Skip to content

Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads

Brevo 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.

Brevo

4.2

From $0

Mailchimp

4.0

From $0

Best overall

Manychat

4.3

From $0

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best value

Pick it if: Small businesses with a large contact list, or that want email, SMS and WhatsApp in one tool without paying per contact.

Easiest to use

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.

Best overall

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.

Manychat scores highest overall, but Brevo gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
In one lineEmail, SMS and WhatsApp marketing in one place, priced by emails sent, not contacts.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 modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$0$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.

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
Overall rating4.24.04.3Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.5
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
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.
4.5
3.0
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app– Yes Yes
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension–– 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 No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No No Yes
Learns your brand or style– Yes Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 179/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
Plans

Free

$0

Small lists and trying Brevo out.

Free

$0

Testing Mailchimp with a tiny list.

Free

$0

Trying one or two automations.

Starter

From about $9/mo

Regular newsletters with no daily limit.

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.

StandardOur pick

From about $18/mo

Small businesses ready to automate.

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.

Professional

From about $499/mo

Teams sending high volumes across channels.

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.

Enterprise

Custom

Companies with 1 million+ contacts.

Advanced

$199/mo, or $139/mo billed yearly

Big accounts and agencies with high volume.

Which plan to pickTry Free first. Most small businesses should go straight to Standard, because it removes Brevo's logo and adds automations. Pick your email volume carefully, since that's what you pay for. Yearly billing saves 10%, and prices vary by country.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

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
Standout features
  • Email campaigns
  • SMS and WhatsApp
  • Transactional email
  • AI content generator
  • Automations
  • MCP connector
  • Email builder and templates
  • Automation flows
  • Intuit Assist
  • Forms and pop-ups
  • Segments and testing
  • 300+ integrations
  • Comment-to-DM
  • Story and follower triggers
  • Flow builder
  • Manychat AI
  • Every messaging channel
  • Broadcasts

Pros and cons

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
Pros
  • Priced by emails sent, so big lists stay cheap
  • Email, SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email in one tool
  • Free plan includes a CRM
  • Official MCP connector for Claude
  • AI writing from the Starter plan
  • Easy to learn, with lots of templates
  • Connects to almost every shop and website platform
  • Intuit Assist AI included on Standard and Premium
  • Solid reports and A/B testing
  • The quickest way to send a link to everyone who comments a keyword
  • Official Meta Business Partner, so it uses Instagram's approved API
  • Templates get your first automation live in minutes
  • One inbox for Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok and more
  • AI replies that learn your business and tone
Cons
  • The free plan caps you at 300 emails a day
  • Starter emails keep Brevo's logo unless you pay extra
  • WhatsApp, multiple users and the bigger AI features need Professional
  • SMS credits cost extra on every plan
  • Gets expensive as your list grows
  • The free plan is tiny: 250 contacts and 500 sends a month
  • Essentials limits automations to 4 steps
  • Intuit Assist is English-only and not in every country
  • You pay overage fees if you go past your contact or send limit
  • Cost grows with active contacts, so a viral post can mean overage fees
  • The free plan is tiny: 25 contacts a month and 4 automations
  • Manychat AI and WhatsApp need Pro or higher
  • Bigger flows take time to learn in the builder
  • Meta's rules limit automated messages to within 24 hours of a person's last interaction

Who each one is for

AttributeBrevoMailchimpManychat
Best for
  • Large lists you email occasionally
  • Email plus SMS from one tool
  • Order confirmations and other transactional emails
  • Managing campaigns from Claude
  • Regular email newsletters for a small business
  • Welcome and abandoned cart automations
  • Growing a list with forms and pop-ups
  • Shops on Shopify, WooCommerce or Square
  • Sending a link by DM to everyone who comments a keyword
  • Answering Instagram DMs and FAQs automatically
  • Growing an email list from Reels and stories
  • Following up leads in DMs until they book or buy
You'll find it used by
  • Small business owners
  • Online stores
  • Marketers
  • Developers
  • Agencies
  • Small business owners
  • Online stores
  • Non-profits
  • Marketers
  • Agencies
  • Creators
  • Coaches
  • Online stores
  • Small businesses
  • Agencies

Questions people ask

Which is better, Brevo, Mailchimp or Manychat?

Manychat scores highest overall in our ratings (Brevo 4.2/5, Mailchimp 4.0/5 and Manychat 4.3/5). Brevo is best for large lists you email occasionally and email plus SMS from one tool. 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, Brevo, Mailchimp or Manychat?

Brevo: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Mailchimp: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Manychat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.

Which is easier to use, Brevo, Mailchimp or Manychat?

Mailchimp rates highest for ease of use in our scores. 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.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

Swap in another tool

More tools from Marketing & Ads in the library.