Mailchimp vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Mailchimp and Salesforce Marketing Cloud are both popular choices in the all-in-one marketing platform space. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo, while Salesforce Marketing Cloud starts at $1,500/mo billed annually. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. Mailchimp offers a free plan (250 contacts, 500 emails/month), while Salesforce Marketing Cloud does not.
Quick Verdict
Mailchimp wins on rating, free tier.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud wins on deliverability.
Best for most users: Mailchimp (small businesses).
Mailchimp
Turn emails into revenue
Mailchimp is the most widely recognized email marketing platform, used by millions of businesses worldwide. Acquired by Intuit in 2021, it offers a full suite of marketing tools but has become increasingly expensive compared to alternatives.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Personalize every moment with the #1 AI CRM for marketing
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the enterprise marketing automation suite within the Salesforce ecosystem, offering email, SMS, social, advertising, and journey orchestration at massive scale. Powered by Einstein AI, it is the platform of choice for large organizations already invested in Salesforce.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Mailchimp | Salesforce Marketing Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | 3.8/5 |
| Starting Price | $13/mo | $1,500/mo billed annually |
| Free Plan | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | No free plan |
| Founded | 2001 | 1999 |
| Email Templates | 100 | 200 |
| Integrations | 300 | 300 |
| Deliverability Rate | 96% | 97% |
| Marketing Automation | Yes | Yes |
| A/B Testing | Yes | Yes |
| Landing Pages | Yes | Yes |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | Yes |
| SMS Marketing | Yes | Yes |
| Ecommerce Features | Yes | Yes |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | Yes | Yes |
| Web Push Notifications | No | Yes |
| Live Chat | No | Yes |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | Yes |
Mailchimp: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Most recognized brand in email marketing
- + Excellent drag-and-drop editor
- + 300+ integrations with third-party tools
- + Strong analytics and reporting
- + Good for beginners with guided setup
Cons
- − Free plan severely limited (500 contacts, 1,000 sends)
- − Premium plan is expensive ($350/mo)
- − Charges for unsubscribed contacts
- − Affiliate marketing restricted
- − Deliverability has declined in recent years
Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Deepest integration with Salesforce CRM and the entire Salesforce ecosystem
- + Enterprise-grade cross-channel capabilities across email, SMS, push, social, and ads
- + Einstein AI provides predictive scoring and send time optimization
- + 300+ integrations through AppExchange
- + Native Salesforce CRM integration eliminates data sync issues
Cons
- − Starts at $1,500/month billed annually, with advanced features requiring the higher edition
- − Steep learning curve requiring certified specialists
- − No free plan or self-serve trial
- − Impractical for SMBs; value is mainly realized by large Salesforce organizations
- − Admin overhead is high — often requires a dedicated specialist
The Verdict
Mailchimp edges ahead with a 4.3/5 rating compared to Salesforce Marketing Cloud's 3.8/5. The gap comes mainly from value for money (4.4 vs 2.8) and ease of use (4.6 vs 3.2). On deliverability, Salesforce Marketing Cloud reports 97% compared to 96% for Mailchimp — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Mailchimp | Salesforce Marketing Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $13/mo | $1,500/mo billed annually |
| Deliverability | 25% | 96% | 97% Winner |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 Winner | 3.8/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 300 | 300 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes Winner | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Mailchimp if…
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You're a small businesses
- + You're a beginners
Choose Salesforce Marketing Cloud if…
- + You're a large enterprises
- + You're a Salesforce CRM users
- + Deepest integration with Salesforce CRM and the entire Salesforce ecosystem