Mailchimp

Mailchimp has been in the email marketing business since 2001 and was acquired by Intuit in 2021. It remains one of the most widely used email platforms, largely because its free tier and drag-and-drop builder make it approachable for teams without dedicated marketing ops resources.

For SMBs and early-stage companies, Mailchimp covers the basics well. You get a visual email editor, pre-built templates, audience management with tags and segments, and basic automation workflows. The Customer Journey Builder lets you set up multi-step sequences like welcome series or post-purchase follow-ups without writing code. Campaign analytics show opens, clicks, and revenue attribution if you connect an e-commerce store.

The integration list is long. Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, and most major platforms have native connections. The Intuit acquisition also means tighter ties with QuickBooks for revenue tracking.

Where Mailchimp falls short is B2B sophistication. If you need event-driven messaging based on product usage, complex branching logic in automations, or deep CRM integration that goes beyond basic contact syncing, you will hit walls. The segmentation engine works fine for demographic and engagement-based segments, but it cannot handle the kind of behavioral targeting that tools like Customer.io or ActiveCampaign offer.

Pricing is another consideration. The free tier caps at 500 contacts with Mailchimp branding. Once you move to paid plans, costs scale with list size, and you pay for every contact whether they are active or not. Teams with large but partially engaged lists should watch costs carefully.

For GTM teams running straightforward newsletters and campaign-style email, Mailchimp gets the job done. For anything more complex, look elsewhere.