Mailchimp vs Pushwoosh (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Pushwoosh is our pick, scoring 6.9/10 against 6.6/10 for Mailchimp on our Marketing criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Cost score (8/10 vs 4/10). For 10 users, Pushwoosh is free, against $350/mo for Mailchimp; both Mailchimp and Pushwoosh have a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Mailchimp
6.6/10
Intuit-owned email marketing platform with automation flows, signup forms, segmentation and optional SMS, priced by contact count for small and growing businesses.
Pushwoosh
6.9/10
Pushwoosh is a customer engagement platform that sends mobile and web push, in-app, email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns to app and website users, priced by monthly active users.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.6/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 8/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $13/mo Essentials | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $350/mo Premium | Free Pay-as-you-go (Free) |
| Features | ||
| A/B Testing | ||
| E-commerce Features | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| Segmentation | ||
| SMS Marketing | ||
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
Mailchimp vs Pushwoosh cost by team size
Mailchimp and Pushwoosh cost the same at 1 user; Pushwoosh costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Mailchimp | Pushwoosh |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | FreePay-as-you-go (Free) |
| 5 users | $20/moStandard | FreePay-as-you-go (Free) |
| 10 users | $350/moPremium | FreePay-as-you-go (Free) |
| 25 users | $350/moPremium | FreePay-as-you-go (Free) |
| 50 users | $350/moPremium | FreePay-as-you-go (Free) |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who Mailchimp and Pushwoosh suit
Pushwoosh fits developers and enterprise better than Mailchimp.
| Audience | Mailchimp | Pushwoosh |
|---|---|---|
| Developers | 2/10Marketing campaign tool aimed at non-technical users, not developer sending. | 8/10Broad SDK coverage, full API access on every plan and an MCP server make it practical to embed in mobile and web apps. |
| Enterprise | 4/10Premium offers SSO and onboarding, but contact-based pricing at large volumes and reported support problems limit its appeal for enterprises. | 6/10The custom tier adds SSO, an SLA, MSA/DPA and private cloud hosting, but its scale and ecosystem are smaller than Braze or Airship. |
| Marketing Teams | 7/10Standard and Premium add multiple seats, roles, predictive segments and custom reports for team workflows. | 8/10A no-code journey builder, segmentation and A/B/n testing let marketers run retention campaigns without engineering help. |
| Startups | 7/10Starting on Essentials or Standard is cheap, but the 2026 Free plan with 250 contacts is now too limited for most startups to grow on. | 8/10The free tier covers up to 1,000 MAU with unlimited push, and paid usage scales per 1,000 MAU with no base fee. |
| E-commerce | 7/10Includes e-commerce features, SMS and predictive segments for online sellers. | 7/10Shopify and Magento integrations support triggered and abandoned-cart messages, though Pushwoosh is not an email-first commerce tool. |
| Agencies | 5/10Widely used template-driven tool, but seat limits on lower plans and steep contact pricing limit client work. | Not rated |
| Freelancers | 6/10The Free and Essentials plans cover basic newsletters, but the single-user, 500-send free cap is restrictive. | Not rated |
| Government | Not rated | 3/10US agencies removed Pushwoosh code in 2022 after reports of Russia-based development, which may raise procurement concerns. |
| Mid-Market | 6/10Premium adds unlimited seats, SSO and phone support, but starts at 350 USD a month and rises with list size. | Not rated |
| Nonprofits | 4/10No nonprofit discount is mentioned and costs rise steeply with list size. | Not rated |
| SaaS Companies | Not rated | 6/10In-app and push messaging help with product engagement, and integrations with RevenueCat, Stripe and Adapty support subscription businesses. |
| Small Business | 8/10Low entry prices and an easy template-based editor suit small lists, although costs climb quickly as contacts grow. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Mailchimp
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Integration score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Pushwoosh
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $350/mo
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for developers (8/10 vs 2/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (6/10 vs 4/10)
Pros & Cons
Mailchimp
Pros
- Reviewers on G2 and Capterra often praise the template library and easy navigation, which help non-technical users send campaigns quickly.
- Large review base, with a 4.5 rating on Capterra from more than 17,000 reviews and 4.3 on G2.
- Standard includes up to 200 automation flows, predictive segments and generative AI tools at a low starting price.
- Premium adds enterprise SSO, unlimited seats and dedicated onboarding for larger teams.
Cons
- Costs rise steeply with list size. Premium starts at 350 USD a month, and reviewers rank pricing as the top complaint.
- New accounts are billed for unsubscribed and unconfirmed contacts, and going over the plan limit triggers overage fees.
- In January 2026 the Free plan was cut to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and automations were removed from it.
- Reviewers on G2 and Capterra say support is slow or inconsistent, especially for integration troubleshooting.
- Essentials limits automation flows to four steps.
Pushwoosh
Pros
- The free tier includes unlimited push notifications and in-app impressions for up to 1,000 MAU, along with the full feature set.
- Usage-based pricing of $7 to $13 per 1,000 MAU has no base fee, so it stays affordable for growing apps.
- Push, in-app, email, SMS, WhatsApp and Asian messengers run from one journey builder with A/B/n testing.
- Wide SDK coverage, including Flutter, React Native and Unity, plus integrations with Segment, Mixpanel, Amplitude, AppsFlyer and RevenueCat.
- It holds ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type 2 certification, claims HIPAA compliance, and offers EU data hosting in Germany.
- Capterra reviewers rate customer service highly, giving it 4.7 out of 5.
Cons
- G2 reviewers report that some features are hard to find in the menus and that the admin UI can feel unintuitive.
- Some users report delays in notifications and report generation.
- SMS and WhatsApp fees are billed separately by third-party providers and Meta, which makes total costs harder to predict.
- SSO, an SLA and a dedicated manager are only on the custom tier, which starts at about $3,000 a month.
- The 2022 Reuters report on its Russia-based development led the US Army and CDC to remove its code, which may concern some security-sensitive buyers.
- There are no social media tools, and reporting is described as less detailed than some specialist analytics tools.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Pushwoosh scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.6/10 for Mailchimp. The largest gap is in Cost: 4/10 for Mailchimp and 8/10 for Pushwoosh.
Pushwoosh costs less for 10 users: free on its Pay-as-you-go (Free) plan, against about $350/mo on its Premium plan for Mailchimp, billed monthly.
Yes, both Mailchimp and Pushwoosh have a free plan.
Pushwoosh is the better fit for developers: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 2/10 for Mailchimp.
