Mailchimp
Brevo
Campaign Monitor
1. User sentiment: Both of strong ratings but cater to different user bases.
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Rating | 4.4/5 (5000+ reviews) | 4.5/5 (2,000+ reviews) | 4.7/5 (1000+ reviews) |
| Ease of Use Sentiment | Praised for powerful features but can be complex as noted in online reviews | User-friendly | Consistently praised as intuitive and user-friendly |
| Customer Support Satisfaction | Well-regarded with a few online reviews mentioning longer response time | Well-regarded | Highly rated with personalized support |
| User Loyalty | Strong among small and mid-sized businesses | Popular among small businesses | Many users report 10+ years of usage |
| Best for → | SMBs and general marketers | SMBs with simpler marketing needs | Marketers prioritizing ease of use and design quality |
While Mailchimp and Brevo are popular with small businesses, Campaign Monitor by Marigold has built a loyal following across businesses of all sizes—including agencies—and is consistently praised for its intuitive interface and standout customer support.
"LOVE Campaign Monitor... it's very user friendly. The support is exceptional. It helps us reach a large audience in a personal way and a format which drives results above industry benchmarks.”
2. Design & user experience: Brevo wins with a wider template library
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email Editor | Drag-and-drop with New & Classic builders | Drag-and-drop with mobile-responsive templates | Intuitive drag-and-drop email builder with visual design focus |
| Template Library | A decent variety of industry-specific templates | A wide range of email templates | A great variety of mobile-optimized templates with auto-branded options |
| Brand Consistency | Creative assistant for branding consistency | Doesn’t offer auto-branding; users can save brand assets in the brand library. | Auto-branded templates from website URL |
| Customization Level | HTML customization | HTML editor | Balance of simplicity and customization with HTML tools and auto-branding |
| Best for → | Diverse businesses needing flexible design | Beginners needing decent designing capability | Marketers who value high-quality, professional design |
Mailchimp offers both a modern New Builder and Classic Builder, giving users flexibility in their design approach, while Brevo offers a wider range of templates and also supports HTML customization.
Campaign Monitor strikes an optimal balance, offering professional design capabilities without the complexity. Users consistently describe Campaign Monitor templates as "THE BEST looking" and appreciate the auto-branded feature that pulls branding directly from website URLs, eliminating manual design work.
"Campaign Monitor's drag-and-drop editor is much better than other email platforms such as Mailchimp. The interface generally is very intuitive and easy to use...”
3. Automation & journeys: Both platforms deliver comprehensive automation capabilities
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger Options | Behavior, purchase, engagement, and time-based, 60+ triggers | Time-based, behavior-based | Time-based, behavior-based, and event-based triggers |
| Workflow Complexity | If/else rules with multiple conditions | If/then branching | Advanced if/then branching |
| Prebuilt Journeys | Cart recovery, welcome series, re-engagement | Welcome series, abandoned cart, product announcements, birthdays, anniversaries | Prebuilt automated journeys, such as welcome series, abandoned cart, anniversaries, and events |
| Advanced Features | Multivariate testing, predictive sending | Send-time optimization, time zone scheduling | Send time optimization and time zone sending feature |
| Best for → | Businesses needing straightforward automation | Businesses with simpler automation needs | Marketers needing sophisticated automation workflows |
Mailchimp offers 60+ behavioral triggers, prebuilt automated journeys, and advanced branching logic, while Brevo offers prebuilt journeys (welcome series, abandoned cart, product announcements, birthdays, anniversaries), time-based, behavior-based, and event-based triggers, and send time optimization features.
Campaign Monitor also offers advanced yet straightforward automation capabilities. With simple branching and prebuilt journeys (welcome series, abandoned cart, anniversaries), the platform makes advanced automation easier to implement without sacrificing capability.
And while Mailchimp and Brevo offer multi-channel support, Campaign Monitor has perfected email for over two decades, focusing on delivering maximum success in this powerhouse channel.
"Wonderful Union saved 40 hours weekly using Campaign Monitor's automated email campaigns and saw a 13% increase in CTR on automated sequences, generating a 700% ROI from email marketing campaigns."
