything changes, and you choose whether to move up a tier.
Mailchimp vs EmailFig pricing at your list size
Pick your subscriber count. EmailFig prices are our live price list; Mailchimp prices were checked August 2026.
Standard, with full automations, is $100/mo at this size.
| Subscribers | Mailchimp | EmailFig | You save / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $83 | $15 | $816 |
| 10,000 | $110 | $27 | $996 |
| 25,000 | $270 | $63 | $2484 |
| 50,000 | $385 | $125 | $3120 |
Mailchimp prices are the Essentials plan in USD, billed monthly, at the regular price (first-year promos excluded), read from mailchimp.com. Essentials caps automations at four flow steps; the Standard plan, with the full automation builder, runs $100, $135, $340 and $495 at the same four sizes.
Mailchimp prices verified August 2026, billed monthly. EmailFig prices come straight from our live price list, and they drop further if you bring your own Amazon SES, which also makes sending volume unlimited.
EmailFig vs Mailchimp, feature by feature
| Feature | EmailFig | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✓4,000 subscribers · 10,000 emails/mo | ~Under 250 contacts |
| Email automations | ✓Included on every plan | ~4 steps on Essentials · full on Standard |
| Signup forms & landing pages | ✓Included | ✓Included |
| Segmentation | ✓Included | ✓Included |
| A/B testing | –Not available | ✓Essentials and up |
| Remove branding | ✓Any paid plan | ✓Any paid plan |
| Overage fees | ✓Never · we ask first | ~Charged automatically past your tier |
| Bring your own Amazon SES | ✓Included (lower BYOS pricing) | –Not available |
| Generative AI features | –Not available | ~Standard and up |
| SMS marketing | –Not available | ~Paid add-on |
| Ecommerce & CRM tools | –Not available | ✓Included on paid plans |
| Integrations | ~A growing set | ✓300+ integrations |
Where Mailchimp is better
A comparison you can trust has to cut both ways.
Mailchimp is the household name for a reason. Its integration catalog is enormous, so whatever tool you run, there's probably a connector. Paid plans bundle an ecommerce and CRM toolkit, generative AI features on Standard and up, and SMS as an add-on. The template and reporting depth goes beyond ours, and a large team or agency will find familiar multi-seat workflows. If you live inside those extras, Mailchimp earns some of its premium.
Which one is for you?
Stay with Mailchimp if…
- You rely on an integration only Mailchimp has
- You use its ecommerce, CRM or SMS tools, not just email
- Your agency or team is built around Mailchimp workflows
Switch to EmailFig if…
- You send newsletters and campaigns, and the bill keeps climbing
- You want real automations without paying Standard prices
- Your list outgrew 250 free contacts and you're not ready to pay $80+
Switching from Mailchimp to EmailFig
Most moves finish in an afternoon. Here's the honest version, including what you'll rebuild.
- Export your audience from Mailchimp (Audience → Export Audience) as CSV, including unsubscribed contacts.
- Import the subscribed CSV into EmailFig, mapping merge fields to custom fields and tagging as you go.
- Import the unsubscribed and cleaned exports as EmailFig suppressions.
- Verify your sending domain in EmailFig (SPF and DKIM, guided setup).
- Rebuild your welcome journey and signup forms, then send yourself a test campaign.
Comes with you
- Contacts, with merge fields mapped to EmailFig custom fields
- Tags and audience segments (recreated as tags, lists and segments)
- Unsubscribes and bounces, imported as suppressions so opt-outs stay out
Rebuilt on our side
- Automation journeys (rebuilt in EmailFig's plain-language builder)
- Email templates (recreate or paste your HTML)
- Signup forms and landing pages
Mailchimp vs EmailFig, asked and answered
Is EmailFig cheaper than Mailchimp?
By a wide margin. At 5,000 contacts Mailchimp Essentials is $83/month and Standard is $100; EmailFig is $15. At 50,000 contacts it's $385 or $495 against $125. And EmailFig is free up to 4,000 subscribers, where Mailchimp's free plan stops at 250 contacts.
What happened to Mailchimp's free plan?
It has been cut repeatedly over the years and now covers under 250 contacts with core features only. EmailFig's free plan covers 4,000 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, with every feature included.
Can I import my Mailchimp audience into EmailFig?
Yes. Export your audience from Mailchimp as CSV and import it into EmailFig. Merge fields map to custom fields, tags carry over, and your unsubscribed export imports as suppressions so nobody who opted out gets mailed again.
What Mailchimp features does EmailFig not have?
The big integration catalog, ecommerce and CRM tools, SMS, A/B testing and the generative AI features. EmailFig is email marketing done simply: campaigns, automations, forms and segments. If those extras are why you pay for Mailchimp, it's the better fit.
Will my automations transfer from Mailchimp?
Automations can't be exported from any tool, so you'll rebuild them in EmailFig's builder. Most newsletter setups (a welcome series, a tag on click, a re-engagement nudge) take minutes each, and unlike Mailchimp Essentials there's no step cap to design around.
Comparing other tools?
The same honest breakdown, for the rest of the budget tier. Or see all comparisons.
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