MessagedvsMailchimp

Messaged vs Mailchimp

Abandoned SaaS platform vs established marketing giant

TL;DR

Messaged appears to have been abandoned since March 2022. The platform promised SaaS-focused features including Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, and Chargebee integrations, but development stopped before launch. Mailchimp is an established, full-featured marketing platform costing $100/month at 10k subscribers with landing pages, CRM, ads, and extensive integrations. Choose Mailchimp for general marketing or consider Sequenzy for SaaS-specific needs with native Stripe integration.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Platform Viability
Mailchimp wins

The only difference that matters: Messaged appears abandoned since March 2022 with no signs of active development. Mailchimp serves millions of users with ongoing updates, support, and new features. Never build on an abandoned platform.

Feature Completeness
Mailchimp wins

Mailchimp offers a complete marketing suite: email campaigns, landing pages, social ads, CRM, automations, and extensive integrations. Messaged promised features that were never delivered before development stopped.

Ecosystem and Integrations
Mailchimp wins

Mailchimp integrates with hundreds of tools including Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, and most marketing platforms. Messaged's promised billing integrations (Stripe, Paddle) never materialized.

SaaS Focus (Promised vs Delivered)

Messaged was designed specifically for SaaS with billing integrations. Mailchimp is a general-purpose platform not optimized for SaaS. However, Messaged never delivered on its promise, making this comparison moot.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 subscribers

Messaged
N/A(inactive)

Announced $80/month but never launched. Platform appears abandoned.

Visit Messaged
Mailchimp
$100/month

Standard plan with automation, A/B testing, and most features.

Visit Mailchimp
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited sends, native Stripe integration.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Messaged
Mailchimp
Sequenzy
Platform Status
Active Development
No (stalled 2022)
Yes, very active
Yes, active
Can Sign Up Today
Unclear/No
Support Available
Unknown
Email, chat, phone (higher tiers)
Direct founder access
Documentation
Outdated
Extensive
Current
Last Update
March 2022
Ongoing
Ongoing
Marketing Features
Email Campaigns
Promised, not delivered
Full-featured
Full-featured
Landing Pages
Promised, not delivered
Full builder
Social Ads
Facebook, Instagram
CRM Features
Basic CRM
Visual Automation
Promised, not delivered
Customer journeys
SaaS-Specific Features
Stripe Integration
Promised, not delivered
Via Zapier/integrations
Native OAuth
Paddle Integration
Promised, not delivered
Via integrations
Prebuilt SaaS Campaigns
Promised, not delivered
Templates available
AI-generated sequences
Subscription Triggers
Promised, not delivered
Limited
Native
Pricing & Plans
Starting Price
N/A
Free (limited)
$29/month
Free Plan
N/A
500 contacts
1,000 contacts
Price at 10k
N/A
$100/month
$49/month
E-commerce Integration
Promised, not delivered
Shopify, WooCommerce
Via Stripe

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Messaged if you...
  • We cannot recommend Messaged for any use case
  • Platform appears to be abandoned since 2022
  • Promised features were never delivered
  • No support or active development available
Choose Mailchimp if you...
  • Small businesses needing a full marketing suite
  • E-commerce stores with Shopify or WooCommerce
  • Teams wanting landing pages and ads in one platform
  • Companies needing extensive third-party integrations
  • Businesses that prioritize platform stability
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Founders wanting what Messaged promised
  • Teams needing transactional + marketing email
  • Companies wanting simpler pricing than Mailchimp
  • Startups needing payment-triggered automation

Sequenzy Delivers What Messaged Promised

Native Stripe Integration

Messaged promised Stripe integration but never shipped it. Mailchimp requires third-party tools. Sequenzy has native Stripe OAuth integration today - trigger emails from payments, subscriptions, trials, and cancellations.

SaaS-First Automation

Messaged was building prebuilt SaaS campaigns that never launched. Mailchimp is designed for general marketing. Sequenzy is built specifically for SaaS with AI-generated sequences tailored to subscription businesses.

