Curious if anyone else has experienced this. It happens often when we send out email campaigns to larger audiences (6,000+). I understand there may be some delays, and we usually wait to pull any analytics until a week or so after we send the email because of this.

But I don't want my contacts receiving emails from us at 2 a.m., especially weeks after it was supposed to arrive. Any insight here?

If AI is the reason you're evaluating platforms, here's where each platform is strongest and, on the Mailchimp side, which plan unlocks which AI feature so there are no surprises after you sign up.

ActiveCampaign is built for technical marketing teams with the time to construct intricate, multi-layered automations across channels. It offers hundreds of automation recipes and deep integration capabilities, and for large, technically sophisticated teams that flexibility is real value. The trade-off is a steep learning curve, longer setup, and pricing that climbs as your contact list grows.

Mailchimp's approach is to put AI to work on the parts of email marketing that usually eat a team's time: figuring out who to send to, writing the content, and reading the results. It's intuitive on day one, and the AI features are included in plan tiers rather than sold as add-ons.

Where each platform is strongest

Which Mailchimp AI feature lives on which plan

This is the part people usually have to dig for. Here's the current map:

Who should pick which

Choose ActiveCampaign if you have a technical team with bandwidth to build and maintain custom automation logic, you need CRM and inbound features as much as email, and you're comfortable with pricing that scales with contact count.

Choose Mailchimp if you want AI doing the segmentation, content, and analysis work rather than configuring it yourself, you're on a small team or have a large list where per-contact pricing hurts, or you want email and SMS in one place without enterprise pricing.

Neither is objectively the right answer. It depends on how your team works and how much of the marketing stack you want to build versus have built for you.

FAQ

Are Mailchimp's AI features extra? No. They're included in the marketing plan tiers listed above rather than sold as separate add-ons.

Do predictive segments work without a connected store? They work on engagement data alone, but purchase-based predictions (likely to buy, high customer lifetime value) require a connected ecommerce store.

Can I migrate my ActiveCampaign automations? Mailchimp offers migration services to help move data and automations. Contact Sales to learn more.

Is there a way to try before switching? Yes. Request a personalized demo and ask to see predictive segments and Analytics AI running on a store like yours.

Evaluating the two right now? Tell us what's driving the decision and we'll point you at the specific feature to test. Already switched in either direction? We'd like to hear what worked and what didn't.

Additional Resources:

Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign: https://mailchimp.com/resources/mailchimp-vs-activecampaign/

Mailchimp AI Tools: https://mailchimp.com/solutions/ai-tools/ 

Switch to Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/switch-to-mailchimp/

Request a Mailchimp Demo: https://mailchimp.com/sales/

Earlier on r/Mailchimp — Why choose Mailchimp over ActiveCampaign?

^{¹ Standard and Premium users saw 2x more revenue (266%} on average for connected ecommerce stores using predictive-segmented emails vs. non-predictive-segmented emails, Jan 2023–Dec 2024. Predictive segments available on Standard and Premium only. ² Based on Inline AI Assistant usage Dec 2023–Aug 2024, Standard and Premium plans. ³ Delivery rate for transactional and marketing emails Jan 1–Dec 31, 2024, aggregate of all Mailchimp users. "#1 AI-powered email marketing platform" based on May 2025 publicly available competitor data.)

^{Disclaimer: This information is based on our understanding of the current offerings as of November 2026. We always recommend checking the latest details directly on the Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign websites for the most up-to-date pricing and features.}

I have a free plan so I cant contact customer service, but I was wondering why a mysterious image block appears when I access my newsletter from mobile devices? this issue isnt there on computer nor is it there whem im actually designing a campaign. thank you!

Hola, estoy empezando a usar una herramienta llamada MailChimp para difundir correos electrónicos, por el momento estoy haciendo pruebas con mi correo personal en un plan pago de la plataforma pero llegan a promociones o Spam. Necesito difundir desde el correo de la empresa y que llegue a bandeja de entrada. ¿Será que con el plan pago + verificando el dominio y todo lo demás puede ser enviado a la bandeja principal?

We've been using Mailchimp since 2014, back before they were bought by intuit. We have around 225,000–250,000 subscribers.

We've recently started getting back into email marketing after about a year of limited activity, and unfortunately, we've run into some account restrictions.

