Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the best-known email marketing platforms in the world. For a long time, it was the default answer when a small business asked, “Where should I send my emails?” That history still matters: Mailchimp has deep templates, reliable campaign tools, strong integrations, and enough automation power for serious marketing teams.

For newsletter operators, the question is not whether Mailchimp is capable. It is whether it is the right shape. Mailchimp is built for broad email marketing: ecommerce stores, agencies, service businesses, product teams, and creators all sit inside the same platform. That makes it flexible, but it can also feel heavier than newsletter-first tools like Beehiiv or Substack.

What is Mailchimp?

Mailchimp is an email marketing and automation platform owned by Intuit. You can use it to collect subscribers, send newsletters, build landing pages, segment your audience, automate customer journeys, and track campaign performance.

It is strongest when your newsletter is part of a wider marketing system. If you sell products, run events, manage customer segments, or need a lot of integrations, Mailchimp gives you more room than a pure publishing platform.

Key features for 2026

1. Email campaigns and templates

Drag-and-drop editor, pre-built templates, brand assets, scheduling, A/B testing on paid plans, and reporting after each send. Less ideal if your newsletter is mostly plain-text essays.

2. Landing pages and forms

Landing pages, sign-up forms, popups, and basic website tools — useful for lead magnets, waitlists, and webinar signups without another builder.

3. Automation and segmentation

Paid plans unlock journeys based on subscriber behavior, ecommerce activity, tags, segments, and integrations. Useful for welcome sequences, re-engagement, and product launches.

4. Reporting, analytics, and integrations

Large integration ecosystem and business-oriented reporting: campaign performance, list growth, clicks, and revenue attribution for connected stores.

Mailchimp vs the competition

• Mailchimp vs Beehiiv: Beehiiv is better for newsletter-first growth, referrals, recommendations, and media monetisation. Mailchimp is better for broad marketing automation and ecommerce-adjacent campaigns.
• Mailchimp vs MailerLite: MailerLite is usually simpler and more budget-friendly for creators. Mailchimp has more enterprise familiarity and a bigger integration footprint.
• Mailchimp vs Substack: Substack is easier for writers who want to publish immediately. Mailchimp gives you more control, but you have to build the publishing and growth system yourself.

Final verdict

Mailchimp is still a serious, capable email marketing platform. It belongs in the directory because plenty of newsletter operators will compare against it, and many business owners already have it in their stack.

But for a newsletter-first creator, I would treat Mailchimp as the “marketing suite” option, not the default. If your priority is launching, growing, and monetising a standalone newsletter, start your comparison with Beehiiv first.

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