Mailchimp: custom-coded template sending restricted to Standard and Premium
What happened
Between the Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026 captures of Mailchimp's pricing page, Pulse recorded 3 changes: Mailchimp removed custom-coded template sending from the Essentials plan: the Key Plan Features row moved from 'Create and Send until 12/31/2025' to 'Create - upgrade to send', leaving Standard and Premium as the only plans that can send them. The 15% discount was also restructured from volume-gated ('Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts') to time-based ('Save 15% for 12 months') across the Standard, Essentials, and Premium plan cards. Separately, the Standard free trial is now risk-free with no credit card required, starting with 100 emails free and unlocking 5,900 more sends for the full 14-day trial once a payment method is saved. In detail: Essentials plan lost ability to send custom-coded templates. Previously 'Create and Send until 12/31/2025'; now 'Create - upgrade to send'. Must upgrade to Standard or Premium to send custom-coded templates; 15% discount restructured from volume-gated ('Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts') to time-based ('Save 15% for 12 months') for all new customers on Standard, Essentials, and Premium plans; Standard plan free trial is now risk-free with no credit card required. Start with 100 emails free; save a payment method to unlock 5,900 more sends for the full 14-day trial. Pulse files it as a pricing change (feature change, discount change, trial change) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 12, 2026) lists Essentials at $13, Standard at $20 and Premium at $350.
Mailchimp's previous recorded change was "Mailchimp Locks Premium Migration Behind Sales Wall, Overhauls Plan Labels" (Week 5, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Mailchimp Cuts Basic Plan Email Sends and Contacts Limit, Renames Free Plan" (Jan 13, 2026), "Mailchimp Commerce Removes Creative Assistant Feature from Websites Pricing Page" (Jan 12, 2026) and "Mailchimp Rebrands Basic Tier as Free With New Marketing Tagline" (Week 1, 2026). Mailchimp has been tracked since 2023-11-14.
In the same window HubSpot, Convertkit, Constant Contact, Getresponse and Klaviyo also changed their Marketing & Content pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Essentials, Standard, Premium · FeatureFeature change
Essentials plan lost ability to send custom-coded templates. Previously 'Create and Send until 12/31/2025'; now 'Create - upgrade to send'. Must upgrade to Standard or Premium to send custom-coded templates.
- Standard, Essentials, Premium · DiscountDiscount change
15% discount restructured from volume-gated ('Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts') to time-based ('Save 15% for 12 months') for all new customers on Standard, Essentials, and Premium plans.
- Standard · TrialTrial change
Standard plan free trial is now risk-free with no credit card required. Start with 100 emails free; save a payment method to unlock 5,900 more sends for the full 14-day trial.
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials, Standard, Premium | Feature | Essentials plan lost ability to send custom-coded templates. Previously 'Create and Send until 12/31/2025'; now 'Create - upgrade to send'. Must upgrade to Standard or Premium to send custom-coded templates. | Feature change | |
| Standard, Essentials, Premium | Discount | 15% discount restructured from volume-gated ('Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts') to time-based ('Save 15% for 12 months') for all new customers on Standard, Essentials, and Premium plans. | Discount change | |
| Standard | Trial | Standard plan free trial is now risk-free with no credit card required. Start with 100 emails free; save a payment method to unlock 5,900 more sends for the full 14-day trial. | Trial change | |
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 Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page.
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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- Jun 2, 2026packagingMailchimp ends free template sending after May 31 deadline
- Apr 20, 2026packagingMailchimp Drops Introductory Discount, Raises Prices Up to 17%
- Apr 2, 2026packagingMailchimp quietly trims Standard trial send limit to 5,900
- Apr 3, 2026packagingMailchimp: custom-coded template sending restricted to Standard and Premium · this change
- Week 5, 2026improvedMailchimp Locks Premium Migration Behind Sales Wall, Overhauls Plan Labels
- Jan 13, 2026packagingMailchimp Cuts Basic Plan Email Sends and Contacts Limit, Renames Free Plan
- Jan 12, 2026packagingMailchimp Commerce Removes Creative Assistant Feature from Websites Pricing Page
- Week 1, 2026packagingMailchimp Rebrands Basic Tier as Free With New Marketing Tagline
Across Marketing & Content in the same window
All Marketing & Content changes- HubSpotApr 3HubSpot Operations Starter Slashes Starter Seats Up to 40% for New Customers
- ConvertkitApr 3Convertkit shifts Pro messaging to revenue analytics, reshuffles Creator tools
- Constant ContactApr 3Constant Contact slashes promo discount to 30% off Lite plan only
- GetresponseFeb 23Getresponse slashes annual discount from 30% to 18% across all plans
- KlaviyoJan 12Klaviyo Expands Pre-Built Integrations to 350+ and Introduces Australia MMS Support with New Pricing
Questions about this change
Did Mailchimp raise prices in March 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a pricing change: feature change, discount change, trial change.
What changed on Mailchimp's pricing page between Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026?
Essentials plan lost ability to send custom-coded templates. Previously 'Create and Send until 12/31/2025'; now 'Create - upgrade to send'. Must upgrade to Standard or Premium to send custom-coded templates; 15% discount restructured from volume-gated ('Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts') to time-based ('Save 15% for 12 months') for all new customers on Standard, Essentials, and Premium plans; Standard plan free trial is now risk-free with no credit card required. Start with 100 emails free; save a payment method to unlock 5,900 more sends for the full 14-day trial. Pulse compared the captures it took on Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Mailchimp change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 5 other pricing-page changes for Mailchimp in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Mailchimp Locks Premium Migration Behind Sales Wall, Overhauls Plan Labels" in Week 5, 2026; Mailchimp has been tracked since 2023-11-14.