Mailchimp alternatives: beehiiv, Kit and Systeme.io, priced
beehiiv, Kit and Systeme.io against Mailchimp, from each vendor's pricing page: free plan ceilings and monthly prices from 1,000 to 25,000 contacts. Read September 22 and 23, 2026.
The short answer
We priced three Mailchimp alternatives: beehiiv, Kit and Systeme.io. Mailchimp's free plan covers fewer than 250 contacts. The alternatives' free plans go further: 2,000 contacts on Systeme.io, 2,500 subscribers on beehiiv and 10,000 subscribers on Kit, each with features held back for paid plans.
On paid plans billed monthly, Mailchimp Essentials costs the least of the newsletter tools up to 5,000 contacts, and beehiiv Scale costs the least of them at 10,000 and 25,000. Systeme.io, which bundles email with sales funnels and courses, costs less than all of them at every size we priced, because its plans follow contact caps: $17 a month up to 5,000 contacts and $97 for unlimited contacts.
Mailchimp and Systeme.io prices were read in a browser on September 23, 2026, and beehiiv and Kit prices on September 22 and 23, 2026, all in US dollars. StackOnSale has not tested these products.
Free plan ceilings
Each free plan stops at a different list size and holds back different features.
Free plans| Tool | Free up to | Held back for paid plans |
|---|
| Mailchimp | Fewer than 250 contacts | Sending is paused if you exceed the contact or send limit |
|---|
| Systeme.io | 2,000 contacts | More than 1 course, 3 sales funnels or 500 students |
|---|
| beehiiv | 2,500 subscribers | Paid subscriptions, automations and A/B testing |
|---|
| Kit | 10,000 subscribers | Visual automation builder and automated sequences |
|---|
From each vendor's pricing page. Mailchimp and Systeme.io read September 23, 2026; beehiiv and Kit read September 22 and 23, 2026.
Monthly prices by list size
The table uses each vendor's monthly price for its entry paid plan: Mailchimp Essentials, beehiiv Scale, Kit Creator, and the Systeme.io plan whose contact cap covers the list.
Price per month, billed monthly| List size | Mailchimp Essentials | beehiiv Scale | Kit Creator | Systeme.io |
|---|
| 1,000 | $29 | $49 | $39 | $0, Free up to 2,000 contacts |
|---|
| 2,500 | $49 | $69 | $59, Kit tier up to 3,000 | $17, Startup up to 5,000 contacts |
|---|
| 5,000 | $83 | $89 | $89 | $17, Startup |
|---|
| 10,000 | $110 | $109 | $139 | $47, Webinar up to 10,000 contacts |
|---|
| 25,000 | $270 | $169 | $199 | $97, Unlimited |
|---|
Mailchimp: contact ranges 501 to 1,500, 1,501 to 2,500, 2,501 to 5,000, 5,001 to 10,000 and 20,001 to 25,000, in US dollars, read September 23, 2026. beehiiv and Kit: subscriber sliders, read September 22 and 23, 2026. Systeme.io: plan contact caps, read September 23, 2026.
What changes the bill besides list size
Mailchimp caps monthly email sends on each plan: at 1,500 contacts, 15,000 on Essentials and 18,000 on Standard. beehiiv lists unlimited email sends on Launch and Scale, and Systeme.io lists unlimited email sends on every plan.
Fees on paid subscriptions and sales also differ. beehiiv takes 0% and lists Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30. Kit charges 3.5% + 30c per sale, card processing included. Systeme.io lists 0% transaction fees.
What we could not verify
Mailchimp's overage rate and its free plan send limit. beehiiv and Kit prices between the tiers we read, and Kit's price at exactly 2,500 subscribers: its slider shows a tier up to 3,000. Whether any annual price holds at renewal.
StackOnSale earns a commission if you buy beehiiv or Systeme.io through our links. Our Kit and Mailchimp links pay us nothing.
Questions
What is the cheapest Mailchimp alternative?
Systeme.io, at every list size we priced: $0 up to 2,000 contacts, $17 a month up to 5,000 and $97 for unlimited contacts. It bundles email with sales funnels and courses. Read September 23, 2026.
Which alternative has the biggest free plan?
Kit, up to 10,000 subscribers, without its visual automation builder. beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers and Systeme.io up to 2,000 contacts. Mailchimp is free under 250 contacts.
Is beehiiv cheaper than Mailchimp?
Not up to 5,000 contacts: billed monthly, Mailchimp Essentials is $83 at 5,000 against $89 for beehiiv Scale. At 25,000, beehiiv Scale is $169 against $270.
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