Head-to-head · verified Oct 4, 2026
Mailchimp vs Kit (ConvertKit)
One writes for everyone; the other was built for people who sell what they write. Here is the direct comparison - and a verdict that does not hide behind “it depends.”
Facts verified Oct 4, 2026 on mailchimp.com and kit.com. How we verify.
Side-by-side comparison
| Item | Mailchimp | Kit (ConvertKit) |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo, 1 seat | Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages & forms |
| Paid entry | Standard from $20/mo (base tier; exact per-contact prices not published) | Creator from $33/mo ($390/yr); Pro from $66/mo |
| Billing unit | Per contact in audience | Per active subscriber (deduplicated) |
| Automation | Essentials caps flows at 4 steps; more on higher tiers | Unlimited visual automations on Creator/Pro |
| Selling digital products | Not a core feature | Built in - 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction (Kit keeps 0.6%) |
| Send allowance | 10-15× contact count by tier | Scales with plan; built for frequent sending |
| SMS | Paid add-on | Not published as a core feature |
| Affiliate program | No open link program (agency partners only) | Open - 50% of first-year payments, then 10-20% lifetime at volume tiers |
Decision matrix: who should pick which
| Who you are | Pick | Why, in verified numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Side project, under 250 contacts, occasional sends | Either free plan | Both cost $0. Choose Mailchimp for templates, Kit to avoid a future migration. |
| Newsletter writer, 250-10,000 subscribers | Kit | Still free in this entire band; Mailchimp bills per contact from contact #251. |
| Creator selling courses, ebooks, paid subs | Kit | Native product sales (3.5% + 30¢) and unlimited automations on Creator from $33/mo. |
| Traditional small business, template- and integration-driven | Mailchimp, cautiously | Broader catalog - but its per-contact price at your size is unpublished, so budget carefully. |
| List over 10,000, revenue from a store | Neither first | Compare ecommerce tools (Omnisend verified $81 @5k / $132 @10k Standard) in the calculator. |
| Automation-heavy team with CRM needs | Neither first | ActiveCampaign Starter ($15 @1k) is built for this; see alternatives. |
By list size, in one line each
- Under 250: both free. Kit if you publish; Mailchimp only for a specific template or integration.
- 250-10,000: Kit is still free; Mailchimp is billing per contact and capping sends at 10-15× your list. Not close.
- Over 10,000: both charge. Kit from $33/mo on active subscribers; Mailchimp's exact price at your size is unpublished. If a store drives revenue, check ecommerce tools first.
The pricing unknowns, honestly
Neither vendor publishes a per-contact price table that can be verified, so this page cannot tell you what a 4,700-contact list costs on either tool - and neither can any other site without estimating. What is verified:
- Kit: Creator from $33/mo ($390/yr), Pro from $66/mo, free up to 10,000 subscribers (kit.com, Oct 4, 2026).
- Mailchimp: Standard base tier from $20/mo; free plan 250 contacts / 500 sends (mailchimp.com, Oct 4, 2026).
- The structural difference: Kit bills deduplicated active subscribers; Mailchimp bills audience contacts. On the same list, the billable counts differ - usually in Kit's favor.
Migration checklist
- Export your audience from Mailchimp as CSV, including tags; separately export unsubscribes/suppressions and any reports you want to keep.
- Import into Kit and map Mailchimp tags to Kit tags one-to-one. Do not reorganize during the move.
- Rebuild forms and landing pages in Kit and swap them on your site; point your highest-traffic form first.
- Recreate automations as Kit visual automations. Templates and flows do not transfer - budget an afternoon.
- Authenticate your sending domain (SPF/DKIM) in Kit before the first send.
- Run both accounts for one send cycle, confirm deliverability and links, then cancel Mailchimp.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kit really free for 10,000 subscribers?
Yes. Kit's free plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages and forms, verified on kit.com on Oct 4, 2026. Mailchimp's free plan, by comparison, stops at 250 contacts and 500 sends per month.
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or Kit?
Under 250 contacts both are free, so both cost $0 - but Kit stays free up to 10,000 subscribers while Mailchimp starts billing per contact. Once you pay, Kit Creator starts at $33/mo; Mailchimp Standard starts at $20/mo as a base tier, but Mailchimp does not publish exact per-contact prices in a table, and your bill scales with total contacts in the audience. For growing creator lists, Kit's free headroom usually makes it cheaper through the first year.
I barely email my list. Should I still switch?
If you are under 250 contacts and send occasionally, staying on Mailchimp's free plan costs nothing and migration effort buys you little. The switch becomes worth it when you approach the 250-contact ceiling, start publishing regularly, or sell anything digital - at that point Kit's free headroom and product tools pay for the afternoon the move takes.
Can I move from Mailchimp to Kit without losing my list?
Yes. Export your audience as CSV and import it into Kit; tags map to Kit tags. Automations, forms, and email templates do not transfer and must be rebuilt, and historical engagement data stays behind. Run both accounts in parallel for one send cycle to confirm deliverability before closing Mailchimp.
Does Kit charge for unsubscribed or inactive subscribers?
Kit bills per active subscriber and deduplicates addresses. Mailchimp bills per contact in your audience, and archived or unsubscribed contacts can still affect your tier depending on plan settings. On identical lists, Kit's billable count is usually the smaller number.
Why doesn't this page show exact monthly prices for both tools?
Because neither vendor publishes a per-contact price table we can verify - both show prices through sliders. We print their official starting prices (Kit Creator from $33/mo; Mailchimp Standard from $20/mo base) and label the rest 'not published' instead of copying numbers from other comparison sites.
Does the affiliate commission change this verdict?
It is disclosed so you can judge: Kit pays 50% of a referred customer's payments for the first 12 months, then 10-20% lifetime recurring at volume tiers. Mailchimp has no affiliate program usable by this site. The verdict rests on the free-plan ceilings (10,000 vs 250) and billing units, which are verifiable facts.