MailChimp vs Drip — These are two of the best email marketing solutions but which is the better option?

I love writing about email marketing solutions. Email marketing is a powerful digital marketing strategy that provides super high return of investment (ROI) for many companies and industries.

Even if you are a blogger, you should start building an email list because it will come in handy when you are promoting a product, services or even keeping your subscribers engaged with the latest posts.

In this article, I will give you some quick insights on what MailChimp and Drip does and how they compare to each other.

Ultimately, I’ll also share my reviews on both the email marketing solutions with the hopes that it will help you in your decision making.

MailChimp

• checkFree for life (up to 2,000 email subscribers)
• checkSend up to 12,000 emails a month for free
• checkMost intuitive drag and drop visual builder (when creating emails)
• checkHeavily based on HTML and images
• checkLow learning curve
• checkFree account comes with automation and workflow

• Automation and workflow are limited
• Advantaged tagging is not user friendly
• Coding skill is needed to maximize MailChimp features
• closeIs the worst email marketing solutions for affiliate marketers
• closeVery basic landing pages
• closeUgly form to collect emails
• closeBasic reporting dashboard

Try MailChimp today!

Drip

• checkBeautiful analytic dashboard and reporting
• checkFree for first 100 email subscribers
• checkAdvantaged tagging and workflow
• checkAbility to segment subscribers based on their activities (clicks, open etc.)
• checkLess dependent on HTML
• checkLow to medium learning curve
• checkOne of the best automation and workflow in the industry
• checkMultiple widgets and plugins to help you collect emails
• checkAdvanced ‘smart’ forms to collect leads at the right time
• checkBest for eCommerce and website owners who are serious in email marketing

• The lowest pricing is $49 per month and is often considered heavy for many beginners
• Some users find the Drip’s feature overwhelming (because there are a lot of things you can do with Drip)

Get started with Drip for free!

MailChimp vs Drip — Detailed Comparison

As a disclaimer, I use both MailChimp and Drip, alongside with ConvertKit for that matter.

MailChimp is my favorite email marketing solution for my personal blog while Drip is used for my creative agency.

Without further adieu, let’s dive into the MailChimp vs Drip comparison.

MailChimp

For me, MailChimp is an affordable email marketing solution for bloggers. It is easy to use and doesn’t cost a dime (for the first 2,000 email subscribers).

Low learning curve and good delivery rates make MailChimp a no-brainer choice for many (including myself).

What I love most about MailChimp is the newsletter template builder. MailChimp is heavily based on HTML and the visual builder is one of the best you can find in the market.

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BONUS: The Beginner’s Guide Using MailChimp

MailChimp’s free account also comes with the ability to use the marketing automation which is pretty awesome.

This is what it looks like.

Everything on MailChimp is very much into drag and drop — therefore, you can easily start email marketing almost to instantly.

MailChimp also comes with a ever growing list of ready-made templates to help you get started on the right foot.

As you can see, MailChimp is very much into beautiful designs and low learning curve.

If you are a beginner, you are going to love MailChimp. Try MailChimp now!

MailChimp is not for you if …

There is no love from MailChimp if you are an affiliate marketer.

MailChimp doesn’t allows you to use it for affiliate marketing purposes.

The only way to solve this is through sharing a link to your blog post (and having great call-to-actions to drive website visitors to your affiliate products — which is of course the biggest hassle.

Drip

I first came across Drip because I wanted to better manage my email subscribers and sending emails to a highly targeted audience.

On the surface, Drip beats MailChimp in every aspect except for the price.

Drip comes with free account but only for 100 email subscribers.

Using Drip, you can easily monitor the progress of your email marketing campaign in a beautiful dashboard.

Plus, Drip comes with super detailed reports even for the free account as you can see below.

Drip’s automated workflow does wonders and it is one of the best I have seen and experience in the market.

When I first use Drip workflow, I was blown away … big time!

This is what I mean.

Drip email marketing solution is the best option if you are selling a product/service or serious in understanding how your subscribers react to your email.

Drip allows you to tag your email subscribers based on the actions they take and therefore, you are able to send super targeted emails to them for a higher conversion.

Last not least, Drip comes with form widget which is really awesome. If you are not using lead generation plugins such as Thrive Leads or OptinMonster,

Drip form widget is easy to configure and can easily integrate to major CMS including WordPress.

Drip is not right for you if …

You are concern about money. Drip comes with a forever free account which is applicable up to 100 email subscribers. After that, the pricing starts at $49 per month which can be pretty hefty for beginners.

MailChimp vs Drip — Summary

There is no denial that both MailChimp and Drip are two awesome email marketing tools.

On one hand, MailChimp is a super cost efficient email marketing tool but offers limited features compared to Drip with a slightly higher cost.

If you are just starting out, I recommend you to go with MailChimp and once you are ready to make email marketing work harder for you, Drip is the best email marketing tool!