MailChimp Review: High Price & Low Innovation?

MailChimp Review & Test Shows The Once King of Email Has Fallen. MailChimp's New Pricing Structure, Customer Support & System Stability Issues Are Huge Problems.

MailChimp: An industry leader, falling behind on system stability, value for money, and customer service.

MailChimp Review: Rating

MailChimp Rating 3.2/5.0
💸 Pricing ★★✩✩✩
⚡ Features ★★★✩✩
📧 Email Deliverability ★★★★✩
🖱 Ease of Use ★★★★✩
👩‍❤️‍👩 Client Satisfaction ★★✩✩✩
☎ Customer Support ★★★✩✩

MailChimp Review Summary

MailChimp is one of the older email marketing services, and since its launch in 2001, it has made great strides in gaining small business customers across the digital marketing industry.

It became one of the email newsletter behemoths.  As you can see from our article on choosing the best email software, many entrepreneurs still use MailChimp.  But during the thousands of hours of researching and testing email marketing services, we have found MailChimp’s service to be lacking.

MailChimp Review: Features

⚡ Features CRM, Email Automation
🏆 Unique Features Customer Journeys
🎯 Best for Small Business
♲ Subscription Monthly
💰 Price $17-$299/mo
✂ Discount None Available
🌎 Region Global

Pros

★ Facebook & Instagram Adverts Integrated
★ RSS to Email
★ Email Updated to Facebook
★ Abandoned Shopping Cart Followup
★ Customer Specific Delivery Times
★ Time Zone Delivery Times

Cons

✘ Customer Satisfaction
✘ High Pricing
✘ Trustpilot Ratings
✘ Limited Features

MailChimp Review Summary

MailChimp offers a free service to host 2,000 contacts, which is unique and good for startups with a $0 budget.  But MailChimp is also suffering a host of problems, with unhappy customers, a high price to features ratio, and system availability technical issues. With crushing Trustpilot ratings, can MailChimp pull through?

MailChimp Pricing

There are two types of pricing models in the email marketing industry.

  1. Per Contact Pricing means you are charged for storing a number of contacts; this model usually includes unlimited email sends.
  2. Per Email Pricing – this model usually means that you can have an unlimited number of contacts, but you pay per thousand emails sent.

Most email marketing vendors also offer multiple tiers of service, a basic tier providing email messaging, autoresponders, and segmentation.  More advanced tiers usually provide more in-depth services such as email marketing automation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Funnels, Payment Gateways, and landing pages.

In MailChimp’s case, we had to select their second most expensive tier, “Standard,” for a good feature comparison with over email marketing services. Their pricing means for up to 10,000 contacts; you will pay 1ct per month.  This is three times the price of SendX and 50% more than GetResponse.

To their credit, they do have a free tier of service, which will store up to 2,000 contacts, and although the email templates and forms will have MailChimp branding, you will have access to the Facebook and Instagram lead generation tools.

The table below shows their position relative to other service providers.

Competitor Pricing Table – All Email Marketing Services

Value RatingsSendX Email ServiceGet Response Email Marketing ServiceAWeber Email Marketing ServiceBenchmark EmailConstant Contact Email ServicesConvertKit Email & Sales ServicesMailchimp Email ServiceActive Campaign Email ServicesiContact Email Marketing ServiceOntraport Email & CRM ServicesMailJet Email ServiceSendinBlue Email Service
Value☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
ModelContactContactContactContactContactContactContactContactContactContactEmailEmail
Free-TierNoNoNoYesNoNoYesNoNoNo6K/m - $09K/m - $0
#Contacts
500$7.49$15$19$13$17$25$15$9$30$7930K/m - $9.6540K/m - $25
2,500$15$25$29$30$38$49$50$39$50$14760K/m - $18.9560K/m - $39
10,000$39$65$69$76$81$119$99$111$110$297150K/m - $69120K/m - $67
25,000$112$145$149$144$191$166$219$179$199$497450K/m - $230350K/m - $173
50,0000$172$250$392$237$295$316$299$239$379$599=< 125K
Unlimited$2,999$99 per extra 100K
Cost per Contact (cents)0.390.650.690.740.81111.110.672.97NANA
Visit SendX ServicesVisit GetResponseVisit AWeber ServicesVisit BenchmarkVisit ConstantContactVisit ConvertKitVisit MailchimpVisit ActiveCampaignVisit iContact ServicesVisit OntraportVisit MailJet ServicesVisit SendinBlue

MailChimp does offer four service levels, but the Standard service will be the one to opt for if you want any kind of meaningful automation.  It includes:

  • Email Marketing Automation
  • Unlimited Email Sends
  • Segmentation, Tagging, Autoresponders
  • Signup Forms, Email Templates & Stock Photos
  • Email to RSS, Facebook & Twitter
  • 200+ integrations to other platforms

Things to Know About Mailchimps Pricing

Surprisingly, MailChimp is far from being a price leader, and despite the fact it can seem expensive as the Standard service does not even include phone support.  For that, you have to go to the Premium service, which is significantly more expensive.

