Close vs Mailchimp
Side-by-side plans, pricing, and feature gates for Close and Mailchimp, verified . Close is primarily crm; 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.
Close
- Solo
Single user, 10,000 lead cap
$9/mo - Essentials
Core CRM with unlimited contacts and leads
$35/mo - Growth
Adds Chloe AI agent, workflows, and Power Dialer
$99/mo - Scale
Adds Predictive Dialer, role-based access, unlimited call recording
$139/mo - Enterprise
Custom pricing for 10+ users or complex needs
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 Solo (Close) against Essentials (Mailchimp). Both are the lowest-priced non-free, non-custom plan on each side.
| Limit | Close | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | · | 500 contacts (anchor; scales up) |
| Emails / month | · | 5,000 sends (10x contacts) |
| Team seats | 1 user (Solo plan limit) | 3 |
| Automations | · | 4 flow steps |
| Campaigns | · | 3 audiences |
When Close wins
- Outbound-heavy SDR teams that live in the dialer all day
- B2B sales teams of 1 to 20 reps that want one tool for calls, email, and CRM
- Founders running their own outbound and wanting calling, email, and CRM in one place
Where Close is the wrong fit
- Marketing-heavy teams that need a broader hub (use HubSpot CRM)
- Service-business CRMs needing ticketing (use Pipedrive or Zoho)
- Enterprise sales orgs with complex territory structures (use Salesforce)
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 Close cheaper than Mailchimp?
- At the entry tier, Mailchimp starts at Free versus Close at $9/mo. Mailchimp is cheaper at the entry. Pricing scales differently above that, so check the full plan grid.
- Does Close or Mailchimp have a free plan?
- Only Mailchimp has a permanent free plan. Close only offers a free trial.
- Are Close and Mailchimp in the same category?
- No. Close is primarily a crm 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, Close or Mailchimp?
- Close ships 5 plans; Mailchimp ships 4. Close's longer ladder gives more granular upgrade steps, which can mean smoother price escalation as your team scales.
- Where can I see alternatives to Close or Mailchimp?
- Each tool has a dedicated alternatives page on TierGauge with ranked options and verified pricing: /alternatives/close for Close and /alternatives/mailchimp for Mailchimp. Alternatives are derived from each tool's editor-flagged competitors plus same-category tools we track.
Close: https://www.close.com/pricing · Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/
Last verified . Pricing changes between refreshes; confirm at the vendor before purchasing.