Side by side
| Kit | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Free for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts. It has 1 user, no visual automations, and Kit branding stays on. | Yes. Free for up to 250 contacts with a maximum of 500 sends a month or 250 a day, 1 seat and 1 audience. Mailchimp branding stays on and generative AI is not included. |
| Starting price | Creator is $33 a month for 1,000 email subscribers, shown as $390 billed yearly. No monthly billing option is shown. | Not published. |
| How it charges | By plan and subscriber count. Kit takes 0.6% on digital products and subscriptions, which includes card processing fees. Paid Recommendations carry a 23.5% Kit fee. | By contact tier. Paid plans bill monthly or annually at the rate for your tier, and overages are billed automatically when limits are passed. Pay-as-you-go email credits are an alternative for infrequent senders. |
| Works with | Patreon, Canva, Transistor.fm, SavvyCal, GIPHY, Circle, Broadcast Boost, TeachKit, Sponsy, Lex and Senja through the Kit App Store. | Shopify, WooCommerce, Canva, Zapier, Square, Stripe, Salesforce, WordPress and QuickBooks, among 300+ integrations. |
| AI features | Kit MCP connects Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and others to a Kit account on Creator and Pro. Subscriber Signals on Pro does automated audience research. A Kit AI assistant handles most support questions. | Generative AI features are on the Standard and Premium plans, not on Free or Essentials. Intuit Intelligence is in beta with limited availability and can make mistakes. |
Prices and plans change. We checked these figures on October 10, 2026, so confirm them before you buy.
What Kit is
Kit was formerly called ConvertKit. It is an email-first operating system for creators, covering email creation, automations and audience management.
A newsletter operator can use it to send emails, build landing pages and forms, run visual automations, take paid newsletter subscriptions, and use Recommendations to appear in other creators' emails.
Paid plans include a free migration service, and there is a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
What Mailchimp is
Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform with automations, analytics and AI tools. Example users include restaurants, non-profits, ecommerce, small businesses and professional services.
A newsletter operator can use it for email campaigns, templates, popup forms, audience tools and reporting. SMS is an add-on in select countries and needs approval.
It connects with 300+ apps.
Which one fits
The gap is in the free plans. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts. Mailchimp's covers up to 250 contacts with 500 sends a month.
Both move to pricing by list size on paid plans. Kit's Creator plan is $33 a month billed yearly for 1,000 subscribers. Mailchimp prices by contact tier and bills overages automatically. A newsletter that wants to grow a list before paying anything gets more room on Kit's free plan.
Is Kit the same as ConvertKit?
Yes. ConvertKit is now Kit.
Does Kit have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts. Visual automations and removing Kit branding need a paid plan.
Does Mailchimp have a free plan?
Yes. It allows up to 250 contacts, 500 sends a month or 250 a day, 1 seat and 1 audience. Sending pauses if a limit is exceeded.
Is there a free trial of paid plans?
Yes. There is a 14-day free trial that needs valid payment information at sign-up. Canceling during the trial incurs no charge.