Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Mailchimp vs Zoho Marketing Automation

Mailchimp logo

Mailchimp

E-Commerce

Turn emails into revenue

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Marketing Automation logo

Zoho Marketing Automation

Marketing

Contact-count marketing automation priced well below the mainstream platforms, tightest with Zoho CRM

From
$19/month
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; Zoho Marketing Automation pricing is by contact count, so an inactive or unengaged list costs the same as an active one, and nobody in the business has an incentive to prune it until the next tier boundary arrives.
  • They diverge on capability: Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Zoho Marketing Automation covers Journey builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mailchimp and Zoho Marketing Automation actually diverge.

Attributes where Mailchimp and Zoho Marketing Automation differ
AttributeMailchimpZoho Marketing Automation
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by contact count
Free tierYesNo
CategoryE-CommerceMarketing
Founded2001Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Zoho Marketing Automation

  • Journey builder
  • Lead scoring
  • Unlimited email sends
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Web behaviour tracking
  • Social campaigns
  • SMS and WhatsApp
  • Lead attribution and X-RAY

What people use each for

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

Mailchimp

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

Zoho Marketing Automation

  • A B2B team already on Zoho CRM that wants scoring and nurture without paying for a separate platform and an integrationnot Mailchimp
  • A business emailing its list frequently, where unlimited sends beats a competitor metering both contacts and emailsnot Mailchimp
  • An Indian or emerging-market marketing team that would otherwise pay a US-dollar list price plus card forex feesnot Mailchimp
  • A small team upgrading from plain newsletter sending to behaviour-triggered journeys without a five-figure annual commitmentnot 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

Zoho Marketing Automation

  • Pricing is by contact count, so an inactive or unengaged list costs the same as an active one, and nobody in the business has an incentive to prune it until the next tier boundary arrives.
  • The Enterprise plan caps users at 25, which is a hard ceiling for larger marketing organisations rather than an upgrade path.
  • Its value depends heavily on running Zoho CRM; used alongside Salesforce or HubSpot the integration is shallower and much of the scoring and attribution advantage disappears.
  • Zoho sells Campaigns, Marketing Automation and MarketingPlus as separate products with overlapping function, and buyers regularly purchase the wrong one and then migrate lists between them.
  • Support and deliverability tooling are basic next to dedicated senders, so sender reputation problems on a large list get less expert help than a specialist provider would give.

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

Zoho Marketing Automation

$19/month
  • Standard$19/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Unlimited social campaigns and signup forms
  • Professional$29/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Contact scoring
    • Journey builder with reports
  • Enterprise$59/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Lead attribution and X-RAY journey tracing
    • Landing page personalisation

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 Zoho Marketing Automation if

  • You need journey builder.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want lead scoring.
Zoho Marketing Automation review

Questions people ask

Is Mailchimp or Zoho Marketing Automation better?
Neither clearly leads. Mailchimp starts at Free and Zoho Marketing Automation at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or Zoho Marketing Automation?
Mailchimp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mailchimp and $19/month for Zoho Marketing Automation.
Does Mailchimp or Zoho Marketing Automation run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Mailchimp for free?
Yes. Mailchimp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zoho Marketing Automation starts at $19/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 Zoho Marketing Automation is typically brought in for.
What can Mailchimp do that Zoho Marketing Automation cannot?
Mailchimp covers Email campaigns, Marketing automation, Landing pages, Forms & popups. Zoho Marketing Automation covers Journey builder, Lead scoring, Unlimited email sends, Landing pages and forms.

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
Zoho Marketing Automation: How does it differ from Zoho Campaigns?

Campaigns is email sending and newsletters. Marketing Automation adds journeys, lead scoring, web tracking and CRM writeback. Buying Campaigns and outgrowing it is the common mistake.

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
Zoho Marketing Automation: Are email sends limited?

No, sends are unlimited on all plans. Only contact count determines your tier, which is unusual at this price level.

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
Zoho Marketing Automation: Is there a user limit?

Yes, up to 25 users on Enterprise, with lower limits below that. It is not designed for large marketing departments.

Zoho Marketing Automation: Can I pay in local currency?

Yes, Zoho publishes real local pricing in several markets including India rather than converting the US dollar figure at checkout.

Share

Related pages

More on Mailchimp

More on Zoho Marketing Automation

Keep looking

Other head to heads