Finding a low-cost yet powerful newsletter service for your small business can be somewhat of a challenge. When we just started out with Bluchic, Mailchimp was the first email marketing service we used. Their service was perfect for us since the free option – for up to 2,000 subscribers and send 12,000 emails per month – could do exactly what needed to get our feet off the ground.
Then, we had more subscribers, which was a good problem to have. We had more people to email and market our feminine WordPress themes. But as we surpassed the free plan limit, we had to upgrade our plan with Mailchimp. We looked at the prices for upgrading, at $50 per month for 5,000 subscribers, it can become rather expensive. That’s when we decided to switch from Mailchimp and look for a better alternative.
What Are the Alternatives?
We wouldn’t mind trying a newsletter service that wasn’t as popular as Mailchimp. We knew our diamond-in-the-rough was somewhere out there. Our search came up with three Mailchimp alternatives that are worth sharing, with an emphasis on cost-effective as well as offer a variety of options that fits our small business needs. Let’s take a look!
Find out 3 cheaper alternatives to Mailchimp email marketing services that you might not knowClick To Tweet
1 | SendinBlue
Pricing plan
Free for unlimited subscribers and send up to 9,000 emails per month, but limited to 300 emails per day.
Upgrade at just $7.37 per month for unlimited subscribers and send up to 40,000 emails per month.
This is for you if:
We’ve used SendinBlue and love it! It’s so easy to use and the plan is very pocket-friendly. Customer support is top notch at SendinBlue, they handled our support questions quickly and with a high level of attention to detail.
Some key features include marketing automation, segmentation, and an awesome drag-and-drop newsletter builder. We recommend SendinBlue if you want more people on your email list, but won’t be sending email frequently.
2 | MailerLite
Pricing plan
Free for up to 1,000 subscribers and send unlimited emails per month with automation.
Upgrade at just $10 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers and send unlimited emails per month.
This is for you if:
MailerLite is the email service provider that we’re using now. Some of their features include automation, Subscriber Management tool, and A/B Split Testing.
The best part about MailerLite is the unlimited emails, no matter if businesses pay or don’t pay for MailerLite’s service. We recommend MailerLite if you want to focus on those few subscribers and send as many emails as you would like.
Related post: Learn how you can get people to engage with your email newsletter with these tips!
3 | Campayn
Pricing plan
Free for up to 500 subscribers and send up to 20,000 emails per month.
Upgrade at $10 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers and send unlimited emails per month.
This is for you if:
Like MailerLite, Campayn has the option for sending unlimited emails for businesses. Even though you can’t send unlimited emails on the free account, you can still try it out and see if Campayn will fit your business needs.
With Campayn, emails look great on all screens, like an iPad or a mobile phone. The unlimited email option will be useful if you are targeting very few subscribers – quality over quantity – as part of your marketing plan.
Related post: How To Grow An Email List Before Launching An Online Shop
Final Thoughts
The free plan from Mailchimp is great for small businesses that are just starting out. But it all comes down to the email marketing service that fits your needs and goals. Before you start your search, list criteria for your needs and goals. For us, we wanted a service that didn’t cost much, easy to use and had awesome features. By focusing on our criteria, we managed to narrow down the search.