Mailchimp Software Reviews

“Excellent email builder”

Pros

Image handling is one of my favorite parts of the platform because I can quickly drag and drop assets into templates while maintaining a polished look across desktop and mobile devices.

Cons

List management is pretty rough. They did finally add subscriber tags which makes grouping people quicker but keeping lists updated and properly segmented is still difficult. That kind of work really needs automation and this is one of the platform's weaker areas. You can only segment a list using up to five parameters before being pushed to upgrade and each subscriber is limited to roughly 30 total data points which just isn't enough. Everything feels static and even after upgrading for automation, the system still feels heavily restricted with limited options and integrations. There's no real way to create complex workflows, only basic actions which makes hyper-targeting subscribers nearly impossible. In the end, it often feels like you have to fall back on spreadsheets and manual filtering to get the job done.

“Versatile marketing hub”

Pros

Years of development have resulted in a huge ecosystem of integrations and I like that the platform now covers much more than email marketing, including advertising and broader digital marketing activities.

Cons

It does take a little time to get fully comfortable with everything and there's definitely a bit of a learning curve especially for someone who's just starting out.

“Clean setup and useful automations”

Pros

Day-to-day use remains simple and the automation tools help me schedule emails for targeted audiences without adding unnecessary complexity to my workflow.

Cons

Coming back to it after spending a few years with competing platforms took a little adjustment. I had gotten used to a lot of the extra features those tools include so the transition back felt slow at first even though I eventually realized I didn't actually need most of those added bells and whistles.

“templates for bulk mailings”

Pros

It is easy and building templates for high-volume mailings doesn't take much effort. It also works really well for handling workflows across multiple customers and the Mandrill plugin makes it simple to extend when extra functionality is needed.

Cons

There were a few rare service interruptions, particularly when external APIs were involved and those issues weren't always shown accurately on the status pages. They've since updated the way server status is reported so hopefully that means fewer problems going forward.

“advanced email marketing toolkit”

Pros

One of the biggest advantages here is that you can start with a free plan and there's also a paid version that unlocks a much wider set of features from one of the most widely used marketing automation platforms out there. The service is easy to use and packed with useful tools. It does miss an Arabic interface which is a drawback but there are plenty of Arabic tutorials and explanations online that make it easier to learn. The free version is limited, yet it still includes many of the same features available in the paid tiers. The main restrictions are the number of contacts you can store and the number of emails you can send each month. It also gives you live chat so you can communicate directly with customers. Instead of relying on ad-heavy pages, you can reach people directly by email with a personalized message. This is especially useful when you want to contact a specific client and even track whether the email was opened. It's considered one of the best-known mailing services and it makes it simple to target the email lists you want. Another helpful feature is the built-in analysis for your promotional campaigns. Although the free version has become more restricted, the paid plans are still fairly affordable. You can also test email delivery to check whether your message might end up in the spam folder. On top of that, it includes a directory for nonprofit organizations.

Cons

Free plan supports more than 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 messages which is decent but some important features are missing there, such as auto-reply. If you need that functionality, you have to upgrade and plan for the paid version from the start. Pricing can also feel very high and another frustrating limitation is that you can only delete a subscriber list if those subscribers have not been blocked for at least 7 days or more.

“Helpful tutorials and clear guidance”

Pros

Getting started with it was really easy. There are tutorials everywhere and the pop-up hints throughout the site make it very user-friendly.

Cons

About the only downside and it's honestly pretty minor, is that the free version requires their logo to appear at the bottom of any emails.

“effective automation and beautiful templates”

Pros

Putting email campaigns together with this tool has been a really positive experience. The template builder lets you create beautiful emails and the editor comes packed with plenty of features and themes to work with. Deliverability has also been great which matters a lot when sending newsletters or campaigns. Another big plus is the ability to trigger campaigns and set up event-based flows so automation feels quite advanced. The API is well documented and includes lots of examples which helps when connecting custom workflows and the Zapier integration is another useful bonus.

Cons

Biggest downside is the pricing especially if you're running a smaller project. The free plan is fairly limited and some automation features are locked unless you upgrade. Also while the API documentation is good, the API structure itself can feel complicated in practice. Simple tasks, like adding customers to a list, are not always as easy as they should be.

“great email marketing toolkit”

Pros

From small businesses to larger teams, this platform offers an excellent set of email marketing tools. The pricing is based on list size which is a big plus since it starts out free for anyone with fewer than 1,000 subscribers and scales up as your audience grows. It also connects well with most popular content management systems and comes with a massive library of plugins so it works with nearly any website or software that captures email addresses. In our case, we use it with WordPress, WooCommerce and Gravity Forms and the plugins for those platforms send every email we collect straight into the right lists without much effort. Once your contacts are in the system, it's simple to send one-time email blasts or build multi-step campaigns, drip sequences and post-purchase automations for eCommerce. The drag-and-drop email builder also makes it accessible for people who don't know any HTML.

Cons

Main issue is the cost once your list gets large. Ours is around $350 per month so pricing can climb quickly and bigger businesses might feel a bit limited by the platform. That said for most companies, it still feels like the best choice for email marketing.

“Smart targeting and delivery”

Pros

Reaching people the right way is much simpler with this tool. It lets you contact everyone on your list in the format that fits the message best, whether that's a basic newsletter, a static list, dynamically tagged segments, or even individual transactional emails. It also handles the technical and compliance side of email delivery which means you can stay focused on sending the right message to the right person at the right time.

