Mailchimp
Resend
| Feature | Mailchimp | Resend |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $13/mo | Free / from $20/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, startups, solopreneurs, e-commerce | developers, saas-products, startups, indie-hackers |
| Founded | 2001 | 2022 |
| Email Campaigns | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audience Segments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| A B Testing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Transactional Email | ✗ | ✓ |
| React Email | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Domains | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dedicated Ips | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Resend Pros
- Best developer experience for sending emails
- React Email for building templates with components
- Free tier with 100 emails/day (3,000/month)
- Excellent deliverability with dedicated IPs available
✗ Resend Cons
- Marketing email features are minimal
- Newer platform with less enterprise track record
- No built-in email editor for non-developers
The Verdict
Mailchimp is built for small businesses and startups, with a focus on email-campaigns and automation. Resend targets developers and saas products and leads with transactional-email and react-email.
On pricing, Mailchimp is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $13/mo compared to $20/mo for Resend. That $7/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for startups — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Resend has a slight overall edge — but if free tier for up to 500 contacts matters most to you, Mailchimp may still be the right call.
