Mailjet vs Mailchimp: Take My Expert Opinion [2024 Update]

If you’ve been in the email marketing game a while, you’ll be used to every Email Marketing Service (EMS) claiming to offer all the features you could ever need. Mailchimp claims you can “do it all” with its platform, while Mailjet calls itself an all-in-one platform that’s “Europe’s leading email solution.”

But this isn’t helpful if you’re trying to figure out which EMS is best for you – especially when no one provider can offer everything. I thoroughly tested Mailchimp vs Mailjet, and found they share three main selling points: ease of use, an all-in-one service, and a free plan.

The simple fact is that Mailchimp’s paid plans are pricier than Mailjet’s – but they’ll take your email marketing further. Explore Mailchimp’s features for free or read on to which EMS is right for you.

Features

Mailjet’s Shallow Features Can’t Keep Up with Mailchimp

Now, none of these are going to break the bank (they range from about $7-15), and they’re mobile responsive and easy to customize – but still, I don’t see any other EMS charging extra for email templates.

Mailjet also only gives you about 45 templates. They aren’t bad, but honestly, I’d hoped for more from both Mailchimp and Mailjet. If you want sleeker, more modern designs, I recommend Sendinblue’s free plan1.

Automation is another essential feature for getting your emails launched quickly. When I compared Mailjet vs Mailchimp, I was sorely disappointed by Mailjet’s automated workflows. With Mailjet, automation isn’t included unless you subscribe to the Premium plan, starting at $25.00 per month. Even then, what you get isn’t great – especially since Mailchimp has multi-step automation and branching paths.

Mailchimp offers automated workflows on its Essentials plan, starting at $20.00 per month. It comes with everything you need to run a solid email marketing campaign – there are enough triggers to set up abandoned cart messages and customer rewards, for instance. Mailchimp offers several workflow templates to help get you started, too, which Mailjet simply can’t compete with.

So, what about segmentation? Mailchimp allows you to create segments and add tags to contacts, but you can’t organize your contacts by behavior, such as when subscribers click specific links or visit a page on your website. You also can’t make more than one list, which made organizing even my small list of contacts feel awkward and clunky.

With Mailjet, you can segment your mailing list by things like geographic location, language, and behavior.

Finally, let’s talk about importing contacts. To my disappointment, you can only import CSV files to Mailchimp. Mailjet lets you import contacts from CSV, TXT, and RTF formats.

Still, overall, Mailchimp’s versatile workflow options are worth more than the edge Mailjet has when it comes to segmentation. This makes Mailjet easier to manage, but Mailchimp’s workflows allow you to do a lot more with your email campaigns.

Ease of Use

Both Are Easy to Use, but Mailchimp Ekes Out a Win

I’ve seen Mailchimp recommended for its ease of use more times than I can count. During my tests, I found these rumors to be true – Mailchimp really is easy to learn. I was able to send out test campaigns within an hour, and it was simple to navigate the dashboard.

Mailjet also makes it easy to create email campaigns. The process only takes a few steps, which involves filling out the campaign details one at a time. It’s easy to understand, and I have zero complaints!

But when it comes to A/B testing, Mailjet starts to fall behind Mailchimp. Mailchimp lets you test up to 3 variations of an email’s subject line, sender name, content, and send time. Meanwhile, Mailjet allows you to test up to 10 variations – but you can only test variations of the subject, sender name, and buttons. 

Testing email content is super useful and important for learning more about your readers, so I prefer Mailchimp out of these two options.

Deliverability

Mailchimp Trumps Mailjet’s Non-Existent Anti-Spam Measures

First off, you can ignore all the salesy claims other reviewers make about providing “98% delivery rates!” Those kinds of guarantees just aren’t possible. Here at Website Planet, we use a much more reliable way to judge email deliverability.

To determine whether Mailchimp vs Mailjet has better features for deliverability, I first compared them on domain authentication. Mailjet offers DKIM and SPF domain authentication, while Mailchimp offers DKIM authentication. DKIM authentication is what you should look for – so both services do well here. Just remember to authenticate your domain!

When you send emails with an email marketing service, you’re sharing its server with other users. That means that if someone else using the service sends spam, the whole server will get flagged – including your emails.

