Mailchimp's Standard plan was $20/mo when most coaches and creators signed up in 2020. In 2026 it's $33/mo at 500 contacts, $59/mo at 2.5K, $99/mo at 5K, $189/mo at 10K, and over $400/mo above 25K. That's before paid send-time tier surcharges.
You're not the only one searching. "Mailchimp alternative" gets 1,200 monthly searches in the US alone, with a total traffic potential of 3,700 visits per month across all variants. Here's the honest 2026 breakdown of the 7 tools that actually compete — and where Heatcord fits if your list is mostly webinar registrants and course buyers.
The 7 Mailchimp alternatives that matter in 2026
1. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) — best for low cost + transactional
Free up to 300 emails/day. Paid: $9/mo for 5K contacts unlimited sends. Strong transactional (SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email). Weakest at fancy segmentation. Pick if: budget-first, you don't need deep automation.
2. MailerLite — best for newsletter-first creators
Free up to 1K subscribers. Paid: $10/mo at 1K, $32/mo at 5K, $73/mo at 10K. Clean editor, good deliverability, easy automations. Light on advanced segmentation. Pick if: you write a weekly newsletter and want it to look beautiful without hiring a designer.
3. Kit (formerly ConvertKit) — best for content creators
Free up to 1K subscribers. Paid: $25/mo at 1K, $66/mo at 5K, $116/mo at 10K. Tag-based system instead of lists — better for creators with multiple lead magnets. Built-in payments. Pick if: you sell digital products and want one tool for both email and checkout.
4. ActiveCampaign — best for complex automation
From $15/mo at 1K, $79/mo at 5K, $174/mo at 10K. Most powerful automation in the category. CRM included. Steeper learning curve. Pick if: you run a multi-step nurture funnel with conditional logic and need a CRM.
5. Heatcord — best if your email IS your webinar funnel
From $39/mo (Starter) / $129/mo (Pro) / $249/mo (Scale). Webinar-specialised email engine: registration confirmation, reminders synced to event time, replay drip triggered by watch-percent, audience CRM with attendance + offer-click segmentation, Stripe Connect for paid registrations. Pick if: 70%+ of your list activity is webinar-related and you're paying for both Mailchimp + a separate webinar tool today.
6. Substack — best for paid newsletters
Free for free newsletters. 10% fee on paid subs. Tiny on automation but great for content monetisation. Pick if: you're moving toward paid newsletter as the business model, not webinars.
7. Buttondown — best for minimalist writers
From $9/mo at 1K, $29/mo at 5K, $79/mo at 10K. Indie-developer-friendly, beautiful default templates, fast support. Pick if: you write technical or essay-style content and want a tool that doesn't get in the way.
FAQ
What's the cheapest Mailchimp alternative for 5,000 contacts?
Brevo at $9/mo (unlimited sends, 5K contacts) is the cheapest. MailerLite at $32/mo is the cheapest with a clean UI. Heatcord at $39-129/mo if you want the email tool to also be your webinar tool.
Does Heatcord do general newsletters or only webinar emails?
Webinar-specialised. We do registration, reminders, replay drips, and post-event sequences exceptionally well. For general newsletters to your full list (not webinar-attendees), pair Heatcord with a $9-29/mo dedicated newsletter tool like Buttondown.
Can I migrate from Mailchimp without losing my data?
Yes. Karim ports contacts, tags, segments, automation rules, and subscriber history by hand during your first week — included with every founding-list plan.
How does deliverability compare in 2026?
Mailchimp's shared IPs took a hit in 2025 after the SES policy changes. Brevo and Kit have stronger dedicated-IP options. Heatcord uses dedicated IPs on Pro+ and signs SPF/DKIM/DMARC by default — webinar emails get to inbox even when general marketing doesn't.