Mailchimp
Relay.app
| Feature | Mailchimp | Relay.app |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $13/mo | Free / from $16/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, startups, solopreneurs, e-commerce | operations-teams, agencies, small-businesses, compliance-teams |
| Founded | 2001 | 2021 |
| Email Campaigns | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audience Segments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| A B Testing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Builder | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Steps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Human Approvals | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multiplayer Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Mailchimp Pros
- Free tier for up to 500 contacts
- Easy drag-and-drop email builder
- Built-in automation workflows
- Good reporting and analytics
✗ Mailchimp Cons
- Gets expensive as list grows
- Automation less powerful than competitors
- Limited A/B testing on lower plans
✓ Relay.app Pros
- Human-in-the-loop approvals
- AI steps built in
- Collaborative workflows
- Clean modern interface
✗ Relay.app Cons
- Fewer integrations than Zapier
- Newer platform
- Limited advanced logic
The Verdict
Mailchimp is built for small businesses and startups, with a focus on email-campaigns and automation. Relay.app targets operations teams and agencies and leads with workflow-builder and ai-steps.
Pricing is close: Mailchimp starts at $13/mo versus $16/mo for Relay.app — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Mailchimp offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Relay.app takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for small businesses — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
