What is the difference between Mailchimp and Loops?

Mailchimp is best for Small businesses getting started with email marketing, while Loops is best for SaaS companies wanting email for product-led growth. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo and Loops starts at Free.

Is Mailchimp or Loops cheaper?

Mailchimp starts at $13/mo with a free tier. Loops starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Loops?

Both Mailchimp and Loops offer free tiers.

Mailchimp vs Loops

Mailchimp is email marketing platform with campaigns, automation, landing pages, and audience management, while Loops is email platform built for SaaS with event-triggered emails and in-app messaging. The biggest difference up front: Loops is free, while Mailchimp starts at $13/mo. Mailchimp is built for small businesses getting started with email marketing, whereas Loops targets saas companies wanting email for product-led growth.

At a glance

	Mailchimp	Loops
Best for	Small businesses getting started with email marketing	SaaS companies wanting email for product-led growth
Starting price	$13/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Analytics	—	✓
Automations	✓	—
Campaigns	✓	—
Event Triggers	—	✓
Landing Pages	✓	—
Loops	—	✓
Segmentation	✓	✓
Templates	✓	—

Mailchimp

Strengths

Easy to use for beginners
Good template library and drag-and-drop editor
Built-in landing pages and basic CRM
Brand recognition — customers trust Mailchimp emails

Weaknesses

Pricing has increased significantly
Free tier now limited to 500 contacts
Automation is basic compared to dedicated tools
Charges for unsubscribed contacts on some plans

Try Mailchimp → Full review

Loops

Strengths

Includes Event Triggers as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Includes Loops as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Free for 1K contacts — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes segmentation alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Deliverability depends on your sender reputation, which takes time to build
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Loops → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Loops is completely free (Free for 1K contacts), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo, but Free for up to 500 contacts. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Mailchimp offers Automations, Campaigns and Landing Pages that Loops lacks. Loops brings Analytics, Event Triggers and Loops that Mailchimp does not have. Both share Segmentation.

Team fit: Mailchimp is geared toward any size teams, while Loops is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Mailchimp's biggest strengths are: easy to use for beginners. good template library and drag-and-drop editor. Loops's biggest strengths are: includes event triggers as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows. includes loops as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows.

Watch out for: With Mailchimp, users commonly note that pricing has increased significantly. With Loops, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Mailchimp if...

You need a tool built for small businesses getting started with email marketing
You specifically need Automations and Campaigns
You care about good template library and drag-and-drop editor
Your team size fits the any size profile Mailchimp is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for up to 500 contacts

Choose Loops if...

You need a tool built for saas companies wanting email for product-led growth
Budget is a hard constraint — Loops is free, Mailchimp is not
You specifically need Analytics and Event Triggers
You care about includes loops as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Loops is designed for