ertKit and Mailchimp: A comparison [2024]

ConvertKit and Mailchimp is a popular email marketing battle.

It’s hard to choose between the two services unless you look at specifics.

This detailed comparison will help you to make an informed choice about the email service that is best for your business.

ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: Feature Comparison

Here is a quick feature comparison between the two services.

Ease Of Use

We had to test the ease of use of both email marketing platforms.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit’s simple and clean user interface allows users to navigate with ease. Even beginners will be able to navigate the platform with ease. ConvertKit’s email marketing platform is different from other platforms in that it calls its email campaigns “broadcasts.”

ConvertKit will ask you for information about your website, current systems and goals. You can then import your contacts to create your email campaigns. Before you can start working on the campaign, you’ll need to specify your subscriber details and sender details.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp’s platform is easy to set up with only a few mouse clicks. You’ll be up and running in just a few minutes.

In terms of usability, we found it easy to navigate through the categories and locate what you are looking for. Recent UI updates brought a new “Create’ button to the top left corner, which allows users to create email campaigns, landing pages and automations with just a click.

Mailchimp is a service with a lot of features. Its organization appears to be adequate.

Winner It was a tough decision because both email marketing platforms offered great navigation and ease of use. However, ConvertKit makes it easy to navigate with its organization.

Email Builder

Drag-and-drop editors are available in the best email campaign software. This allows even absolute beginners to create campaigns with ease. Compare our two competitors.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit’s email designer is simple and easy to use. However, it’s not a drag-and drop editor. It looks similar to a text editor. You can add bulleted/numbered list, blocks for quotes or product recommendations and use advanced elements such as timers.

can’t rearrange the content of your email after you have placed it. It was also difficult to create columns, and if you accidentally remove a design, it is not possible to restore it. It’s a little frustrating.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp’s email editor was designed for beginners, and provides a simple and intuitive interface. Users can now choose from two builders, based on preferences. Clicking on each block of content allows for easy and quick edits.

Users can insert their own HTML code to create unique designs. The platform includes advanced features such as product blocks, surveys and more. Users can fix errors by using the “Optimize’ option in the left-side menu.

Mailchimp has many features. However, it can be difficult to find some of them, which makes navigation more difficult for beginners.

Winner: Mailchimp! Mailchimp has a drag-and drop feature and is more flexible than its rival.

Templates

Email templates are a crucial part of any email marketing strategy. They save time and are a good starting point for new users.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit provides with two options for email marketing templates: the “starting point” templates and the classic templates. 15 visually pleasing starting points are provided. They follow a simple format and can be fully customized. These templates let you save your customized designs and default contents for future campaigns.

There are also 8 templates that can be used for classic designs. They have less customization options, such as fonts, images, colors and other elements.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp has a completely different approach to email template design than ConvertKit. The 100 templates are a great way to get started with your email marketing strategy. The templates are responsive and easy to customize, so you can tailor them to suit your needs. The templates have been categorized to make it easier for users find their desired design. Users on the free plan have only 8 basic templates.

You will have more options if you use a different builder. Some users have complained that the old templates are not responsive, which isn’t ideal. The existing templates are still aesthetically pleasing, and they can be used to create visually stunning email newsletters.

WinnerMailchimp also wins this category. It has a wide range of design options and the pre-made templates are hard to ignore.

Automation

The Battle of Automation! Let’s compare the strengths of each service.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit has some impressive automation features. The email marketing service offers 28 automation templates that cover a variety of purposes. These templates will be invaluable to creators.

ConvertKit’s visual automation builder is a powerful tool for creating custom automation paths. Users can create sophisticated path based on events, user actions and conditions. Advanced users will enjoy the fact that automations can have as many as five entry points.

ConvertKit has a great automation feature called “Rules”. You can further optimize your sequences using an if/then logic. This functionality is designed to make it easier for beginners to apply advanced automation than other platforms.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp’s automation builder has the same power. It comes with 102 Journeysfor re-engaging old contacts, welcoming new ones, nurturing leads and sending transactional emails campaigns. ‘s visual workflow editor allows you to easily create complex or simple email sequences.

Users of the free plan do not have access to marketing automaton. For multi-step journeys, you will need to upgrade to the Standard plan. This starts at $20/month. Mailchimp can be used to create welcome emails, nurture leads, automate eCommerce businesses, such as abandoned carts, or recommend products.

WinnerConvertKit wins this award because its automation features are both powerful and easy to implement. Beginners will feel more “comfortable” handling ConvertKit’s editor than Mailchimp’s.

