Email marketing comparison

Brevo vs. Mailchimp for freelancers: which free plan fits?

Brevo's free plan gives a freelancer far more contact storage and slightly more daily sending capacity. Mailchimp's free plan is a smaller test environment for its broader marketing interface and website tools.

Published September 9, 2026 · By Seiya Utsumi

Disclosure: We have applied to Brevo's partner program. This page currently uses no affiliate links. Product limits can change; verify them on the official pages before choosing.

The short answer

Choose Brevo Free when you need to store more than 250 contacts, send up to 300 emails in a day, or test limited automation. Choose Mailchimp Free when you specifically want to learn Mailchimp's audience, campaign, form, landing-page, or website workflow with a very small list. Mailchimp Free currently allows up to 250 contacts, 500 sends per month, and 250 sends per day.

Free plans at a glance

Decision factor	Brevo Free	Mailchimp Free
Stored contacts	Up to 100,000	Up to 250
Email sends	300 per day	500 per month; 250 per day
Users	1 seat	1 Owner seat
Automation	Up to 2,000 unique contacts	Advanced automation requires a paid plan
Reporting	Basic reporting	Basic reporting
Primary constraint	Daily sends	Contacts and monthly sends

Choose Brevo when contact capacity matters

Brevo Free can store up to 100,000 contacts, but storage should not be confused with sending capacity. Each email delivered to one recipient counts as one send, and the 300-send daily allowance does not roll over. It fits a small list, occasional segmented sends, and early automation tests better than a large same-day newsletter.

Choose Mailchimp when you want its specific workflow

Mailchimp Free is intentionally small: 250 contacts, 500 monthly sends, and a daily cap of 250. It includes one audience, one Owner seat, basic reporting, a limited template selection, and access to try forms and landing pages. Its free website builder can also publish pages on a Mailchimp domain, while a custom-domain website requires a paid Websites plan.

Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts toward the contact total unless they are archived, cleaned, or deleted. That accounting matters when estimating how quickly the free allowance will fill.

Which constraint appears first?

A list above 250 contacts: Mailchimp Free stops being a practical sending plan first.
More than 300 recipients on one day: Brevo Free also requires a paid solution or a different schedule.
Basic automation testing: Brevo offers more room to test a small automated workflow.
Mailchimp-specific integrations or website workflow: Mailchimp may still justify a controlled trial.

A seven-day comparison

Import only a small, permission-based test list.
Create the same form and confirmation path in both tools.
Send the same mobile-friendly campaign.
Test unsubscribe and contact export.
Record how each product counts contacts and sends.
Identify every step that requires payment.
Keep the system that completes the real job with fewer workarounds.

Use the software evaluation checklist. For another creator-focused option, compare Brevo vs. Kit, or read the detailed Brevo Free guide.

Official sources checked

Sources reviewed September 9, 2026.