---
title: "Mailchimp alternative"
description: "How Unitpost compares to Mailchimp — pricing, free tier, API design, and where Mailchimp is still the better choice."
url: https://www.unitpost.com/alternatives/mailchimp
section: Alternatives
updated: 2026-11-02
---
# Mailchimp alternative

## Unitpost vs Mailchimp

> Intuit's email marketing platform, with a drag-and-drop editor, automation flows, audiences and landing pages, and transactional email as a paid add-on (formerly Mandrill).

**Mailchimp free tier:** 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, at most 250 a day

**Mailchimp pricing shape:** Priced by contacts, with monthly sends capped at a multiple of the contact count; unsubscribed contacts count toward the tier. Transactional email is a separate add-on sold in blocks.

## What Mailchimp does well

- A mature drag-and-drop editor, templates and landing pages that marketers know
- Automation flows and audience tools built over many years
- Official Marketing API SDKs in nine languages

## Choose Mailchimp if

- Marketers build most of your email in a visual editor and rarely touch code
- You rely on Mailchimp's templates, landing pages or integrations
- Email is marketing only, with no receipts or resets to send

## Choose Unitpost if

- Your app sends receipts, resets and product email from the same contacts as campaigns
- You don't want unsubscribed or inactive contacts on the bill
- You want transactional email without an add-on or a higher plan
- You want a REST API, SMTP and an MCP server on every plan

## Feature comparison

| Capability | Unitpost | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Contact pricing | Unlimited contacts on paid plans | Priced by contacts; subscribed, non-subscribed and unsubscribed contacts all count |
| Transactional email | Included on every plan, on the same API, contacts and bill as campaigns | An add-on for Standard and Premium only, sold in blocks of 25,000 emails; Essentials can't add it |
| Free plan | 5,000 emails/month, 200/day, no credit card | 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, at most 250 a day |
| Editor and templates | Hybrid visual and code editor over one document | A mature drag-and-drop editor with a large template library |
| Automations | Campaigns ship today; automations are in early access | Automation flows on paid plans; Essentials allows up to 4 flow steps |
| API and SDKs | Node.js, Python, Ruby, PHP, Laravel, Go, Java, Rust, .NET | Marketing API v3 with official SDKs in nine languages; API keys created from June 2026 expire after a year |
| Idempotency keys on send | Idempotency-Key on sends, 24-hour dedupe window | — |

## How do I switch from Mailchimp?

Export the audience (Audience, then Export audience, then Export CSV). The export includes subscribed, unsubscribed and cleaned contacts; archived contacts export separately.

Import contacts with their unsubscribes marked, so nobody who opted out is mailed again, and add cleaned (bounced) addresses to the suppression list.

Verify your sending domain, rebuild the templates you still use, and move transactional mail first, then campaigns.

## FAQ

### Is Unitpost a Mailchimp alternative?

For developers whose app sends both product email and campaigns, yes: one API, one contact list and one bill, with unsubscribed contacts never billed. For marketing teams who live in Mailchimp's editor and automation flows, Mailchimp is still the better tool, and our automations are in early access.

### Can I import my Mailchimp audience into Unitpost?

Yes, as a CSV export and a contact import. There is no one-key importer for Mailchimp, so export the full audience, import unsubscribed contacts flagged as unsubscribed, and add cleaned addresses to the suppression list.

## Related

- [Amazon SES alternative](https://www.unitpost.com/alternatives/amazon-ses): How Unitpost compares to Amazon SES — pricing, free tier, API design, and where Amazon SES is still the better choice.
- [MailerSend alternative](https://www.unitpost.com/alternatives/mailersend): How Unitpost compares to MailerSend — pricing, free tier, API design, and where MailerSend is still the better choice.
- [AgentMail alternative](https://www.unitpost.com/alternatives/agentmail): How Unitpost compares to AgentMail — pricing, free tier, API design, and where AgentMail is still the better choice.