Drip vs Mailchimp
We give Drip a 2.0 GPA and Mailchimp a 2.8, out of 4.0. Mailchimp grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mailchimp
Email and SMS marketing with automations, priced by contact count
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADripFair | 2.8GPAMailchimpGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$39 a month to start, in the dearest tenth of what email tools charge and three times the middle. The price then rises with active people and emails sent, and Drip doesn't publish the steps. Unlimited users are included, at least. | 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 | DNo free plan. The 14-day trial leads straight into the paid subscription, so cancel before it ends if Drip isn't for you. | 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 | BStore-data segments that update live, ready-made welcome, cart, browse, back-in-stock, price-drop and win-back flows, pop-ups, quizzes, forms and A/B tests inside workflows. For a shop, that's the whole job. | 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 App Store rating on record. You connect your store, switch on flows and design pop-ups, and the ready-made flow templates do a lot of the building for you. | 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, with Shopify, Judge.me, Junip, LoyaltyLion, Meta ads and Segment, an API, and Claude and ChatGPT able to run it for you. No desktop or phone app, so it stops at a B. | 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 | email flows and pop-ups for Shopify stores | 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: Drip and Mailchimp. How we grade
Price against what you get
Drip starts at $39 a month and scores 2.7 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 $26 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Drip 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
- Drip starts at $39 per month and up, by list size and email volume. Mailchimp starts at $13 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly.
- Mailchimp has a free plan. Drip does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Mailchimp lists iOS and Android apps.
- Mailchimp also covers reports.
At a glance
| Drip | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $39 per month and up, by list size and email volume | $13 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 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 | 14-day free trial | 14-day free trial of the Essentials or Standard plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Drip | Intuit Mailchimp |
| Price read from | apps.shopify.com | mailchimp.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Drip
- Shopify stores that want flows and pop-ups in one app
- Teams that want unlimited users on one account
- Store owners who would rather run campaigns by asking Claude or ChatGPT
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
Drip
- There is no free plan; the 14-day trial leads to a paid subscription.
- The price rises with active people on the list and emails sent, and the listing does not publish the steps.
- Free migration and personalized onboarding come only with some plans.
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
Drip
- Store-data segments
- Groups customers automatically from Shopify order and browsing data, such as top spenders, and keeps segments updated in real time.
- Pre-built ecommerce flows
- Templates for welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, back-in-stock, price-drop and win-back emails, with A/B split tests inside workflows.
- Pop-ups, forms and quizzes
- On-site pop-ups including spin-to-win and exit intent, embedded forms and quizzes to collect email addresses.
- Run it from an AI assistant
- Connect Drip to Claude or ChatGPT to pull data and launch campaigns by asking, at no extra cost.
- Email editor with store branding
- Templates, AI-generated content and brand assets pulled from the store, with custom code and custom fonts.
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
Drip
Subscription$39
per month and up, by list size and email volume
Email and automation builder, pop-ups and forms, A/B tests in workflows, AI access and unlimited users. Price rises with active people and emails sent.
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
Drip
No public discounts listed.
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.