Cons

there's not much to dislike. If I had to point to one weakness, it would be the built-in templates because they tend to look too much alike and it's pretty obvious when one of their email templates lands in your inbox. You can customize them a lot if you go deep into the technical settings but not every user wants to work at that level. I'd really like to see more user-friendly customization options in the standard templates so brands can make their outbound emails feel more distinct.

“Professional newsletter builder”

Pros

It's one of the top platforms for email marketing. The interface is simple and appealing which makes it stand out. The drag-and-drop editor is especially helpful for building templates quickly and it includes nearly everything needed to create a polished, attractive newsletter.

Cons

At the beginning, the pricing felt a bit expensive to me. The mobile app also needs improvement since it tends to crash quite often.

“feature rich!!”

Pros

This platform covers pretty much everything you'd want, geo-tracking, client management social media and Google Analytics integrations, plus an awesome free plan for users with lighter needs. The template editor is also extremely versatile while still being simple to use.

Cons

When it comes to very advanced automation, you may need a bit of help since it's not that simple to set up here. If that's not something you need, it's a really strong tool.

“generous free plan”

Pros

The biggest benefit for me is that CAN-SPAM requirements are handled automatically so I don't have to worry about AOL sending warnings or blocking my outgoing messages to AOL users. I'm still on the free version until my list goes past 2,000 contacts and it's been an impressively generous trial that I've been able to use for more than six years.

Cons

One frustrating part is that, like a lot of companies, they seem to feel the need to keep updating things, moving around the sign-in and setup screens and tinkering with features that were already working fine. It often feels like they're trying to make the product seem newer and more polished, or maybe just justify making changes. Every few months, my assistant and I end up dealing with another learning curve just to figure out where the buttons went this time. I wish they'd stop changing things that don't need fixing. Those of us who aren't tech people and are just trying to run a business don't need extra work just to accomplish the same thing we were doing the week before. Like the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

“great email campaign platform”

Pros

When it comes to easy email marketing, this program does an excellent job. You can upload customized customer lists, deploy them without much hassle and run campaigns for a variety of different purposes.

Cons

It is not a CRM. If you need a more complete solution that combines CRM functionality with email marketing, I'd recommend ACT by Swiftpage which I've used for many years. ACT by Swiftpage is also rolling out ACT Marketing Automation which will let users build and track email campaigns directly inside ACT. Its designer uses drag-and-drop too so even someone new to it can create professional campaigns without training.

“feasible and powerful over time”

Pros

I've used it for years now and it still feels very simple with a navigation flow that makes sense.

Cons

At first it can feel like there are too many templates and features which makes things a bit complicated but once everything clicks, it works really well. I'm also not a fan of the built-in branded opt-in forms because they look awkward and unattractive.

“fast professional emails”

Pros

Putting together polished emails only takes a few minutes and barely any effort with these templates. Uploading photos is simple and I really appreciate that my lists sync directly from my client database. It's also helpful that I can add my website link right into the email and schedule messages to send whenever it works best for me.

Cons

There was a bit of a learning curve at first especially realizing that a template isn't the same thing as a campaign. During my first few uses, I ran into trouble saving a template and then going into the campaign section to locate it. I'm also not a fan of the lists not being in alphabetical order. With more than 700 names, it becomes frustrating to look for just a few people since I have to search each one individually instead of simply sorting the list.

“powerful newsletter features”

Pros

It's one of those rare tools that really blends design with functionality in a very effective way. Creating lists is simple whether we do it through imports, manual setup, or automatically from our CRM using the API. On top of that, the wide range of features especially the insights on newsletters we've sent, makes it a platform we genuinely enjoy using.

Cons

There's nothing we dislike about it.

“useful tutorials”

Pros

Right away the interface felt much cleaner and less cluttered than I expected and the built-in guides are always available when needed. There are also plenty of tutorial videos that help you get started quickly without much hassle. On top of that, the free plan is a big plus since you can try out all the features with up to 2,000 subscribers. Even better, the platform keeps improving and now includes lead page creation and automation features as well.

Cons

At this point I don't have anything negative to say about the software. I used to have issues with the interface in the past but it has improved dramatically and feels much better now.

“lifesaver for our craft store”

Pros

Running our crafts Shopify store has been so much better with this. The free plan has honestly been a lifesaver for my wife and me especially since it covers a good range before you hit the subscriber limit. There are plenty of templates available too, no matter what industry or niche your business falls into and that makes it feel flexible for businesses of different sizes. On top of that, the API is very simple to work with which made it possible to add custom subscription buttons to our site without much hassle.

Cons

I really can't point to any downsides at the moment. It has treated me well the entire time I've been using it and overall I've had a very positive experience.

“powerful templates and analytics”

Pros

Getting around the interface feels very easy and everything is pretty self-explanatory. The free account is also generous since you can send emails to up to 10K people. There are plenty of templates to choose from and if those do not fit your needs, you can customize your own based on your business or campaign. Another big plus is that it connects with Google Analytics which makes it much easier to track the performance of your email marketing.

Cons

Only downside with the free plan is that you have to keep their logo at the bottom of your emails.

“smart scheduling”

Pros

Everything has a really professional look and feel. The templates, along with the custom emails, come across as polished and well tailored when they're sent out. The scheduling tool is also very helpful because it lets me send campaigns to my email list at the best times without having to handle it manually.

Cons

Contact list feature can be a little confusing especially when trying to understand the difference between lists and groups and how they're organized. There are also times when I upload contacts and they don't appear right away. I know this seems to be caused by cookies stored on my computer and clearing them fixes it but I still wish there were a workaround that didn't require me to step in. Other than that, I'd also like to see more font options.