Mailchimp
The default email platform, now with AI-built campaigns
Our verdict
Easy and dependable for starters, but re-check the bill as your list grows — contact-based pricing punishes growth.
Mailchimp covers email campaigns, landing pages and customer journeys with 300+ integrations, and its Intuit Assist AI drafts campaigns, suggests segments and improves send times. It is the most recognisable starting point for small-business email.
How we scored it
What we liked
- ✓Gentle learning curve
- ✓Huge integration ecosystem
- ✓Free plan to test the waters
What to watch
- ✕Pricing climbs steeply with contacts
- ✕Unsubscribed contacts still count unless archived
Key features
- ◆AI campaign builder
- ◆Automations
- ◆Landing pages
- ◆A/B testing
- ◆Predictive segmentation
- ◆Transactional API
Best for
Alternatives to Mailchimp
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Surfer
SEO content optimization scored against the live SERP
Surfer turns a target keyword into a data-backed brief and scores your draft against the pages that already rank, covering structure, entities and internal links. It has also moved into AI-search visibility, tracking how your brand appears in ChatGPT and other answer engines.
Buffer
Dead-simple scheduling with an unlimited free AI assistant
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Brevo
Email, SMS and CRM at a price that scales with sends, not contacts
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) bundles email and SMS campaigns, automations, chat and a lightweight CRM, with an AI content generator, send-time optimisation and MCP hooks so ChatGPT and Claude can drive your campaigns. Billing follows email volume, so large lists stay cheap.