Mailchimp vs Sendlane (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Mailchimp if

• Fits if you send a regular newsletter or promotions to a small list
• Works for shops on Shopify, WooCommerce or Square that want automated emails and SMS in one account

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if your list is big, at $110 a month on Essentials for 10,000 contacts
• Tight if you stay free, since sending stops at 250 contacts and 500 emails a month
• Skip it if surprise bills worry you, as passing a contact or send limit bills overages automatically
• Watch out: Essentials caps flows at 4 steps, and dynamic content and custom reports start at Standard
• Watch out: SMS is a paid add-on in select countries, needs approval, and unused credits expire

Pick Sendlane if

• Fits if you run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and want pricing by sends, not contacts
• Makes sense if you want email and SMS from one account

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you send little: the cheapest step on the page is $100 a month for 50,000 emails
• Watch out: SMS costs a $10 monthly activation plus credit packs from $6.25
• Not for you if you want a free plan, as only a short trial of 100 contacts and 500 sends exists
• Watch out: a banner says Privy has acquired Sendlane, so plans and pricing may change
• Skip it if you want a success manager without an annual contract

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.

Sendlane

• The pricing page shows one email-send plan with a volume calculator; the 50,000-email entry step is the lowest it lists.
• SMS costs extra: a $10 monthly activation, and credit packs from $6.25 for 250 credits, with 1 credit per text.
• Dedicated support services, such as a success manager, are held for annual contracts, and the page ties higher tiers to contact counts.
• The site banner says Privy has acquired Sendlane, so plans and pricing may change.

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.

Sendlane

Automations

Prebuilt automation funnels plus behavior-, trigger- and event-based flows, with multivariate testing of messages.

Segmentation

Multivariable segments on tags, custom fields and store data, with open-prediction scoring from machine learning.

Store integrations

Deep data links to Shopify, WooCommerce, ClickBank, Miva, Smile.io and OneClick, and 2,000+ apps through Zapier.

Forms and popups

Popups and forms for growing a list, with a drag-and-drop email builder and an HTML editor.

SMS add-on

Text messaging from the same automations, sold as credit packs on top of a monthly activation fee.

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.

Sendlane

• Email sends$100

  per month for up to 50,000 emails, billed monthly

  Unlimited contacts. The calculator shows $150 at 75,000 emails and $200 at 100,000. Annual billing is $1,000 a year at 50,000.

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.

Sendlane

• Annual discount

  Save about 16% with annual billing

  Sendlane's pricing calculator lists $1,000 a year at the 50,000-email step against $100 a month, a saving it computes as 16%.