Choosing an email marketing platform shouldn’t feel like picking sides in a debate. Yet here we are, comparing two of the most talked-about tools in the space: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) and Mailchimp.
I’ve spent the last few weeks testing both platforms, diving into pricing changes, comparing features side by side, and talking to users who’ve made the switch from one to the other. What I found might surprise you. Neither tool is definitively “better.” They’re built for completely different users, and picking the wrong one could cost you hundreds of dollars and countless hours.
So let’s cut through the marketing speak and figure out which platform actually makes sense for your situation.
The Core Difference You Need to Understand First
Before we talk about pricing, features, or deliverability, you need to understand this fundamental difference: Kit is built for creators who want to monetize their audience. Mailchimp is built for businesses that want an all-in-one marketing platform.
That’s not marketing fluff. It shapes everything about how these tools work.
Kit focuses obsessively on email. Landing pages, forms, automations, subscriber management. Everything revolves around building and monetizing an email list. You can sell digital products, run paid newsletters, and use their Creator Network to grow through cross-promotion with other newsletters. If you’re a blogger, podcaster, course creator, or solo entrepreneur building an audience, Kit speaks your language.
Mailchimp, on the other hand, wants to be your entire marketing department. Email, yes. But also SMS campaigns, social media scheduling, postcards, website builder, customer relationship management, and advanced ecommerce integrations. It’s powerful, but that power comes with complexity.
Neither approach is wrong. The question is: which matches what you’re actually trying to build?
The Pricing Reality Check
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Both tools have gotten more expensive, and both charge based on your subscriber count. But the way they count subscribers and structure their plans tells you a lot about their priorities.
Kit Pricing Breakdown
Kit offers three plans: Newsletter (free), Creator, and Creator Pro.
The free Newsletter plan is remarkably generous. You get up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited email sends, unlimited landing pages and forms, and you can even sell digital products. The catch? You only get one automated sequence, and no third party integrations.
For most creators just starting out, that free plan is a gift. Ten thousand subscribers is a real audience. Most email platforms cap their free tier at 500 to 1,000 subscribers.
Once you outgrow that or need automation, Creator starts at $39 per month for 1,000 subscribers. That jumps to $59 for 3,000 subscribers and $89 for 5,000. Creator Pro adds advanced features like subscriber scoring and priority support, starting at $59 per month for 1,000 subscribers.
Here’s what matters: Kit doesn’t charge you for duplicate subscribers. If someone appears on two different segments or tags, you’re only paying for them once. And they count actual confirmed subscribers, not people who unsubscribed three years ago.
Mailchimp Pricing Breakdown
Mailchimp’s structure is more traditional but less forgiving.
The free plan allows 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly emails (with a 500 daily cap). That’s fine for testing, but you’ll hit those limits fast. And here’s the kicker: as of 2024, Mailchimp charges you for all contacts in your account, including unsubscribed and non-confirmed contacts.
Read that again. If someone unsubscribes, you’re still paying for them unless you manually archive them. This can significantly inflate your costs without you realizing it.
Essentials starts at $13 per month for 500 contacts, Standard at $20 per month, and Premium at a steep $350 monthly for 10,000 contacts. At 5,000 contacts, you’re looking at around $75 to $100 per month for Standard, compared to Kit’s $89.
Where to get started:
If you’re a creator focused on email and audience building, Kit’s generous free plan lets you start and grow to 10,000 subscribers before paying anything. For businesses needing multi-channel marketing, Mailchimp offers more tools under one roof.
Features: Where Each Platform Shines
Email Editor and Design
This is where the philosophies diverge sharply.
Mailchimp offers over 100 pre-designed templates ranging from newsletters to event invites to ecommerce promotions. Their drag and drop editor is powerful and flexible. You can create gorgeous, branded emails with product blocks, surveys, and custom HTML. For businesses that want polished, visual campaigns, Mailchimp delivers.
Kit takes the opposite approach. They offer three template options: text only, classic, and modern. All three are essentially text-based emails with different fonts. There’s no drag and drop editor.