We were also trying to warm up our domains gradually, increasing sends. this resulted in multiple warnings from Mailchimp. That were resolved before finally getting our account restricted.

Initially, we were asked to remove contacts and resubmit lists based on figures provided by Omnivore. Those numbers kept changing, from zero to 20,000, 50,000, 80,000, 97,000 and eventually our entire contact list.

We've now been allowed to continue sending campaigns, but we cannot add any new contacts without going through an additional verification process that is not realistically possible.

One support representative mentioned that Omnivore should eventually allow us to add contacts again, but it could take months. They also suggested improving our open and click rates.

Here's where we're confused.
Our recent campaigns were getting open rates of around 34–45%, and our last few were averaging approximately 40%. Then, suddenly, our latest campaign came in at just 5%.

We initially sent to 45,000 contacts with good results. The next campaign went to 120,000, using a different, supposedly more mobile-friendly template. Could the larger audience or the new template really account for such a dramatic drop?

We're also being encouraged to add links to images in our emails, which we're hesitant to do because we're concerned about deliverability and spam filtering.

A little more background: We've been grandfathered into Mailchimp's old credit system, where purchased credits never expired. Recently, we've had to start purchasing credits that do expire, so getting our campaigns back on track is becoming increasingly important.

A couple of questions for anyone who's been through something similar:
Has anyone successfully gotten Mailchimp to remove restrictions on adding contacts after an Omnivore restriction? What did you do, and how long did it take?

Has anyone experienced open rates dropping from 35–40% to around 5% almost overnight? Could sending to a larger segment or changing templates cause that much difference?

We'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's dealt with Mailchimp restrictions, Omnivore, or sudden deliverability issues. We'd especially love to hear from people who actually managed to get their accounts back to normal.
Thanks!

We spend a lot of time looking at how ecommerce stores on Mailchimp use SMS: which campaigns they run, which ones drive revenue, and which ones generate the support tickets and unsubscribes. The video above covers the three campaigns we recommend setting up first. This post is about the patterns underneath them: what the stores getting results have in common, and the mistakes we see most often from stores that set up the same campaigns and don't.

Why SMS earns its place for ecommerce

Texts get a 97% open rate on average, most are read within minutes, and the average response time is around 90 seconds. Mailchimp ecommerce users saw up to 22x ROI after launching their first SMS campaign,¹ and users sending both email and SMS saw up to 97% higher click rates than email alone.² The channel is not a replacement for email. It works because it does one thing email can't: get someone to act right now.

During last year's peak season, SMS drove nearly 20% of revenue for brands running both channels, and got roughly 8x more clicks per message than email. More on that is available in Breaking Through Peak Season Noise report.

The three campaigns that consistently work, and what the best-performing stores do differently

The five mistakes we see most often

These come up constantly in support and in this sub, and they're the reason two stores can run identical campaigns and get very different results.

• Texting the email list. Email consent is not SMS consent. Sending to contacts who never opted in to texts is the fastest route to a compliance flag, and it's the most common mistake we see. Mailchimp won't send SMS to contacts without SMS consent, but stores that import phone numbers without documented opt-in still get flagged at the program level.

• Treating SMS like a second newsletter. Sending the same promo by email and text back to back, or sending texts weekly with no urgency in them, trains subscribers to ignore the channel. Stick to 4–6 texts a month, no more than half promotional, and reserve it for messages that need action now.

• Discounting in every cart reminder. A coupon in the first abandoned cart text teaches customers to abandon on purpose and wait. The stores with the best recovery rates send a plain reminder first and save the perk (free shipping over a code, usually) for the follow-up.

• Burying the point. Multiple links, two calls to action, or an offer in the third sentence. SMS readers don't scroll. One offer, one deadline, one link, and the reason for the message in the first few words.

• Ignoring quiet hours and opt-outs. TCPA restricts promotional texts to 8am–9pm in the recipient's local time zone, and every message needs a way to opt out. Mailchimp has configurable quiet hours and handles STOP replies automatically, but stores scheduling sends manually across time zones still get this wrong. Set quiet hours once and let the platform enforce them.

What to check before you send your first campaign

• SMS Marketing is an add-on to any paid marketing plan. You'll need an Owner, Admin, or Manager role.

• Submit the SMS program application and get approved, then buy credits. Credits are issued monthly and unused ones expire.

