Keap vs Mailchimp

Trying to choose between Keap vs Mailchimp as your email marketing software? Here's when to choose each tool – and the pros and cons to know about.

Keap vs Mailchimp comparison
  • 2.6 Trustpilot
  • 4.1 Capterra
  • 4.2 G2

Average 3.6 / 5

i

Keap

A sales and marketing automation platform catered to small businesses. Has CRM and email and text marketing features.

Pricing

Starts at $159 a month for 1,500 contacts (billed yearly)

Key features

  • Email automation
  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • Segmentation
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Integrations with various services
  • CRM
  • Virtual phone number

Support

24/7 online chat support, email support, and call-in support for the UK, US, and Australia. US call-in support is available on weekdays from 6 am to 7 pm PST.

  • 1.4 TrustPilot
  • 4.5 Capterra
  • 4.3 G2

Average 3.4 / 5

i

Mailchimp

An email marketing software with automations and integrations. Plus, a hosting and website and landing pages builder.

Pricing

Starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts

Key features

  • Email automation
  • Hosting, websites, and online stores
  • Landing page builder
  • Marketing CRM
  • Integrations with various services
  • Drag-and-drop email builder

Support

24/7 support via email and chat on paid plans, phone support on Premium. Email support for the first 30 days on the Free plan.

General info about company

Keap

Keap was founded in 2001 by brothers Scott and Eric Martineau and now CEO Clate Mask. The company headquarters is in Chandler, Arizona.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp was founded in Atlanta in 2001 by Ben Chestnut, Mark Armstrong, and Dan Kurzius. Headquarters in Atlanta, GA. Was acquired by Intuit in 2021.

Difficulty

Keap

Although users can create emails and automations without coding or designing, the platform is vast and can be overwhelming to navigate.

Mailchimp

Creating emails doesn’t require design or coding skills. However, the interface can be confusing to novices.

Best for

Keap

Small businesses that need to constantly keep in touch with clients via not only email but also text and phone.

Mailchimp

Small to medium e-commerce companies that want email marketing together with their website hosting.

Free plan

Keap

No free plan, only 14 day free trial.

Mailchimp

Has a free plan for up to 500 subscribers and 1,000 emails a month and a daily send limit of 500. It has a lot fewer features than paid plans, fewer available templates, and customer support for 30 days only.

Pricing

Keap

Keap has three plans, billed yearly/monthly:

Pro $159 / $199

  • 1,500 contacts
  • 2 users
  • Email marketing
  • Marketing, sales & workflow automation
  • CRM
  • Quotes, invoices & payments
  • Landing pages & online sales
  • Text marketing (US)

Max $229 / $289

  • 2,500 contacts
  • 3 users
  • Core features
  • Dedicated phone line (US & Canada)
  • Appointments
  • Enhanced landing pages & sales tools
  • E-commerce tools (promo codes, order bumps, etc.)
  • Advanced reporting

Ultimate $279 / $349

  • 2,500 contacts
  • 3 users
  • Core features
  • Premium CRM & sales management
  • Advanced marketing & sales tools (round robin, email health report, etc.)
  • Permission levels for users
  • Affiliate management & collaboration
  • Advanced reporting

Other pricing features:

  • 14 days free trial with all the features
  • All plans require a mandatory one-time onboarding fee of $999

Mailchimp

For up to 500 contacts, billed monthly:

  • Essentials $13
  • Standard $20
  • Premium $350

Other pricing features:

  • 1-month free trial for Essentials and Standard
  • A Pay As You Go plan
  • Two possible pauses of the account’s billing every 12 months
  • 15% discount for nonprofit organizations

Support

Keap

24/7 online chat support, email support, and call-in support for the UK, US, and Australia. US call-in support is available on weekdays from 6 am to 7 pm PST.

Customer support managers for each user, access to Keap Academy’s live training events and online learning platform, and Knowledge Base.

Mailchimp

  • Email support on paid plans and 30-day only on a Free plan
  • 24/7 chat support on paid plans
  • Support phone line for the Premium plan: Mon-Fri 6:30 am — 6:00 pm ET (UTC-5)

Features

Keap

  • Email and text marketing automation in a drag-and-drop builder
  • Segmentation
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Integrations with various services
  • CRM
  • A mobile app for iOS and Android for a virtual phone number and leads management
  • Forms and landing pages
  • Appointments booking and payments

Mailchimp

  • Email automation with pre-made customer journeys
  • Hosting, websites, and landing pages builder
  • Online store creator
  • Marketing CRM
  • Integrations with popular services
  • Drag-and-drop email builder and pre-made templates
  • A mobile app for iOS and Android to create and send emails, add clients, check analytics, etc.

