Mailchimp
mailchimp.com · Email and marketing
Email marketing and audience platform for small and mid-sized businesses.
116 open items · 93 source threads · 1 source type · updated 2026-04
This page rests on 93 Hacker News threads. No other public source type applies to Mailchimp yet; every item links to the comment it came from.
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Pain points 70
| Item | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp pricing is high for a 30,000-contact newsletter The user says Mailchimp would cost $300 per month for 30,000 contacts, which feels too expensive for a non-commercial newsletter. Affects: Newsletter creators with large, non-commercial mailing lists |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 4 sources | 2022-07 |
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| Mailchimp is expensive to run campaigns The author says Mailchimp can be expensive for customer-update campaigns, prompting them to try alternatives and build a lower-cost option. Affects: Teams sending customer updates |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 2 sources | 2020-08 |
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| Account closed without warning based on country Mailchimp closed the conservation society’s account because it was Iranian, leaving the organization unable to continue using the service. Affects: Iranian wildlife conservation organization |
Other | Causes churn | 1 source | 2024-05 |
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| Subscriber database unavailable after account closure After closing the account, Mailchimp did not allow the organization to back up its 20-year-old subscriber and recipient database, putting its records at risk of loss. Affects: Iranian wildlife conservation organization |
Data export & migration | Causes churn | 1 source | 2024-05 |
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| Campaign editor failed before a deadline The Mailchimp editor malfunctioned in production, preventing the team from editing a campaign before its deadline and causing a financial loss. Affects: Campaign team |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2023-03 |
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| Transactional account blocked after a test email Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2022-08 |
| Account deletion and conflicting claims about data recovery Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2018-12 |
| Account deleted without warning Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2018-12 |
| Mailchimp cut off an organization’s email service Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2017-08 |
| Mailchimp is prohibitively expensive for large mailing lists Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2016-04 |
| A/B testing requires fragmented sends and can trigger account bans Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reporting & analytics | Causes churn | 1 source | 2014-05 |
| A small subscriber increase doubled the Mailchimp bill Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2013-08 |
| Drag-and-drop editing can break email layouts Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2026-04 |
| Unverified signups enable repeated spam Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2026-04 |
| No passkey or security-key protection against phishing Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Blocks work | 1 source | 2025-03 |
| Mailchimp costs can rise substantially at scale Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2024-08 |
| Mailchimp is too expensive for its features Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2024-07 |
| Template editor bugs break designs Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2024-02 |
| Unsubscribed contacts remain in Mailchimp Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Blocks work | 1 source | 2023-06 |
| Signup bots require manual list cleanup before newsletters Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2022-09 |
| Embedded signup forms limit control over form behavior Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2022-09 |
| Frustration with recurring Mailchimp security disclosures Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Blocks work | 1 source | 2022-08 |
| Spam complaints can put a sender’s account at risk Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2022-08 |
| Unable to find a way to process email bounces Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2022-07 |
| Mailchimp pricing is prohibitive for large contact lists Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-10 |
| Mailchimp pricing feels high Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-09 |
| Email design lacks a solid WYSIWYG editor Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-09 |
| Mailchimp’s feature set feels overpriced and bloated Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-08 |
| Mailchimp automation is expensive and clunky Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2020-12 |
| Mailchimp is too expensive for budget-conscious companies Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2019-07 |
| Mailchimp is expensive for small lists and bootstrapped startups Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2019-07 |
| Free plan blocks creating additional audiences Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2019-05 |
| Real-name and location requirement blocks pseudonymous signup Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-09 |
| Slow API access to segments and missing GDPR member fields Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
API & developer experience | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-06 |
| Mailchimp appears unprepared for GDPR requirements Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Other | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-06 |
| Subscriber growth makes Mailchimp pricing feel disproportionate Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-04 |
| Copying campaigns can break merge fields, text, and images Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-04 |
| Password reset links exposed in Mailchimp logs Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-01 |
| Limited control over sending email independently Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-10 |
| Mailchimp backend lacks UTF-8 local-part support Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Integrations | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-07 |
| Mailchimp recipient limits make higher-volume use expensive Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-07 |