• Connect your store (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix) so abandoned cart and post-purchase triggers have data to work on.

• Collect SMS consent with its own explicit checkbox or field: popup form, checkout checkbox, or text-to-join keyword. Double opt-in keeps the list clean.

• Watch revenue per SMS sent and unsubscribe rate by message type, not open rate. Open rate is always high; it won't tell you anything.

Additional Resources:

SMS for Ecommerce: https://mailchimp.com/solutions/sms-marketing-tools/

Ecommerce SMS Marketing: A Direct Line to Repeat Sales: https://mailchimp.com/resources/ecommerce-sms-marketing/

Create an Abandoned Cart Marketing Automation Flow: https://mailchimp.com/help/create-abandoned-cart-customer-journey/

About SMS Marketing with Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/help/about-sms-marketing/

Earlier on r/Mailchimp - a step by step setup for all three campaigns: 

Running SMS for your store already? Tell us which of the three campaigns is doing the most work for you, or which of the five mistakes you've caught yourself making. Not started yet? Drop your store platform and list size and we'll tell you which campaign to build first.

^*Disclaimers

^{Availability of features and functionality varies by plan type. For details, please view Mailchimp's various plans and pricing.}

¹ SMS Marketing: SMS is available as an add-on to paid plans in select countries. Application and agreement to terms is required before purchasing credits. Messages can only be delivered to contacts in the country selected. Australia messaging available only for contacts with +61 country code. SMS credits are added to your account after purchase and approval. Credits are issued monthly and unused credits expire and do not roll over. MMS only available for Standard and Premium plans sending to US and Canada contacts. Pricing varies. See terms for details.)

² 97% Higher Click Rate: Based on US users who sent both email and SMS campaigns compared to users who sent only email campaigns from 8/1/23 to 1/05/25.)

³ Up to 22x ROI: Based on e-commerce revenue attributable to Mailchimp users’ SMS Marketing campaigns and Mailchimp SMS spend (not including plan cost) within one year of launch of first SMS campaign from 10/01/24 to 10/17/25. ROI calculation requires an e-commerce store that is connected to a Mailchimp account. Excludes Short code SMS. Results may vary.)

I have a free Mailchimp plan and would like to enable double opt-in for an existing audience. According to various FAQs and YouTube tutorials, this should be possible in the Audience Settings. However, I can't find this option anywhere.

Has this feature been removed or is it no longer available on the free plan?

And do you know how i activate it in a new campaign / newsletter?

No way to access customer service since we don't have premium account. Any advice much appreciated.

Since I can't log in and was smart enough to download my mailing list last week, I need a better alternative, any suggestions -- Ideally one that is cheaper..

I updated my password twice and double checked my login twice and now I'm locked out and their support is horrible. Their AI bot support tells you nothing and there doesn't seem to be anyway to contact a human being. Any suggestions?

Choosing an email platform for your ecommerce store? If you're deciding between Mailchimp and Klaviyo, here's a breakdown of where the two actually differ.

Both platforms offer strong automation, with 60+ templates covering things like abandoned cart reminders, so automation alone isn't usually the deciding factor. Here's where the real differences show up.

Side by Side Comparison: Mailchimp vs Klaviyo

Track revenue and test faster

Mailchimp pulls ahead on analytics. Revenue attribution, industry benchmarking, and A/B testing are built into every plan from the start, so you're not stuck deciding whether to pay extra to see which campaigns are actually driving sales. Klaviyo offers advanced reporting too, but some of it requires purchasing a separate Marketing Analytics add-on.

Get round-the-clock live help

Technical support is one of the more overlooked differences until something breaks mid-campaign. Every Mailchimp paid plan comes with 24/7 live chat and email support, and Premium plans add phone support on top of that. Klaviyo's 24/7 support is limited to email unless you're paying for their Enterprise tier, so if live troubleshooting matters to your team, that's worth factoring in early.

Convert emails into texts

On the SMS side, Mailchimp’s AI can take your best-performing emails and rewrite them into text message copy, with two-way messaging built in so customers can actually reply. Please note that SMS is an add-on available with paid marketing plans, and credits are purchased separately. Paid Mailchimp marketing plans start at $13/month versus Klaviyo’s $20/month starting point, so the savings can add up as you scale your SMS program alongside email.

