Mailchimp alternatives: choose a tool for your SME

Changing email software can be justified by unsuitable costs, difficult workflows or insufficient integration. Start by describing the problem you encounter with Mailchimp. Another platform does not fix a poorly maintained contact list or messages recipients do not value.

Compare alternatives against real uses. The examples below are a selection to test, without ranking or return promises.

1. Define what your team needs

List campaigns, forms and automations you use. Separate marketing messages from confirmations needed for a service, such as an order receipt. Specify active contacts, languages, monthly volumes and the people who edit or approve sends.

A newsletter: creation, mobile testing, segmentation and unsubscribe.

An automated journey: trigger, conditions, delay, exit and checks.

A CRM or shop connection: synchronised fields, duplicates and errors.

Teamwork: permissions, approvals and change history.

Give each need a priority. A feature in a brochure may belong to a higher plan or require development.

2. Three alternatives to examine

Brevo

Brevo’s official overview describes email campaigns, segmentation and automations. Test creating and updating your segment, then the workflow your business needs. Check plan limits and connections to your tools before deciding.

Mailjet

Mailjet presents a collaborative editor, segmentation features and automations. It is worth testing if several people prepare campaigns. Check approvals, roles and the distinction between marketing and transactional sends in your setup.

MailerLite

MailerLite’s overview includes newsletters, forms, landing pages and automations. Try reproducing your campaign and its form with your editors. Check contact, sending and feature limits on the offer you are considering.

Features and plans change. We do not turn an entry price into a guaranteed cost for your database. Check current vendor conditions and keep the quote or pricing schedule used for comparison.

3. Compare full costs

Calculate costs with current volumes, then an explicit growth assumption. Check which contacts count for billing, sending limits, users, options and overages. Add migration, templates, integrations and training time.

Fictional example: your team tests two solutions with 4,000 contacts and two campaigns a month. It reproduces a form, a French/English email and a welcome workflow. It records quoted costs and time needed for the same tasks. This example gives neither market prices nor client results.

4. Check data and sending rules

For email advertising in Switzerland, the FDPIC explains prior consent and the conditional exception for existing customers and similar offers. Identify the sender and provide a simple, free way to opt out. Also check rules applicable to recipients in other countries.

Review processing contracts, subprocessors, processing locations and transfer safeguards according to your situation. A supplier offering compliance tools does not guarantee that your campaigns comply. Mailchimp’s transfer documentation helps you examine your existing contract before concluding that a change is needed.

5. Migrate without resubscribing people who opted out

Inventory lists, segments, fields and automations.

Preserve unsubscribes, objections and useful evidence; do not reactivate contacts by mistake.

Check field mapping and duplicates on a sample.

Configure the sending domain following the new tool’s guidance.

Test forms, confirmations, links and unsubscribes in each language.

Plan when to stop old workflows to avoid duplicate sends.

Define who approves the switch and how to roll back. Keep exports according to access and retention rules; do not leave untracked copies of personal data.

6. Measure the effect of the change

Track synchronisation errors, bounces, complaints, unsubscribes and useful actions after clicks. An open rate alone does not demonstrate sales. Compare periods, audiences and content before attributing a change to the new tool. Our marketing indicators guide supports this tracking.

For your 2027 plan, check renewals, expected volumes and who owns the workflows. Keep your current tool if it covers needs at an acceptable cost. Migrate when testing shows a concrete advantage and your team can maintain the new setup.