The short version: Mailchimp costs $0 if you have fewer than 250 contacts, and starts at $13 a month (Essentials) or $20 a month (Standard) for up to 500 contacts. Your bill depends on how many contacts you store, which also sets your monthly email send limit. Below, we break down what each plan delivers, show how send limits work for typical store sending schedules, and explain how to avoid surprise add-on charges. All prices are US-dollar list prices checked on 2026-10-03.
Mailchimp plans at a glance
Mailchimp structures plans by contact tiers. The lowest paid tier covers 0 to 500 contacts. Each tier grants a specific monthly send multiple and a set number of user seats.
| Plan | Starting monthly price | Monthly send limit | User seats | Key features included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500/mo (max 250/day) | 1 seat | Sending pauses if limits exceeded |
| Essentials | $13 | 10X contacts (5,000/mo) | 3 seats | 14-day free trial |
| Standard | $20 | 12X contacts (6,000/mo) | 5 seats | 14-day trial, 90-day onboarding |
| Premium | Starts at $350 (shown at the 10,000-contact tier) | 15X contacts (up to 150,000/mo) | Unlimited | Phone and priority support |
On paid plans, your monthly send allowance equals your contact tier multiplied by the plan’s ratio: 10X for Essentials, 12X for Standard, and 15X for Premium. For high-volume senders with 10,000 or more contacts, Mailchimp offers a 15% discount for the first 12 months on Standard, which also applies if you switch to Essentials or Premium.
Worked example: email costs and send volume limits
These two stores are hypothetical, but the rates and plan rules are official. Both stores sell online and use email marketing to drive repeat orders.
Store A: a handmade ceramics shop starting out (200 contacts)
Store A sells handcrafted mugs with an average order value of $40. They collect emails via an online popup and currently have 200 subscribers. They send 2 newsletters a month to their list plus transactional updates.
- List size: 200 contacts
- Planned sends: 2 marketing broadcasts a month = 200 × 2 = 400 sends
| Plan | Plan cost | Send limit (200 contacts) | Status for Store A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500/mo (250/day max) | Fits under 250 contact & 500 send caps |
| Essentials | $13/mo | 5,000/mo (10X tier) | Room to grow, unnecessary early on |
| Standard | $20/mo | 6,000/mo (12X tier) | Room to grow, includes onboarding |
Store A runs comfortably on the Free plan for $0 a month. At 200 contacts, sending 2 newsletters uses 400 sends, staying under the 500 monthly limit and the 250 daily limit.
However, if Store A sends a third newsletter in that same month, 200 × 3 = 600 sends. That exceeds the 500 monthly cap. On the Free plan, sending is paused immediately until the next billing cycle. To send that third email, Store A must upgrade to Essentials at $13 a month.
Store B: a growing apparel brand (500 contacts, frequent campaigns)
Store B has grown its audience to 500 active contacts. They run weekly promotional emails, product drops, and automated follow-ups, averaging 10 email sends per contact each month.
- List size: 500 contacts
- Planned sends: 10 emails per contact = 500 × 10 = 5,000 sends
| Plan | Monthly price | Send allowance | Send limit math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Not eligible | 500/mo | Exceeds 250 contact cap |
| Essentials | $13/mo | 5,000/mo | 10 × 500 = 5,000 sends |
| Standard | $20/mo | 6,000/mo | 12 × 500 = 6,000 sends |
On Essentials ($13/month), 500 contacts receiving 10 emails consumes exactly 5,000 sends (10 × 500). That uses 100% of the Essentials allowance. If Store B sends an eleventh broadcast, or adds automated flows, they exceed 5,000 sends. On a paid plan, exceeding limits incurs add-on contact charges.
Upgrading to Standard costs $20 a month ($7 more than Essentials) and increases the send allowance to 6,000 emails (12 × 500). That $7 difference provides 1,000 extra sends each month, plus access to 5 user seats and personalized onboarding for 90 days.
Rule of thumb and list boundaries
- Under 250 contacts: Stay on Free as long as you send no more than 2 broadcasts a month (500 total sends).