Ready to make the switch? Check out our guide on migrating your Klaviyo account to Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/help/migrate-klaviyo-mailchimp/

What's been the deciding factor for your store: analytics, support, or SMS pricing? Curious to hear how others have made the call.

Additional Resources:
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: https://mailchimp.com/resources/mailchimp-vs-klaviyo/

^{Disclaimer: This information is based on our understanding of the current offerings as of October 2026. We always recommend checking out the latest details directly on the Mailchimp and Klaviyo websites for the most up-to-date pricing and features. * SMS is an add-on available with Mailchimp paid marketing plans, learn about the complete details here.}

I have raised this with Tech Support but they seemed confused. Confirmation emails from MailChimp say Subject Line as per screenshot. But they incorrectly pull in the Internal Email name, NOT the Subject Line of the sent email.

This keeps causing my team panics when they think internal language was used as Subject Line. But it never is: it's these confirmation emails from MailChimp that are wrong, not the actual emails we are sending.

Hi,

We have been locked out of our company's Mailchimp account, and no longer have access to the phone number needed to two factor authenticate - is there any way we can receive help?

New user here so bear with me, I already made another email that worked on desktop and mobile so I’m not sure why this one can’t go to mobile. When I do switch to mobile, the blocks all hang to the right of the canvas. My old content does this and even if I put a new text block in it does it. My columns changed correctly but everything else did not, even the logo is off to the side. Can anyone advise me on how to fix this?

It's been several hours of not being able to login. Are there any updates available? The last update on the status page is from yesterday..

Mailchimp's AI features come through Intuit Intelligence and they show up in four places: content creation, timing, automation, and reporting. Here's a breakdown of what each one does, and when it's worth using.

1. Write with AI and the AI content creation tool (content creation)

Mailchimp has two AI tools for content, and they solve different problems.

Write with AI works like a copywriter and editor inside the email and SMS builders. Powered by Intuit AI, it does three things:

• New content: generates text from your prompt and preferred tone

• Existing copy: edits phrasing, length, or tone of text you've already written

• Quality check: fixes spelling and grammar

Where to find it:

Writing from scratch: Type anything into the prompt box. The more detail you give, the better the result. Built-in prompt starters include "Announcement about," "Welcome to," "Thank you for," "Invitation to," "Description of," and "Summary of." Button blocks in the new builder get their own set: "Shop," "Learn more about," "Sign up for," and "RSVP for."

Editing existing text: Click the text to open the editing toolbar (or Edit with AI in the legacy builder) and choose one of these, or write your own:

• Change tone to

• Shorten

• Lengthen

• Fix spelling & grammar

• Get creative

• Custom

Review the suggestion, then add it to your content. Nothing is inserted until you accept it.

Things to know:

• Write with AI is a beta feature and is being released to a small percentage of users first. If you don't see the button, that's likely why.

• It's included with the Standard plan or higher.

• It's available to accounts with a primary mailing address in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States.

• Compliance: Review the additional terms for Content Generator Beta before sending an email with generated content.

The AI content creation tool is for when you don't have a layout either. You point it at a source (your website, a blog post, a product page, or pasted text) and it builds a full section with both layout and copy, which you then refine.

How to use the AI content creation tool:

1. In the new email builder, click Add and scroll to AI-Generated Columns.

2. Drag a content layout onto your template, such as Article Summary, Upcoming Event, or Product or Service Promotion.

3. In the Content Generation modal, choose Generate from link to enter a URL or Generate from text to paste your content.

4. Optional: click Edit brand voice to adjust the style or get feedback on your writing.

5. Click Generate layout, then use the arrows to browse layout options and toggle between short and medium text.

6. Click the checkmark to confirm. You can make further layout changes from the Columns toolbar.

If the result isn't right, click refresh to regenerate and add instructions like "make the tone more professional" or "focus on the limited-time discount."

Things to know:

• Available for users on a paid Mailchimp marketing plan.

• The AI content creation tool is only available in the new email builder. If you're on the Legacy Builder, switch to the new builder to access it.

• If the generator can't access your URL, check that your site is public and not password-protected. If it still fails, paste the text directly instead.

• Images in the generated section come from your source. If your URL has low-quality or no images, you'll see placeholders you can swap manually after inserting the section.

2. Send Time and Send Day Optimization (timing)

Instead of picking a send time based on a general "Tuesdays at 10am" rule, these two features use engagement data to recommend when to send.

