Mailchimp vs HubSpot vs ConvertKit Pricing 2026
Three very different email marketing platforms — all with free tiers, all scaling very differently. Mailchimp is the OG for small businesses. HubSpot is the full marketing suite. ConvertKit (now Kit) is built for creators. Here's how pricing compares at every tier.
Mailchimp
For small businesses, newsletter teams
$13
/month (Essentials, up to 500 contacts)
- Free: 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month
- Essentials: $13/mo — 5K sends, 3 audiences
- Standard: $20/mo — automations, templates
- Premium: $350/mo — advanced segmentation
HubSpot Marketing
For full-stack marketing teams
Free
Paid from $20/month (Starter, 1K contacts)
- Free: 2,000 sends/month, HubSpot branding
- Starter: $20/mo — 1K contacts, remove branding
- Professional: $890/mo — automation, blog, SEO
- Enterprise: $3,600/mo — custom objects, predictive
ConvertKit (Kit)
For creators, newsletters, digital products
Free
Paid from $9/month (up to 300 subscribers)
- Free: 10K subscribers, 1 automation, landing pages
- Creator: $9/mo (300) — automations, integrations
- Creator Pro: $25/mo — subscriber scoring, referrals
- Scales by subscriber count
All three have changed pricing in the last 18 months
Mailchimp raised prices in 2023 (+20%). Monitor all three to stay ahead of your next renewal.
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Mailchimp Pricing — All Plans (2026)
Mailchimp's pricing scales with contact count, not per-seat. All prices below are for up to 500 contacts — costs increase substantially as your list grows.
| Plan | Price (500 contacts) | Monthly Sends | Key Features |
|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 | Basic templates, 1 audience, Mailchimp branding, basic reports |
| Essentials | $13/month | 5,000 | All Free + 3 audiences, A/B testing, remove branding, 24/7 support |
| Standard | $20/month | 6,000 | All Essentials + Customer Journey automations, dynamic content, retargeting ads, custom templates |
| Premium | $350/month | 150,000 | All Standard + advanced segmentation, multivariate testing, unlimited audiences, phone support |
Prices scale significantly with list size. At 10K contacts: Essentials $87/mo, Standard $100/mo, Premium $350/mo. At 50K contacts: Standard ~$270/mo. Data verified May 2026.
HubSpot Marketing Hub Pricing — All Plans (2026)
HubSpot's free tier is genuinely useful, but the jump to Professional is massive — $890/month. Most small businesses should use free or Starter, then look at alternatives before committing to Professional.
| Plan | Price | Contacts Included | Key Features |
|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited (limited sends) | 2,000 email sends/month, forms, landing pages, HubSpot branding, basic analytics |
| Starter | $20/month | 1,000 marketing contacts | All Free + no branding, email health reporting, basic automations, 5× contact limit email sends |
| Professional | $890/month | 2,000 marketing contacts | All Starter + full automation, blog, SEO tools, social media, A/B testing, custom reporting, 3 seats included |
| Enterprise | $3,600/month | 10,000 marketing contacts | All Professional + predictive lead scoring, custom objects, multi-touch revenue attribution, sandbox, 5 seats included |
Additional marketing contacts: $224.72/5,000 on Starter, $253.50/5,000 on Professional. Annual commitment required for most plans. Data verified May 2026.
ConvertKit (Kit) Pricing — All Plans (2026)
ConvertKit rebranded to "Kit" in 2024. Its pricing is the most creator-friendly of the three — generous free tier up to 10K subscribers, and paid plans scale by subscriber count rather than jumping to enterprise tiers.
| Plan | Price | Subscriber Limit | Key Features |
|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 10,000 | Unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, basic automations (1 sequence), forms, no paid newsletter features |
| Creator | $9/month (300 subs) | Scales by count | All Free + unlimited automations, integrations (Shopify, Teachable), custom domain emails, paid newsletter monetization |
| Creator Pro | $25/month (300 subs) | Scales by count | All Creator + subscriber scoring, referral system, advanced reporting, priority support, Facebook custom audiences |
Prices at 300 subscribers shown. Creator at 1K subs: $25/mo. Creator at 10K subs: $119/mo. Creator at 50K subs: $379/mo. Creator Pro adds ~$20-50/mo on top. Data verified May 2026.