List Management

Now let’s take a look at the list management and segmentation options of each tool.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit has a unique system when it comes to contact management. As you can see in the image above, you have tags and segments. With tags, you can organize your subscribers based on their behavior, such as purchasing a product, clicking on a link in your email campaigns, etc.

Segments allow you to form smaller parts of your list using more than one tags.

ConvertKit’s system is very simple, but the only downside is that it doesn’t work in the traditional way of building different email lists.

Mailchimp:

List management is siloed in Mailchimp. What this means is that each audience (list) is treated as an independent entity so if you have the same subscriber on two different lists, it counts as two contacts. Essentially, you double-pay for the same contact.

Apart from that, you have audiences (lists), groups, segments and tags to manage your audience and organize them. Overall, the contract management options that Mailchimp offers are more than ConvertKit. Also, Mailchimp will be more effective if you manage email addresses for different purposes or projects in the same system.

Winner: While it depends on your preferences and the project you’re managing, we believe ConvertKit’s flexible tagging system is both effective and straightforward. That being said, if you wish to perform complex segmentation and personalization, then Mailchimp could provide more value (providing you’re familiar with the software).

Reporting & Analytics

Through reporting and analytics, users can measure the performance of their campaigns and optimize them accordingly. An in-depth analytics dashboard can prove hugely beneficial for business owners.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit’s platform provides simple analytics like open rate, click rate, unsubscribes and clicks. You won’t find advanced options such as heatmaps or subscriber engagement insights. This could put ConvertKit at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, ConvertKit’s Creator Pro plan provides users with trends in user engagement, clicks, email deliverability, and purchases.

Another thing to note is that you don’t have a dedicated reporting dashboard. You need to click on each individual campaign (broadcast) to view its performance.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp’s reporting and analytics are considerably more advanced. It goes without saying that it tracks basic email marketing metrics. In addition to this, Mailchimp’s platform can track social media stats, opens by location, performance by domain, eCommerce sales and show click maps.

There is also native integration with Google Analytics, helping you track your conversions. Finally, you get useful data regarding the bounce rates as well as the complaints received.

Winner: Mailchimp! The endless analytics options will help businesses optimize their processes and make data-driven decisions about their email marketing strategy.

Forms & Landing Pages

Now it’s time to look at the lead generation tools offered by each email marketing tool in this comparison.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit offers 53 beautiful landing page templates. While customization options are limited, these templates are stunning and eye-catching. The landing page builder itself is as simple as it gets, allowing you to do basic stuff like replace text and images, add a countdown timer, or insert Instagram Feeds. These landing pages can be ConvertKit-hosted or on your own domain.

Regarding the forms, you get 9 templates that can be customized to your liking. The formats you can create include inline, modal, slide-in, and sticky bars. We liked that form settings are well-organized helping users reach completion very quickly.

Mailchimp:

On the other hand, Mailchimp’s landing page builder offers drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy to design an attractive landing page. However, the builder may feel sluggish, and users with more experience might find the overall experience less than impressive.

Mailchimp’s form builder is straightforward. With it, you can create embedded forms, popups, and signup landing pages. You can also integrate with services like WordPress and MailOptin. Finally, we found that not all templates are responsive.

Winner: It’s a tie! Both services offer decent lead generation tools with similar capabilities. If you want more advanced functionality, you’ll need to look at dedicated form and landing oage builder solutions.

ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: Email Deliverability

Email deliverability is responsible for getting your email delivered to subscribers’ inboxes. So, which of the two email marketing solutions does a better job?

To find the answer to this question, we had to find a trustworthy deliverability test such as the one below by Emailtooltester:

Source

Winner: Maichimp! As you can see, Mailchimp belongs to the top email marketing tools achieving excellent email deliverability rates. On the contrary, ConvertKit has acceptable deliverability.

ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: Integrations

Integrating your email marketing solution with other marketing software and apps can truly elevate your digital marketing game. As a result, the more integrations your email marketing platform offers the better it is for you.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit has a wide range of integrations available including eCommerce apps, CRM, membership software, and webinar services. Specifically, there are 123 direct integrations, while ConvertKit also integrates with Zapier for more.

We should note that ConvertKit’s API is more developer-friendly, but this won’t be an issue for most businesses.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp has 330 integrations in its Integrations Directory. You can connect with CRM tools, eCommerce, social media, analytics, and many more.

Winner: Based purely on the number of integrations, Mailchimp takes this win. You’ll easily connect with all your favorite services.

ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: Support

Nobody wants to wait hours when problems arise. So, let’s see how these two contestants can support you in case of emergency.