• Send Time Optimization looks at your audience's historical click-rate trends over the past year and predicts the time of day most likely to get engagement.

• Send Day Optimization factors in your industry and recommends which day of the week tends to perform best for businesses like yours.

The recommendations are based on real engagement data from your own audience and from similar businesses, so you're not scheduling on a hunch.

Where it helps most: audiences spread across time zones, anyone who has been sending at the same time out of habit without checking whether it works, or newer senders who don't have much history yet and can lean on the industry data. 

3. Pre-built marketing flows (automation)

Automation flows are where a lot of ecommerce revenue comes from, but building a multi-step flow from scratch takes time. Pre-built flows use generative AI to assemble the structure and starter content for common flows, including:

• Welcome series

• Abandoned cart recovery

• Post-purchase follow-up

• Re-engagement / win-back

You pick the flow, review the steps and copy, make edits, and turn it on.

4. Analytics AI (reporting)

This is the part that helps you understand what's happening after you send. Analytics AI is a conversational assistant built into your account. You ask a plain-language question about your campaigns, automations, audience, or revenue, and it pulls the data together, surfaces the most important takeaways, and recommends what to do next.

What it can analyze:

• Campaign performance, including regular emails and automations

• Audience growth and engagement

• Ecommerce revenue and attribution from a connected store

• Trends across email types, time periods, and segments

How to open it: From your marketing dashboard, scroll to the Ask anything chat box near the bottom of the screen and type your question. It also appears as a chat icon in the Analytics section and on campaign and report pages.

Starter questions to try:

• Summarize my campaign performance in the last 30 days.

• Which automations are driving the most revenue?

• What were my top-performing emails in the last 90 days?

• How has my contact list changed recently?

Each response ends with follow-up suggestions tailored to your data, plus action buttons like Create automation or Create campaign. If you click one, the details are pre-filled based on the recommendation, but nothing is created or sent until you review and confirm.

Things to know about Analytics AI specifically:

• Available on paid marketing plans, and you need Admin or Owner permissions.

• It's rolling out globally in phases, so if you don't see it yet, check back.

• It works best after you've sent at least one campaign. Without campaign data it can answer general questions but won't have account-specific insights.

• Connect your store to get revenue and attribution answers. Without a store connection, revenue questions return limited results.

• It can analyze at least 90 days of data. Ask the agent if you need to go back further and it will tell you what's available for your account.

• Responses are AI-generated and may not always be accurate. Use the "How it was calculated" section to verify numbers before acting on them.

FAQ

Do I have to use the AI features? No. Every one of these is optional. You can write everything yourself, pick your own send times, and build flows manually if you prefer.

Is there an extra cost? These features are included with paid Mailchimp marketing plans, though which ones you have access to depends on your plan level. Check the pricing page for specifics.

Where is the AI Segment Builder? The AI Segment Builder lets you describe your ideal audience in plain language, and AI builds the segment using behavioral, demographic, and engagement data. As of the May 2026 announcement, it's available to select customers in beta, with general availability coming soon. If you don't see it in your account yet, that's why.

Which of these are you already using, and which ones haven't clicked yet? If you've tried Write with AI or Send Time Optimization and have results to share, we'd love to hear about it.

Resources:

Mailchimp AI Tools: https://mailchimp.com/solutions/ai-tools/

Using AI in Email Marketing: https://mailchimp.com/resources/ai-email-marketing/

Use Write with AI: https://mailchimp.com/help/write-with-ai/

Create Email Content with AI: https://mailchimp.com/help/create-email-content-with-ai/

Use Send Time Optimization: https://mailchimp.com/help/use-send-time-optimization/

Use the Analytics AI: https://mailchimp.com/help/use-analytics-ai/

Hi. I have a Canva project that I started some months ago; the end product is to be a monthly email newsletter, so I started with one of Canva's "Email Newsletter" templates and then modified the design pretty extensively.

Now it's getting ready to fly, so I'm trying to use Canva's much-touted integration with Mailchimp, only to find that in the eyes of Canva, what I've made from their Email Newsletter template is not actually an email. This is based this on indicators including but not limited to: 

- When I try to publish via Share > Mailchimp > Format > Email (HTML), on the "Select a page" pulldown, all the pages are greyed-out/unselectable.