- At 250 to 500 contacts: Essentials ($13/month) is the entry paid tier. If you send more than 10 campaigns a month, move to Standard ($20/month) to avoid add-on charges.
- Crossing contact boundaries: Because paid plans are billed by contact tiers, crossing even 1 contact past 500 bumps your account into the next pricing bracket or triggers add-on contact billing.
Run it with your own numbers: your plan price + any add-on charges. To see how email marketing costs affect your product margins, use our profit per order calculator. For a complete picture of recurring store expenses, review our monthly cost guide.
How Mailchimp pricing works: the contact tier
When you set up a paid monthly plan, you decide how many contacts you want to store in Mailchimp. That choice defines your pricing tier and your monthly send limit.
Three fundamental rules govern this billing model:
- The contact tier sets the send cap. Your monthly send allowance is calculated directly from your stored contact capacity: 10 times contacts on Essentials, 12 times on Standard, and 15 times on Premium.
- Archived and cleaned contacts do not count. Mailchimp help explicitly confirms that archived and cleaned contacts do not count toward your contact limit. If someone unsubscribes or becomes inactive, archiving them keeps your bill down.
- You can adjust your limit anytime. You are not locked into the contact tier you initially select. As your audience fluctuates, you can change your contact limit.
Add-on contacts and overages
What happens if you run a viral campaign or a flash sale that pushes you over your numbers?
On the Free plan, sending is paused as soon as either the 250-contact cap or 500-send monthly limit is exceeded.
On paid monthly plans, Mailchimp does not pause your service. Instead, if you exceed the contact count or send allowance for your tier, Mailchimp charges for an extra, smaller set of contacts called an add-on contact. To protect your monthly budget, audit your contact count before launching major promotional events.
Free plan: for testing and tiny lists
Mailchimp’s Free plan costs $0 and is designed for early-stage shops testing product concepts.
The limitations are firm:
- A maximum of 250 contacts.
- A maximum of 500 email sends per month, with a daily cap of 250 sends.
- Exactly 1 user seat.
- Sending is paused if either the contact or send limit is passed.
If you have 100 subscribers and send one bi-weekly email (200 sends a month), the Free plan costs nothing. But once your contact list hits 251 people, you must upgrade to Essentials at $13 a month. For a wider comparison of zero-cost options, check our guide to free tools for a new online store.
Essentials: for basic store newsletters
Essentials starts at $13 a month on the entry 0 to 500 contact tier.
Key details of Essentials:
- Includes a 14-day free trial.
- Offers a 10X monthly send limit (5,000 sends for 500 contacts).
- Includes 3 user seats.
- Allows multiple contact tiers with add-on contact billing if you exceed your limit.
Essentials works well for store owners who want standard newsletter broadcasts, customer announcements, and basic templates without paying for advanced onboarding assistance.
Standard: for ecommerce automations and onboarding
Standard starts at $20 a month for up to 500 contacts.
What the extra $7 a month over Essentials provides:
- A 12X monthly send limit (6,000 sends for 500 contacts instead of 5,000).
- 5 user seats (compared to 3 on Essentials).
- Personalized onboarding for the first 90 days after account creation or upgrade.
- Access to Marketing Automation Flows (the Customer Journey Builder was rebranded to Marketing Automation Flows in June 2025).
- A 14-day free trial. During the trial, you can send up to 100 emails without entering a credit card; saving a payment method unlocks 5,900 sends for the rest of your trial period.
For stores with 10,000 or more contacts, Standard includes a 15% discount for the first 12 months, which remains active even if you switch between paid plans.
Premium: for high-volume enterprise stores
Premium starts at $350 a month at the entry contact tier.
It provides:
- A 15X monthly send limit (up to 150,000 emails per month).
- Unlimited user seats.
- Phone and priority support, along with 90-day personalized onboarding.
For almost every first-time online store, Premium is unnecessary. The $350 entry price is designed for established businesses requiring multi-user access and phone support.
SMS marketing add-on
Mailchimp offers SMS marketing as an add-on to paid plans in select countries.
