Is Mailchimp or SamCart better?

Neither clearly leads. Mailchimp starts at Free and SamCart at $79/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or SamCart?

Mailchimp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mailchimp and $79/month for SamCart.

Does Mailchimp or SamCart run on more platforms?

Mailchimp runs on Web, iOS, Android. SamCart runs on Web.

Can I use Mailchimp for free?

Yes. Mailchimp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SamCart starts at $79/month.

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 SamCart is typically brought in for.

What can Mailchimp do that SamCart cannot?

Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Marketing automation, Landing pages, Forms & popups.

E-Commerce · head to head

Mailchimp vs SamCart

Mailchimp

E-Commerce

Turn emails into revenue

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

SamCart

E-Commerce

The number one checkout platform

From: $79/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; SamCart no feature differentiation between CORE and PRO tiers, pricing tier based on expected transaction volume only
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mailchimp and SamCart actually diverge.

Attributes where Mailchimp and SamCart differ
Attribute	Mailchimp	SamCart
Starting price	Free	$79/month
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Founded	2001	Unknown

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 SamCart

Nothing recorded that Mailchimp does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Mailchimp

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

SamCart

Increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsellsnot Mailchimp
Recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning managementnot Mailchimp
Generating sales pages, emails, and ads with AI from product descriptionsnot Mailchimp
Sending cart abandonment recovery emails without customer re-entrynot Mailchimp
Migrating existing customer bases from competing platforms without data lossnot 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

SamCart

No feature differentiation between CORE and PRO tiers, pricing tier based on expected transaction volume only
Transaction fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 apply to all plans

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

SamCart

$79/month

CORE$79/month
- All features included
PRO$199/month
- All features included

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 SamCart if

Nothing in the data separates SamCart from Mailchimp on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

SamCart review

Questions people ask

Is Mailchimp or SamCart better?: Neither clearly leads. Mailchimp starts at Free and SamCart at $79/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or SamCart?: Mailchimp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mailchimp and $79/month for SamCart.
Does Mailchimp or SamCart run on more platforms?: Mailchimp runs on Web, iOS, Android. SamCart runs on Web.
Can I use Mailchimp for free?: Yes. Mailchimp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SamCart starts at $79/month.
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 SamCart is typically brought in for.
What can Mailchimp do that SamCart cannot?: Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Marketing automation, Landing pages, Forms & popups.

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

SamCart: How much does SamCart cost?

SamCart offers two subscription tiers: CORE at $79/month and PRO at $199/month. Both plans include all features with no restrictions between tiers.

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

SamCart: What are SamCart's transaction fees?

SamCart charges a transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction on all payments processed through the platform.

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

SamCart: Does SamCart offer a free trial?

Yes, SamCart offers a 7-day free trial available for both the CORE and PRO plans, allowing customers to test the platform before committing to a subscription.

Source

SamCart: Does SamCart offer migration services from other platforms?

Yes, SamCart offers done-for-you migration services for customers switching from Kajabi, ThriveCart, ClickFunnels, Shopify, and Teachable. Specific pricing for migration services is not listed on the main page.

Source

Mailchimp vs SamCart

Mailchimp

SamCart

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Mailchimp

Only in SamCart

What people use each for

Mailchimp

SamCart

Where each one falls short

Mailchimp

SamCart

Pricing, plan by plan

Mailchimp

SamCart

Which should you pick?

Choose Mailchimp if

Choose SamCart if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Mailchimp

More on SamCart

Keep looking

Other head to heads