Softwr

E-commerce · head to head

Mailchimp vs Netlify

Mailchimp logo

Mailchimp

E-commerce

Turn emails into revenue

From
Free
Rated
-
Netlify logo

Netlify

Technology

The fastest way to build the fastest sites

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mailchimp the free plan allows 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a 250 daily cap; Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Netlify covers Continuous deployment.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mailchimp and Netlify actually diverge.

Attributes where Mailchimp and Netlify differ
AttributeMailchimpNetlify
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryE-commerceTechnology
Founded20012014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mailchimp

  • Email campaigns
  • Marketing automation
  • Landing pages
  • Forms & popups
  • Audience management
  • Content studio
  • Analytics
  • Social media

Only in Netlify

  • Continuous deployment
  • Instant rollbacks
  • Deploy previews
  • Split testing
  • Forms handling
  • Identity/Auth
  • Serverless functions
  • Edge handlers

Both cover

  • Shopify
  • WordPress

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mailchimp

  • Email newslettersnot Netlify
  • E-commerce marketingnot Netlify
  • Lead generationnot Netlify
  • Customer engagementnot Netlify
  • Marketing automationnot Netlify

Netlify

  • Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot Mailchimp
  • Deploy previews on every pull requestnot Mailchimp
  • Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot Mailchimp
  • Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot Mailchimp

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mailchimp

  • The free plan allows 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a 250 daily cap
  • Price is driven by contact count, so the list growing raises the bill regardless of how much you send
  • Send allowances are a multiple of contacts, 10x on Essentials and 12x on Standard, so a large list with heavy sending forces a tier change
  • Essentials allows 3 seats and Standard 5; unlimited seats need Premium at $350 a month
  • The headline $13 and $20 prices are for 500 contacts, not a flat rate

Netlify

  • The free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • Everything is metered in credits, so bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each consume the allowance in ways a bandwidth figure alone would not show
  • Compute is billed at 10 credits per GB-hour, so server-rendered work costs more than static hosting
  • Running past the allowance means buying credit packs, at $5 for 500 on Personal and $10 for 1,500 on Pro
  • AI inference is priced by model rather than at a flat credit rate

Pricing, plan by plan

Mailchimp

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 250 contacts
    • 500 sends per month
    • Basic email campaigns
  • Essentials$13/month
    • 500+ contacts
    • Email campaigns
    • Basic automation
  • Standard$20/month
    • Advanced automation
    • Segmentation
    • Landing pages

Netlify

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 100GB bandwidth
    • 300 build minutes
    • 1 concurrent build
  • Pro$19/month
    • 400GB bandwidth
    • 25,000 build minutes
    • 3 concurrent builds
  • Business$99/month
    • 600GB bandwidth
    • 35,000 build minutes
    • 5 concurrent builds
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom bandwidth
    • Custom build minutes
    • Unlimited concurrent builds

Which should you pick?

Choose Mailchimp if

  • You need email campaigns.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want marketing automation.

Choose Netlify if

  • You need continuous deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want instant rollbacks.

Questions people ask

Is Mailchimp or Netlify better?
Neither clearly leads. Mailchimp starts at Free and Netlify at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or Netlify?
Mailchimp starts at Free and Netlify at Free.
Does Mailchimp or Netlify run on more platforms?
Mailchimp runs on Web, iOS, Android. Netlify runs on Web.
Can I use Mailchimp for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Mailchimp best used for?
Mailchimp is most often used for email newsletters, e-commerce marketing, lead generation, customer engagement. Of those, email newsletters and e-commerce marketing are not what Netlify is typically brought in for.
What can Mailchimp do that Netlify cannot?
Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Marketing automation, Landing pages, Forms & popups. Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing. Both handle Shopify, WordPress.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mailchimp: Does Mailchimp offer a free plan?

Yes, Mailchimp's free plan supports up to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month with a 250-per-day cap.

Source
Mailchimp: What email features does Mailchimp include?

Mailchimp provides email campaign builder, automation sequences, segmentation, contact management, and A/B testing for email marketing.

Source
Mailchimp: Can Mailchimp integrate with e-commerce platforms?

Yes, Mailchimp integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and other e-commerce platforms for customer sync and abandoned cart automation.

Source

Related pages

Other head to heads