| Limited features for automating email sequences Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-03 |
| Advanced automation branches are difficult to configure Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-10 |
| Mailchimp costs far more than SES for comparable delivery Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-07 |
| Mandrill pricing makes switching costly Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-03 |
| Concern about Mandrill’s future support and innovation Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Support | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-03 |
| Mailchimp editor is buggy and advanced editor shuts down Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-03 |
| Mandrill pricing tied to bulk Mailchimp plans Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-02 |
| Mailchimp emails consistently land in spam Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2015-10 |
| Mailchimp used to send unsolicited marketing emails Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Other | Blocks work | 1 source | 2015-10 |
| Domain verification rejects generic sender addresses Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Setup & onboarding | Blocks work | 1 source | 2014-07 |
| New campaign UI has rushed design bugs Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2013-09 |
| No phone support for Mailchimp customers Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Support | Blocks work | 1 source | 2011-12 |
| Web UI controls are difficult to find Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2011-04 |
| Redesigned site makes help content hard to use Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Documentation | Blocks work | 1 source | 2011-02 |
| Sending a few thousand emails feels expensive Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2009-03 |
| Mailchimp pricing and dark patterns are frustrating Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2024-11 |
| Mailchimp takes extensive training for volunteers Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2024-06 |
| Cluttered interface makes features hard to find Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2024-02 |
| Removal of the “I did not sign up” button Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2022-07 |
| Mailchimp can be expensive Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2021-05 |
| Mailchimp and Mandrill feel too expensive Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2021-05 |
| Mailchimp feels too complicated for simple newsletters Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2019-10 |
| Changing Mailchimp forms during a migration is annoying Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Data export & migration | Annoyance | 1 source | 2019-03 |
| Contact import does not correct basic email syntax errors Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Data export & migration | Annoyance | 1 source | 2019-03 |
| Mailchimp is not delightful to use Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2017-03 |
| Mailchimp account requirement raises Mandrill costs Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2016-02 |
| Mailchimp blog mislabels confirmed and double opt-in Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Documentation | Annoyance | 1 source | 2015-07 |
| Fixed 600px template width leaves excess whitespace in drafts Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2011-06 |
| Redesign imagery undermines Mailchimp’s ease of use Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2011-02 |
Feature requests 14
| Item | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep new offerings optional for existing customers The commenter wants Mailchimp to preserve its value for its original customers while pursuing growth through optional offerings that do not shift their costs onto the broader user base. Affects: Original customers and small businesses |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-08 |
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| Add a confirmation challenge before sending mass email The sender worries about accidentally emailing the entire mailing list and wants a CAPTCHA, puzzle, or simple math question before a mass send. Affects: Email senders |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-06 |
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| Use a custom domain for tracked links The author asks Mailchimp to let businesses configure DNS so links in emails use their own domain rather than a Mailchimp subdomain, helping those links appear less suspicious. Affects: Businesses concerned about email phishing appearance |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-10 |
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| Looking for an alternative after Mailchimp email restrictions The author asks for alternatives to Mailchimp and specifies that a suitable service should have a usable API, transactional email support or integrations, and an easy-to-use workflow. |
API & developer experience | Blocks work | 1 source | 2018-03 |
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| Option to require double opt-in for new lists The commenter asks for a setting that requires double opt-in before a person is added to a new Mailchimp list. |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-11 |
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| Custom Return-Path domain is unavailable Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
API & developer experience | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-09 |
| Add in-app, SMS, and push messaging Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Integrations | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-10 |
| Add device testing tools for email previews Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2013-11 |
| Ask to use Mandrill for cheaper newsletter sending Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2012-06 |
| Reuse campaign templates for transactional emails Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
API & developer experience | Blocks work | 1 source | 2011-02 |
| Add batch synchronization for Mailchimp integrations Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
API & developer experience | Blocks work | 1 source | 2009-03 |
| Offer single opt-in for email signups Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Customization | Annoyance | 1 source | 2017-10 |
| Better controls for email subscription permissions Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Annoyance | 1 source | 2017-10 |