A private IP is the only way to avoid this risk. You’ll need a big budget to afford it – but it’s always good to know you’ve got the option. If you’re on Mailjet’s Premium plan, you get 1 dedicated IP address, but only if you’re on the 100,000+ emails/month plan.

By comparison, Mailchimp offers a dedicated IP at an additional price of $29.95 per month. That’s an extremely generous cost compared to most other EMS – and there’s no monthly email sends or subscriber count minimum like with Mailjet.

Lastly, I looked at how both services treat spam and affiliate marketing. Mailjet completely lacks any sort of anti-spam policy. I was also able to send out a test email riddled with spammy links, and I didn’t receive any kind of warning or block.

Mailchimp requires you to follow its anti-spam guidelines and outright bans affiliate marketing. But I decided to put this to the test by sending a gibberish spam email through Mailchimp – and Mailchimp let me.

Not only is it cheaper to get a dedicated IP, you’re also far more likely to deliver your emails successfully with Mailchimp than with Mailjet’s weak anti-spam and affiliate marketing policies.

Reporting and Analytics

Not Enough Data for the Price

Often you don’t get reports until you’re on a paid plan, so I was pleased to discover Mailchimp offers basic reports even on its Free plan. You can see data on open rates, forwards, clicks, and social media performance. If you upgrade to the Premium plan, you’ll also get heatmaps – but that’s extremely pricey for that level of analytics.

Mailjet’s free plan does include simple reports, which cover email open rates, clicks, and non-delivery rates – but this information is superficial at best. You’ll have to upgrade to the Premium plan to access click maps, ISP statistics, and campaign comparisons, which let you compare up to 10 of your campaigns at once.

If you opt for a free or more budget-friendly plan, Mailchimp will provide you with more valuable reports compared to Mailjet. If you have a mid-level budget and wish to avoid the high costs associated with Mailchimp’s most expensive plan, Mailjet offers enhanced features such as click maps and campaign comparisons that will better suit your needs.

But honestly, neither offers the best analytics out there. For comparison, ActiveCampaign’s analytics include heat maps and automation reports1 without the hundred-dollar price tag.

Pricing

Should You Pay For Mailchimp or Mailjet?

Both Mailjet and Mailchimp offer free plans, which is a great way to familiarize yourself with a service before deciding to go premium. But Mailjet and Mailchimp both have a few key things missing from their free versions.

When it comes to paid plans, Mailchimp has a cheaper starting price than Mailjet – and offers more features. Mailchimp’s Essentials plan starts at $13.00 per month, while Mailjet’s Essential plan starts at $15.00 per month.

But Mailchimp starts getting real pricey the more contacts you have. So if you have a big mailing list or plans to grow, Mailjet’s plans might suit you better.

Here’s What You Get for Free

Mailchimp’s Free plan includes basic automation to get you started. And I mean basic – all you can send are autoresponders for new subscribers, abandoned cart reminders, and happy birthday emails. Still, since many services require you to pay for automation, it’s pretty cool Mailchimp gives you basic autoresponders for free. Mailchimp’s Free plan limits you to 2,000 contacts, so eventually, you’ll have to upgrade, but I could see it working great for startup businesses.

Mailjet’s free plan doesn’t have any contact limit, so you’ll be able to get by with a bigger mailing list. You’re limited to sending 6,000 emails per month or 200 per day, however. And you don’t get automation or segmentation, which are pretty important features for managing a large mailing list.

Here’s What You Get If You Pay

Mailjet offers two paid plans: Essential and Premium. You can also set up a custom plan to scale to your needs. Mailjet’s Essential plan starts at $13.00 per month, and its Premium plan starts at $25.00. There’s no contact limit, but you can only send 15,000 emails per month. Increasing your monthly email limit makes your subscription cost go up.

To be honest, what you get with the Essential plan doesn’t justify the cost. For example, you don’t get automation or A/B testing until you sign up for Mailjet’s Premium plan, which costs $25.00 or more.