4. Deliverability & performance: Both maintain excellent delivery standards
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery Rate | 99% deliverability rate | High delivery rates (the exact number isn’t mentioned on the site) | 99% delivery rate with strong reputation |
| Inbox Placement | Consistent inbox placement | Consistent inbox placement | Strong reputation with email providers |
| Analytics | Comprehensive reporting with anomaly detection | Real-time dashboards | Real-time performance dashboards with bot click filtering |
| Deliverability Tools | Content optimizer, spam testing | Spam trap detection, automated blocklisting of hard bounces | Inbox previews, spam testing, and deliverability experts |
| Best for → | Reliable delivery across industries | Teams looking for reliable delivery | Businesses prioritizing reliable delivery with expert support |
Mailchimp provides reliable performance with tools like content optimizer and advanced spam testing. The platform's global infrastructure handles high-volume sending decently. Brevo, on the other hand, supports strong deliverability with built-in spam trap detection, automatic blocklisting of hard bounces, and real-time segmentation tools to maintain sender reputation.
Campaign Monitor offers access to deliverability experts, real-time tracking, inbox previews, spam testing, and non-human click filtering that removes bot (non-human) activity from reports. This combination of reliable infrastructure and expert support makes it ideal for businesses that want excellent deliverability without technical complexity.
"We use Campaign Monitor because it is quite easy to use. It is also very reasonably priced. We haven't had any problems with deliverability or in creating the emails."
5. Segmentation & personalization: Mailchimp edges ahead with predictive capabilities
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segmentation Capabilities | Predictive and behavioral segmentation | Dynamic segments using behavioral filters, conditions, and 50+ custom fields | Custom fields and advanced segmentation using demographic and behavioral data |
| Dynamic Content | Dynamic content with conditional logic and product recommendations | Dynamic content blocks using if/else logic | Dynamic content blocks using if/else logic and custom fields |
| Personalization Options | Demographics, CLV, Purchase Likelihood | Personalization using contact attributes (e.g., name, birthday, location) | Supports default tags (name, email) and up to 50 custom fields (birthday, country) |
| Targeting Precision | AI-driven personalized product recommendations | Targeting via segments, filters, and contact behavior | Strong targeting by engagement, behavior, demographics, and preferences |
| Preference Management | Subscriber preference center with update options | Subscriber preference center | Fully customizable preference center (fields, frequency, topics) |
| Best for → | Data-driven marketers wanting predictive insights | SMBs with simpler personalization needs | Marketers seeking sophisticated yet straightforward segmentation capabilities |
Mailchimp offers predictive segmentation that can forecast customer behavior and lifetime value. The platform's predictive demographics feature can estimate age and gender even without direct customer input. Brevo supports dynamic segmentation using saved filters (e.g., engagement activity, contact ownership, email opens), and personalization via contact attributes (e.g.,name, birthday).
Campaign Monitor bridges the gap with segmentation and personalization tools delivered through a structured and user-friendly platform built for marketers. The platform excels with powerful segmentation tools, including custom fields and behavioral data (location, purchase history, etc), dynamic content, and a fully customizable preference center (frequency, topics). It supports up to 50 custom fields and personalization tags (name, birthday, country).
The Australian Red Cross used Campaign Monitor's preference center and smart segmentation to achieve a 68% increase in open rates, a 201% increase in click-through rates, and a 75% increase in conversions from a single personalized email campaign.
6. Integration ecosystem: Mailchimp leads with extensive third-party connections
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Integrations | 300+ available integrations | 250+ integrations | 250+ integrations with focus on quality |
| E-commerce Platforms | Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace | Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce | Shopify, WooCommerce, MailSync |
| CRM Integrations | Salesforce, Pipedrive | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive | Integrations with various CRM platforms (Salesforce, Zoho, Zapier) |
| API Access | API access for custom integrations | Open API with documentation | Robust API for custom integrations |
| Best for → | Businesses using popular tools | Teams needing access to major tools | Marketers working with major platforms seeking quality |
Mailchimp's and Brevo’s integration ecosystem covers marketing tools that SMBs commonly use spread around different categories.
While Mailchimp offers a broader integration volume, Campaign Monitor delivers a focused, marketer-friendly experience—ideal for teams that want dependable, easy-to-deploy email marketing tools.
