Neither tool imports the other’s automations automatically. Export contacts as CSV and rebuild your email sequences in Mailchimp’s builder.
Quick verdict: Move to Mailchimp if you want the lower flat price and more included seats, and your automation needs are simple enough for a 4-step builder.
Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.
Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.
$13/mo against $15/mo.
3 against ActiveCampaign Starter’s 1.
250 contacts, permanent.
You lose ActiveCampaign’s standard CRM and its deeper automation (15 goals, 5 actions/automation).
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1Export your contact list | Export contacts, tags and segments as CSV from the old tool. |
| 2Create your Mailchimp account | Create your Mailchimp account and import your contact list as a new audience. |
| 3Rebuild campaigns and automations | Recreate your email templates and automation journeys using Mailchimp’s builder. |
| 4Rebuild automations | Recreate email sequences, triggers and automation rules by hand — these do not transfer automatically. |
| 5Reconnect integrations | Reconnect your website forms, e-commerce store or CRM sync to the new tool. |
| 6Run a real send before cancelling | Send one real campaign through the new tool and confirm deliverability before cancelling the old plan. |
What this path doesn’t do for you:
ActiveCampaign’s CRM and multi-step automation depth have no Mailchimp Essentials equivalent — Mailchimp’s automation is capped at 4 steps at this tier.
| Plan | ActiveCampaign | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing basis | Per contact tier, account-wide | Per contact tier, account-wide |
| Entry price | Starter $15/mo (1,000 contacts) | Essentials $13/mo (500 contacts) |
| CRM | Standard CRM included | Basic contact records |
| Free plan | None, 14-day trial | 250 contacts |
Standard list prices checked on each vendor’s pricing page on September 23, 2026. HubSpot price is the $20/seat standing rate, not its current new-customer promo.
| Capability | ActiveCampaign | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| CRM | Included | Basic contact records |
| Automation | 15 goals, 5 actions/automation | 4 steps max (Essentials) |
| Price | $15/mo | $13/mo |
| Seats included | 1 | 3 |
Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?
Read the ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp comparison Switching from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign instead?No dedicated importer; export contacts as CSV and import as a new Mailchimp audience.
Slightly, $2/mo, plus 2 more included seats.
Yes — Mailchimp Essentials caps automation at 4 steps and has no full CRM, against ActiveCampaign’s 15 automation goals and standard CRM.
No. Automation logic, workflows and segmentation rules are specific to each platform’s builder and are rebuilt by hand in the new tool; only contact data moves via export/import.
Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.
Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.
Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.
Plain-language guides: the steps, what to check before you buy, common mistakes, and every tool it takes with verified prices.
Verified prices costed for your team size, a check against your must-have requirements, the questions to settle before you sign, and a source for every figure. Print it, or paste it into an email to whoever approves the spend.
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