FairMail vs Mailchimp
Pricing, features & honest comparison — updated 2026
TL;DR
- Mailchimp:
- $13-350/mo. Per-contact monthly (charges for dormant contacts).
- FairMail:
- $0.001-0.003/email. No subscription. No seat limits.
- Infrastructure cost:
- $0.0001/email
FairMail
$0.001-0.003/email
per email sent
No subscription
Mailchimp
$13-350/mo
Per-contact monthly (charges for dormant contacts)
Free: 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month
Why people leave Mailchimp
- Charges for unsubscribed and inactive contacts
- Dramatic price jumps as list grows
- Free tier was gutted in 2023
- Overage charges are punitive
What it actually costs to run
The infrastructure cost for email marketing — servers, APIs, storage, delivery — is roughly $0.0001/email. Mailchimp charges $13-350/mo. That's a 35x markup.
Fair charges $0.001-0.003/email — cost plus a small margin.
The verdict
Choose Mailchimp if
Beginners wanting an all-in-one marketing platform with templates
Choose FairMail if
You use email marketing occasionally and don't want to pay $13-350/mo for the privilege. FairMail charges $0.001-0.003/email with full features and no subscription.
Where Mailchimp's pricing model breaks down
- Per-contact pricing penalizes list growth
- Dormant contacts still cost money
Related comparisons
Fair is the anti-subscription. 13 tools, one account, pay for what you use.