CampaignHQ vs Mailchimp 2026: Pricing & Features

If you’re reading this, you’re probably at that crossroads every growing business hits eventually. You need an email marketing platform that actually works for your team, fits your budget, and doesn’t make you feel like you’re paying for a mansion when you only need a studio apartment.

Mailchimp has been the go-to name in email marketing for over two decades. It’s practically synonymous with newsletters at this point. But the landscape has changed a lot, especially in the last couple of years. Pricing has gone up, free plan limits have been slashed, and a new wave of platforms has emerged that approach the problem differently.

CampaignHQ is one of those platforms. Built specifically for teams already using AWS, it takes a fundamentally different approach to how email marketing should work and, more importantly, what it should cost.

In this comparison, we’ll break down CampaignHQ vs Mailchimp across features, pricing, automation, ease of use, and more. We’ll be honest about where each platform shines and where it falls short. By the end, you should have a clear picture of which one fits your business.

Let’s dig in.

Quick Comparison Overview

Before we get into the details, here’s a high-level look at how these two platforms stack up:

Mailchimp:

Established brand with 20+ years in the market
Huge template library and third-party integrations
Built-in CRM, landing pages, and social media tools
Pricing based on contact count with email send limits
Free plan limited to 250 contacts and 500 emails/month
Owned by Intuit (since 2021)

CampaignHQ:

AWS-native platform, built for teams already on AWS
Uses your own AWS SES for sending (massive cost savings)
Email + WhatsApp marketing in one platform
BYOA (Bring Your Own AWS) model
Contact-based pricing for the platform, pay AWS directly for sends
Drag-and-drop email builder with marketing automation

The fundamental difference comes down to architecture. Mailchimp owns the entire stack, from the sending infrastructure to the interface. CampaignHQ separates those layers. You bring the infrastructure (your AWS account), and they provide the marketing layer on top of it.

This distinction matters more than you might think, especially when it comes to pricing.

Detailed Feature Comparison

Email Campaign Builder

Mailchimp has one of the most mature email builders on the market. You get hundreds of pre-designed templates, a solid drag-and-drop editor, and the ability to code custom HTML templates. The builder is intuitive, and the template marketplace gives you tons of starting points.

CampaignHQ offers a modern drag-and-drop builder that covers the essentials well. You can build responsive emails visually without touching code, customize layouts, and save reusable templates. The template library is smaller than Mailchimp’s, but the builder itself is clean and functional.

Verdict: Mailchimp wins on template variety and builder maturity. CampaignHQ’s builder gets the job done for most use cases, but if you need hundreds of pre-made designs, Mailchimp has the edge.

Marketing Automation

Mailchimp offers multi-step automation workflows (called Customer Journeys) on its Standard plan and above. You can trigger sequences based on subscriber behavior, purchase activity, and engagement. However, note that automations were removed from the free plan in late 2023 and further restricted in December 2025.

CampaignHQ includes marketing automation across its plans, with workflow executions scaling by tier. You can set up automated sequences, trigger-based campaigns, and drip workflows. The automation builder is straightforward and doesn’t gate core functionality behind premium tiers.

Verdict: Mailchimp’s automation is more feature-rich with advanced branching logic. CampaignHQ provides solid automation fundamentals without the premium pricing wall.

Contact Management and Segmentation

Mailchimp has a built-in CRM with detailed contact profiles, behavioral tracking, predictive demographics, and advanced segmentation. You can build complex audience segments based on dozens of criteria.

CampaignHQ provides contact management with segmentation capabilities, audience tagging, and list management. It covers the core segmentation needs for running targeted campaigns.

Verdict: Mailchimp’s CRM and segmentation are more advanced. If deep audience intelligence is your top priority, Mailchimp has more depth here.

WhatsApp Marketing

This is where things get interesting.

Mailchimp does not offer native WhatsApp marketing. If you want to run WhatsApp campaigns alongside email, you need a separate tool and a separate integration.

CampaignHQ has WhatsApp marketing built right into the platform. You can run email and WhatsApp campaigns from the same dashboard, use the same contact lists, and coordinate messaging across both channels. Since it connects to AWS’s WhatsApp API, you’re also paying AWS rates instead of inflated third-party rates.

Verdict: CampaignHQ wins this one outright. If WhatsApp is part of your marketing mix (and in many markets it absolutely should be), having it integrated into the same platform is a huge advantage.

Deliverability

Mailchimp manages deliverability on shared IP pools, with dedicated IPs available on Premium plans. Their deliverability has been solid historically, though shared IPs mean your reputation is partly tied to other senders.

CampaignHQ leverages AWS SES for delivery, which has consistently strong deliverability rates. Since you’re using your own AWS SES account, your sending reputation is entirely yours. You can also get dedicated IPs through AWS at $24.95/month, cheaper than most competitors.

