Mailchimp and Brevo are both strong UK email marketing options, but they price in opposite ways, and that single difference decides which one is cheaper for you. Mailchimp charges on the number of contacts you hold. Brevo charges on the number of emails you send, with contacts effectively unlimited. Neither model is better in the abstract; the right pick depends entirely on the shape of your list against how often you email it.
Pricing and plans compared
The headline here is the pricing model, not a single cheaper brand. Mailchimp uses per-contact pricing: your bill tracks the size of your audience, so a large list is expensive even if you rarely send to it, and it counts unsubscribed contacts too, so an uncleaned list quietly costs more. Brevo uses per-email pricing: you can hold an unlimited number of contacts and pay only for the volume of emails you actually send each month. The comparison table on this page shows each platform's current pricing in pounds, and the calculator above folds your real contact count and monthly send volume into an estimated figure for each, which is the only reliable way to see which model wins for you.
As a rough guide, Brevo tends to be cheapest for a large list emailed infrequently, where Mailchimp would charge for every stored contact. Mailchimp can pull ahead for a smaller, contained list that you email very often, where send volume rather than list size drives the cost. Both bill UK customers in pounds, so this is a like for like comparison with no exchange rate to factor in.
Who each one is built for
Mailchimp suits senders with a contained, well maintained list who email regularly and want a familiar editor with a deep template library behind it. If your audience is steady in size and your sending is frequent, per-contact pricing is predictable and the tool is easy to recognise.
Brevo suits senders who hold a large or fast growing list but do not email it constantly, or who want unlimited contacts without watching the audience count drive the bill. With native SMS included, it also fits businesses that want email and text managed in one place rather than bolted together.
Deliverability and automation
Both platforms land mail reliably and post solid deliverability, so neither has a meaningful inbox advantage. On automation they are well matched: each offers multi step workflows and triggers for welcome series, re-engagement and behaviour based sends. The difference is reach. Mailchimp reserves its more advanced workflows for higher tiers, while Brevo includes automation across its paid plans and pairs it with native SMS, so you can combine email and text in a single flow. For multichannel sequences Brevo is the stronger engine out of the box.
Ease of use and templates
Both are approachable, with drag and drop editors that a first time sender can pick up quickly. Mailchimp has the larger template library and a long catalogue of guides, which appeals if you want the widest choice of ready made designs. Brevo's editor is clean and capable, with fewer templates but everything you need to build a tidy campaign, plus the SMS and transactional tools sitting alongside it. Neither is hard to learn; Mailchimp wins on design choice, Brevo on having more channels in one workspace.
UK considerations
For a UK sender the good news is that both Mailchimp and Brevo bill natively in pounds, so your invoice is a fixed amount with no exchange rate to track, which keeps the comparison clean and focused on the billing model. Both are built to keep you compliant with UK GDPR and PECR, with consent capture through signup forms and a working unsubscribe link in every campaign. Brevo hosts data in the EU, which some UK businesses prefer for data residency, and includes native SMS, so multichannel campaigns to UK numbers sit in the same platform. Mailchimp's SMS is more limited for UK use, so if text is part of your plan, Brevo is the one built for it here.
Pros and cons for this matchup
Mailchimp wins on a familiar editor, the deepest template library and predictable per-contact pricing for a contained list emailed often, all billed in pounds. Its weak spots are charging for unsubscribed contacts and a bill that climbs with list size no matter how little you send.
Brevo wins on per-email pricing with unlimited contacts, native SMS, EU hosting and pound billing, which makes it the value pick for a large list emailed infrequently or a multichannel sender. Its trade-off is that heavy senders with a small list can end up paying more than they would on a per-contact plan.
The verdict
Choose by your list shape, not the brand. If you hold a large or growing audience and email it on a measured schedule, Brevo's per-email model with unlimited contacts is usually cheaper and adds native SMS into the bargain. If your list is contained and you email it frequently, Mailchimp's per-contact pricing can be the more predictable fit, and you get the broadest template library with it. Both bill in pounds, so the decision rests on one question: does your cost come from how many people you store, or how many emails you send? Map that to your own numbers in the calculator above and the cheaper platform becomes clear.