Email marketing
A Mailchimp alternative for a small shop
For a bookstore, a brewery, a farm, or an Etsy shop that hit Mailchimp's free-plan wall or the next contact tier. Lists, campaigns, a drag-and-drop editor, open and click tracking, and CSV import. Sently is free for 500 subscribers and 2,000 emails a month. Mailchimp Free is 250 contacts and 500 emails a month.
Mailchimp free plan limits
This is the wall a small list hits first. Checked on mailchimp.com/pricing on November 5, 2026. The price list's free tier is 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, 250 a day. The page also says the free plan is for under 250 contacts, and that sending pauses when you pass the limit.
| Plan | Contacts | Emails a month |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Free | 250 | 500, and 250 a day |
| Sently Free | 500 subscribers | 2,000 |
Sently Free has no time limit and does not ask for a card. Past Mailchimp Free, the next step is a paid plan.
What a shop actually sends
A new-arrivals note, a taproom list, a CSA update, a note to people who bought from the shop. Not a creator platform.
Lists and campaigns
Keep a list, tag subscribers, and send a campaign to the people you pick. Schedule it, or send it now.
Drag-and-drop editor
Build the email from blocks: headings, text, images, buttons, and video. Or edit the HTML. Send yourself a test first.
Opens and clicks
Every send records opens, clicks, and unsubscribes. Unsubscribe is one click, and a postal address goes on every email.
CSV import
Bring a list over as a CSV. Sently reads the email and, when the file has them, the first and last name. You confirm where it came from and that people opted in.
A draft for the shop email
Set a topic, such as new arrivals, this week's pours, or what is in the box. Sently drafts the edition and cites its sources. Nothing goes out until you approve it, unless you turn automatic sending on for that series.
Why is Mailchimp so expensive
You pay for a contact tier. Cross it and the whole plan steps up. Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts in that tier. Sently's cap counts every stored subscriber too, so that part is not a reason to switch. At 500, 2,500, and 10,000 contacts, Sently's published plan costs less than Essentials and Standard. That is not true at every size in between, and at 50,000 contacts Sently has no published price. Figures checked November 5, 2026.
Prices checked November 5, 2026. Mailchimp monthly list prices in USD, checked on mailchimp.com/pricing on November 5, 2026. Taxes, overages, and add-ons are not included. Mailchimp advertises 15% off the first 12 months for plans with 10,000 or more contacts. That discounted amount was not in the price list, so it is not applied here. Mailchimp pricing.
| Contacts | Sently | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard | Mailchimp Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | Free, $0. Up to 500 subscribers and 2,000 emails a month. | $13 a month, 5,000 sends. | $20 a month, 6,000 sends. | $350 a month, 150,000 sends, on the 10,000-contact tier. |
| 2,500 | Starter, $39 a month. Up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month. | $45 a month, 25,000 sends. | $60 a month, 30,000 sends. | $350 a month, 150,000 sends, on the 10,000-contact tier. |
| 10,000 | Growth, $95 a month. Up to 10,000 subscribers and 60,000 emails a month. | $110 a month, 100,000 sends. | $135 a month, 120,000 sends. | $350 a month, 150,000 sends. |
| 50,000 | Managed, custom quote. Scale is the largest published plan, $219 a month up to 25,000 subscribers. | $385 a month, 500,000 sends. | $450 a month, 600,000 sends. | $815 a month, 750,000 sends. |
Move a list across
- Export the audience from Mailchimp as a CSV.
- In Sently, import that file into a list. The importer reads the email column and, when the file has them, first and last name.
- Record where the list came from. An export from another email platform is one of the choices. Confirm that those people opted in.
- Tags in the file are not imported. Tag people in Sently after the import if you need them.
New accounts can send to 50 recipients per campaign until you ask for a review from the Account page. You can import a larger list, draft, and send tests before that review.
What Mailchimp still does
Mailchimp is the better fit if you need an integration directory, automation flows, SMS, or several people in one account. Sently has none of those. The comparison page lists each one the way Mailchimp's pricing page describes it, and it does not fill in a Mailchimp price we could not read.
