Quick take: ConvertKit — now rebranded to Kit — is the one nobody warns you about: a September 2026 price increase more than doubled its entry paid tier, from $15/month to somewhere in the $33-39 range. If you're a creator relying on its famously generous free plan, that's not the trap. The trap is assuming the paid tier still costs what every 2024-era comparison article says it does.
Who This Is For
This is for a solo creator, blogger, or small business choosing their first real email platform, or migrating off a spreadsheet-and-BCC situation. If you're running e-commerce specifically, this comparison leans harder toward Mailchimp than a general creator would need.
Pricing Breakdown
Both platforms have raised prices meaningfully within the past year — always confirm current numbers on the official pricing page before deciding.
What Works Well
Kit's free tier is, without exaggeration, the most generous in email marketing right now — 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends costs nothing, which is remarkable given Mailchimp cut its own free tier down to just 250 contacts in January 2026. Kit also bills only active subscribers, not unsubscribed contacts, unlike Mailchimp's model where dead contacts can quietly inflate your bill. Mailchimp's advantage is real too: over 300 professionally designed templates versus Kit's three (text-only, classic, modern), plus deep Shopify and WooCommerce integrations that make it the stronger pick for anyone selling physical products.
Where It Falls Short
Kit's design options are deliberately minimal — if you want a visually rich, branded email, you'll be fighting the platform rather than working with it. And the September 2026 price increase is the detail most existing comparisons haven't caught up with yet: budgeting based on Kit's old $15/month entry price will leave you surprised. Mailchimp's trap is the mirror image — its contact-based pricing counts unsubscribed and inactive contacts against your limit in some configurations, meaning your bill can climb even as your actual engaged audience shrinks.
Alternatives Worth Considering
MailerLite is worth a look if both of these feel too expensive — it consistently undercuts both platforms at the entry tier. If you're selling a SaaS product rather than content, a tool built around transactional + marketing email in one platform is a more direct fit than either general-purpose option here.
Final Verdict
If you're a creator, blogger, or course seller and want the most generous free runway before paying anything, Kit's free tier is hard to beat — just budget for the real Creator-tier price, not the outdated number still floating around older articles. If you're running a small business or e-commerce store that needs visual polish and platform integrations more than creator-specific tools, Mailchimp remains the safer general-purpose choice.
Want a different marketing or SaaS tool compared? Suggest it on the Contact page.