Verdict: CampaignHQ’s model gives you more control over your sending reputation. AWS SES deliverability is excellent, and owning your IP reputation is a meaningful advantage for serious senders.

Integrations and Ecosystem

Mailchimp integrates with virtually everything. Shopify, WordPress, Salesforce, Zapier, hundreds of CRMs, e-commerce platforms, and more. The integration ecosystem is enormous.

CampaignHQ integrates natively with the AWS ecosystem and offers API access for custom integrations. The integration library is more focused and not as broad as Mailchimp’s.

Verdict: Mailchimp wins here, and it’s not close. If you rely on a wide ecosystem of third-party tools, Mailchimp’s integration library is hard to beat.

Analytics and Reporting

Mailchimp provides detailed campaign analytics, A/B testing, send time optimization, and comparative reports. Premium plans include advanced analytics and multivariate testing.

CampaignHQ offers campaign reporting with open rates, click rates, bounce tracking, and engagement metrics. You also get the benefit of AWS CloudWatch for infrastructure-level monitoring.

Verdict: Mailchimp has more built-in reporting features. CampaignHQ covers the essentials and benefits from AWS’s native monitoring tools.

Pricing: Where Things Get Really Different

This is the section that matters most for a lot of businesses, and it’s where CampaignHQ vs Mailchimp becomes a very different conversation.

Mailchimp Pricing (2026)

Mailchimp’s pricing is based on your contact count, and every plan has an email send limit:

Free: Up to 250 contacts, 500 emails/month (daily limit of 250). Very limited. No automations.
Essentials: Starts at $13/month for 500 contacts and 5,000 emails. Scales to $270/month for 25,000 contacts.
Standard: Starts at $20/month for 500 contacts. Scales to $450/month for 50,000 contacts. Includes automations and advanced features.
Premium: Starts at $350/month. Advanced segmentation, multivariate testing, phone support.

Important caveats:

Mailchimp now charges for ALL contacts, including unsubscribed ones. So that “500 contacts” limit includes people who’ve opted out but haven’t been deleted.
Overages happen automatically. If you exceed your contact limit mid-cycle, you get charged extra without warning.
The free plan has been steadily gutted. It went from 2,000 contacts down to 250, and automations are gone.

For a business with 50,000 contacts on the Standard plan, you’re looking at $450/month, or $5,400/year.

CampaignHQ Pricing (2026)

CampaignHQ takes a different approach. You pay CampaignHQ for the platform, and you pay AWS directly for your email sends:

Core: $34/month (billed annually). 1 user, 10,000 contacts, 20,000 automation executions. Unlimited email sends via AWS.
Growth: $104/month (billed annually). 5 users, 50,000 contacts, 100,000 automation executions. Includes WhatsApp.
Scale: Custom pricing for larger teams.

And here’s the kicker: your actual email sending cost goes through AWS SES, which charges roughly $0.10 per 1,000 emails. So sending 100,000 emails costs about $10 in AWS fees.

Let’s put that in perspective:

Sending 100,000 emails on Mailchimp (Standard, 50K contacts): ~$450/month platform cost
Sending 100,000 emails on CampaignHQ (Growth) + AWS SES: ~$104/month platform + ~$10 AWS = ~$114/month

That’s roughly 75% less.

For teams already on AWS (and many startups and tech companies are), this is even better. If you’re running applications on EC2, AWS gives you 62,000 free emails per month through SES. You might already be paying for infrastructure that includes email sending, and you don’t even know it.

The BYOA Advantage

CampaignHQ’s Bring Your Own AWS model isn’t just about cost. It also means:

No vendor lock-in on infrastructure. Your AWS SES account, your sending reputation, your data. If you ever leave CampaignHQ, your infrastructure stays with you.
Use existing AWS credits. Many startups sit on AWS Activate credits. You can use those for your email marketing.
Single billing relationship with AWS. Consolidate your infrastructure costs instead of paying yet another SaaS vendor for sending.
Scale without pricing cliffs. AWS SES pricing stays flat at $0.10/1,000 regardless of volume. No surprise jumps at the next contact tier.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Mailchimp if:

You need a massive library of pre-built templates and integrations
Your team is non-technical and wants an all-in-one platform with built-in CRM, landing pages, and social tools
You’re already deeply embedded in the Intuit ecosystem (QuickBooks, etc.)
You have a small list (under 500) and just want to get started with something familiar
You need advanced A/B testing and multivariate testing features
Third-party integrations are critical to your workflow

Choose CampaignHQ if:

You’re already on AWS or planning to use AWS infrastructure
Cost efficiency is a priority, especially at higher volumes
You want email and WhatsApp marketing in one platform
You prefer owning your sending infrastructure and reputation
You have AWS credits sitting unused
You value no vendor lock-in and want to control your data
You’re a startup or growing business that needs to stretch every dollar
Your team is comfortable with AWS (even at a basic level)

The honest trade-off

If you’re a small business with no AWS presence and you need something that just works out of the box with maximum hand-holding, Mailchimp is the safer choice. It’s more expensive, but it’s familiar and the ecosystem is unmatched.

