Honest comparison
Chuhching vs Mailchimp
Mailchimp is easy email for SMB/e-commerce with free landing pages — but the free plan lost automations, pricing scales steeply with list size, and it's not a real CRM (no pipeline, no SMS/social/community). Chuhching gives you the CRM, automation, and get-booked, free to start.
Mailchimp
Free (250 contacts) + $13–$350/mo
Scales steeply with list size; free plan hollowed out.
Chuhching
Free core, then $59–$179/mo
The CRM, forms, booking & analytics — free. Pay to send & get booked.
Run your relationships
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| CRM & pipeline | Partialno pipeline | ✓ Free |
| Contact management | ✓ Free | ✓ Free1,000 free, unlimited paid |
| Forms & quizzes | Partialsurveys discontinued | ✓ Free3 free, unlimited paid |
| Booking & scheduling | Partial | ✓ Free |
| Analytics & dashboards | Partial | ✓ Free |
Reach & automate
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| 2-way SMS | Paid | ✓ Freebring your own Twilio |
| Email sequences | Partialautomations now paid | Paid |
| Workflow automation | Paid | Paid |
| Social posting | Partialscheduler retired | Paid |
Funnels & sites
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Funnel analytics | Partial | ✓ Freestage conversion, velocity, channel ROI |
| Landing & website pages | ✓ Free | Partialprofile, community & custom-domain pages |
| SEO / PSEO / AEO | — | ✓ Freeindexable profile + programmatic pages; more on base plan |
Grow & host
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Communities | — | ✓ Free1 free, unlimited paid |
| Courses / products | — | Paid |
| Affiliate program | — | Paidnative + resellable |
Other modules
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Call tracking | — | Paidper-source trackable numbers, forwarding + source-attributed call log |
| Reputation management | — | Paidreview-request automation + reviews inbox; Google Business Profile sync |
Pricing & access
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier to start | ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
Only on Chuhching
| Feature | Mailchimp | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Agent-native — run it over MCP | — | ✓ Freeyour AI agent operates the whole platform |
| Pay-per-call agent tools (x402) | — | ✓ Freeagents pay per call, no login — e.g. book you as a guest |
| Get booked — podcasts, press, creators, VCs | — | Paiddiscover + AI-pitch + outreach engine |
| Public expert profile + directory | — | ✓ Freeindexable; journalists find you |
| Time tracking | — | ✓ FreeToggl-style, projects & tasks, timesheets |
| Business Vault (encrypted secrets & docs) | — | ✓ Free |
Pick Mailchimp if…
- You want easy email design + deliverability for SMB/e-commerce, with free landing pages.
- Email is your main channel and your list is small.
Pick Chuhching if…
- You want a real CRM/pipeline, native SMS, social, communities, and get-booked — not email that gets pricey with list size.
- You want automations on the free tier and an AI agent.
Common questions
Did Mailchimp's free plan get smaller?
Yes. In January 2026 the free plan dropped from 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly sends to 250 contacts and 500 sends. Separately, pre-May-2019 accounts that never migrated face an 11-13% increase effective April 2026. Between 2022 and 2026 several tiers rose by more than 30% (verified August 2026).
Why is my Mailchimp bill higher than the plan price?
Mailchimp bills on total contacts including unsubscribed contacts and duplicates across audiences, and then adds SMS, transactional blocks and overage charges. Actual spend commonly runs 20-40% above the listed plan price. Paid tiers start around $13/mo Essentials at 500 contacts and reach about $350/mo Premium at 10,000. Cleaning your list is the single biggest lever on that bill.
Is Mailchimp still the better email tool?
For template design, deliverability reputation and sheer familiarity, it's a solid product and the easiest to hand to a non-technical teammate. What it isn't is a CRM — no real pipeline, and the free-tier squeeze keeps tightening. If email is genuinely all you need and your list is small, it's fine.
Try the free CRM. Upgrade the day you need to send.
Comparison reflects publicly listed Mailchimp features and pricing as of 2026. Verify current Mailchimp pricing on their site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Mailchimp.