Change record
Mailchimp pricing changes
Mailchimp introduced Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium on 15 May 2019. This page records that dated model change from official Mailchimp help, plus the contact caps and send multiples those plans still publish. Current Essentials, Standard and Premium dollars live on the Mailchimp pricing pages.
What the plan model changed
Read from Mailchimp help pages that still name 15 May 2019 as the day the current Marketing plans replaced the older lineup.
| Rule | Before 15 May 2019 | Current Marketing plans | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan names | Legacy Monthly, Pay As You Go and Free | Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium | Mailchimp help still dates the new model to 15 May 2019. Accounts opened before that stay on legacy plans until they change. |
| Essentials entry | Not part of the pre-2019 lineup | New paid tier priced by contacts, from 500 contacts | Send allowance is 10 times the contact limit. Cap is 50,000 contacts. |
| Standard entry | Not part of the pre-2019 lineup under this name | Paid tier priced by contacts, from 500 contacts | Send allowance is 12 times the contact limit. Cap is 100,000 contacts. |
| Premium floor | Not part of the pre-2019 lineup | Standalone top tier with a 10,000 contact base | Send allowance is 15 times the contact limit. Cap is 200,000 contacts before custom. |
| Legacy Free still on old accounts | 2,000 contacts and 12,000 monthly sends | Current Free is 250 contacts and 500 monthly sends | Both figures come from official Mailchimp help. The dated free-plan cut story for new Free accounts lives on the when-Mailchimp-got-expensive page. |
This page is a change record, not a second Mailchimp ladder. The current Essentials, Standard and Premium dollars at the eight SideBySend breakpoints live on Mailchimp pricing, with single stops on Mailchimp cost at 500 contacts. The free plan cut, by December 2025, and the April 2026 legacy invoice move are recorded on when Mailchimp got expensive.
Plan caps and what counts
Structure only. Band dollars stay on the Mailchimp pricing page.
Crossing a plan cap is a plan change, not only a tier change. Essentials stops at 50,000 contacts. Standard stops at 100,000 contacts. Premium stops at 200,000 contacts before custom pricing. Official help also says going over a contact limit adds a charge to that month rather than pausing the account.
Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count toward the total. Archived, cleaned and deleted contacts do not.
Where these numbers are soft
Related
- Mailchimp pricingFull Essentials, Standard and Premium ladder at eight breakpoints.
- When Mailchimp got expensiveFree plan cut and legacy invoice increase recorded as a dated narrative.
- Mailchimp cost at 500 contactsVerified Essentials 13, Standard 20 and Premium 350 at the entry stop.
- Mailchimp cost at 2,500 contactsVerified Essentials and Standard at the next published slider stop.
- SendGrid Marketing Campaigns cost at 5,000 contactsVerified dial stop at 5,000 stored contacts, Marketing Campaigns only.
- ActiveCampaign pricing changesThe billing rule that raised bills without moving a price.
- Brevo pricing changesGenerous contact storage to hard caps, then the legacy migration.
- Mailchimp SMS pricingCredit add-on recorded beside the email ladder.
- Email tool pricing tableSix vendors at the same eight breakpoints, including Mailchimp.
- Change historyEvery recorded pricing event, newest first.
- MethodologyHow verified, derived and estimate cells are labelled.
- DisclosureNo affiliate links and no paid placements on this site today.