Mailchimp is the email platform most people have heard of. Kit is the one built for people who sell what they know. Both send good-looking newsletters and both have free plans, but they're designed for different businesses.

The quick answer

Choose Kit if you're a coach, consultant, creator or service business using email to build trust and sell. It's my top email pick, scored 8.8/10.

Consider Mailchimp if you want lots of design templates for promotional emails and a familiar, all-round marketing platform. I haven't scored Mailchimp, so check its current plans and limits on its own pricing page before you decide.

How to choose

• What do your emails look like? Clean, personal, text-led emails suit Kit. Image-heavy promotions suit a platform with a big template library.

• Do you sell digital products? Kit lets you sell guides, courses and paid newsletters without another tool.

• How complex are your automations? Kit's visual builder makes welcome sequences and follow-ups easy to see and edit.

• What will it cost as you grow? Both platforms price by list size. Compare the cost at two or three times your current list, not just today.

What Kit does well

A generous free plan, a visual automation builder and built-in selling. The trade-offs are fewer design templates, prices that rise as your list grows and basic reporting on lower plans.

The platform matters less than the habit. Put a sign-up form on every page, write a three-email welcome, and send something useful regularly.

Other options worth a look

If you want advanced automation, see ActiveCampaign. If budget matters most, MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers. If you have a big list and email occasionally, Brevo's free plan allows 300 emails a day.

Next steps

Read my full Kit review, start Kit free, or see all my email picks.