Sendinblue vs Mailchimp: In-Depth Comparison to Clear Your Doubts

Sendinblue, now known as Brevo, is an all-in-one platform designed to help businesses manage customer relationships through various channels. It offers a variety of features, including email marketing, SMS marketing, chat, and sales tools. 

Additionally, you can also create landing pages and manage your customer relationships through a built-in CRM. 

Sendinblue has organized its products into these categories:

• Marketing,
• Sales,
• Conversations,
• CRM,
• Messaging (transactional messages).

If you’d like to learn more about this platform’s features, pros and cons, and customer opinions, check out our Sendinblue review.

How about Mailchimp? The software is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for beginners to create and manage email campaigns. 

Unlike Sendinblue, Mailchimp sticks to marketing features but offers a variety of services under the umbrella. Besides email marketing, Mailchimp also lets you run campaigns on social media platforms, as well as send texts for SMS marketing. For a detailed analysis of what this email platform can do, read our Mailchimp review.

Both platforms let you create landing pages and build forms; the two have also been adding AI email features recently since it’s a popular marketing trend.

With so many things in common, it’s not surprising that people get confused between the two platforms. 

The only way to get clarity is to study the features closely. At the end of this Sendinblue vs Mailchimp comparison, you will have a clear idea of which one is best for your business.

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Sendinblue vs Mailchimp: Which ESP Has Better Features?

Both of these platforms have earned a good reputation for being dependable platforms, but there are tiny differences between them you should be aware of. As always, the devil is in the details — what matters to someone else may not be important to you. 

User Interface + CRM

Sendinblue’s interface is clean and intuitive, with clear menus and easy-to-understand icons. While the platform is beginner-friendly, there might still be a learning curve before you’re comfortable with all of its features.

Sendinblue has a drag-and-drop editor for crafting emails. This allows you to visually design your content without needing coding knowledge. Additionally, Sendinblue also provides a variety of pre-built content blocks you can add to your emails. These blocks include social media icons, call-to-action buttons, product listings, and more. This saves you time by having pre-formatted elements ready to use.

Mailchimp enjoys a reputation for being user-friendly, but how true is that? 

To an extent — yes, it’s true. The interface has a clear and uncluttered design with a logical menu structure on the left-hand side. This makes it easy to find the features you need without getting overwhelmed. But certain items are buried in the menu and may take time to find.

Mailchimp also provides step-by-step guided workflows for tasks like creating email campaigns, building audiences, and designing emails. This is particularly helpful for new users.

Like Sendinblue’s editor, Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop email builder also allows for intuitive email design. You can add text, images, buttons, and other content blocks to your email layout by simply dragging and dropping them.

A key difference between the two is the CRM capabilities. 

Sendinblue positions its CRM as a core feature, offering functionalities like deal pipelines and sales task management, even letting you visualize sales stages. It integrates seamlessly with their marketing automation tools. Comparatively, Mailchimp’s CRM is a more basic offering; it focuses on managing contact information, segmentation, and email marketing campaigns.

Ease of Use and CRM Features Compared

How does Mailchimp stack up against Sendinblue in terms of ease of use and CRM functions?

Aspect	Sendinblue	Mailchimp
Simplicity of user interface	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Drag-and-drop email editor	✅	✅
Learning curve	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
CRM capabilities	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Verdict: While the two are tied for ease of use, Sendinblue’s CRM is far superior to Mailchimp’s. We picked Sendinblue as a winner.

Template Library

Sendinblue offers a library of email templates to jumpstart your email marketing campaigns. You get access to 130-150 pre-designed email templates, but some might be exclusive to paid plans. The templates cover a wide range of purposes, including newsletters, promotions, transactional emails, welcome emails, event invitations, and more.

All templates are responsive, meaning they will display well on different devices like desktops, tablets, and smartphones. They are also customizable; so you can edit text, images, colors, fonts, and adjust layout elements using the drag-and-drop editor to match your brand’s look and theme.

While the selection is decent, some users might find the template designs a bit generic compared to other email platforms. Sendinblue doesn’t currently allow importing templates from external sources unless it’s from another Sendinblue user. You’ll need to use their library or create your own templates from scratch.

Mailchimp offers a library of over 200 pre-designed email templates. The selection is okayish on the free tier, with more sophisticated designs only offered on paid plans. In the template library, you can find industry-specific templates such as e-commerce, restaurants, agencies, and similar.

Like Sendinblue, Mailchimp’s templates are mobile-responsive and can be customized using the drag-and-drop editor. You can also upload templates or code your own.

Templates/Template Library Aspects	Sendinblue	Mailchimp
Variety of templates	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Drag and drop editor	✅	✅
Import templates	❌	✅
Mobile-responsive	✅	✅

Verdict: Because of more variety, modern designs, and support for imports, Mailchimp trumps Sendinblue.

Deliverability 

Sendinblue does a fair bit to ensure high deliverability for its users. It provides tools to identify inactive email subscribers — you can remove these contacts to improve overall list quality. The platform also has a built-in spam checker to scan your email content before sending. This helps identify potential spam triggers that could set off spam filters.