Cost Comparison at Different List Sizes
| List Size | Mailchimp | HubSpot | ConvertKit (Creator) |
|---|
| 500 contacts | $0–$20/mo | $0–$20/mo | $0 (free tier) |
| 1,000 contacts | $26/mo (Standard) | $20/mo (Starter) | $25/mo (Creator) |
| 5,000 contacts | $75/mo (Standard) | $117/mo (Starter) | $66/mo (Creator) |
| 10,000 contacts | $100/mo (Standard) | $247/mo (Starter) | $119/mo (Creator) |
| 25,000 contacts | $190/mo (Standard) | $472/mo (Starter) | $199/mo (Creator) |
| 50,000 contacts | $270/mo (Standard) | $743/mo (Starter) | $379/mo (Creator) |
At scale, ConvertKit is the cheapest for creator-focused use cases. HubSpot becomes the most expensive rapidly as your contact list grows because it charges per marketing contact above the included tier. Mailchimp sits in the middle.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Mailchimp | HubSpot | ConvertKit |
|---|
| Free tier quality | ◐ 500 contacts max | ◐ 2K sends/month | ✓ 10K subscribers |
| Email automations | ◐ Standard+ only | ◐ Starter limited; full in Pro | ✓ Creator+ plan |
| Landing pages | ◐ Basic | ◐ Free tier | ✓ All plans |
| A/B testing | ◐ Essentials+ | ◐ Professional+ | ✗ |
| Paid newsletters | ✗ (no native) | ✗ | ✓ (Creator+) |
| CRM integration | ◐ Basic | ✓ Native (full CRM) | ◐ Third-party |
| E-commerce tools | ✓ (Standard+) | ◐ (add-on) | ✓ (Creator+) |
| Blog/SEO tools | ✗ | ◐ Professional+ only | ✗ |
| Creator monetization | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ (native) |
| Ease of use | ◐ Medium | ◐ Medium–complex | ✓ Very simple |
Which Email Platform Should You Choose?
Choose Mailchimp if...
You're a small business or local brand with a modest list (under 5K) that needs basic email marketing — newsletters, promotions, simple automations. Mailchimp's brand recognition, templates, and integrations make it the safest default for non-technical marketers. Watch out: at 10K+ contacts, consider switching to ConvertKit unless you need Mailchimp's advanced segmentation.
Choose HubSpot if...
You need email marketing as part of a full inbound marketing stack — CRM, blog, SEO tools, lead scoring, and attribution reporting all in one platform. HubSpot's free and Starter tiers are excellent entry points. But be honest with yourself: if you only need email marketing, HubSpot Professional at $890/month is dramatically overpriced vs. alternatives. HubSpot wins when the whole suite is used.
Choose ConvertKit (Kit) if...
You're a creator — writer, podcaster, YouTuber, online educator — who wants to build and monetize an email audience. ConvertKit's paid newsletter tools, subscriber tagging, and simple automation are purpose-built for creator businesses. Its 10K-subscriber free tier is the most generous in the market. It's the obvious choice for anyone building an audience-based business rather than a traditional e-commerce or B2B funnel.
Mailchimp vs HubSpot vs ConvertKit FAQ
Which email marketing tool has the best free plan?
ConvertKit wins for list size — free up to 10,000 subscribers with landing pages and basic automations. HubSpot's free tier is limited to 2,000 sends/month. Mailchimp's free tier caps at 500 contacts. If you're just starting out and want to grow a newsletter, ConvertKit's free plan is the most permissive.
Why is HubSpot Marketing Hub so expensive at Professional tier?
HubSpot Professional ($890/month) is priced as a full marketing platform — blog hosting, SEO tools, landing pages, smart content, A/B testing, and automation — not just an email marketing tool. If you use all those features, the ROI can be there. If you only need email marketing and basic automation, you're paying for a lot of features you won't use. Mailchimp Standard or ConvertKit Creator provide 80% of the email-specific functionality for 95% less cost.
Did Mailchimp raise prices recently?
Yes. Mailchimp raised prices by 10–20% across plans in 2023, the first major price increase since Intuit acquired Mailchimp in 2021. The Essentials plan went from $9.99 to $13/month for 500 contacts. Mailchimp also tightened its free tier, reducing the free contact limit from 2,000 to 500. Many small businesses migrated to alternatives (ConvertKit, Brevo, Moosend) following this change.
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