Mailchimp vs Customer.io: Side-by-Side Comparison (2025)

Choosing between Mailchimp and Customer.io comes down to your specific use case. Mailchimp is built for beginners and small businesses, while Customer.io targets product and growth teams sending behaviour-triggered messages.

Quick Verdict

Overall winner
Customer.io
Better pricing
Mailchimp
More features
Customer.io
For beginners
Mailchimp
E-commerce
Mailchimp

Feature Comparison

Feature Customer.io Mailchimp
๐Ÿ’ฐ Pricing
Free Planโœ—โœ“
Starting Price$100/mo$13/mo
Free Trialโœ“โœ“
โš™๏ธ Features
Email Automationโœ“โœ“
Visual Workflow Builderโœ“โœ—
Landing Pagesโœ—โœ“
Built-in CRMโœ—โœ—
SMS Marketingโœ“โœ—
A/B Testingโœ—โœ“
E-commerce Integrationโœ—โœ—
Transactional Emailโœ“โœ—
Remove Brandingโœ“โœ—
๐Ÿค– AI Features
AI Subject Linesโœ—โœ—
AI Send-Time Optimisationโœ—โœ—
๐Ÿ›Ž Support
Email Supportโœ“โœ“
Live Chatโœ“โœ—
Phone Supportโœ“โœ—
Customer.io
โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜† 4.4/5
Mailchimp
โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜† 4.3/5
Our verdict

Customer.io is best for product and growth teams sending behavior-triggered messages.

Try Customer.io Free โ†’
Our verdict

Mailchimp is best for beginners and small businesses.

Try Mailchimp Free โ†’

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Customer.io ifโ€ฆ

  • You are primarily focused on beginners and small businesses
  • You value drag-drop editor
  • You prefer freemium pricing
Try Customer.io โ†’

Choose Mailchimp ifโ€ฆ

  • You are primarily focused on product and growth teams sending behaviour-triggered messages
  • You value behavioural triggers
  • You prefer paid pricing
Try Mailchimp โ†’

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mailchimp better than Customer.io?

It depends on your use case. Mailchimp wins for beginners and small businesses, while Customer.io is stronger for product and growth teams sending behaviour-triggered messages.

Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or Customer.io?

Mailchimp starts at a lower price point. Pricing scales with subscriber count so total cost depends on your list size.

Can I switch from Customer.io to Mailchimp?

Yes, switching is possible. Most platforms support CSV import/export. Plan time to recreate automations and templates.