Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Mailchimp vs Ortto

Mailchimp logo

Mailchimp

E-Commerce

Turn emails into revenue

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ortto logo

Ortto

Email Marketing

Australian marketing automation with a customer data platform and analytics included rather than sold separately

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mailchimp has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Mailchimp the free plan allows 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a 250 daily cap; Ortto contact-based pricing counts everyone stored, including unsubscribed and long-inactive records, so the bill rises with list decay unless someone owns a pruning routine.
  • They diverge on capability: Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Ortto covers Customer data platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mailchimp and Ortto actually diverge.

Attributes where Mailchimp and Ortto differ
AttributeMailchimpOrtto
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, REST API
CategoryE-CommerceEmail Marketing
Founded2001Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Ortto

  • Customer data platform
  • Journeys
  • Talk
  • Dashboards and reports
  • Playbooks
  • Capture

What people use each for

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

Mailchimp

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

Ortto

  • A SaaS company that wants trial and onboarding lifecycle plus product analytics without buying two toolsnot Mailchimp
  • A small team replacing a stack of email tool, chat widget and dashboard product with one subscriptionnot Mailchimp
  • Reporting on revenue by campaign and cohort without exporting events to a warehouse firstnot Mailchimp
  • Teams already on Autopilot that need a supported migration path rather than a replatform to a US vendornot 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

Ortto

  • Contact-based pricing counts everyone stored, including unsubscribed and long-inactive records, so the bill rises with list decay unless someone owns a pruning routine.
  • Each bundled component is shallower than the specialist it replaces, and the email template editor in particular is behind the ecommerce-focused competitors.
  • Deliverability guidance and reputation tooling are thinner than at dedicated email providers, which matters most in the first months of a sending domain.
  • The partner and agency ecosystem outside Australia and New Zealand is small, so hiring contractors with real Ortto experience is harder than for the larger platforms.
  • Support hours follow Australian business time, so European and American teams often wait a working day for a substantive answer on complex issues.

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

Ortto

On request
  • Ortto$undefined/month
    • Priced by number of contacts held, with separate email and SMS send allowances
    • Talk live chat and additional seats charged separately
    • Monthly and annual terms available

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.
Mailchimp review

Choose Ortto if

  • You need customer data platform.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want journeys.
Ortto review

Questions people ask

Is Mailchimp or Ortto better?
Neither clearly leads. Mailchimp starts at Free and Ortto at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or Ortto?
Mailchimp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mailchimp and On request for Ortto.
Does Mailchimp or Ortto run on more platforms?
Mailchimp runs on Web, iOS, Android. Ortto runs on Web, REST API.
Can I use Mailchimp for free?
Yes. Mailchimp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ortto starts at On request.
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 Ortto is typically brought in for.
What can Mailchimp do that Ortto cannot?
Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Marketing automation, Landing pages, Forms & popups. Ortto covers Customer data platform, Journeys, Talk, Dashboards and reports.

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
Ortto: Is Ortto the same product as Autopilot?

It is the successor from the same company, rebranded in 2022 and substantially rebuilt. Older Autopilot tutorials no longer match the interface.

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
Ortto: Do inactive contacts cost money?

Yes. Pricing counts contacts stored, so unsubscribed and dormant records consume allowance until they are deleted.

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
Ortto: Can it replace a BI tool?

For campaign, funnel and cohort reporting on its own event data, usually yes. For joins against finance or support data it cannot.

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