Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Mailchimp vs Razorpay

Mailchimp logo

Mailchimp

E-Commerce

Turn emails into revenue

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Razorpay logo

Razorpay

E-Commerce

Indian payment gateway for domestic and international card, UPI and wallet acceptance

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; Razorpay it requires an Indian legal entity and settles only to Indian bank accounts, so it is not an option for a business incorporated elsewhere no matter how many Indian customers it has.
  • They diverge on capability: Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Razorpay covers Domestic payment methods.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mailchimp and Razorpay actually diverge.

Attributes where Mailchimp and Razorpay differ
AttributeMailchimpRazorpay
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknowntransaction
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
Founded2001Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

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 Razorpay

  • Domestic payment methods
  • International cards
  • Payment links and pages
  • Route
  • RazorpayX
  • Subscriptions
  • Smart Collect
  • Dashboard and reporting

What people use each for

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

Mailchimp

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

Razorpay

  • An Indian D2C brand needing UPI acceptance alongside cards in a single checkoutnot Mailchimp
  • An Indian SaaS business billing domestic customers on recurring mandatesnot Mailchimp
  • A marketplace that must split each payment between the platform and its sellersnot Mailchimp
  • A business that needs to take payment without building a website, using links and pagesnot 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

Razorpay

  • It requires an Indian legal entity and settles only to Indian bank accounts, so it is not an option for a business incorporated elsewhere no matter how many Indian customers it has.
  • The transaction percentage applies to the full order value including shipping and tax rather than to the product price, so low margin categories with heavy shipping give up more of their margin than the quoted rate suggests.
  • Payment aggregator authorisation sits with the Reserve Bank of India and has been withheld from aggregators before while applications were reviewed, so a dependency exists that no commercial contract term protects you from.
  • Default settlement runs on a delayed cycle with faster settlement sold as a paid add-on, so a business that buys stock from its takings either waits for cash or pays extra for it, and that cost belongs in the effective rate.
  • International card acceptance is priced higher and requires separate approval rather than being a configuration change, so cross-border revenue takes longer to switch on and earns less per order than a domestic sale.

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

Razorpay

On request
  • Domestic Payments$undefined/mo
    • 2% platform fee per successful transaction across all payment instruments
    • GST: 18% applies on the platform fee
    • No setup fees, annual maintenance charges, or refund fees
  • Corporate Cards$undefined/mo
    • 2.15% platform fee per transaction
  • International Payments - Cards$undefined/mo
    • Up to 3% per successful transaction
  • International Payments - Bank Transfers$undefined/mo
    • 1% per transaction with zero forex markup

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 Razorpay if

  • You need domestic payment methods.
  • You also want international cards.
Razorpay review

Questions people ask

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

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
Razorpay: Can I use Razorpay if my company is not in India?

No. It requires an Indian entity and an Indian bank account for settlement. Overseas businesses selling into India need a different arrangement.

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
Razorpay: What is the real effective rate?

The domestic percentage on the full order value including shipping and tax, plus higher international rates, plus any charge for faster settlement and dispute handling. Compute it from a month of settlement reports, not the pricing page.

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
Razorpay: How quickly do I get paid?

On a delayed settlement cycle by default, with faster settlement available as a paid feature. Plan working capital around the default, not the add-on.

Razorpay: What is the main structural risk?

Regulatory. Indian payment aggregators operate under RBI authorisation and have previously been barred from onboarding new merchants. Keep a second processor integrated if payments are business-critical.

Razorpay: Does it support recurring billing?

Yes, built on India's mandate and e-mandate framework, which has its own rules on authentication and notification that differ from card-on-file recurring elsewhere.

Share

Related pages

More on Mailchimp

More on Razorpay

Keep looking

Other head to heads