| Better reports for autoresponder emails Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reporting & analytics | Annoyance | 1 source | 2011-01 |
Workarounds 4
| Item | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeting Mailchimp users requires a manual export-import workflow To email a selected group of users based on their activity, the author has to query the database, export a CSV, and import it into Mailchimp. They describe this as an annoying process. Affects: Startups |
Data export & migration | Blocks work | 1 source | 2023-07 |
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| Disabling double opt-in for waitlists Double opt-in left many waitlist signups unconfirmed, so users did not receive product access and became confused. The author worked around this by disabling double opt-in. Affects: Teams collecting beta waitlist signups |
Customization | Blocks work | 1 source | 2017-10 |
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| Using Amazon SES to avoid Mailchimp list costs The commenter says sending to a large list with Mailchimp would be expensive, so they use Amazon SES for daily bulk sends at very low cost. |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2016-10 |
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| Avoiding monthly fees for an infrequently used newsletter list The author built a deployable newsletter tool to avoid paying recurring fees to Mailchimp or similar services for collecting addresses for a list used rarely. |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2013-09 |
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Switching reasons 28
| Item | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp costs rise sharply as lists grow The user found that Mailchimp’s costs increased quickly for their list size and switched to a lower-cost self-hosted mailing setup. |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 3 sources | 2018-10 |
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| Considering self-hosted software to avoid Mailchimp's cost The user is leaning toward an open-source, self-hosted newsletter tool rather than Mailchimp, citing its cost and their non-commercial use case. Affects: Newsletter creators with non-commercial projects |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 2 sources | 2022-07 |
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| Businesses moved from Mailchimp to High Level The commenter says they moved all of their businesses and clients from Mailchimp and Klaviyo to High Level. No specific Mailchimp problem is given; the move itself is the stated switching behavior. Affects: Businesses and their clients |
Other | Causes churn | 1 source | 2024-11 |
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| Moved to Listmonk to reduce email costs The user replaced Mailchimp with Listmonk and AWS SES, reporting savings of about $600 per month. |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2024-04 |
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| High costs for large subscriber lists prompt self-hosting A newsletter team says Mailchimp and similar services are very expensive above 100,000 subscribers, so they host email themselves to save money despite the usability and maintenance burden. Affects: Newsletter operators with more than 100,000 subscribers |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2023-11 |
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| Account suspension without notice forced a migration Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2022-08 |
| Left Mailchimp over a complex UI and difficult editor Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Causes churn | 1 source | 2022-01 |
| Audience limits and account changes prompt search for alternatives Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Other | Causes churn | 1 source | 2019-05 |
| Mandrill acquisition disrupted account setup Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2018-12 |
| Switched because Mailchimp bills by subscriber count Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2018-11 |
| Moved Mandrill sending to SparkPost after pricing changes Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
API & developer experience | Causes churn | 1 source | 2016-03 |
| Abrupt Mandrill terms change and shutdown prompt a search for alternatives Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2016-03 |
| Mandrill’s 45-day account shutdown notice prompted a switch Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Reliability & bugs | Causes churn | 1 source | 2016-02 |
| Mandrill changes force unwanted Mailchimp accounts Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Setup & onboarding | Causes churn | 1 source | 2016-02 |
| Mandrill pricing changes prompted vendor reevaluation Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2016-02 |
| Mailchimp became too expensive for a large list Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2014-01 |
| Left Mailchimp over pricing compared with competitors Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2013-11 |
| Privacy policies deter companies from using Mailchimp Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Causes churn | 1 source | 2012-09 |
| Mailchimp costs too much for unused features Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Causes churn | 1 source | 2012-01 |
| Slow signup confirmation emails led to switching to SendGrid Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Performance | Causes churn | 1 source | 2011-02 |
| Clunky interface prompted a move away from Mailchimp Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2025-01 |
| High Mailchimp costs prompt outreach to potential switchers Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2024-12 |
| Replaced Mailchimp with a self-hosted newsletter stack Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Pricing & plans | Blocks work | 1 source | 2022-07 |
| Mailchimp felt too clunky for launching a newsletter Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2021-01 |
| Seeking a non-US alternative over content policy concerns Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Permissions & security | Blocks work | 1 source | 2020-10 |
| Advised to move CRM campaigns from Mailchimp to Customer.io Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Integrations | Blocks work | 1 source | 2014-03 |
| Switched to MadMimi for simpler, less flashy templates Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2013-05 |
| Switched to Ghost for integrated publishing and mailing Locked: summary and evidence are part of Sprint Pass and Pro |
Integrations | Annoyance | 1 source | 2023-12 |