Is it time for marketers to rethink Mailchimp?

I've spent a substantial part of the last decade deeply immersed in email marketing technology, working hands-on with platforms, advising companies of all sizes, and closely observing market shifts. During that time, I've seen countless marketing professionals gravitate naturally towards Mailchimp. The intuitive interface, accessible pricing, and brand familiarity have positioned it as the trusted, reliable choice for small businesses and marketing managers needing something quick and easy.

But lately, things are shifting. I'm increasingly seeing teams run into issues that email marketers shouldn't have to endure in 2025: templates failing to render correctly in common email clients, a weakening clarity about who Mailchimp really serves best, and a troubling gap forming between expectations and reality. If you're committed to delivering polished, professional email marketing, assess whether Mailchimp is truly serving your in-house capabilities and most importantly those of your email recipients.

What's changing and why marketers should pay attention

Traditionally, Mailchimp excelled at providing a straightforward solution. The model was simple: start a small business, send out regular email campaigns, and rely on an intuitive, dependable editor to present your content professionally. It's why so many marketers—myself included—initially loved it. But recent changes, particularly to Mailchimp's drag-and-drop email builder, have left many campaigns poorly rendered on popular email clients, notably Gmail. This isn't just mildly inconvenient; it's potentially damaging to your brand's professional credibility.

Since Mailchimp was acquired by Intuit several years ago, there's been a noticeable shift. The software giant behind accounting package QuickBooks, and credit report provider Credit Karma, clearly saw an opportunity to move Mailchimp upstream, shifting from its traditional solo-business sweet spot towards larger companies and mid-market customers. But in attempting this hybrid approach, they've found themselves in an awkward middle-ground, losing clarity about precisely who their ideal user is.

Right now, Mailchimp still markets heavily, positioning itself as an industry standard, running slick ads online, on television, and in mainstream platforms. And that's precisely why you might continue to default to it. But marketing prestige and familiarity shouldn't trump performance. Poor rendering or limited integration can lose subscribers or opportunities in competitive marketplaces.

The emergence of Klaviyo

I've increasingly seen the strength of Klaviyo grow over the past few years. Initially synonymous with ecommerce marketing and strongly aligned with platforms like Shopify, Klaviyo built a reputation for simplicity, agile innovation, and genuinely intuitive user experience: exactly what made early Mailchimp beloved. Instead of becoming mired in infrastructure issues, Klaviyo leaned heavily into a rapid deployment, quick iteration model. Klaviyo was launching features quickly, gathering immediate feedback, and reliably improving the user experience.

Despite its ecommerce roots, Klaviyo today provides an equally intuitive alternative to Mailchimp even outside the retail sector. If you're just looking to send consistent newsletters, build audience lists, and deploy basic automation, Klaviyo checks the boxes. It's functional, effective, and crucially it reliably renders accurately and beautifully across a wide range of email clients, avoiding those frustrating display issues that have troubled Mailchimp users recently.

Standalone email vs integrated CRM

If your business isn't using email campaigns to aggressively track or lead-score your subscribers, but instead aims primarily to educate, entertain, and strengthen brand awareness, then prioritising intuitive functionality above all else makes sense. Simplicity and reliability must come first. In that scenario, Klaviyo is simply a better choice, especially considering how competitive its price has become in recent years.

Think carefully about your email marketing trajectory. Not just where you are now, but also your likely evolution in two or three years' time. Mailchimp might feel safe, but future-proofing your business sometimes means daring to choose a platform that consistently delivers optimal basics: reliable integration options, functional drag-and-drop interfaces, and consistently professional final outputs.

If your intent is ambitious B2B use, involving deep CRM integration and advanced lead-scoring, you might be better served by platforms specifically designed to align with that market, like HubSpot. But for simpler, cleaner use cases, Klaviyo's intuitive approach still shines through.

Considering the switch?

Email marketing performance matters. Brand credibility is built on delivering exceptional, dependable content to your audience every single time. If your current email platform, Mailchimp or otherwise, isn't consistently achieving that benchmark, be proactive about evaluating alternatives. Sign up for a Klaviyo demo, run some tests, strain-check its integration with your existing website and CRM setup, and see how quickly and effectively it adapts to your workflows.

The goal of platform selection is simple: enable marketers to instantly and confidently deliver their best content possible. Platforms must remain transparent, easy to use, and utterly dependable. If the email tools you're using fail to meet these basic criteria, it's time to rethink, and perhaps it's time to switch.

If you're interested in more insights on optimising your email marketing strategies, platform selection, or CRM integrations, please get in touch. I'd love to hear about where your marketing currently stands, how it's aligned with your brand goals, and where there might be opportunities for improvement.