MailChimp Email Marketing & Automation Features

Like all of the services reviewed, MailChimp offers a selection of predesigned email templates and a good selection of high-quality images for use in your email campaigns.  The email design process is also fully drag-and-drop, making crafting your message a breeze and will ensure your emails will look professional and unique.  They will also host your uploaded images.

MailChimp also has predesigned email capture forms, which are also fully customizable. The types of forms on offer are Inline, Pop-Over, Lightbox, and Pop-Up.  The only thing missing is an Exit Intent form.

Most software providers offer Autoresponders, Email Sequencing, Customer Tagging, and Segmentation.  Mailchimp’s implementation of automation is quite basic, similar in fact to AWeber, and when compared to GetResponse or ActiveCampaigns slick automation visualizations, it is way behind.

Top of Inbox Delivery Timing?

We see a powerful trend in the industry towards machine learning to improve email services.  For example, the Top of Inbox Delivery enables you to target each contact with an email delivered at the usual time they open emails. If your contact reads their emails at 6:30 am on weekdays, the email will be delivered then. Hence, it is at the top of the inbox. You can also deliver the email at, for example, 9 am in every timezone.

MailChimp Timewarp Delivery – Nicely Implemented

MailChimp TimeWarp Delivery
MailChimp TimeWarp Delivery

Other vendors also offer this functionality; it is called “Time Travel” by GetResponse. ActiveCampaign and SendX also have similar functionality.

Facebook & Instagram Lead Generation

I do like that even on the Free tier of service, you get access to premium features, the Facebook & Instagram Lead Capture.  This allows you to schedule campaigns directly from MailChimp to target potential customers interested in your products.

MailChimp Facebook & Instagram Lead Capture
MailChimp Facebook & Instagram Lead Capture

MailChimp Reporting & Analytics

MailChimp has a solid set of basic reporting and analytics.  You will have the ability to analyze and improve your campaigns with reporting that allows you to compare open rates, undeliverable, unsubscribe clicks over time, and more.  You can also seamlessly segment your list based on the responses or actions against your email.

It is also a breeze to list unsubscribes or undeliverables a swiftly remove the contact from your database using Bulk Delete.

However, to suggest Mailchimp has any kind of advanced reporting or analytics would be incorrect.  The reporting is very static and lacks the ability to configure even basic dates; for example, if you want to view performance over more than one year, it is impossible.

MailChimp Campaign Reporting – Screenshot

MailChimp Campaign Reporting - Screenshot
MailChimp Campaign Reporting – Screenshot

Mailchimp is clearly aimed at small businesses, but I am not sure this level of reporting will grow with you as you grow.  It may be something you are willing to accept in exchange for their low pricing and simplicity of use.

[Related Post – Compare All Email Marketing Services Side By Side]

Of course, you can also see list growth, unsubscribes, and even social shares.  Finally and importantly, A/B Testing, the ability to test the email performance with different subject lines and content, is included in the service.

Visit Mailchimp

 

Advanced Email Features

MailChimp RSS to Email

Email to RSS is a simple yet effective way to streamline the communication process with your audience.  You can set it up so that when you publish a new article on your website in a specific category, the email service will be notified and can build a customized email and send it to your audience without you having to do anything.  This is a huge timesaver.

Surprisingly, not all email newsletter providers offer this service.  To view the other vendors offering this service, check out our Email Service Master Comparison Table.

Email to Facebook

As with the RSS function, you can quickly and effectively integrate the Mailchimp mailing engine into Facebook.  Any broadcast email you setup can, with a single click, also send an update to a Facebook page.

Email to Twitter

A nice addition is the ability to send an automatic update to your Twitter profile from a broadcast message.  It is these little process improvement that saves time and effort.

Mailchimp’s Lack of Advanced Features for Enterprise & Ecommerce

MailChimp is clearly not aiming at enterprise customers.  There is some limited possibility to host multiple accounts to enable better workflow and collaboration in the marketing department.

