MauticvsMailchimp

Mautic vs Mailchimp

Self-hosted control vs managed simplicity

TL;DR

Mautic is open-source and self-hosted, giving you complete data ownership and no per-contact pricing. Mailchimp is easier to set up, more polished, and requires no technical skills. Choose Mautic if you have technical resources and want total control. Choose Mailchimp if you want simplicity and reliable delivery out of the box.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Hosting Model

Mautic requires you to host it yourself on your own servers. Mailchimp is fully managed SaaS. This affects everything from costs to maintenance burden to data control.

Cost Structure
Mautic wins

Mautic has no per-contact fees since you host it. Mailchimp charges $100/month at 10,000 contacts. At scale, Mautic can be dramatically cheaper, but you need to factor in hosting and maintenance costs.

Ease of Use
Mailchimp wins

Mailchimp is designed for marketers with no technical skills. Mautic requires PHP/MySQL knowledge for setup and ongoing maintenance. The learning curves are not comparable.

Data Control
Mautic wins

With Mautic self-hosted, your data stays on your servers. With Mailchimp, it is on their infrastructure. For companies with strict data requirements, Mautic offers complete control.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts

Mautic
$0+/month

Self-hosted is free. Cloud from $500/mo. You pay for hosting and email sending separately.

Visit Mautic
Mailchimp
$100/month

Standard plan with automation and A/B testing.

Visit Mailchimp
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited emails, Stripe integration included.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Mautic
Mailchimp
Sequenzy
Core Features
Email Marketing
Visual Email Builder
Basic
Polished
Modern
Landing Pages
Forms
Lead Scoring
Limited
Automation
Visual Workflow Builder
Behavioral Triggers
Advanced
Basic
Events + Stripe
Website Tracking
Basic
Dynamic Content
A/B Testing
Technical & Control
Self-Hosted Option
Open Source
Data Ownership
Complete
Their servers
Their servers
Setup Complexity
High
Minimal
Minimal
Maintenance Required
Ongoing
None
None
Deliverability
Built-in Sending
Requires setup
Included
Included
Sender Reputation
Your own
Shared/dedicated
Shared
Deliverability Tools
Basic
Advanced
Good

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Mautic if you...
  • Companies with dedicated technical resources
  • Organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements
  • Large contact lists where per-contact pricing is prohibitive
  • Teams wanting complete customization control
  • Agencies managing multiple client instances
Choose Mailchimp if you...
  • Small to medium businesses without technical staff
  • Teams wanting to start sending emails quickly
  • Companies preferring managed deliverability
  • Users who value polished UI and experience
  • Beginners to email marketing
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Teams wanting managed service with payment triggers
  • Founders seeking simplicity plus revenue-based automation

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

SaaS-Specific Features

If you run a SaaS business on Stripe, Sequenzy offers native payment event triggers that neither Mautic nor Mailchimp provide out of the box.

No Maintenance, No Per-Contact Pricing Pain

Sequenzy is managed like Mailchimp but with simpler pricing. You get the ease of SaaS without Mautic's maintenance burden.

Unified Transactional + Marketing

Send both transactional and marketing emails from one platform with one contact list.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Mautic and Mailchimp represent opposite ends of the email marketing spectrum. Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform you host yourself. Mailchimp is the industry-standard SaaS platform used by millions. See our detailed Mailchimp comparison for more alternatives.

The Fundamental Tradeoff

This comparison comes down to control vs convenience. Mautic gives you complete ownership of your data, unlimited contacts, and full customization ability. In exchange, you handle hosting, maintenance, security updates, and deliverability configuration. Mailchimp handles everything for you but charges based on contacts and keeps your data on their servers.

When Mautic Makes Sense

Mautic shines when you have technical resources and large contact lists. If you are paying $500+/month to Mailchimp and have a developer who can manage infrastructure, Mautic can dramatically reduce costs. It is also the choice for organizations with data sovereignty requirements, since your data stays on your own servers.

When Mailchimp Makes Sense

Mailchimp wins when you want to focus on marketing, not infrastructure. You can be sending emails within minutes of signing up. The interface is polished, deliverability is handled for you, and there is no server maintenance to worry about. For most small to medium businesses, this convenience is worth the per-contact pricing.

The Hidden Costs of "Free"

Mautic is free to download, but that does not mean it is free to run. You need: hosting ($20-200+/month depending on scale), email sending service like Amazon SES or Mailgun (adds up at volume), SSL certificate, time for setup and ongoing maintenance, and expertise to handle issues. Be realistic about these costs before committing.

For SaaS Companies

If you run a SaaS business, neither platform is ideal. Mailchimp lacks Stripe integration, and Mautic requires significant work to set up payment-triggered automations. Sequenzy offers native Stripe integration with simpler pricing than Mailchimp and none of Mautic's maintenance burden. Check our pricing page for details.

Frequently Asked Questions

The self-hosted version is free to download and use. However, you pay for hosting, email sending services, SSL certificates, and your time maintaining it. The cloud version starts at $500/month.

Yes. You need PHP/MySQL knowledge, server administration skills, and understanding of email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). It is not a weekend project for non-technical users.

It can, but it requires work. You need to properly configure email authentication, warm up your IP, maintain your sender reputation, and potentially use a third-party email service like Amazon SES or Mailgun.

Yes, Mailchimp offers a free plan for up to 500 contacts. Mautic self-hosted has no contact limits at all.

Mautic, if you have technical resources. At 100,000+ contacts, Mailchimp costs can become substantial while Mautic's costs scale with server resources, not contacts.

Yes, you can export your contacts from Mailchimp and import them into Mautic. Be prepared to rebuild automations from scratch and reconfigure your email sending infrastructure.

Export your audience from Mailchimp including all custom fields. Set up Mautic on your server with proper PHP/MySQL configuration. Import contacts and map fields. Rebuild your automations in Mautic's campaign builder. Configure email sending via SMTP or a service like Amazon SES. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your sending domain.

Export contacts from Mautic as CSV. Create a Mailchimp account and set up your audience. Import contacts and map custom fields. Rebuild automations in Mailchimp's automation builder. Verify your sending domain. Note that some advanced Mautic features like lead scoring may not transfer directly.

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.

Start Free TrialSee All Features

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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