Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads
beehiiv vs Mailchimp vs Manychat
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Creators, founders and media brands who want to treat their newsletter as a proper channel.
Pick it if: Small businesses that want a well-known, all-round email tool with lots of templates and app connections, and are happy to pay more as the list grows.
Pick it if: Creators, coaches and small businesses who get leads on Instagram and want every comment and DM answered instantly, without living in the inbox.
Overview
| Attribute | beehiiv | Mailchimp | Manychat |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Newsletter platform with AI writing help, built-in growth tools and ways to get paid. | Email newsletters, automations and sign-up forms for small businesses, with AI help. | Auto-DMs anyone who comments a keyword on your Instagram posts, and answers your DMs. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | From $59/mo | $0 | $0 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | beehiiv | Mailchimp | Manychat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.3Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | beehiiv | Mailchimp | Manychat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | – | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | Yes | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 11/ 17 | 9/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | beehiiv | Mailchimp | Manychat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Anyone starting a newsletter from zero. | Free $0 Testing Mailchimp with a tiny list. | Free $0 Trying one or two automations. |
Lite From $59/mo, or $49/mo billed yearly Writers ready to earn from sponsors or paid tiers. | Essentials From $13/mo A small list that just needs newsletters and basic automations. | Essential $17/mo, or $14/mo billed yearly A creator or small business running comment-to-DM. | |
Pro From $109/mo, or $95/mo billed yearly Publications that want their own brand and deeper analytics. | StandardOur pick From $20/mo Small businesses that want AI help and proper automations. | ProOur pick $39/mo, or $29/mo billed yearly Accounts with steady leads that want AI replies. | |
Enterprise Custom Media companies with several large publications. | Premium From $350/mo Larger lists that want phone support and advanced testing. | Business $99/mo, or $69/mo billed yearly Growing businesses with a team in the inbox. | |
Advanced $199/mo, or $139/mo billed yearly Big accounts and agencies with high volume. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Stay on Free until you have a few hundred engaged readers; it has everything you need to write and grow. Move to Lite when you want sponsor revenue or paid subscriptions, and to Pro when the beehiiv branding starts to bother you or your brand. | Standard is the plan most small businesses should pick, because it has the AI and the automations. Essentials is fine if you only send a newsletter. Use the price calculator on Mailchimp's site with your real contact count, since prices rise with list size and vary by country. | Set up your first comment-to-DM on Free to see it work, then take the 14-day trial. Essential is enough if you just want links sent from comments. Pick Pro if you want AI answering DMs or use WhatsApp, and Business once a team shares the inbox. Prices exclude tax and vary by billing country. |
Key features
| Attribute | beehiiv | Mailchimp | Manychat |
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | beehiiv | Mailchimp | Manychat |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, beehiiv, Mailchimp or Manychat?
Manychat scores highest overall in our ratings (beehiiv 4.2/5, Mailchimp 4.0/5 and Manychat 4.3/5). beehiiv is best for launching a newsletter and growing a list with referrals. Mailchimp is best for regular email newsletters for a small business and welcome and abandoned cart automations. Manychat is best for sending a link by DM to everyone who comments a keyword and Answering Instagram DMs and FAQs automatically.
Which is cheaper, beehiiv, Mailchimp or Manychat?
beehiiv: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $59/mo. Mailchimp: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Manychat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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