RGE Studio vs Mailchimp
We give RGE Studio a 2.0 GPA and Mailchimp a 2.8, out of 4.0. Mailchimp grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RGE Studio
Drag-and-drop email and landing page designer, formerly Beefree
Mailchimp
Email and SMS marketing with automations, priced by contact count
How we grade them
| 2.0GPARGE StudioFair | 2.8GPAMailchimpGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its own alternatives, since it designs emails rather than sending them. Professional is $25 a month billed yearly ($30 monthly) for 2 users, with extras at $15. That's around Klaviyo's $20 and twice Mailchimp's $13, and you still pay one of them to send. | CEssentials is $13 a month for up to 500 contacts, right at the middle of what email tools charge. It climbs with the list, though, to $110 a month at 10,000 contacts, and flows longer than 4 steps need Standard at $20. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free Starter plan has no end date, but it stops at 10 designs and 6 exports a month and keeps only the last 2 versions of each. Fine for the odd project, not a weekly newsletter for long. There's also a 15-day Business trial. | CFree for 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with 1 seat and limited templates. You'll pass 250 contacts quickly, and then sending pauses until you upgrade or trim the list. Paid plans have a 14-day trial. |
| Features | DNext to its alternatives it does one slice of the job, and does it well: drag-and-drop emails, dark mode preview, synced rows, approvals and pre-send checks. But it doesn't send. Lists, sending and automation all stay in a separate email platform. | BCampaigns, templates, popup forms, landing pages, up to 200 automated flows, segmentation, dynamic content, multivariate testing on Premium and an SMS add-on. That's the whole email marketing job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Over 1,600 templates help, but it's a web app where the work is building the email itself, then setting up brand styles and the connection to your sending platform. | A4.85 from 51,677 App Store ratings, the top band by a long way. The phone app can even build and send an email or scan a business card into your contacts. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with one-click export to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot, Marketo, Braze, Mailchimp and Klaviyo, plus Canva, or plain HTML. No desktop or phone app, so a B at most. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Shopify, WooCommerce, Canva, Zapier, Square, Wix, Squarespace and Stripe, and an API. No desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | designing on-brand emails your platform will send | newsletters and promo emails for small businesses |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: RGE Studio and Mailchimp. How we grade
Price against what you get
RGE Studio starts at $25 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailchimp starts at $13 a month and scores 3.3.
Mailchimp scores higher and starts $12 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 20 score higher than RGE Studio for less, and none scores higher than Mailchimp for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- RGE Studio starts at $25 per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly). Mailchimp starts at $13 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly.
- Only Mailchimp lists iOS and Android apps.
- RGE Studio also covers templates and no-code.
- Mailchimp also covers marketing automation, forms, reports and email campaigns.
At a glance
| RGE Studio | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $25 per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly) | $13 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Starter plan: up to 10 designs, 6 exports a month, the landing page builder, a custom subdomain, 2 reusable blocks and the last 2 versions of each design. | 1 seat, 1 audience, up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day), limited templates and email support for the first 30 days. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial of the Business plan | 14-day free trial of the Essentials or Standard plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BEE Content Design, Inc. | Intuit Mailchimp |
| Price read from | reallygoodemails.com | mailchimp.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
RGE Studio
- Marketing teams that design emails outside their sending platform
- Brands and agencies that need approvals and locked brand styles across many designers
- Teams moving between email platforms that want designs they can take along
Mailchimp
- Small businesses sending regular newsletters and promotions
- Online shops on Shopify, WooCommerce or Square that want automated emails
- Teams that want email and SMS campaigns in one account
Worth knowing
RGE Studio
- It is an email designer, narrower than the email marketing tools around it: lists, sending and automation stay in a separate email platform or CRM.
- The free Starter plan stops at 10 designs and 6 exports a month and keeps only the last 2 versions of a design.
- Paid plans include 2 users; more cost $15 a month on Professional and $35 on Business, and extra Business workspaces cost $45 a month.
