Free Kit vs Mailchimp Cost Calculator

Last updated: November 2, 2026

Quick answer: Kit and Mailchimp look like an $89-against-$75 comparison — until the bands change the answer: both vendors price by contact bands, not per contact, so the same list can cost $39 or $199 on Kit and $13 or $310 on Mailchimp depending on which band it lands in. A 5,000-contact list pays $89 a month on Kit Creator against $75 on Mailchimp Essentials — but at 25,000 contacts Kit costs $199 against Mailchimp Standard's $310, and the winner flips. This free Kit vs Mailchimp cost calculator (Kit was formerly ConvertKit) prices both on your contacts and your plans over year 1 and 3 years. On the defaults (5,000 contacts, Creator vs Essentials), Kit costs $89 a month, $1,068 in year 1 while Mailchimp costs $75 a month, $900 in year 1 — a $14 monthly gap, $168 a year, $504 over 3 flat years. Everything runs in your browser; your list size stays private.

Contacts / subscribers

Kit plan (formerly ConvertKit)

Mailchimp plan

Annual growth (%)

Setup / migration, one-time ($)

Monthly list prices, November 2026: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) Free $0 for up to 10,000 subscribers with limited automations; Creator $39 at up to 1,000 contacts, $59 at up to 3,000, $89 at up to 5,000, $139 at up to 10,000, $199 at up to 25,000 (annual equivalents $33 at 1,000, $75 at 5,000, $116 at 10,000, $166 at 25,000, noted only — the math uses monthly rates). Kit Creator Pro exists from $79 a month at 1,000 subscribers but is NOT modelled here because no verified band table was available; if you need Pro, compare its quoted price against the Creator band shown. Mailchimp Free $0 for up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month; Essentials $13 at up to 500, $26.50 at up to 1,500, $45 at up to 2,500, $75 at up to 5,000, $110 at up to 10,000, $270 at up to 25,000; Standard $20 at up to 500, $45 at up to 1,500, $60 at up to 2,500, $100 at up to 5,000, $135 at up to 10,000, $310 at up to 25,000; Premium $350 flat on a 10,000-contact base — larger Premium lists are sales-quoted, so above 10,000 the Premium figure shown is the base, not a quote. Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts unless you archive them, so archive before you count. Worked checks: defaults (5,000 contacts, Creator vs Essentials) — Kit $89 a month, $1,068 year 1; Mailchimp $75 a month, $900 year 1. 1,000 contacts, Creator vs Essentials — $39 vs $26.50. 25,000 contacts, Creator vs Standard — $199 vs $310: Kit wins, the flip. Free-cap (500 contacts, Free vs Free) — $0 vs $0 with a Mailchimp warning: Free fits 250 contacts, so the fitting path is Essentials at $13 a month. 250 contacts, Free vs Free — $0 vs $0, no warning. Verify at checkout before signing.

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See the full breakdown

Your result shows the monthly gap and the 3-year totals — the guide explains the contact bands, the archive-before-you-count rule, and the 25,000-contact flip.

Kit vs Mailchimp Pricing: Contact Bands Change the Winner (2026) →

How to Use the Kit vs Mailchimp Cost Calculator

Enter your contacts / subscribers — the count each vendor will bill. For Mailchimp, count unsubscribed contacts too unless you archive them; for Kit, count subscribers on the list. One contact over a band edge moves the whole bill to the next band.
Pick your Kit plan — Free ($0, up to 10,000 subscribers, limited automations) or Creator (banded $39–$199). Creator Pro is not modelled: it starts at $79 a month at 1,000 subscribers, but without a verified band table this calculator refuses to guess its higher bands.
Pick your Mailchimp plan — Free ($0, 250 contacts), Essentials (banded $13–$270), Standard (banded $20–$310) or Premium ($350 flat on a 10,000-contact base). Essentials vs Standard is the everyday comparison; Premium is the flat-rate comparison for larger lists.
Enter annual growth and setup / migration if they apply. Growth scales contacts every year (and re-bands both vendors each year); setup lands in year 1 only.
Press Compare total cost. Read the band line before the totals: if your list sits one contact over a band edge, the honest price is the next band up — and archiving dead contacts can drop you a band.

Why Use Our Kit vs Mailchimp Cost Calculator?