Simpler Pricing

At $49/month for 10k contacts, Sequenzy costs half of Mailchimp's $100/month. You get unlimited sends, transactional email included, and the SaaS focus that Messaged promised but never delivered.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Messaged was a SaaS-focused email platform that promised prebuilt lifecycle campaigns and integrations with billing platforms like Stripe, Paddle, and Chargebee. However, development appears to have stalled in March 2022, and the platform never fully launched. Mailchimp is an established marketing platform serving millions of users with comprehensive email marketing features, landing pages, CRM, and extensive integrations.

The Critical Issue: Messaged Appears Abandoned

This comparison has only one meaningful point. Messaged has shown no signs of active development since March 2022. The promised features - billing integrations, prebuilt SaaS campaigns, $80/month pricing - were never delivered. Building your email infrastructure on an abandoned platform is dangerous: no support, no updates, no security patches, and potential shutdown without notice.

What Mailchimp Actually Delivers

Mailchimp is one of the world's most established email marketing platforms. It offers visual email builders, marketing automation, landing pages, social media ads, basic CRM, e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce), and thousands of third-party connections. At $100/month for 10k subscribers, it's not the cheapest, but it's reliable and feature-rich.

What Messaged Promised But Never Delivered

Messaged had ambitious plans: prebuilt lifecycle campaigns for SaaS, native integrations with Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, and Chargebee, and simple $80/month pricing. For SaaS founders, this sounded ideal. The problem is none of it shipped.

The SaaS Gap in Mailchimp

While Mailchimp is excellent for general marketing, it's not optimized for SaaS companies. Stripe integration requires third-party tools like Zapier. There's no native subscription-aware automation. Trial-to-paid sequences require manual setup. If you're building SaaS, Mailchimp works but isn't purpose-built for your needs.

Our Recommendation

Do not consider Messaged - it's not a viable option. For general marketing needs, Mailchimp is a solid, established choice despite higher pricing. For SaaS companies wanting the features Messaged promised (native Stripe integration, subscription automation), consider Sequenzy at $49/month for 10k contacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Messaged appears to have stopped development in March 2022. The platform never fully launched, and promised features like Stripe/Paddle integrations were never delivered. We recommend choosing an active alternative like Mailchimp or Sequenzy.

Messaged was building a SaaS-focused email platform with billing integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, Chargebee) and prebuilt lifecycle campaigns. Development appears to have stalled in early 2022 before the platform launched. The announced $80/month pricing never went live.

Use Mailchimp. Messaged is not a viable option as the platform appears abandoned. Mailchimp is actively developed with millions of users, extensive features, and reliable support.

Mailchimp works for SaaS but is not optimized for it. It lacks native billing integrations and subscription-aware automation. For SaaS-specific needs, consider Sequenzy which offers native Stripe integration and SaaS-focused features.

Messaged promised prebuilt lifecycle campaigns for SaaS, native integrations with Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, and Chargebee, transactional email, and simple $80/month pricing. None of these features were delivered before development stopped.

Mailchimp's Standard plan costs $100/month at 10,000 subscribers. This includes automation, A/B testing, landing pages, and most marketing features. The Premium plan costs more for advanced features.

For SaaS companies, Sequenzy offers what Messaged promised (native Stripe integration, SaaS automation) at a lower price than Mailchimp ($49 vs $100/month). For general marketing, Mailchimp remains a solid choice despite its higher cost.

Export any subscriber data you have from Messaged (if possible). Import into Mailchimp and map to audience fields. Since Messaged's automation features were never fully built, you'll be starting fresh with automations regardless. Mailchimp offers free migration assistance for larger accounts.

Mailchimp can connect to Stripe through Zapier or third-party integrations, but it's not native. You won't get the deep subscription-aware automation that Messaged promised. For native Stripe integration, consider Sequenzy.

Even if development resumed, we would recommend waiting at least a year to see sustained activity before trusting a previously-abandoned platform. The email marketing space has evolved significantly since 2022, and active alternatives offer more features and reliability.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

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Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com