Questions
Is there a cheaper alternative to Mailchimp?
For a bookstore, brewery, farm, or small shop, Sently is a Mailchimp alternative at the sizes where Mailchimp's free plan has already stopped. Prices are monthly list prices from mailchimp.com/pricing on November 5, 2026. At 500 contacts, Sently is free. Mailchimp Free stops at 250 contacts, so 500 is Essentials at $13 a month or Standard at $20. Premium's smallest published tier is 10,000 contacts, so a list of 500 is that tier: $350 a month, 150,000 sends, on the 10,000-contact tier. At 2,500 contacts, Sently Starter, $39 a month. Up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month. Essentials is $45 and Standard is $60. At 10,000 contacts, Sently Growth, $95 a month. Up to 10,000 subscribers and 60,000 emails a month. Essentials is $110, Standard is $135, and Premium is $350. At 50,000 contacts, Sently Managed, custom quote. Scale is the largest published plan, $219 a month up to 25,000 subscribers. Essentials is $385, Standard is $450, and Premium is $815. Sently is not always the lower list price. At 1,500 contacts, Essentials is $26.50 a month and Sently Starter is $39. The Sently vs Mailchimp page has the full table, and the Mailchimp pricing calculator prices any list size in between. Mailchimp also advertises 15% off the first 12 months at 10,000 or more contacts. That discounted amount was not in the price list, so it is not applied here.
Why is Mailchimp so expensive?
The bill jumps by contact tier, not by one extra person. On Essentials, 500 contacts is $13 a month. One contact past that tier is $26.50 a month on the 1,500-contact tier. Unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts still count toward that tier. A one-person shop is also paying for automation flows, an integration directory, and extra seats it may never open. Sently's paid plans are one price up to a subscriber cap, and they do not include those extras.
What are the Mailchimp free plan limits?
Checked on mailchimp.com/pricing on November 5, 2026. Mailchimp Free is 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, with a daily cap of 250. The page also says the free plan is for under 250 contacts, and that sending pauses if you pass the contact or send limit. Sently Free is 500 subscribers and 2,000 emails a month, with no credit card and no time limit. That includes lists, campaigns, the drag-and-drop editor, scheduling, open and click tracking, and CSV import.
Can I move a Mailchimp list to Sently?
Export the audience as a CSV, then import it into a Sently list. The importer reads the email column and, when the file has them, first and last name. You record where the list came from (an export from another email platform is one of the choices) and confirm that those people opted in. Tags in the file are not imported. You can tag people in Sently after the import. New accounts can send to 50 recipients per campaign until you ask for a review from the Account page. Importing a larger list, drafting, and test sends are available before that review.
Can it draft the shop email?
Yes, if you want that. Set a topic, such as new arrivals, this week's pours, or what is in the box, plus optional notes on tone and a schedule. Sently drafts the edition and cites the sources it used. The draft waits until you approve it, unless you turn automatic sending on for that series. Lists, campaigns, and tracking work without it. The draft is included on every plan, including Free.
What does Mailchimp have that Sently does not?
Mailchimp's pricing page lists 300+ integrations on every plan, including Free. Marketing automation flows are not on Free, go up to 4 steps on Essentials, and go up to 200 flows on Standard and Premium. SMS is a paid add-on on Essentials, and SMS and MMS are a paid add-on on Standard and Premium. Mailchimp includes 1 seat on Free, 3 seats on Essentials, 5 seats on Standard, and unlimited seats on Premium. Sently is one login, with no integration directory, no automation flows, and no SMS.
Does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?
Mailchimp's plan guide defines a contact as a member of your audience. Subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts all count. Archived, cleaned, and deleted contacts do not. Someone in two audiences counts twice. Sently's subscriber cap also counts every person stored on your lists, including unsubscribed, bounced, and complained addresses. Deleting a subscriber frees the slot. Tags do not count a person twice. This is not a difference in your favor.
Start with 500 subscribers, free.
No credit card. Upgrade when the list outgrows it.