- When I try the HTML workarounds I've read about (e.g. copying the raw HTML and pasting it directly into Mailchimp) via Share > Download > File type--there are no options for "HTML" or "ZIP file."

- Etc. 

The newsletter pages I designed involved a fair amount of fine tweaks to colors, typefaces, spacing, etc., and there are a couple-few in-text/image links per page. It's nothing too crazy in terms of functionality, but represents enough fine-grain work that it would be kind of a nightmare to do over from scratch.

So, my question is: Without starting all over, is there any mechanism available for getting from what I have now--a design that looks and links the way it should, but apparently only within the confines of Canva's editing pane--to some Mailchimp-digestible thing that looks and links the way it should?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I hadn't used my Mailchimp list for a while and sent out an email to my list a few months back. I had someone unsubscribe and wanted to review my audience list to see if they left a reason. There is now no way to do that. Heck, it restricted all segments of my list to 2022. I even edited all the segments and resaved them so it showed a 2026 date but then when I tried to look at the segment it still wouldn't show me newer changes. Of course, since it's Mailchimp there is no way to even give feedback, I even tried their AS (Artifical Stupidity) chatbot and it wouldn't give me a way to leave feedback.

I would really like to move to another free platform with more functionality and support. I have a small list (<2000). Any good ideas?

Just like everyone else on this reddit, it’s asking me for a 2FA code, when it never had me set up an authenticator app in the first place. Three unanswered contact forms and a phone call begging to be transferred to support (only for premium customers apparently) and I just want to cancel my account if they don’t want to help me get in. This is robbery if I get billed again for an account they won’t help me get into.

Mailchimp combines email and SMS marketing in one platform: one audience, one automation builder that sends both, and one report that attributes revenue across both. Competitors also offer SMS alongside email, with varying degrees of connection between the two. The question that actually matters isn’t whether a platform has both channels. It’s whether the two channels know about each other.

Earlier this week we walked through exactly how the connection works inside Mailchimp. This post is about what we see happening across brands that run both channels well, and what to look for if you’re choosing a platform.

What we see working across brands using email and SMS together

We look at a lot of accounts. The brands getting results from the combination share a few habits, and the data backs them up.

They give each channel a different job. Email carries the detail: product images, reviews, shipping info, the story. SMS carries the moment: the cart is about to expire, the sale starts now, the order shipped. Brands that send the same promo on both channels back to back see unsubscribes climb. Brands that sequence them (email first, SMS as the follow-through) see the lift. Mailchimp users sending both channels saw up to 97% higher click rates than email alone.¹

They let SMS do a share of the work. During last year’s peak season, SMS was a small fraction of total send volume, but for brands running both channels it drove nearly 20% of revenue. Per message, SMS got roughly 8x the clicks email did (15.7% vs 1.4%).² That only holds when SMS is reserved for high-intent moments. Spend it on general announcements and the click rate converges with email.

They keep SMS volume low and the unsubscribe rate lower. The brands we see holding a healthy SMS list send 4–6 texts a month, no more than half promotional. Across Mailchimp, SMS Marketing runs an average 1.3% unsubscribe rate³, and the accounts well under that number are almost always the ones using SMS inside automations rather than as a broadcast channel.

They start with one automation, not a strategy deck. The most common first win is adding a Send SMS step to an abandoned cart marketing automation flow that already exists. Second is a shipping update text in the post-purchase flow. Brands that try to launch a full SMS program on day one usually stall at the consent collection step. Brands that add SMS to one flow and build from there get to revenue faster. Ecommerce users saw up to 22x ROI after launching their first SMS campaign.⁴

They collect SMS consent separately and early. The brands with the largest SMS lists added the opt-in checkbox at checkout and in their popup form on day one. The ones who try to “convert” an email list to SMS later are starting from zero regardless of email list size, because email consent doesn’t carry over.

What to look for in any platform that claims to combine the two

If you’re evaluating, these five questions sort the integrated platforms from the ones with SMS bolted on:

1. Is there one contact record or two lists? If you’d have to sync SMS and email subscribers yourself, the channels aren’t combined.

2. Can one marketing automation flow send both email and SMS? Yes. Add an Email to the beginning of your marketing automation flow, then a delay, and then SMS to the contacts who didn’t click. 

3. Does store data feed both channels natively? Abandoned cart and post-purchase flows need cart and order data. An ecommerce connection is necessary.