Templates

Keap

18+ templates
Templates for one on one email conversations with clients

Templates for:

  • Promo emails
  • Online stores
  • Flash sale
  • Healthcare
  • Home decor
  • Fitness

Mailchimp

100+ templates for emails and landing pages
AI assistant for designing
The free plan has a limited number of pre-built templates

Templates for:

  • Welcome messages
  • Sales
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Announcements
  • Win-back

Integrations

Keap

29 integrations including Zapier, Jotform, WordPress, Instapage, OptinMonster, and more.

Mailchimp

315 integrations including WordPress, Shopify, Facebook, Stripe, LiveChat, Canva, Unsplash, and more.

Devices

Keap

  • Website
  • A mobile app for Android and iOS to use a virtual phone number and manage contacts. Available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, U.K., and New Zealand
  • No installable solution.

Mailchimp

  • Website
  • A mobile app for iOS and Android to create and send emails, add clients, check analytics, etc.

No installable solution.

Languages

Keap

English English

Mailchimp

English English Spanish Spanish Portuguese Portuguese

Automation

Keap

Marketing and sales automations:

  • Free consultation
  • Deal follow-up
  • Reminders
  • Yearly birthday greetings
  • Review request

Mailchimp

Many pre-built automations (called customer journeys):

  • Welcome series
  • Abandoned cart
  • Product retargeting
  • Lead generation
  • Order notifications, and more

Pros

Keap

  • Helpful automations
  • Many features (CRM, email marketing, etc.) in one place
  • Customer support
  • Integrations

Mailchimp

  • Essential features for small businesses
  • 315 integrations
  • Website hosting
  • A mobile app
  • Stylish design and built reputation
  • Landing page builder

Cons

Keap

  • No A/B testing
  • Difficult to cancel and billing issues
  • Steep learning curve
  • Software is slow

Mailchimp

  • Relatively high prices
  • Free and Standard plans are very limited
  • Limited customization
  • Customer support is hard to reach and isn’t very helpful
  • Many people find the interface not user-friendly
  • Unsubscribed and inactive accounts are still included in sending limits

Reviews from experts

Keap

Overall: Keap Max Classic: It does the job supporting our business. But none of us like using it. We have too many integrations and automations set up that it would just be too arduous to switch.
Pros: Keap Max Classic: It has a lot of features to support businesses that need the room to scale up. It is pretty powerful in what it can do.
Cons: Keap Max Classic: It is convoluted, complex, and confusing. We had to make custom forms and interfaces for our staff because everyone was too confused working directly within Keap. It is also SLOW. Most functions are not snappy. Creating and maintaining campaigns get really confusing really quickly once you graduate from the simplest of campaigns.

Lloyd W.

Lloyd W.

Director of Operations

Keap allows small business owners like me to create systems and automation to run, grow and scale our businesses. As a solopreneur just starting out, I couldn't hire an assistant to help me schedule appointments or to send out my emails. I was losing potential clients due to lack of follow-up. My business was chaotic. Keap helped me create processes that run, practically on autopilot, while I am working on my business and working for my clients. It is like having a couple of extra employees.
What do you dislike about Keap?
Keap is a very robust platform, which means it does have a bit of a learning curve. They provide training and plenty of resources to help you learn, but it takes a little time to understand all its abilities fully.

Heather W.

Heather W.

Small business owner

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a perfectly good tool for most English-speaking users, with its ease of use and range of features, as well as their free and pay-as-you-go plans.

Keep in mind, though, that their subscription plans are relatively expensive compared to similar newsletter tools.

Perhaps if you’re a business with specific needs, like multilingual software, or use of your own tracking domain, then you may need to look further afield for the correct newsletter tool. But there really is a lot to like from Mailchimp.

Robert Brandl

Robert Brandl

founder and CEO, Inka Wibowo, Senior Content Manager at EmailToolTester

The interface is simple and intuitive, and you don't need to be technically savvy to get up and running with email campaigns. I have easily trained non-technical colleagues and elderly clients on how to use Mailchimp to send newsletters. It's easy to add contacts on the go using the Mailchimp mobile app.

Cons: The biggest downside is that the free plan is very limited now compared to when I first started. The free option is really only good for very small lists and basic emails. To do anything more sophisticated with segmentation, automations, or larger lists, you need to pay for one of the monthly subscription plans.

Jessica Kay M

Jessica Kay M

Marketing Consultant

*This information is current as of 02/13/2024. While we regularly update our articles, it`s possible that this article may not contain some of the latest information.