Mailchimp Cuts Basic Plan Email Sends and Contacts Limit, Renames Free Plan
What happened
Between the Oct 3, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026 captures of Mailchimp's pricing page, Pulse recorded 5 changes: Basic plan (formerly Free) monthly email sends limit decreased from 1,000/month (or 500/day) to 500/month (or 250/day); Creative Assistant feature removed from feature comparison table; Basic plan (formerly Free) contact limit decreased from 500 contacts to 250 contacts; Free plan renamed to Basic plan; Custom-coded Templates for Essentials and Basic plans now show 'Create and Send until 12/31/2025' expiration notice instead of simple availability indicators. Pulse files it as a packaging change (limit lowered, feature removed, plan renamed, feature change). Pulse's latest capture (Nov 9, 2026) lists Essentials at $13, Standard at $20 and Premium at $350.
This quarterly roll-up includes the change Pulse first recorded in a shorter period: "Mailchimp Rebrands Basic Tier as Free With New Marketing Tagline" (week of Dec 22, 2025, saved Dec 29, 2025). It also records changes none of that period did (limit lowered, feature change and feature removed), so Pulse counts it as a change of its own. Before that, Mailchimp's previous recorded change was "Mailchimp Commerce Removes Creative Assistant Feature from Websites Pricing Page" (Jan 12, 2026). Mailchimp has been tracked since 2023-11-14.
In the same window HubSpot, Klaviyo, Convertkit, Constant Contact and Getresponse also changed their Marketing & Content pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Limit loweredBasicLimit
Basic plan (formerly Free) monthly email sends limit decreased from 1,000/month (or 500/day) to 500/month (or 250/day)
- Removed—Feature
BeforeCreative Assistant feature
AfterNot listed
- −50%BasicLimit500 contacts250 contacts
- Renamed—PlanFree planBasic plan
- AddedEssentialsFeature
BeforeNot listed
AfterCreate and Send until 12/31/2025 expiration notice instead of simple availability indicators
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Limit | — | 500/month | Limit lowered |
| — | Feature | Creative Assistant feature | Not listed | Removed |
| Basic | Limit | 500 contacts | 250 contacts | −50% |
| — | Plan | Free plan | Basic plan | Renamed |
| Essentials | Feature | Not listed | Create and Send until 12/31/2025 expiration notice instead of simple availability indicators | Added |
Values as written on Mailchimp's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Mailchimp's pricing page (mailchimp.com) from Oct 3, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where "Free plan" becomes "Basic plan".
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Mailchimp, the last 90 days
Full history- Apr 3, 2026PackagingMailchimp: custom-coded template sending restricted to Standard and Premium
- Apr 2, 2026PackagingMailchimp quietly trims Standard trial send limit to 5,900
- Week of Jan 19, 2026ImprovementMailchimp Locks Premium Migration Behind Sales Wall, Overhauls Plan Labels
- Jan 13, 2026Limit loweredMailchimp Cuts Basic Plan Email Sends and Contacts Limit, Renames Free Plan This change
- Jan 12, 2026PackagingMailchimp Commerce Removes Creative Assistant Feature from Websites Pricing Page
- Week of Dec 22, 2025PackagingMailchimp Rebrands Basic Tier as Free With New Marketing Tagline
Across Marketing & Content in the same window
All Marketing & Content changes- HubSpotJan 14HubSpot Service Starter Launches Service Hub Enterprise Plan at $150/mo/seat, Enhancing Help Desk Software with Advanced Features and $3,500 Onboarding Fee
- KlaviyoJan 12Klaviyo Expands Pre-Built Integrations to 350+ and Introduces Australia MMS Support with New Pricing
- ConvertkitJan 11Convertkit Enhances Pro Plan with Deliverability Reporting and Introduces User Limit for Newsletter Plan
- Constant ContactJan 11Constant Contact Introduces Game-Changing Campaign Builder Feature for Rapid Multi-Channel Campaign Creation
- GetresponseJan 10Getresponse Reveals MAX Pricing at $1099/mo Annually Amid Significant Discount Reductions and Price Increases
Questions about this change
Did Mailchimp raise prices in January 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Oct 3, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: limit lowered, feature removed, plan renamed, feature change.
What changed on Mailchimp's pricing page between Oct 3, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026?
Basic plan (formerly Free) monthly email sends limit decreased from 1,000/month (or 500/day) to 500/month (or 250/day); feature removed: Creative Assistant feature; Basic limit: 500 contacts → 250 contacts (−50%); plan: Free plan → Basic plan, renamed; Essentials feature added: Create and Send until 12/31/2025 expiration notice instead of simple availability indicators. Pulse compared the captures it took on Oct 3, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Mailchimp change its pricing?
This quarterly roll-up includes the change Pulse first recorded in the week of Dec 22, 2025 and also records changes none of them did (limit lowered, feature change, feature removed), so Pulse counts it as a change of its own; Pulse recorded 1 other pricing-page change for Mailchimp in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Mailchimp Commerce Removes Creative Assistant Feature from Websites Pricing Page" on Jan 12, 2026; Mailchimp has been tracked since 2023-11-14.