There is also no mechanism for customer relationship management (CRM).  So if you are part of a larger team, you will want to consider ActiveCampaign or OntraportGetResponse has a great price point and a complete set of features.

Out of all tests, only three software vendors offer a fully integrated site chat function; Mailchimp is not one of them.

Mailchimp Has Serious Integrations

Mailchimp does not have payment processors or eCommerce functionality like our review-winning GetResponse, but it does have a set of integrations that enable this functionality.

Mailchimp’s strategy is not to build a completely integrated solution themselves but to build integrations to a huge network of 3rd parties.  This is the saving grace of Mailchimp because, with over 240 integrations, you should have the ability to integrate with practically every serious service out there.

Security & Certifications

At this stage in the development of the internet, cybersecurity is of utmost importance.  High-profile data leaks and hacks result in large fines to businesses that do not adequately protect their customer’s data.

Email Service Provider Security Compliance Table

GDPR Compliant
SSL TLS Encryption
EU-US Privacy Shield

Ease of Use & Customer Ratings

Using as many independent sources as possible, we have rated the services provided.

Our rating on ease of use and design ☆☆☆
Using the independent ratings from Trustpilot Users – we also filtered out obviously biased ratings.
Customer Twitter Sentiment Index ☆☆
Support (Chat, Email, Phone) Chat, Email
Support Times 24/7
Response Time Delayed
Average Ratings of Support Times, Response Times & Accessibility

 

MailChimp has recently raised its prices, which does not impress its customers, but the biggest issues are customer service levels and the technical issues with the service availability.

Take a look and the Twitter Sentiment (type MailChimp into the query box), and you can see the negativity and tweets categorized.  You can also look at the Trustpilot scores for MailChimp, with 55% of its own customers rating it Bad.

Summary

MailChimp offers a free service to host 2,000 contacts, which is unique and good for startups with a $0 budget.  But MailChimp is also suffering a host of problems, with unhappy customers, a high price to features ratio, and system availability technical issues. With crushing Trustpilot ratings, can MailChimp pull through?

[Related Post – Compare All Email Marketing Services Side By Side]

MailChimp Email Marketing – Full Features Data Sheet

FeaturesMailchimp Email Service
Value for Money☆☆☆
Features☆☆☆
Deliverability☆☆☆☆
Ease of Use☆☆☆
Client Satisfaction☆☆
Support☆☆☆
Total Stars19
Price ModelContact
Free OptionYes
500 Contacts$15
2,500 Contacts$50
10,000 Contacts$99
25,000 Contacts$219
50,0000 Contacts§299
Unlimited Contacts
Cost per Contact (cents)0.99
Primary Features eMail
eMail Templates
eMail Images
Email Form Templates
Drag & Drop Email Design
Autoresponders
Marketing Automation
Individual Customer Automation
Customer Tagging & Segmentation
Intelligent Timing Delivery
Time Travel (Global 9am Delivery)
Basic Email Analytics
Powerful Email Analytics
A/B Testing
SPAM Scoring
Advanced Features
Webinar Integration
Hosting Webinar & Recording
Email from RSS Feeds
SMS Marketing
Postcard Mailing
Automatic Product Recommendations
Site Chat CRM Integration
Membership Site Service
Team / Enterprise Functions
Multiple User Accounts
Sales Team Lead Distribution
Salesforce Service Integration
Primary Features Funnels
Surveys/Polls
Sales/Lead Funnels
Landing Pages
Exit Popups
Primary Features Sales & Payments
eCommerce Integrations
Full Payment Gateways
Abandoned Cart Integration
Win Back / Bounce Back
Payment Mgt
Discount Coupons
Referral Program Mgt
CRM & Remarketing
CRM & Deal Management
Facebook Integration
Cross Platform Journey Tracking
Activity Scoring
Integrations
3rd Party Integrations216
Zapier App Integration
Deliverability☆☆☆
Security & Certifications
GDPR Compliant
SSL TLS Encryption
EU-US Privacy Shield
Ease of Use☆☆☆
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Twitter Sentiment☆☆
Support (Chat, Email, Phone)Chat, Email
Support Times24/7
Response TimeDelyed
Customer Support
Visit the VendorVisit Mailchimp
MailChimp Email Marketing Services Detailed Data Sheet
Barry's 25 years of experience with Silicon Valley Corporations such as IBM, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise & DXC Technology enables him to share his knowledge of succeeding in today's professional corporate environments and develop a great work life for yourself.

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