If you’re a tech-forward team, a startup on AWS, or any business sending at volume where cost matters, CampaignHQ is the smarter choice. The savings are real, the WhatsApp integration is a genuine differentiator, and the BYOA model gives you control that Mailchimp simply can’t offer.

How to Migrate from Mailchimp to CampaignHQ

Switching platforms sounds scary, but it’s more straightforward than you might think. Here’s a quick migration guide:

Step 1: Export your data from Mailchimp

Go to your Audience dashboard in Mailchimp
Export your contacts as a CSV file
Download any custom templates you want to keep

Step 2: Set up your AWS SES account

If you don’t have one already, create an AWS account
Set up SES in your preferred AWS region
Verify your sending domain and request production access (this removes the sandbox sending limit)

Step 3: Connect AWS SES to CampaignHQ

Sign up for CampaignHQ
Link your AWS SES credentials through the platform’s setup wizard
CampaignHQ walks you through the connection process

Step 4: Import your contacts

Upload your exported CSV to CampaignHQ
Map your fields (name, email, tags, custom fields)
Set up your segments and lists

Step 5: Recreate your automations

Rebuild your key automated sequences in CampaignHQ’s automation builder
Start with your most important flows (welcome series, abandoned cart, etc.)
Test everything before going live

Step 6: Warm up and transition

Don’t flip the switch all at once. Run both platforms in parallel for a week or two.
Gradually shift your sending volume to CampaignHQ
Monitor deliverability and engagement metrics during the transition

The whole process typically takes a few days for most teams, not weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CampaignHQ really that much cheaper than Mailchimp?

Yes, and it’s not a gimmick. The savings come from the architectural difference. Mailchimp charges you for both the platform and the sending infrastructure bundled together. CampaignHQ charges you for the platform while you pay AWS directly for sends at their rates ($0.10 per 1,000 emails). For a business sending 100,000 emails monthly, that difference can easily be $300-400/month.

Do I need to be technical to use CampaignHQ?

Not really. You need to be comfortable setting up an AWS SES account, which involves verifying a domain and connecting credentials. CampaignHQ provides guides for this. Once set up, the day-to-day experience is a standard marketing platform with a drag-and-drop builder, campaign management, and reporting. If your team can use Mailchimp, they can use CampaignHQ.

Can I use CampaignHQ without AWS?

CampaignHQ is built around AWS integration, so an AWS account is required. That said, setting up an AWS account is free, and you only pay for what you use. If you’re not already on AWS, the initial setup takes a bit longer, but the cost savings usually make it worthwhile even for teams new to AWS.

Does Mailchimp offer WhatsApp marketing?

No. As of 2026, Mailchimp does not have native WhatsApp marketing capabilities. You would need to use a separate platform (like Twilio, MessageBird, or others) and integrate it separately. CampaignHQ is one of the few email marketing platforms that includes WhatsApp as a built-in channel.

What happens to my email reputation if I switch from Mailchimp to CampaignHQ?

When you move to CampaignHQ, you’ll be building a sending reputation on your own AWS SES account. This is actually a good thing long-term because you fully own and control that reputation. During migration, it’s best to warm up gradually by starting with your most engaged contacts and slowly increasing volume over 2-4 weeks.

Is Mailchimp’s free plan still worth it?

It depends on your needs, but honestly, it’s gotten much less attractive. The free plan now limits you to 250 contacts and 500 emails per month. Automations are no longer available, and you only get email support for the first 30 days. For anything beyond a personal newsletter, you’ll outgrow the free plan quickly.

Conclusion

The CampaignHQ vs Mailchimp decision ultimately comes down to what kind of business you are and what you value most.

Mailchimp is the established giant. It has a vast ecosystem, an enormous template library, and an interface that millions of marketers already know how to use. If integrations, templates, and brand recognition are your top priorities, Mailchimp delivers on those fronts.

But that comes at a cost, literally. Mailchimp’s pricing has been moving in one direction for years: up. The free plan keeps shrinking, the per-contact pricing now includes unsubscribed contacts, and at higher volumes, the bills add up fast.

CampaignHQ offers a fundamentally different value proposition. By building on top of your existing AWS infrastructure, it dramatically reduces your email marketing costs without sacrificing the features that actually matter for running campaigns. Add in native WhatsApp marketing, the BYOA model, and the freedom from vendor lock-in, and you have a compelling Mailchimp alternative for any team already invested in AWS.

If your business is on AWS (or heading there), the math speaks for itself. You can try CampaignHQ and see the difference firsthand.

Get started with CampaignHQ today and turn your AWS account into the marketing engine it was meant to be.

CampaignHQ vs Mailchimp: Which Email Marketing Platform is Right for You? (2026)