Issue Mint vs Mailchimp
Mailchimp is email marketing software for businesses. Campaigns, automations, audience segments, shop integrations, landing pages. It is enormously capable and a very large number of companies use it for very good reasons.
The short version
Almost none of that capability is aimed at what you are doing. A curated newsletter has no abandoned baskets and no segment tree. It has links, sections and somebody with an opinion. Mailchimp will send it perfectly well, and the block editor will fight you every week while you paste each link in by hand. Issue Mint is the narrower tool that matches the job.
Feature by feature
| Capability | Issue Mint | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Composer built for roundups | Yes | General block editor |
| Link library and browser button | Yes | No |
| Readers can send you links | Yes | No |
| Sponsorship management | Yes | No |
| Marketing automation | No | Extensive |
| Splitting your list into segments | Simple filters by status and engagement | Extensive |
| Who sends the email | We do, and you can take it over whenever you want | The platform, always |
| Public archive with a feed | Yes, on your own domain | Limited |
Compared on capability rather than price, because Mailchimp changes its plans from time to time and a stale figure here would be worse than none. Check their current pricing directly.
When Mailchimp is the better choice
- You are running commercial email alongside the newsletter: sequences, segments, product recommendations.
- You need it joined up with a shop or a customer database.
- Your organisation already uses it and that decision is not yours to make.
When Issue Mint is the better choice
- The newsletter is the product, and putting one together should take an evening at most.
- You want sponsorship slots and reporting on every link.
- You want an archive that people find months later, on your own domain, without building it yourself.
Questions about switching
Can I bring my Mailchimp list across?
Yes. Export your audience as a spreadsheet, then use the import step here to match up the email and first name columns. Imported readers arrive active, so they will not be asked to confirm all over again.
Try it against your own next issue.
14 days, no card. Import your list, connect your sending, and see whether the workflow fits before you move anything permanently.
Start your trial