How to Cancel Mailchimp Paid Plan in 2026
Mailchimp's pricing has gotten expensive — Standard starts at $20/month and scales fast with subscriber count. Here's how to cancel or downgrade, and cheaper alternatives that handle larger lists for free.
Downgrade to Free
- Go to mailchimp.com → sign in
- Click Account → Billing
- Click Change plan → select Free
- Confirm — takes effect at next billing cycle
🚨 Free Mailchimp only supports 500 contacts. If you have more, you'll need to delete contacts down to 500 or switch to a different provider with a higher free limit.
Delete Your Account Entirely
- Export your contacts first: Audience → All Contacts → Export
- Go to Account → Settings → Pause or delete account
- Select Permanently delete
- Confirm — this cannot be undone
Cheaper Alternatives
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue, free): 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts — best free option
- MailerLite (free up to 1K subs): Full automation, landing pages included
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit, free up to 10K): Built for creators, generous free tier
- Buttondown (free up to 100): Simple newsletter tool for writers
- Resend ($0 up to 3K/mo): Developer-focused transactional email
💡 Pro tip: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) offers free email marketing for up to 10,000 subscribers — that's 20x Mailchimp's free limit. If you're a creator or blogger, Kit's free tier is the best deal in email marketing.
Annual Savings: $240-$4,000+/Year
Mailchimp costs escalate rapidly with subscriber count. A 5K list costs ~$75/month ($900/year). The same list on MailerLite or Kit is free or under $30/month.
🔍 Marketing tools are the biggest SaaS expense for small businesses. Upload your bank statement to JustCancel — we'll find Mailchimp, HubSpot, Canva, and every other recurring charge.