Bands, not per-contact rates — neither vendor charges per contact, so a per-contact comparison is meaningless: Kit Creator jumps $39 → $59 → $89 → $139 → $199 across its bands, and Mailchimp Essentials jumps $13 → $26.50 → $45 → $75 → $110 → $270. A list of 5,001 contacts costs the same as 10,000 on Kit ($139) — the band edge, not the headcount, sets the bill.
The winner flips at 25,000 contacts — at 5,000 contacts Mailchimp Essentials ($75) beats Kit Creator ($89) by $14 a month, but at 25,000 contacts Kit Creator ($199) beats Mailchimp Standard ($310) by $111 a month. Any article that names one vendor 'cheaper' without naming a list size is comparing one band, not the vendors.
Free tiers have opposite shapes — Kit Free covers up to 10,000 subscribers (with limited automations), so a 5,000-subscriber creator pays $0 on Kit against $75 on Mailchimp Essentials; Mailchimp Free covers only 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, so it fits a 250-contact list and nothing bigger. The free comparison is $0 vs $0 only under 250 contacts.
Unsubscribed contacts are a Mailchimp line item — Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your band unless you archive them, so a 5,000-contact list with 1,000 unsubscribed bills as 5,000 ($75 Essentials) until archived, then as 4,000 ($75 still — same band) or, at a band edge, a full band lower. Archive first, then count, then compare.
November 2026 list prices, both vendors — Kit Free/$39/$59/$89/$139/$199 with annual equivalents $33/$75/$116/$166 at 1k/5k/10k/25k noted only; Mailchimp Free/$13–$270 Essentials/$20–$310 Standard/$350 Premium base, monthly billing. Creator Pro is excluded honestly, not guessed. Verify at checkout.

Common Use Cases

A 5,000-contact list on Creator vs Essentials: Kit $89 against Mailchimp $75 a month; year 1 $1,068 against $900; 3 flat years $3,204 against $2,700. Mailchimp wins by $504, and both plans fit the list size.
A 25,000-contact list on Creator vs Standard: Kit $199 against Mailchimp $310 a month — a $111 gap, $3,996 over 3 flat years. Kit wins, and this is the flip: the same pair, a different band, a different winner.
A 500-contact list on Free vs Free: Kit $0 against Mailchimp $0 on the chosen plans, but Mailchimp Free fits only 250 contacts — so the honest Mailchimp price is the fitting path, Essentials at $13 a month. At 250 contacts both Free plans genuinely fit and the comparison is $0 vs $0 on features.

Kit vs Mailchimp Cost Calculator vs Alternatives

Default monthly: Kit Creator $89 against Mailchimp Essentials $75 (5,000 contacts).
Bands: Kit Creator: $39/$59/$89/$139/$199 at 1k/3k/5k/10k/25k. Mailchimp Essentials: $13/$26.50/$45/$75/$110/$270; Standard: $20/$45/$60/$100/$135/$310.
Free tiers: Kit Free $0 up to 10,000 subscribers (limited automations). Mailchimp Free $0 up to 250 contacts / 500 sends a month.
The flip: Mailchimp wins at 5,000 contacts; Kit wins at 25,000 contacts (Creator $199 vs Standard $310).
Not modelled: Kit Creator Pro (from $79/mo at 1,000) — no verified band table, so it is excluded, not guessed. Mailchimp Premium above 10,000 is sales-quoted.

The honest summary: Mailchimp wins small and mid-size lists on Essentials' lower bands, Kit wins large lists on Creator's flatter top band — and Kit Free wins outright for any creator under 10,000 subscribers who can live with limited automations. The deciding factors in order: your billed contact count (archived, not raw), your band edge, and whether you need Creator Pro or Premium features. Buy Kit for creator-focused lists at scale, Mailchimp for small-business lists with its wider template and testing depth; price the band your archived count actually lands in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Kit or Mailchimp cheaper?

It depends on list size — that is the whole comparison. At the defaults (5,000 contacts, Creator vs Essentials) Mailchimp wins: $89 against $75 a month, $1,068 against $900 in year 1. At 25,000 contacts (Creator vs Standard) Kit wins: $199 against $310 a month. At 1,000 contacts Mailchimp wins narrowly ($39 against $26.50). Name your list size before you name a winner.

What is Kit Creator Pro, and why isn't it in the calculator?

Creator Pro is Kit's higher tier, starting from $79 a month at 1,000 subscribers, with advanced automations and reporting. It is not modelled here because no verified band table for its higher contact counts was available, and inventing one would corrupt the totals. If you need Pro features, take its quoted price for your list size and compare it against the Creator band shown.

Why does Mailchimp count unsubscribed contacts?

Because Mailchimp bills on total contacts in your audience unless unsubscribed contacts are archived — an unsubscribed contact still occupies a billed slot. Archiving removes them from the billable count, so a list sitting just over a band edge can drop a band by archiving dead contacts. Kit bills subscribers, a different count — compare billed counts, not list sizes, across vendors.

Is Kit Free really free up to 10,000 subscribers?

Yes, with limits: Free covers up to 10,000 subscribers but with limited automations, so a creator who needs full automation sequences pays Creator rates ($89 at 5,000, $139 at 10,000) even though Free 'fits' the count. Fit means the count fits, not that the features fit — read the automation limit before budgeting $0.

When does Mailchimp Premium make sense?

When the list is large and the team needs Premium's advanced segmentation, multivariate testing and phone support: at $350 flat on a 10,000-contact base, Premium beats Standard's $310 only if the $40 gap buys features the team uses — and above 10,000 contacts Premium is sales-quoted, so the $350 figure here is the base, not your quote. Request the quote before comparing Premium against anything.