You get more with Mailchimp’s free and lower-priced plans, but the cost scales dramatically with the number of contacts you have. For 500 contacts, Mailchimp’s Essentials plan starts at $13.00, its Standard plan at $20.00, and its Premium plan at $299. Mailchimp’s Essentials plan offers limited automation, but you won’t get behavioral targeting until you unlock “Customer Journeys” on the Standard plan.

If you’re running a small business, you’ll get more value from Mailchimp’s plans. But once you have a lot of contacts, the prices quickly hike up. A large mailing list will work better with Mailjet – but then you’re getting less features. If you want powerful features that let you get more out of your email marketing, I recommend Mailchimp’s Standard plan, which includes automated workflows for not a lot more than the Essentials Plan.

Here’s a comparison of what you get with Mailchimp’s Essentials plan and Mailjet’s Essential plan:

Support

Mailjet’s Broken Customer Support Can’t Compete

I tested Mailjet vs Mailchimp at the same time to see which had the faster, more helpful response – and ran into a world of frustration. Still, while Mailchimp has some issues, Mailjet support is a total joke – chat and phone are consistently offline. My only option was to open a support ticket.

I messaged Mailjet support about whether or not I could import my contacts from a Word document, and to my surprise I got a response in exactly 10 minutes. At first I was wowed – that’s about the fastest response I’ve ever gotten! But my awe quickly faded to suspicion as I noticed the ticket was closed and the Mailjet support agent ignored everything I asked. Unfortunately, my colleague had the same issue – just read their Mailjet review to see why they were disappointed – so it seems like this isn’t a one-off issue.

Mailchimp also had issues with its live chat being offline (although my colleague didn’t encounter this issue in their Mailchimp review), giving me a 404 error when I tried to open it. I was once again forced to turn to email, as I couldn’t find a phone number, and the Helpbot is useless compared to an actual human.

Mailchimp responded to my email in roughly 7 hours. The message came in the middle of the night, so its claims of 24/7 support seem to be correct (at least with email). I asked the same question about importing my contacts from a Word doc, and the Mailchimp agent gave me a very thorough response.

Mailchimp definitely surpasses the disastrously low bar set by Mailjet. It’s live chat isn’t reliable, but you can at least depend on its 24/7 email ticket support.

Mailchimp Gives You a Much Better Experience than Mailjet

There are pros and cons to each service, but overall, Mailchimp gives you a stronger email marketing toolkit than Mailjet. Mailchimp’s Free plan is much stronger than Mailjet’s, giving you single-step automation and 2,500 email sends per month. 

If you have a lot of contacts, Mailjet is probably going to be cheaper than Mailchimp – but what’s the real cost? You end up sacrificing essential features like automation workflows and content split testing. In my opinion, Mailchimp’s superior features are well worth paying extra for. Think about it like this: better features mean better email marketing and better CTRs. 

Unless there’s something specific about Mailjet you really love, or you’re looking for something cheaper than Mailchimp, I suggest picking Mailchimp over Mailjet for your email marketing needs.

Here’s a final comparison of Mailjet and Mailchimp’s features:

FAQ

Is Mailjet any good?

Mailjet is decent enough, but it doesn’t compare to other email marketing services out there. If it were cheaper or had a more extensive free plan, it might make up for its missing features. But, honestly, any of the other services we cover in our email marketing guide will get you more robust automation, A/B testing, and reports.

How much does Mailjet cost?

Mailjet offers a free plan that’s limited to sending 6,000 emails per month and 200 per day. If you want less limitations and more features, it also has an Essential plan, starting at $15.00 per month, and a Premium plan, starting at $25.00 per month.

Which is better: Constant Contact or Mailchimp?

Constant Contact is fairly evenly matched with Constant Contact, unless you want a free plan, which Constant Contact lacks. With Constant Contact, you get more in-depth contact management, stronger automations, and more insightful reports with comparative pricing. Plus, if you’re in the US, Constant Contact offers a 60-day free trial (30 days if you’re elsewhere).

Is Mailchimp free?

Mailchimp offers a free version with some basic features, capped at 2,000 contacts. This is a great option for bloggers and startups, but I suggest considering a paid plan if you’re a business owner or have a growing audience. Mailchimp’s paid plans come with more features, like split testing and automation workflows.