Mailchimp’s pricing structure has shifted over the years, and recent updates have raised questions about contact limits, billing, and whether certain accounts will be interrupted.

Here is a clear breakdown of what matters.

New Free Plans vs. Legacy Accounts

Mailchimp introduced a new pricing model on May 15, 2019.

If your account was created after May 15, 2019 and you are on a Free plan, you are subject to the current Free tier limits:

• 250 contacts maximum
• 500 email sends per month
• 250 email sends per day
• 1 audience
• 1 seat

If you exceed 250 contacts, Mailchimp places a hold on sending until you upgrade or reduce your contact total.

If your account was created before May 15, 2019, you are considered a legacy account.

For legacy Free accounts, the limits are significantly different:

• Up to 2,000 total contacts
• Up to 12,000 email sends per month
• 2,000 sends within a 24 hour period

Legacy accounts were grandfathered into this structure when the pricing model changed.

Some Users Experienced Early Sending Interruptions

Recently, some users reported seeing warning messages or temporary sending restrictions prior to any official change or enforcement date.

In several cases, accounts that should have qualified as legacy accounts appeared to be limited prematurely. Based on our research and account testing, this seems to have been a system issue rather than a policy shift.

If your account was created prior to May 15, 2019 and you are within the 2,000 contact limit, you should not experience interruptions related to the newer Free plan limits.

What Happens After 250 Contacts

For newer accounts, once you move beyond 250 contacts, you are pushed into a paid plan. If your list exceeds 250 contacts, sending is paused until you either reduce your contact count or upgrade to a paid plan.

The lowest paid option is the Essentials plan. Essentials currently starts at approximately $26.50 per month at the lower contact levels, and pricing increases as your contact count grows.

For many small businesses, 250 contacts is a very small list. Most businesses that send consistent newsletters have 1,000 to 1,500 contacts, often more. For a business with 1,500 contacts, the Free plan is no longer available. Your cheapest plan with MailChimp is now $45/month.

What We’re Recommending

For clients on legacy accounts who remain under 2,000 contacts, no action is needed at this time. Service should continue normally.

For clients on newer Free accounts who are constrained by the 250 contact limit, we are evaluating alternatives.

In many cases, we are recommending EmailOctopus  (not sponsored, just a free tool we use with clients) as a more flexible and cost effective option for smaller businesses.

We are happy to review your current list size and sending needs and advise on whether staying with Mailchimp or migrating to another platform makes more sense long term.

Is My Account Affected?

If your Mailchimp account was created before May 15, 2019, you may be considered a legacy account. Legacy Free accounts were allowed up to 2,000 contacts and are not subject to the newer 250 contact Free plan limit.

If your account was created after May 15, 2019 and you are on the Free plan, you are limited to 250 contacts. Once you exceed that number, sending will be paused until you upgrade to Essentials or reduce your list.

If you are unsure when your account was created or which plan you are on, we can confirm that quickly and review your current contact total with you.