Before purchasing SMS credits or sending text messages, Mailchimp requires an application and agreement to terms. SMS is not included in the base subscription fee of Free, Essentials, Standard, or Premium plans.
Note that text message marketing in the United States requires explicit recipient opt-in and compliance with carrier regulations. This is not legal or tax advice; check applicable regulations or consult an attorney.
Store platform integrations
Connecting your email platform to your ecommerce cart allows you to sync customer purchase data and trigger automated follow-up messages.
Mailchimp’s pricing page lists several popular integrations:
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Stripe
- Zapier
If you connect Mailchimp to Shopify, take note of an important operational requirement: Mailchimp help states that existing abandoned cart automations associated with the audience must be recreated after connecting the integration. When migrating your store or reconnecting an audience, rebuild and test your cart recovery emails before driving traffic. For configuration steps, refer to our guide on abandoned cart and welcome emails setup.
Who should pick something else
Mailchimp is a reliable general email platform, but certain stores should look elsewhere:
- Stores wanting dedicated ecommerce-first workflows: Platforms like Klaviyo or Omnisend are built specifically for online retail analytics. Read our Klaviyo vs Omnisend vs Mailchimp comparison or our breakdown of Klaviyo pricing explained.
- Stores with lists between 251 and 500 that send rarely: If you have 300 contacts and only send one email a quarter, paying $13 every month (12 × $13 = $156 a year) can be inefficient.
- Stores operating where SMS add-ons are unavailable: Mailchimp restricts SMS add-ons to select countries.
- Founders looking for all-in-one store platforms: If you run your shop on an ecommerce builder with built-in email tools, check Shopify pricing explained or Squarespace pricing explained before paying for external email subscriptions. To trim unnecessary tools, see our audit on how to cut your store app subscriptions.
Common mistakes when using Mailchimp
- Paying for inactive or unsubscribed contacts. Stored contacts determine your billing tier. Clean or archive unsubscribed users regularly, because archived and cleaned contacts do not count toward your limit.
- Ignoring the monthly send multiplier. Remember that Essentials limits you to 10X your tier (5,000 sends at 500 contacts) and Standard limits you to 12X (6,000 sends). A weekly campaign to 500 people uses 2,000 sends; adding automated flows can quickly exhaust your cap.
- Getting surprised by add-on contact fees. Crossing into a higher contact bracket or exceeding send limits on paid plans triggers add-on charges rather than stopping your campaign.
- Expecting unlimited sends during the free trial without a card. The 14-day trial on Standard allows only 100 sends risk-free until you save a payment method, which unlocks the remaining 5,900 trial sends.
- Forgetting to rebuild Shopify abandoned cart automations. When linking Mailchimp for Shopify, existing abandoned cart automations connected to the audience must be manually recreated.
How to decide what to do this week
- Audit your current subscriber list. Count your total contacts. If you have under 250 subscribers, open an account on the Free plan ($0/month).
- Calculate your monthly send volume. Multiply your contact count by your planned monthly broadcasts. Ensure your monthly total stays under 500 sends on Free, 5,000 sends on Essentials (500 contacts), or 6,000 sends on Standard (500 contacts).
- Choose Essentials ($13/mo) for simple newsletters. If your list is between 250 and 500 contacts and you only need basic broadcasts, select Essentials.
- Choose Standard ($20/mo) for automated customer journeys. If you want 90-day onboarding, 5 seats, and access to Marketing Automation Flows, sign up for Standard’s 14-day trial.
- Connect your store integration. Connect your platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, or Squarespace) and recreate your abandoned cart automations. For full launch preparation, review our practical launch checklist and our overview of the best email marketing for a new online store.
Sources (checked 2026-10-03)
- Mailchimp: Marketing pricing, Free plan limits, Essentials and Standard pricing, contact tiers, send limits, trial rules, discount, SMS add-on, and integrations.
- Mailchimp Help: About additional charges, contact tier settings, send limits, archived and cleaned contacts, and add-on contacts.
- Mailchimp Help: Connect Shopify, Shopify integration and requirement to recreate abandoned cart automations.
