Mailchimp Software Reviews

“advanced automation and reporting”

Pros

This email marketing platform feels well thought out overall. It packs in a lot of features for a very reasonable price and the reporting stands out as one of its strongest parts. The integrations are also great if that matters to your workflow. The drag-and-drop builder is fairly simple in some respects though a little awkward in others. I'm also a big fan of the automation capabilities.

Cons

Sometimes there are a few areas where I really wish it were more user-friendly. First, changing font sizes and styles in the email builder can be confusing. Second, emails don't look very good in Outlook which is a problem since that's where most of our audience reads them. Third, setting up and managing groups isn't the simplest process even though it's still manageable. On the surface it feels fairly user-friendly but once you get into the finer details and try to make full use of the more advanced features, those parts become much harder to navigate.

“perfect for getting started”

Pros

Right from the beginning, this software was a real lifesaver for us. It helped us get up and running quickly and before long we had outgrown it and needed a more powerful CRM with e-commerce, opportunities/deals and other advanced features.

Cons

CRM is missing e-commerce, opportunities/deals and several other features that become important as a business grows. If you're just starting out though, it's a great piece of software to help you get your feet wet in marketing.

“Support is good but layout is tricky”

Pros

Whenever I needed help, the customer service team was responsive and useful. There's also a great range of customizable templates to pick from and the data is presented in a way that's simple to understand and work with.

Cons

This platform feels much more manageable for someone with design experience than for a beginner. It can also be frustrating to make everything look symmetrical especially when placing images and text into columns.

“Beautiful templates and friendly design”

Pros

This platform has been very simple to work with. The interface feels friendly and fun and the email templates look polished and professional. I've used it to manage communications for several clients, for my own business and for a few civic groups and organizations I've been involved with. I've also shown group members how to use it and even led a training session on it at an educational conference a few years back. It's easy enough that even people who aren't very tech-savvy can get everything set up in just a few minutes and start sending attractive emails.

Cons

I've noticed that platform has gone through a lot of changes over the past year or so and that can make it a little confusing to keep up with newer features especially things like marketing automation.

“Convenient email builder value”

Pros

It feels very approachable and the free entry-level plan is a big plus. The platform keeps attention on the content and the newer builder makes putting an email together fast. Its playful design also helps make something stressful, like sending thousands of emails with one click, feel a lot less intimidating. It connects with tons of other software which is really useful. They even give a discount for turning on two-factor authentication which is simple to set up and worth doing anyway. Overall, I'm really happy this software is available at this price.

Cons

Not a con but one part that can be confusing is how the same email address gets counted and charged twice if it appears in different lists.

“Simple design with smart templates”

Pros

Interface feels simple, clear and thoughtfully organized. The overall user experience and design are put together really well making the platform simple to use and quick to get things done. One feature I really appreciate is the template builder because it removes the need to bring in a developer and saves both our team and theirs a lot of time and money. The pricing model also feels fair and reasonable since charges are based only on the size of the mailing list.

Cons

I'd still like to see is a built-in user interface for some of the available extensions so I wouldn't need to jump into a third-party application. I also don't like having to pause or unschedule an email campaign just to make changes to the content.

“Strong campaigns and automation”

Pros

Switching over from another email platform made me hesitant at first but once I got started with this one, there was no going back. Creating email campaigns is simple, templates are easy to build and edit, recipient activity is clear to track and scheduling is very easy. I also really value how many other tools it connects with. I regularly recommend it to my clients without hesitation. Being able to set up a series of automated emails is a huge plus and the testing options for subject lines, sender name, content and send time are incredibly useful. I have been using it for around five years now and I fully expect to keep using it for both my clients and future recommendations. It helps produce professional-looking emails without a lot of hassle, works well with websites and the support team has consistently been helpful whenever needed.

Cons

Great tool but one thing I would still love to see is access to My Library directly from the home screen so I could add or remove images and files without needing to open a campaign or ad first. If they added that feature, I'd be absolutely thrilled.

“simple design and reliable delivery”

Pros

Right from the start, it's been very simple to use. The interface feels simple, it's dependable and the deliverability is nearly 100% which makes it an excellent fit for a business that doesn't yet have any IP reputation built up.

Cons

Once you start needing more advanced email workflow setups, its capabilities only go so far. At that stage though, it really means it's time to move up to a dedicated marketing automation platform.

“Automation that delivers”

Pros

Response automation and the user-friendly setup are the standout parts of this software. Uploading subscribers is easy, whether the file is in .csv or .xls format and bringing in new contacts is quick and hassle-free.

Cons

For a small or mid-sized business, the feature set will likely cover everything you need. However, if you're running a larger, more complex software company or a big retail operation, it falls short on advanced options for sending targeted emails based on the different actions subscribers take within an email.

“Advanced tool connections”

Pros

One of the biggest benefits is how well it connects with so many of the tools we already rely on. Since we use Drupal CMS, being able to manage contacts and lists is a big deal for us. That setup lets us handle everything inside our other applications and then use those same lists when it's time to send campaigns.

Cons

From what I understand, the integration side isn't always directly managed by the platform itself. Because of that, there's some room for things to break whenever an API changes. I may be mistaken but I think it would be even better if it had stronger ties to the open-source community and the apps built around using those integrations.

“Custom templates and free automation”

Pros

The integration with Wellness Living has been a big plus and the customizable templates are something I really appreciate. I'm also getting a lot of use out of the automations now that they're free.

Cons

The downside is customer support is only available through email which gets frustrating. Billing is also very confusing and the help I've received hasn't been very useful.