Campaign Monitor offers integrations with strong native integrations to platforms like Salesforce, Shopify, WooCommerce, HubSpot, etc. It also provides flexible API access (RESTful API v3.3) to support custom workflows and third-party apps.
Girls Who Code leveraged Campaign Monitor's Salesforce integration with custom fields for deeper list precision, helping them achieve a 40% email open rate, 22% click-to-open rate, and a 150% increase in student applications.
7. AI-powered features: Brevo wins with comprehensive AI suite
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Content Creation | Intuit Assist for copy generation and optimization | AI Marketing Agent: generates or refines content using AI-powered prompts | Content creation with AI writer |
| Design Intelligence | Auto-designs using brand kit for multichannel assets | AI Conversations Agent: refines tone and expands notes into responses | Personalized copy suggestions (adapt your content for specific audiences), auto-branding |
| Optimization Tools | Content Optimizer evaluates design and text quality | Send time recommendation and time zone sending feature | A/B testing with insights & goals (increase open-rates, click-through rates, and visits to a URL) |
| Predictive Features | Predictive Demographics and Customer Lifetime Value | Send time recommendation and product recommendation based on real-time insights | Send time recommendation & time zone sending feature |
| Best for → | Marketers wanting integrated AI workflow | Marketers wanting comprehensive AI assistance | Focused AI assistance for marketers |
Mailchimp's AI suite is comprehensive for content creation, featuring Intuit Assist for generating email copy and subject lines, plus Creative Assistant for designing multi-channel marketing assets automatically. Brevo, meanwhile, offers AI-powered prompts for generating and refining content, tone adjustment tools, send time recommendations, and real-time product suggestions through AI agents.
Campaign Monitor offers focused AI tools for marketers—like the AI writer to create content and refine copy, send time optimization (sending emails when a subscriber is most likely to engage), and a time zone sending feature that adjusts delivery times to match each subscriber’s local time.
While Brevo offers more AI tools, Campaign Monitor's approach provides practical assistance that integrates seamlessly into the workflow without requiring extensive setup or configuration.
8. Pricing & scalability: Brevo wins with generous free tier and affordable scaling
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | $0 ( 500 contacts) | $0/month (300 emails/day) | $0 (500 contacts) |
| Entry-Level Plan | Essentials: Starts at $13/month | Starter: Starts at $9/month | Lite: Starts at $12 USD/month |
| Mid-Tier Plan | Standard: Starts at $20/month | Business: Starts at $18/month | Essentials: Starts at $29 USD/month |
| Premium | Premium: Starts at $350/month | Enterprise: Custom pricing | Premier: Starts at $159 USD/month |
| Best for → | Growing businesses with predictable needs | Small businesses | Businesses wanting predictable pricing |
Mailchimp, Brevo, and Campaign Monitor offer flexible pricing based on your contact and month send needs.
9. Support & resources: Both platforms provide comprehensive assistance
| Feature | Mailchimp | Brevo | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support Channels | Email support on the free plan (30 days) and email & chat on paid tiers, with priority phone support only on the premium plan. | Email support on the free and entry-level plans and priority phone support on business and premium plan | 24/5 global support via multiple channels (email support on all tiers, phone support on Premium) |
| Response Quality | Responsive support; priority support access on premium plan | Well-regarded | Fast response times consistently praised |
| Knowledge Resources | Guides and tutorials, extensive documentation | Knowledge base, webinars, documentation | Extensive help center, training videos, and email academy (even on free plan) |
| Onboarding Support | Basic on lower tiers, personalized on Standard+ | Tailored onboarding on Enterprise plan | Professional services team available |
| Best for → | Users willing to pay for premium support | Businesses wanting reliable support | Businesses valuing responsive support |
Mailchimp offers email support on the free plan (30 days) and email & chat on paid tiers, with priority phone support only on the premium plan along with guides and tutorials, extensive documentation. Brevo offers email support on the free and entry-level plans and priority phone support on business and premium plans along with resources like a knowledge base and webinars.
Campaign Monitor, on the other hand, offers 24/5 global support via email and phone (premium plan), access to deliverability experts regardless of plan tier, onboarding assistance, and extensive resources like training videos and an email academy.
"Been working with Campaign Monitor for 10+ years… Not only does the platform make sending highly-customized emails easy and fun, their support team is phenomenal… Highly recommend."