Both providers offer similar support channels (email, live chat, knowledge base, tutorials). Access to these channels depends on the plan you’re on.

ConvertKit:

The customer support team of ConvertKit is fast and knowledgeable. You can contact support via live chat support or email. Free plan users get only community support. The platform has an impressive knowledge base that can provide solutions to most problems. Finally, there is a Creator community where other creators can help you deal with your pain points.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp offers an extensive knowledge base and in-depth tutorials. What’s more, paid plan users enjoy 24/7 live chat support. Premium plan users also have phone and priority support.

Lastly, free plan users receive email support for 30 days.

Winner: ConvertKit wins this one due the responsiveness of their customer support team and their ability to resolve all our queries effectively.

ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: Pricing

Now let’s compare the pricing models of these email marketing services.

ConvertKit:

ConvertKit’s pricing structure is subscriber-based. The more contacts you have the more you pay. The platform has 3 different plans, including a generous free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers with unlimited emails, forms and landing pages.

The first paid plan, the Creator, starts at $15/month giving you ample functionality to start your email marketing journey and boost your efforts. The only downside is its expensive price tag, since it allows you to have only 300 contacts. For the Creator Pro plan, you’ll need to pay $29/month, giving you access to important features like subscriber scoring and unlimited team members.

Mailchimp:

Mailchimp’s pricing consists of the following plans: Free, Essentials, Standard, and Premium. Similar to ConvertKit, the pricing model is contact-based. With Mailchimp, however, users pay for unsubscribed contacts and people who haven’t confirmed opt-in. This is a big difference with ConvertKit.

Regarding Mailchimp’s free plan, it’s become increasingly restricted over the years. It now allows 500 subscribers and up to 1,000 monthly email sends. The Essentials plan will be a great fit for small businesses that don’t have many requirements, while the most popular plan is the Standard. This is because it offers a great set of features despite the relatively high price tag.

Finally, we should mention that Mailchimp imposes overage fees if you exceed your contact or email send limits (ConvertKit offers unlimited monthly emails).

Winner: ConvertKit. Neither of the two services is on the affordable side, so pricing-wise they don’t have many differences. However, ConvertKit’s free plan is ideal to start with as well as grow your business. Moreover, the unlimited monthly emails provide great flexibility regarding the planning of your email strategy.

Top ConvertKit And Mailchimp Alternatives

In this section, we’ll take a look at the top-performing alternative services. We selected them based on the criteria of user-friendliness, affordability, and scalability.

1. Moosend

Pricing: Paid plans start at $9/month, 30-day free trial (Sign up here)

Best Feature: Easy-to-implement marketing automation

Moosend is a powerful yet affordable email marketing solution with a modern drag-and-drop editor and advanced features like product recommendations, countdown timers, and gamification forms. Starting as low as $9/month, you get the platform’s full functionality along with landing pages, popup forms and transactional emails. The service is ideal for eCommerce businesses, startups and bloggers. Finally, Moosend stands out because of its easy-to-implement automation enabling even beginner users to set up robust automated email sequences for their business.

2. GetResponse

Pricing: Paid plans start at $19/month, limited free plan

Best Feature: A/B testing options

GetResponse is a strong alternative solution offering an easy-to-use email builder and many advanced customization options. What sets this particular email marketing service apart is its A/B testing options, allowing you to have up to 5 variations. You can experiment with subject lines and email content to optimize your strategy. While the service is at a similar price tag to the two compared services, it offers a great landing page builder as well as conversion funnels. On top of these, the service comes with various eCommerce integrations to help you grow and scale your online business.

3. AWeber

Pricing: Paid plans start at $15/month, free plan

Best Feature: Sales tracking

AWeber is another email marketing solution worth checking out. The platform offers email tools, autoresponders, landing pages as well as web push notifications. AWeber has a great customer support team (according to the users themselves) that’s available 24/7 even on the cheapest plan. Furthermore, for eCommerce stores, this software provides sales tracking and purchase tagging, while you can easily integrate with Shopify, WooCommerce and other popular platforms.

ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: Final Thoughts

With this detailed comparison of ConvertKit vs Mailchimp, we hope that you’ll be able to select the service that best suits your needs.

In case you feel that neither of these two services is a perfect match for your business or you want to check out a more affordable alternative, you can create a Moosend account and test the platform’s full functionality!

The post ConvertKit vs Mailchimp: The Ultimate Comparison [2024] appeared first on Email Marketing Automation Platform for Thriving Businesses.

Author: John Desyllas