Why? Because Kit is designed around a core belief: simple text emails perform better. They’re more personal, feel less like marketing, and often get higher open and click rates. For creators building direct relationships with their audience, that authenticity matters more than flashy design.
Is Kit’s approach right? It depends. If you’re selling ecommerce products and need product carousels and promotional graphics, Mailchimp wins hands down. If you’re a writer sending weekly newsletters to engaged readers, Kit’s simplicity is actually a strength.
Automation and Workflows
Both platforms handle automation, but they approach it differently.
Mailchimp’s visual automation builder is comprehensive. You can create complex multi-step workflows with multiple triggers, conditions, and branches. If someone opens an email but doesn’t click, send them down path A. If they click but don’t buy, path B. The possibilities are extensive.
But here’s the problem: that power comes with complexity. Setting up a simple “if subscriber has tag X, remove tag Y” requires building an entire visual automation with naming, triggers, actions, and flow settings. It’s overkill for straightforward tasks.
Kit splits automation into two categories: Rules and Visual Automations. Rules handle simple “if this, then that” logic with just a few clicks. Visual Automations handle complex sequences. This separation makes the platform faster to use for everyday tasks while still offering depth when you need it.
Winner depends on use case. For complex, multi-channel campaigns across email, SMS, and social, Mailchimp’s advanced automations make sense. For email-focused sequences and subscriber management, Kit’s streamlined approach saves time.
Landing Pages and Forms
Both platforms include landing page builders and form creators. Quality differs.
Mailchimp’s landing page builder is functional but feels like an afterthought. It’s there, it works, but it’s not particularly inspiring or feature-rich. Their forms integrate well across the platform, though.
Kit’s landing pages and forms were clearly built by people who obsess over conversion rates. They offer 53 landing page templates and 9 form templates, all optimized for email capture. You can create modal popups, slide-ins, sticky bars, or inline embeds. The templates are clean, mobile-optimized, and focused on one thing: growing your list.
For pure list building, Kit has the edge. For landing pages that need to do more than collect emails, both platforms feel limited compared to dedicated landing page tools.
Monetization Features
This is where Kit pulls away dramatically.
Kit lets you sell digital products and subscriptions directly through the platform. You can run paid newsletters (think Substack model), sell ebooks or courses, offer tiered subscriptions, and use their Creator Network to get paid for recommending other newsletters to your audience. They even provide a free SparkLoop integration (normally $99/month) for building referral programs.
These aren’t just features. They’re revenue streams built into your email platform. For creators, this is huge. Your email tool isn’t just a cost center. It’s actually helping you make money.
Mailchimp supports ecommerce through Shopify, WooCommerce, and other integrations. You can create product recommendation emails and abandoned cart sequences. But it’s designed around selling physical or digital goods through an external store, not monetizing your email list directly.
If you’re making money by building an audience and selling directly to them, Kit is purpose-built for that model. If you’re running an ecommerce store and using email to drive sales to your shop, Mailchimp’s integrations make more sense.
Want to start monetizing your email list?
Kit offers built-in tools to sell digital products and subscriptions. Mailchimp excels at driving sales to your ecommerce store.
Deliverability: Will Your Emails Actually Arrive?
Both platforms have decent deliverability, but neither is exceptional. Industry testing puts both in the 90 to 95% range for inbox placement, which is good but not outstanding.
Here’s what matters more: both platforms emphasize email best practices. They won’t let you use purchased lists or send cold emails. They both offer domain authentication (though it’s “recommended” rather than required, which is unfortunate). And both support double opt-in to maintain list quality.
Kit has a slight reputation advantage among creators for deliverability, but the difference is marginal. Your actual deliverability depends more on your email practices than your platform choice.
Integrations and Ecosystem
Mailchimp dominates here with over 180 direct integrations. If you’re using a popular tool, Mailchimp probably connects to it. Their integrations span CRM systems, ecommerce platforms, social media tools, analytics, and more.
Kit offers around 70 to 90 integrations (depending on which source you check), focusing heavily on creator tools. WordPress, Shopify, Teachable, Gumroad, Zapier. The essentials are covered, but the selection is narrower.
