Real talk: Should you actually switch from Mailchimp?

Look, I'm not going to tell you Mailchimp is garbage. It's not. It's a solid platform that's been around forever. But the question isn't whether Mailchimp works -it's whether you're getting good value for what you're paying.

Here's my honest take after testing all these alternatives:

Switch if you're a SaaS founder

Mailchimp wasn't built for you. You need transactional emails (welcome emails, password resets, receipts) alongside marketing. You want Stripe integration. You probably care about event-based triggers. Tools like Sequenzy and Loops were literally built for your use case.

Switch if you're paying for stuff you don't use

Open your Mailchimp dashboard right now. Are you using the website builder? The social media tools? The postcards feature? If you said no to all of those, you're overpaying for a bunch of features that just sit there.

Switch if deliverability is suffering

If your open rates have been declining and you've tried everything else, it might be Mailchimp's shared IP reputation. Platforms that vet their customers more carefully (like Postmark for transactional, or Sequenzy for marketing) tend to have better deliverability.

Don't switch just to save a few bucks

If Mailchimp is working well for you and your team knows it inside out, the cost of switching might outweigh the savings. Migration takes time. Recreating automations is tedious. Factor that in.

The migration isn't as scary as you think

Here's roughly what it takes to move off Mailchimp:

1. Export your list - Mailchimp gives you a CSV. Easy.
2. Document your automations - Screenshot everything before you start. Trust me.
3. Import to new platform - Most tools have Mailchimp importers now.
4. Recreate automations - This is the annoying part. Budget 2-4 hours depending on complexity.
5. Update forms - Swap out embedded forms on your site.
6. Warm up slowly - Don't blast your whole list day one on a new platform.

For a simple setup, you're looking at a weekend project. Complex automations might take a week or two of part-time work.

My actual recommendations

After testing all of these, here's what I'd tell a friend:

• SaaS company? Start with Sequenzy if you want AI help, Loops if you prefer to write everything yourself.
• E-commerce? Just use Klaviyo. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's worth it. The abandoned cart flows alone will pay for it.
• Creator/blogger? ConvertKit (Kit) is your answer. The landing pages and digital product features are solid.
• Developer building an app? Resend for transactional, then add Sequenzy or Loops for marketing when you need it.
• Tight budget? Brevo or MailerLite. Not the sexiest options, but they work.
• Complex PLG product? Customer.io if you have the engineering resources to set it up properly.

What about deliverability?

Everyone asks this, so let's address it directly: deliverability depends way more on your practices than your platform.

That said, some platforms have better reputations because they're pickier about customers:

• Best for transactional: Postmark (they literally reject people to keep reputation clean)
• Best for marketing: Platforms that vet customers (Sequenzy manually approves everyone)
• Riskier: Any platform that lets anyone sign up instantly without verification

The biggest factor? Your own list hygiene. Clean your list regularly, remove bounces, make unsubscribing easy. Do that and you'll have good deliverability on any decent platform.