Flodesk vs Mailchimp Comparison 2026
Flodesk prices by list size and sends unlimited email on every paid plan, from Lite at $25 a month, or $19 billed annually, at a thousand subscribers, built around templates that look designed. Mailchimp prices by contact count instead of sends, from $20 a month at 500 contacts after a 14-day trial, and wins on integrations: whatever shop or CRM you already run probably connects to it. Flodesk is the better inbox; Mailchimp is the better plumbing.
Email that looks designed without a designer
Email marketing with the longest integration list
At a glance
- Mailchimp starts cheaper, at $20.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Flodesk | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $25 | From $20 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated |
Flodesk
Email that looks designed without a designer
Flodesk is built around templates that come out looking considered rather than like a form, which is why it keeps turning up in the hands of people selling something visual. Every paid plan sends unlimited email regardless of how often. Pricing moves with the size of the list instead, starting from a thousand subscribers. A free plan exists for building a list before there is anything to send to it, and anybody wanting deep automation branching will find this deliberately simpler than its competitors.
Our note
Move the subscriber slider to where you expect to be in a year rather than reading the starting price, because the starting figure is for a thousand subscribers and the curve above that is the real cost. Against the older platforms this wins on how the email looks and loses on what the automation can do, and only you know which of those you are buying.
Mailchimp
Email marketing with the longest integration list
Mailchimp is the default nobody gets fired for picking, and the reason is that whatever else you run already connects to it. The editor and the reporting are fine rather than good. Its pricing counts contacts rather than sends, so a large list you mail once a month costs the same as one you mail daily, which is the wrong shape for most creators.
Why people weigh these two
- Mailchimp instead of Flodesk
- Mailchimp covers the same email marketing job with a free tier and the longest integration list; paid plans start at $20 against Flodesk's $25.
- Flodesk instead of Mailchimp
- Flodesk leans on visual templates built for a newsletter that looks designed without a design background, from $25 a month with a free tier to preview it.
Which one should you pick
Pick Flodesk when how the email looks is part of the product and sending often should not cost more. Lite is $25 a month, or $19 annually, at a thousand subscribers, with unlimited sends built into every paid tier.
Choose Mailchimp only when integrations decide it, which its own brief says is the real reason to pick it. Standard starts at $20 a month for 500 contacts, but billing counts contacts rather than sends, so a large list mailed rarely costs the same as one mailed daily, the wrong shape for most creators.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper?
- At their respective starting points, Mailchimp's Standard is $20 a month for 500 contacts against Flodesk's Lite at $25, or $19 billed annually, for a thousand. Flodesk covers double the contacts at its annual rate for less than Mailchimp's monthly price.
- Which one bills by how often I send, not just list size?
- Neither bills by send count exactly, but Flodesk allows unlimited sends at a flat price for the list size. Mailchimp counts contacts regardless of how often you mail them, so an infrequent sender pays the same as a daily one.
- Which has more integrations?
- Mailchimp does, by a wide margin: its listing says a connector already exists for whatever shop, form or course platform is already in use. Flodesk's listing does not describe an integration library.
- Which is better suited to a newsletter as the main product?
- Flodesk, built specifically around templates and unlimited sending. Mailchimp's own brief recommends beehiiv or Kit instead when the newsletter, not the integrations, is the main product.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.