“strong email tools and sorting”

Pros

Handling small lists and building email campaigns with this tool is pretty easy, whether the sends are automated or one-off. Adding addresses to include or suppress is simple and there are lots of options for organizing and segmenting contacts. With the Pro account, it works much more like a full marketing automation platform. It can also help with collecting email addresses or even driving traffic through ads when needed.

Cons

Connecting and setting up lead generation through CRMs like Salesforce is tougher than it should be. Reporting into Salesforce is fairly simple to configure but pulling in the correct contact lists, keeping them current and consistently removing users takes more effort than expected. The separate tasks aren't always hard on their own but there always seems to be some small issue that comes up so it needs more hands-on attention than it should. In short, this isn't really a set-it-and-forget-it system when it comes to syncing lists automatically because it usually needs ongoing babysitting.

“Advanced automation and flexibility”

Pros

Out of all the email marketing tools available, this one really seems to have cracked automation. The learning curve can feel pretty steep at first especially for beginners but there are plenty of tutorials and a very detailed knowledge base that help point you in the right direction. I work with several email marketing platforms across different clients and this is still the one I reach for first whenever automation is a priority because it's easy to work with and offers a wide range of options.

Cons

Putting together an email campaign from beginning to end can feel a bit awkward. There are a lot of pieces involved and I'd really appreciate a more aligned user experience.

“Fun features and free plan”

Pros

Getting started with this platform feels pretty easy and having a free plan is a big plus. The playful touches are also a nice bonus, like the chimp giving you a high five after you send out a campaign.

Cons

I'd still love to see more templates and better layout flexibility. The details might already be buried somewhere in the help section but when you're handling marketing alone, it's hard to carve out time to go searching for that information.

“Bright dashboard and great features”

Pros

The upbeat feel of the platform stood out to me. The dashboard is bright, fun and positive and it honestly makes using it a little more enjoyable. It's simple to navigate, offers plenty of useful features and comes with good pricing options as well. For a small company email program, it has more than enough power.

Cons

List management and reporting can feel a little awkward now and then. Also, when setting up a new email, the "next" button sits so low at the bottom of the screen that it's pretty easy to overlook.

“Great fit for small business”

Pros

Running a small business feels a lot simpler with this while still getting the kind of functionality you'd expect from a much larger list management platform. It connects with Zapier and most of the common business apps we already use which has been really helpful. It also doesn't feel overwhelming when you first start so for an easy operation like ours doing route mailings, it was an ideal choice and continued to work well as our customer base grew and our mailing needs expanded.

Cons

A few of the lists and features are tucked away in odd spots which can be confusing. The way customers on multiple lists are handled also could have been explained better because it's too easy to accidentally blacklist someone by moving them onto a list they never signed up for.

“Great pricing and platform”

Pros

Right away, the most appealing part for me was how simple the platform feels to use. Another big plus is that it stays free until you're actually in a position to afford paying for it. To me, this is what I'd call a PRINCE tool!

Cons

Even though it's definitely one of my favorite email marketing and automation tools, getting started with it and managing everything still isn't that simple.

“Professional templates for emails”

Pros

Putting campaigns together is very easy because you can build templates with images, text boxes and other elements, then save as many versions as you need. That makes it simple to reuse one template style for different topics and campaigns. Adding images is quick since you can just drag them in from your desktop and it also lets you include headers and voting buttons. You can create recipient groups, save them and use them again later which helps a lot with repeat communication. It works especially well for someone without much design knowledge while still making emails look polished and professional. We mainly use it for company-wide emails so everything stays consistent and has a more polished, high-class feel.

Cons

One issue is that sending campaigns and even test campaigns, can be unreliable at times since they do not always show up in the inbox on the first send. Another downside is with larger images because the system scales them down and that can reduce image quality although that may partly be due to the image itself.

“Great newsletter tools”

Pros

Getting started with this platform is very easy and it comes with a lot of useful features and functionality. Creating a template for a newsletter is simple and setting up Marketing Automation is just as easy.

Cons

The biggest downside is the price. It worked really well while I was growing my subscriber list in the beginning but as that list became larger, the cost became too expensive to justify.

“Perfect for campaigns and reporting”

Pros

As an email marketing platform, it's one of the most widely used and it's not hard to see why. Sending campaigns is very easy and we use a really helpful Gravity Forms plugin that automatically pushes anyone who fills out a form on our website into the right list, group or segment. That saves us from having to keep re-uploading updated lists every time something changes. The templated email setup is also very simple, with a step-by-step flow that still gives you room for coding and more advanced customization when needed. We also use the RSS-to-email feature for blog subscribers which has been very useful. Another tool we rely on a lot is the automated drip campaign feature and it does a really good job of improving follow-up. On top of that, the A/B split testing is excellent for trying out different campaign messages. The reporting on clicks and user activity is one of its strongest features and it helps us identify which warm leads are worth reaching out to.

Cons

Even though the platform is user-friendly overall, the few areas where you do get stuck are usually easier to solve with a Google search than by contacting support. Their chat support is honestly pretty bad. Another major downside is how it handles lists, groups, segments and signup forms. Since billing applies to every contact across your lists, creating duplicate lists can turn into an expensive mistake. The only real way to separate contacts without being charged twice is by relying on groups and segments instead. That becomes frustrating with signup forms because users have to choose which group they want to join. It would be much better if signup forms were built around groups by default or if separate lists didn't create duplicate charges. Another weak point is managing a user's email preferences. If someone wants monthly emails instead of weekly ones, setting that up can be harder than it should be unless you plan it very carefully. It would be a lot more practical if email frequency were available as a customer profile setting since that would help prevent sending too many emails to people who want fewer updates.