Mailchimp vs HubSpot: Which Tool Suits Your Business?

If you’ve ever stared at a spreadsheet trying to decide between Mailchimp and HubSpot, you’re not alone. Both promise to boost your marketing, but they work very differently. Let’s break down the basics so you can pick the one that actually helps you sell more, not just look fancy.

Core features you’ll use every day

Mailchimp started as an email‑only service. Today it adds simple landing pages, basic automations, and a tiny CRM. It’s perfect if you need to send newsletters, set up a welcome series, or run a small ad‑retargeting campaign. The interface feels like a drag‑and‑drop builder, so you can get a campaign live in minutes.

HubSpot is a full‑stack platform. It combines a powerful CRM, marketing automation, blog publishing, social scheduling, and even sales tools. You can segment contacts, score leads, and trigger multi‑step workflows that span email, SMS, and website actions. It’s a bit more complex, but you get a single view of every prospect.

Pricing that matches your budget

Mailchimp offers a free tier for up to 2,000 contacts and basic email tools. Once you outgrow that, plans start around £10 per month for 500 contacts, and you pay more as your list expands. The pricing stays simple – you’re paying for contacts and extra features.

HubSpot’s free CRM never costs a penny, but its marketing hub starts at about £45 per month for 1,000 contacts and limited automation. The price jumps quickly if you add advanced reporting or custom objects. If you’re a startup with a tight budget, Mailchimp’s free tier might feel safer.

What matters most is the value you get. If you need deep lead scoring and sales‑marketing alignment, HubSpot’s higher cost often pays off. If you just need email blasts and a few landing pages, Mailchimp’s cheap plans are more than enough.

Both platforms integrate with popular tools like Shopify, WordPress, and Zapier, so you won’t be stuck in a silo. The real decision comes down to how sophisticated your workflow needs to be.

In a nutshell: choose Mailchimp for easy email campaigns and tight budgets; go with HubSpot if you want a unified CRM, advanced automation, and room to grow your entire inbound strategy.

Whichever you pick, start with a clear goal – whether it’s growing your subscriber list, nurturing leads, or closing more deals. Set up a simple test campaign, track the results, and adjust. That’s the fastest way to see which platform actually moves the needle for your business.