Buffer vs Mailchimp
Side-by-side plans, pricing, and feature gates for Buffer and Mailchimp, verified . Buffer is primarily social media management; Mailchimp is primarily email marketing.
Plans side by side
Every published plan from each vendor, with the headline monthly anchor price. Some prices scale with subscriber count or seats; full detail lives on each tool's page.
Buffer
- Free
Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel
Free - Essentials
Most popular: $5/month per channel
$5/mo - Team
Unlimited team members and approval workflows
$10/mo - Agency
Custom package for agencies managing many clients
Custom
Mailchimp
- Free
Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month
Free - Essentials
Entry paid tier with A/B testing
$13/mo - Standard
Most popular paid tier
$20/mo - Premium
For high-volume senders and bigger teams
$350/mo
Limits at the entry paid tier
Compares Essentials (Buffer) against Essentials (Mailchimp). Both are the lowest-priced non-free, non-custom plan on each side.
| Limit | Buffer | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | · | 500 contacts (anchor; scales up) |
| Emails / month | · | 5,000 sends (10x contacts) |
| Team seats | 1 | 3 |
| Automations | · | 4 flow steps |
| Campaigns | · | 3 audiences |
When Buffer wins
- Solopreneurs and small brands publishing to a handful of networks
- Content creators who want a clean, fast scheduling UI
- Small agencies on a budget that can live with the Team plan
Where Buffer is the wrong fit
- Enterprise brands managing 20+ channels (Hootsuite or Sprout Social fit better)
- Teams whose primary need is social listening; Buffer's listening is thin
- Organizations needing deep approval and governance workflows across hundreds of accounts
When Mailchimp wins
- Small businesses that want one tool with a real onboarding flow and a huge integration list
- Teams already living in Intuit (QuickBooks) products
- Operators who want a brand-name vendor for stakeholder approval
Where Mailchimp is the wrong fit
- Creators with growing newsletters; the per-contact tax compounds (Kit, beehiiv, or MailerLite tend to be cheaper at 10k+ subscribers)
- B2B sales teams; the CRM is light versus HubSpot or ActiveCampaign
- Teams needing predictive AI on a budget; you have to jump to the $350 Premium plan
Common questions
- Is Buffer cheaper than Mailchimp?
- Both Buffer and Mailchimp have free or custom entry pricing, so a direct entry-tier price comparison is not meaningful.
- Does Buffer or Mailchimp have a free plan?
- Both have free plans. Buffer: Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel. Mailchimp: Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month.
- Are Buffer and Mailchimp in the same category?
- No. Buffer is primarily a social media management tool; Mailchimp is primarily a email marketing tool. They overlap on use case but sit in different primary categories, so the comparison is between adjacent tools rather than direct competitors.
- Which has more plans, Buffer or Mailchimp?
- Both Buffer and Mailchimp ship 4 plans. Tier counts match; the differentiation is in features and pricing structure rather than tier ladder depth.
- Where can I see alternatives to Buffer or Mailchimp?
- Each tool has a dedicated alternatives page on TierGauge with ranked options and verified pricing: /alternatives/buffer for Buffer and /alternatives/mailchimp for Mailchimp. Alternatives are derived from each tool's editor-flagged competitors plus same-category tools we track.
Buffer: https://buffer.com/pricing · Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/
Last verified . Pricing changes between refreshes; confirm at the vendor before purchasing.