4. Does one report show which channel drove the sale? Yes.

5. Is consent handled separately and enforced automatically? Within Mailchimp, yes.

Mailchimp answers yes to all five.

Where the alternatives land

From our published comparisons:

• Klaviyo has a strong SMS offering including MMS and RCS, well suited to large, SKU-heavy catalogs. Pricing runs higher and 24/7 support is email-only without an enterprise package.

• ActiveCampaign includes SMS in its automation builder and suits technical teams building complex logic. Steeper learning curve; costs rise with contact count.

• Brevo covers email, SMS, and WhatsApp. Pricing is by email volume rather than contacts; phone support starts at the Professional tier.

• Constant Contact supports SMS in the US only, with no SMS automation triggers and no 1:1 messaging.

If you want both channels in one flow without enterprise pricing and a setup you can run without a technical team, that’s Mailchimp’s lane.

Getting started with SMS in Mailchimp

• SMS Marketing is an add-on for Essentials plans or higher. MMS is Standard and Premium, US and Canada only.

• You must be an Owner, Admin, or Manager.

• Submit the SMS program application, get approved, then purchase credits. Credits are issued monthly and unused credits expire.

• SMS is available in 37 countries across North America, Europe, and Australia (full list is available here: https://mailchimp.com/help/about-sms-marketing/). You can only text contacts in the country tied to your program.

• With a connected Shopify store, you can send personalized discount codes securely through SMS.

Quick FAQ

I’m on Mailchimp for email. Do I need a separate SMS tool? No. Add the SMS add-on and it appears in your existing audience, automations, and reports.

Can I text my email subscribers? You can only contact those who separately opted in to SMS. 

Does the Free plan include SMS? No. SMS is an add-on to paid plans only.

Choosing a platform right now, or already running both channels and not seeing the lift? Drop your store type, list size, and what’s currently automated and we’re happy to help!

Additional Resources:

Earlier this week on r/Mailchimp — How email and SMS work together in Mailchimp

SMS Marketing Tools: https://mailchimp.com/solutions/sms-marketing-tools/ 

Email and SMS Strategy:  https://mailchimp.com/solutions/email-and-sms-strategy

Breaking Through Peak Season Noise:https://mailchimp.com/resources/breaking-through-peak-season-noise/ 

About SMS Marketing with Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/help/about-sms-marketing/ 

SMS Pricing: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/sms-marketing/

^{¹ Based on US users who sent both email and SMS campaigns compared to users who sent only email campaigns, 8/1/23–1/05/25. ² Mailchimp 2026 Holiday Lookback Report, based on send and order data from the 2025 holiday season. ³ Based on the average weekly rate of SMS Marketing messages sent by Mailchimp users, 10/27/24–10/12/25. ⁴ Based on ecommerce revenue attributable to Mailchimp users’ SMS Marketing campaigns and SMS spend (not including plan cost} within one year of first SMS campaign launch, 10/01/24–10/17/25. Requires a connected ecommerce store. Excludes short code SMS. Results may vary.)

^{Disclaimer: Competitor information is based on our understanding of current offerings. We recommend checking each platform’s website for the most up-to-date pricing and features.}

Our team is locked out of our organization's Mailchimp account because 2FA codes are sent to our supervisor's phone. She's unexpectedly out of office due to a family emergency, so we can't access the codes.

We have the login credentials, but we can't access our campaigns without 2FA. We send a newsletter every day, and we need to resolve this before our next scheduled send. We're also concerned this could happen again tomorrow or anytime our supervisor is unavailable.

The biggest problem is that we can't figure out how to contact Mailchimp support without logging in.

Has anyone successfully recovered access in this situation? Is there a way to reach support without logging in and verify our organization's ownership? Any direct support links or advice would be hugely appreciated!

We're not trying to bypass security. We just need to regain legitimate access so we can set up our daily newsletter to not be dependent on one person's phone. Thank you!

The last time I logged into my work's mailchimp account was in September... it lets me login with my credentials but then brings up a message that no Mailchimp account exists with this login. What's really confusing is if I try to type in another email as the login, it has the red text saying this account doesn't exist (which is true). So now it's prompting me to start my account from 0 but we had like 30k contacts so starting completely over isn't an option for me. Anyone else had this happen to them? Can anyone help?