For most users, Kit’s integration library is sufficient. But if you’re running a business with a complex tech stack, Mailchimp’s broader compatibility matters.
Ease of Use: The Daily Experience
Kit is easier to navigate, hands down. The interface is clean and intuitive. You won’t get lost trying to find basic features. Their terminology is straightforward (they call email campaigns “broadcasts,” which takes five seconds to adjust to). New users can typically send their first email within 15 minutes of signing up.
Mailchimp has gotten better, but it’s still more complex. The interface is well-designed, and recent updates have improved navigation. But with all those features comes cognitive load. You’ll spend more time clicking through menus, and new users often feel overwhelmed.
This isn’t necessarily Mailchimp’s fault. Simpler tools are easier to use. More powerful tools require more learning. The question is whether you need that power.
Support and Resources
Both platforms offer email and chat support during business hours, with 24/7 availability for paid plans. Both have extensive knowledge bases, tutorials, and user communities.
Kit’s support has a strong reputation for being friendly, responsive, and actually helpful. Users consistently report positive experiences. Their documentation is thorough, and as a creator-focused tool, they understand the questions you’re asking.
Mailchimp’s support is hit or miss. Some users report great experiences. Others complain about slow responses and canned answers. With Mailchimp’s massive user base, quality can be inconsistent.
Both offer free migration services on paid plans if you’re switching from another platform.
The Hidden Costs
Mailchimp’s pricing has some gotchas. You’re charged for unsubscribed contacts unless you regularly archive them. Monthly send limits can catch you off guard. And if you exceed your contact limit, Mailchimp bills you for overages rather than warning you first. SMS, advanced features, and transactional email all cost extra.
Kit is more transparent. What you see is what you pay. No charges for duplicate contacts. No hidden fees for storage or bandwidth. If you go over your subscriber limit, they upgrade you automatically (with notification), but the pricing is clear and predictable.
So Which Should You Choose?
Here’s my honest recommendation based on different scenarios.
Choose Kit if:
- You’re a creator (blogger, podcaster, course creator, author, coach)
- Your primary business model is building an audience and selling to them directly
- You want simple, text-based emails that feel personal
- You’re starting out and want a generous free plan
- You value ease of use over feature breadth
- You want to monetize your email list through paid subscriptions or digital products
Choose Mailchimp if:
- You’re running an ecommerce business or agency
- You need SMS, social media scheduling, and other marketing channels in one place
- You want beautifully designed, highly customized email templates
- You need advanced segmentation and predictive analytics
- You have a complex tech stack requiring extensive integrations
- You’re willing to pay more for an all-in-one marketing platform
Neither is right for you if:
- You need truly exceptional deliverability (look at dedicated email service providers)
- You’re sending high-volume transactional emails (different tools entirely)
- You have a massive list (100,000+ contacts) and need enterprise features
- You want rock-bottom pricing (there are cheaper options)
The Verdict
Kit isn’t better than Mailchimp. Mailchimp isn’t better than Kit. They’re different tools for different users, and choosing the wrong one is expensive.
If you’re a creator building an audience, Kit’s simplicity, generous free plan, and monetization features make it the clear choice. You’ll save time, money, and frustration.
If you’re running a business that needs multi-channel marketing and you have the budget for it, Mailchimp’s comprehensive feature set justifies the higher cost.
Most people reading this are probably creators or solo entrepreneurs. For you, Kit is almost certainly the better choice. The free plan alone lets you build to 10,000 subscribers while figuring out your business model. And when you do upgrade, you’re paying for features that actually help creators, not generic marketing tools you’ll never use.
Ready to make your choice?
Start with Kit’s free plan if you’re focused on building and monetizing an audience through email. Try Mailchimp if you need an all-in-one marketing platform with advanced ecommerce features.
The best email marketing platform isn’t the one with the most features. It’s the one you’ll actually use consistently to build real relationships with your audience. Choose the tool that matches how you work, not the one that looks impressive in a feature comparison chart.
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