Buttondown is 100% cheaper
than Mailchimp
$0/mo (Free (first 100 subscribers)) vs Mailchimp Essentials at $13/mo — covering 20% of the 5 compared capabilities.
Same job. Way less money.
Comparison scenario
Every cheaper-than claim is tied to a defined scenario — never a bare list price.
single user, monthly billing · USD · prices as observed on official pricing pages.
Essentials plan at $13/mo, the cheapest paid plan.
Free (first 100 subscribers): 0 USD/monthly.
Mailchimp costs $13/mo on the Essentials plan at single user, monthly billing. We found 1 assessed alternative that is cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 5 compared capabilities.
Capability comparison
Buttondown covers 20% of the 5 capabilities compared against Mailchimp. ✓ native · ◐ via integration · ✗ not found.
| Capability | Buttondown | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remove branding | ✗ | ✓ |
| A/B testing | ✗ | ✓ |
| SMS marketing | ✗ | ✓ |
What you give up
Capabilities Mailchimp has that Buttondown lacks.
- Email templates — Start a campaign from a pre-built email template.Missing from Buttondown.
- Remove branding — Remove the provider's branding from sent emails.Missing from Buttondown.
- A/B testing — Test variations of an email to see which performs better.Missing from Buttondown.
- SMS marketing — Send marketing messages by text message.Missing from Buttondown.
Plans & pricing, side by side
Advertised prices in USD as observed on the official pricing pages — per-seat and transaction-fee plans are marked.
| Free (first 100 subscribers) | Free |
| Free | Free |
| Essentials | $13/mo |
| Standard | $20/mo |
| Premium | $350/mo |
| Pay As You Go | Contact sales |
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Frequently asked
How much cheaper is Buttondown than Mailchimp?
100% cheaper in our scenario (single user, monthly billing): $0/mo on Free (first 100 subscribers) vs $13/mo on Essentials. That is $156 a year.
What does Buttondown lack compared with Mailchimp?
Email templates, Remove branding, A/B testing, SMS marketing — 4 of the 5 compared capabilities.
When were these prices checked?
Mailchimp: 2026-09-07; Buttondown: 2026-08-31 — on the official pricing pages.
Sources & freshness
- https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/ (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
- https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/#content (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
- Buttondown data last verified 2026-08-31