HubSpot Starter is $20/seat/month. Mailchimp Essentials is $20/month for 500 contacts. The surface-level prices look identical — but they're very different tools solving very different problems. Here's how to choose.
| Plan | Price/seat/mo | Contacts | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1M contacts | CRM, email (limited), forms, live chat, basic reports |
| Starter | $20/seat | 1K contacts included | + Remove HubSpot branding, email sequences, 1,000 email/mo/contact |
| Professional | $100/seat | 2K contacts included | + Marketing automation, A/B testing, SEO tools, custom reporting |
| Enterprise | $150/seat | 10K contacts included | + Custom objects, advanced permissions, predictive lead scoring |
HubSpot charges extra for additional marketing contacts above the included amount ($50/mo per 1,000 contacts on Starter).
| Plan | Price/mo | Contacts | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500 | 1,000 sends/mo, basic templates, 1 audience |
| Essentials | $20 | 500–50K | A/B testing, 3 audiences, scheduling, remove Mailchimp badge |
| Standard | $45 | 500+ | + Automations, retargeting, send time optimization, custom templates |
| Premium | $350 | 500+ | + Advanced segmentation, multivariate testing, unlimited seats |
Mailchimp pricing scales with contact count. For 10K contacts on Essentials: $110/mo. For 50K contacts: $270/mo.
| List Size | Mailchimp Essentials | HubSpot Starter (1 seat) |
|---|---|---|
| 500 contacts | $20/mo | $20/mo (seat) + $0 (under 1K limit) |
| 2,500 contacts | $45/mo | $20/mo + $75 (additional contacts) = $95/mo |
| 10,000 contacts | $110/mo | $20/mo + $450 (additional contacts) = $470/mo |
| 50,000 contacts | $270/mo | $20/mo + $2,450 = $2,470/mo |
HubSpot's contact pricing scales aggressively above 1K contacts on Starter. For large lists, Mailchimp is dramatically cheaper as a standalone email tool.
| Feature | HubSpot Starter | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Email campaigns | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email templates | ✓ Basic (drag-drop) | ✓ Extensive library |
| A/B testing | ✓ Starter+ | ✓ Essentials+ |
| Automation workflows | ✓ Sequences + Workflows | ✓ Standard+ (more complex) |
| Landing pages | ✓ | ✓ |
| Forms / Popups | ✓ | ✓ |
| CRM / Contacts database | ✓ Full CRM (HubSpot's strength) | ~ Basic contact profiles |
| Deals pipeline (sales) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Meeting scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email reporting | ✓ Opens, clicks, revenue | ✓ Opens, clicks, revenue |
| E-commerce integration | ~ Shopify, WooCommerce (add-on) | ✓ Native Shopify/WooCommerce |
| Social media posting | ~ Pro+ | ✓ Essentials+ |
| Predictive segmentation | ~ Enterprise | ✓ Standard+ |
| Free plan | ✓ 1M contacts (limited sends) | ✓ 500 contacts, 1K sends/mo |
You need a CRM + email in one: HubSpot's free CRM tracks contacts, deals, calls, and email opens in one timeline. If your team needs both marketing and sales in the same tool, HubSpot eliminates the need for separate software.
B2B sales process: HubSpot's sequences, meeting links, deal stages, and pipeline reporting are designed for B2B sales teams. Mailchimp has no equivalent sales pipeline.
Small list, lots of features needed: At 500–1,000 contacts, HubSpot Starter ($20/seat/mo) is comparable in price to Mailchimp but includes live chat, forms, sequences, and CRM. For small lists requiring breadth of features, HubSpot wins.
Large email lists, simple campaigns: Mailchimp is significantly cheaper at scale. For 10K contacts, Mailchimp Essentials is $110/mo vs HubSpot Starter $470/mo. If email newsletters are your primary use case, Mailchimp is the cheaper tool.
E-commerce email marketing: Mailchimp has deep native integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce — abandoned cart emails, purchase follow-ups, and product recommendations are easier to configure than in HubSpot.
Design-focused campaigns: Mailchimp's template library is larger and more polished than HubSpot's. For brands where email aesthetics matter, Mailchimp has more options out of the box.
No sales team: If you're running a newsletter, e-commerce store, or content business without a sales pipeline, Mailchimp is sufficient and significantly cheaper for large lists.
HubSpot wins for B2B companies with a sales team, small contact lists needing CRM + email in one tool, or businesses that want to avoid paying for separate CRM software.
Mailchimp wins for large email lists (2,500+ contacts), e-commerce email automation, newsletter-focused businesses, and teams that only need email without a sales pipeline.
Key decision: Do you need a CRM/sales pipeline? If yes, HubSpot. If you just need email, Mailchimp is cheaper above 1,000 contacts.
It depends on list size. For under 1,000 contacts: both cost ~$20/month. For 10,000 contacts: Mailchimp Essentials is $110/month vs HubSpot Starter $470/month. For large lists with basic email needs, Mailchimp is dramatically cheaper. For small lists with CRM and sales features needed, HubSpot provides more value at a similar price.
For many small businesses, yes. HubSpot Free includes email marketing (with HubSpot branding), CRM for up to 1 million contacts, forms, and basic automation. The limitation is you can only send 2,000 emails/month total and emails include HubSpot branding. For early-stage companies testing email, HubSpot Free is a strong starting point.
Yes. HubSpot raised Starter from $15 to $20/seat/month in January 2026 — a 33% increase. This followed a previous increase in 2024. HubSpot has been moving upmarket and the per-seat model means growing teams pay significantly more.
Mailchimp has basic contact management — tags, segments, and contact profiles. But it lacks HubSpot's deal pipeline, contact activity timeline, meeting scheduling, and sales reporting. For teams with a sales process, Mailchimp's "CRM" is insufficient; you'd still need a dedicated CRM tool.
HubSpot raised prices 33% in Jan 2026. Mailchimp raised 54% in Jan 2024. PricePulse alerts you to pricing changes across 40+ marketing tools before the invoice surprises you.
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