- Beefree renamed this builder RGE Studio and moved it to the Really Good Emails site; Beefree SDK, for embedding the builder in other software, is sold separately.
Mailchimp
- The Free plan stops at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and sending pauses until you upgrade or trim the list.
- Paid plans bill overages automatically when you pass your contact or monthly send limit.
- Essentials caps automations at 4 flow steps; dynamic content and custom reports start at Standard.
- SMS is a paid add-on in select countries, needs an approved application, and its monthly credits expire unused.
Key features
RGE Studio
- Drag-and-drop email builder
- Build with rows and content blocks, adjust a mobile layout separately, preview dark mode, and add custom HTML, merge tags and display conditions.
- Templates and landing pages
- Start from more than 1,600 email and landing page templates, turn a page into an email and back in one click, and host pages on a custom subdomain.
- Brand controls and synced rows
- Set brand colors and fonts once, lock rows such as legal footers, and use synced rows that update in every design when edited.
- Reviews and approvals
- Comment on a design, run it through an approval workflow and lock it once approved; Enterprise adds multi-step approvals.
- Export to your sending platform
- Push designs in one click to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Account Engagement, HubSpot, Marketo, Braze, Mailchimp or Klaviyo, or copy the HTML or download a ZIP.
- AI assistant and Smart Check
- AI drafts copy and alt text and checks typos and translations; Smart Check flags missing links, missing alt text, low contrast and oversized files before export.
Mailchimp
- Automation flows
- Standard and Premium allow up to 200 automated flows, such as welcome series and abandoned-cart emails. Essentials is limited to 4 flow steps and Free has none.
- Templates and email builder
- Pre-built templates on every plan (a limited set on Free). Custom-coded templates can be built on any plan but only sent from Standard and Premium.
- Segmentation and dynamic content
- Standard adds advanced segmentation, pre-built segments and dynamic content; Premium adds predictive segmentation.
- Popup forms and landing pages
- Popup sign-up forms are included on every plan, and the Free plan can also build landing pages and forms.
- SMS and MMS add-on
- Paid plans can add SMS, with MMS on Standard and Premium in select countries, after an application is approved. Credits are bought in monthly blocks.
- Mobile app
- The iOS and Android app can build and send emails, scan business cards into contacts, make simple landing pages and show campaign reports.
Plans
RGE Studio
Starter$0
For occasional projects: up to 10 designs, 6 exports a month and up to 3 custom templates, with users but no roles.
Professional$25
per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)
Unlimited designs, exports, folders and reusable blocks, user roles and the AI writing assistant. Extra users $15 a month.
Business$134
per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($160 billed monthly)
Adds 2 workspaces, approval workflows, a QA assistant and advanced brand controls. Extra users $35 a month, workspaces $45.
EnterpriseCustom
Multi-step approvals, advanced user restrictions, Okta SSO, a customer success manager and custom connectors.
Mailchimp
Free$0
1 seat, 1 audience, 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Sending pauses when a limit is passed.
Essentials$13
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
3 seats, 3 audiences, sends of 10 times your contacts, scheduling and 4-step flows. Price rises with the list: $110 a month at 10,000 contacts.
Standard$20
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
5 seats, up to 200 automation flows, dynamic content and custom reports. Price rises with the list: $135 a month at 10,000 contacts.
Premium$350
per month for up to 10,000 contacts, billed monthly
Unlimited seats and audiences, phone and priority support, multivariate testing. Price rises with the list: $815 a month at 50,000 contacts.
Ways to pay less
RGE Studio
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
The pricing page labels yearly billing 2 months free: Professional is $25 a month billed yearly against $30 monthly, and Business $134 against $160.
Mailchimp
- Nonprofit
15% off for nonprofits and charities
Mailchimp's pricing page offers nonprofits and charities 15% off. You sign up for a free account and then contact the Billing team with your username and website.
- Other savings
15% off the first 12 months at 10,000+ contacts
New customers on a monthly Essentials, Standard or Premium plan with 10,000 or more contacts get 15% off for the first 12 months, then the list price.
