Mailchimp vs Drip pricing: which is cheaper for your team?
Mailchimp's cheapest paid tier (Essentials) lists at $13/month, which beats the other on entry pricing. Mid-tier and enterprise math can flip the answer — use the per-tier table below to see the real cost for your team size at each tier.
Calculate the cost for your team
Mailchimp pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | month | Limited contacts and sends. |
| Essentials | $13 | $13 | month | Starting price; increases by contact count. |
| Standard | $20 | $20 | month | Automation and optimization features. |
| Premium | $350 | $350 | month | Advanced segmentation and larger-team features. |
Drip pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $39 | $39 | month | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, email and chat support, up to 50 workflows. |
| Growth | $99 | $99 | month | Higher subscriber tier with live chat support included; price scales by list size. |
Feature by feature
The non-pricing differences that drive the real decision.
| Capability | Mailchimp | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | month | month |
| Pricing model | Contact-tier marketing plan pricing | Subscriber-tiered ecommerce email |
| Cheapest paid tier | Essentials at $13/month | Starter at $39/month |
| Mid-tier benchmark | Standard at $20/month | Growth at $99/month |
| Total paid tiers published | 3 | 2 |
| Last verified | 2026-05-16 | 2026-05-17 |
Best for…
Hand-picked use cases mapped to the winner.
| Use case | Winner |
|---|---|
| Lowest entry price (10-person team) | Mailchimp Essentials |
| Most pricing tiers (room to grow) | Mailchimp (3 tiers) |
| Predictable per-seat billing | Neither (both flat/usage) |
| Most recently verified pricing | Drip |
Choose Mailchimp when
- Mailchimp prices by plan and contact count, so teams should compare against their actual audience size rather than the lowest advertised starting price.
- Entry tier (Essentials) at $13/month is your budget ceiling.
- Build comparisons at 5k, 25k, and 100k contacts before choosing Mailchimp vs Klaviyo.
Choose Drip when
- Drip is ecommerce-focused email automation starting at $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and onsite campaigns.
- Entry tier (Starter) at $39/month is your budget ceiling.
- Drip uses a sliding subscriber calculator for larger lists; no public ceiling published, all overages are absorbed into the tier price.
Switching considerations
Watch the hidden fees on both sides. Mailchimp: Contact count, SMS, transactional email, and overages can change the bill. Drip: Pricing scales with both list size and send volume so growing lists silently raise the bill Always confirm with the vendor before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team, Mailchimp or Drip?
At entry tier and 10 seats on annual billing: Mailchimp Essentials comes to $13/mo; Drip Starter comes to $39/mo. Mailchimp is the cheaper entry-tier choice at this team size.
Does Mailchimp have more pricing tiers than Drip?
Mailchimp publishes more paid tiers (3 vs 2). More tiers usually means more granular ways to grow without re-platforming.
Which pricing was verified more recently?
Mailchimp's pricing was last verified 2026-05-16; Drip's on 2026-05-17. Both pages link to the vendor's official pricing source so you can re-check before committing.