Sendinblue also lets you implement Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) on your email domains. 

These authentication protocols verify the legitimacy of your emails and help improve sender reputation. Sendinblue also offers resources and guides outlining best practices for achieving good deliverability.

Similar to Sendinblue, Mailchimp utilizes SPF and DKIM by default. It also maintains a large server network to ensure emails are sent reliably and avoid getting flagged for suspicious activity. 

Mailchimp offers a spam checker tool to scan email content before sending. It also helps users identify and remove inactive contacts from the email list.

Both Sendinblue and Mailchimp strictly adhere to anti-spam laws like the CAN-SPAM Act in the US and GDPR in Europe. This ensures emails are sent with permission and reduces the risk of being blacklisted.

So the measures are in place; what do the numbers say? 

Unfortunately, Sendinblue’s deliverability numbers don’t look good. According to EmailToolTester, the platform has only managed an average inbox placement rate of 74.7% in the last 3 tests. Mailchimp does a bit better, with 92.6% in the same tests.

Let’s tally these two in terms of deliverability: 

Feature	Sendinblue	Mailchimp
Deliverability rate	74.7%	92.6%
Spam testing tool	✅	✅
Compliance support	✅	✅
Support for authentication protocols	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Verdict: Because of its superior deliverability, Mailchimp wins.

Automation

Sendinblue offers marketing automation functionalities that allow you to create automated email workflows based on user behavior. You get a visual drag-and-drop interface for building automation sequences, plus a variety of triggers to initiate them.

Sendinblue’s automation allows for conditional splits, meaning you can segment users within your workflow based on specific criteria and send them different emails based on those conditions. 

Additionally, you can test different versions of your automated emails to see which performs better. If you use the CRM, you can personalize automated emails based on purchase history, preferences, or other data.

Mailchimp doesn’t quite match the advanced automation capabilities of Sendinblue. However, Mailchimp’s pre-built workflows and user-friendly interface might be a good starting point for newbies. 

An important point to make here is that a lot of Mailchimp’s best automation features are locked away behind paid tiers. For example, the Branching Points feature, which lets you create personalized email journeys, is only available on the top two tiers. The multi-step automation builder is also available only on those plans; on the two tiers below, you can only access single-step automation. 

Comparing automation features on Sendinblue and Mailchimp:

Automation features	Sendinblue	Mailchimp
Advanced automation	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Integration with CRM	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐
Advanced triggers	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Customer Journey	✅	✅

Verdict: Sendinblue takes this round.

Landing Page and Form Builder

If you want to build landing pages or forms to generate leads or display products, both Mailchimp and Sendinblue have features you will like.

Sendinblue comes with a library of pre-designed landing page templates to jumpstart your creation process. You can customize these templates with a drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to add, remove, and rearrange various content blocks. 

All landing pages built with Sendinblue are mobile-responsive and fully customizable.

The form builder is similar in its features — it supports drag-and-drop functionality and allows you to include various form fields in your landing pages. This lets you collect the specific information you need from your leads. The forms even support conditional logic.

Similar to Sendinblue, Mailchimp features drag-and-drop editors for building your landing pages and forms. You also get access to a variety of templates that cater to various purposes, such as lead capture for webinars, product launches, or contest signups. 

Both Mailchimp and Sendinblue assist with building forms that comply with GDPR regulations. This allows you to set up double opt-in confirmations for email signups.

However, a key difference between the two is that Mailchimp offers A/B testing functionality for forms and landing pages, but Sendinblue does not. 

Feature	Sendinblue	Mailchimp
Landing page templates	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Form templates	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Automatic segmentation	✅	✅
Mobile-ready form templates	✅	✅
Mobile-responsive landing page templates	✅	✅
A/B testing	❌	✅

Verdict: Mailchimp wins narrowly.

Sendinblue vs Mailchimp: Pricing Teardown

Sendinblue and Mailchimp use different pricing strategies to attract customers, and it may take a few calculations before you have a clear idea of what you get for the money you pay. 

The pricing structure on Sendinblue is based on monthly email sends, whereas Mailchimp charges you for the number of contacts.

Sendinblue Paid Plans

Sendinblue has 5 different packages for different business processes, but we will only list the marketing package, the tiers, and their features here:

Sendinblue plan	Cost	Features
Free	$0/month	‣ 300 emails/day ‣ Email Campaigns ‣ Drag & Drop Editor ‣ Email Template Gallery ‣ Marketing automation limited to 2,000 contacts ‣ SMS Marketing ‣ Email & SMS Personalization ‣ Brevo branding ‣ Transactional emails ‣ Core API features ‣ Real-time email statistics ‣ Workflow editor ‣ Advanced Segmentation ‣ Customizable Signup Forms ‣ Free phone number ‣ Call statistics ‣ Customized booking pages ‣ In-browser video calling ‣ Calendar synchronization ‣ Meeting reminders ‣ GDPR compliance ‣ Email support
Starter	$9/month	‣ All of the above + ‣ 500 contacts ‣ 5,000 emails a month ‣ An additional 5,000 emails costs $32 ‣ Remove Brevo branding for $12 per month
Business	$18/month	‣ All of the above + ‣ Landing Page Builder ‣ A/B Testing ‣ Predictive sending AI ‣ Facebook ads ‣ Geography & device reporting ‣ Heat Map Reporting ‣ Advanced open & click stats ‣ Multi-user access add-on ‣ Phone and chat support
Enterprise	Custom	‣ All of the above + ‣ Unlimited contacts ‣ Unlimited Web & Mobile Push Notifications at $100 a month ‣ Unlimited Popups ‣ Dedicated Account Manager ‣ SSO & SAML Authentication Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Mailchimp Free and Paid Tiers

At Mailchimp, the prices look affordable, but that’s only because you pick the base tier of 500 contacts. As you grow, add more contacts, and need more features, you can expect to spend significantly more.

Mailchimp plan	Cost	Feature
Free	$0	‣ 500 contacts ‣ 1,000 email sends ‣ 1 user ‣ Basic segmentation ‣ Behavioral targeting ‣ Basic templates ‣ Mailchimp branding ‣ Website builder ‣ SEO tools ‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Essentials	$9.22 or $55.32 per year ($4.61 per month)	‣ 500 contacts ‣ 5,000 email sends ‣ 3 users ‣ Basic segmentation ‣ Behavioral targeting ‣ No Mailchimp branding ‣ A/B testing ‣ Website builder ‣ SEO tools ‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Standard	$13.77 or $82.56 ($6.88 per month)	‣ 500 contacts ‣ 6,000 email sends ‣ 5 users ‣ Advanced segmentation ‣ Multi-step automation ‣ No Mailchimp branding ‣ Behavioral targeting ‣ Campaign manager ‣ Retargeting Google ads ‣ Comparative reporting ‣ A/B testing ‣ Multivariate Testing ‣ Content Optimizer ‣ Dynamic Content ‣ Send Time Optimization ‣ Website builder ‣ SEO tools ‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Premium	$275.49 or $1,653 ($137.75 per month)	‣ Custom number of contacts ‣ 150,000 email sends ‣ Custom email sends ‣ Unlimited users ‣ Advanced segmentation ‣ Multi-step automation ‣ Mailchimp branding removed  ‣ Behavioral targeting ‣ Campaign manager ‣ Retargeting Google ads ‣ Comparative reporting ‣ A/B testing ‣ Multivariate Testing ‣ Content Optimizer ‣ Dynamic Content ‣ Send Time Optimization ‣ Website builder ‣ SEO tools ‣ Free Mailchimp domain

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Sendinblue vs Mailchimp: Which One is the Right Fit?

Largely, both platforms do the same thing — but as the sections above indicate, there are tiny differences that would sway prospective clients. 

First, let’s analyze the features side-by-side: 

Aspect	Sendinblue	Mailchimp
Deliverability	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Automation capabilities	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Personalization	✅	✅
CRM features	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Templates	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Third-party integration	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comprehensive social media campaign management	❌	✅
Analytics	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Page+ form builders	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a really interesting comparison because there are areas where Sendinblue beats out Mailchimp, but there are times when it can’t keep up.

If you need a solid CRM and advanced automation, Sendinblue, aka Brevo, would be a better choice. 

If deliverability is a priority (as it should be), pick Mailchimp.

You could look at Brevo alternatives or Mailchimp competitors if you’re interested in further research, but we’ve got a better idea.

What if we suggest a third option that offers all the good stuff from these platforms and none of the bad?

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Campaign Refinery: Top-Grade Email Performance at Affordable Pricing

There’s no doubt Sendinblue and Mailchimp are good email platforms — but there are reasons you should consider Campaign Refinery more seriously. 

Here’s Why Campaign Refinery is a Better Pick Than Sendinblue or Mailchimp

The number 1 reason to sign up with Campaign Refinery is that we’re the best at deliverability, period. 

In today’s age, it is critical for email marketers that their messages land consistently in the inbox. We have spent years mastering email alchemy, and the result is what all marketing professionals want: the best email deliverability.

Surely all this email marketing goodness comes at a high price, right? 

Nope!

How Budget-Friendly Is Campaign Refinery?

Here is a breakdown of Campaign Refinery’s paid tiers:

Campaign Refinery Plans	Price per month	Credits	Features
Business	$99	50,000	‣ Unlimited contacts ‣ Campaign library ‣ Segmentation tools ‣ Automatic list cleaning ‣ Gamification ‣ Evergreen Flash Sales ‣ Advanced automation features
Growth	$299	200,000	‣ All of the above + ‣ Disable Campaign Refinery branding ‣ Higher volume of API access
Enterprise	>$1,000	1 million	‣ All of the above + ‣ Dedicated Success Manager ‣ Custom API volumes

How Tough is It to Migrate to Campaign Refinery?