Build vs Mailchimp

Email marketing platform — Should you build, vibe code, or buy?

Our Verdict

🤔 It Depends

Good for basic email. At scale, self-hosted is cheaper.

Pricing

$0-$350/mo

Founded

2001

Atlanta, GA

Vibe Time

2-3 weeks

What is Mailchimp?

Mailchimp is a email marketing platform. The company is acquired by intuit $12b. With 1,200+ employees, Mailchimp serves teams looking for email marketing solutions.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

Easy to use
Good templates
Free tier
Good deliverability

Weaknesses

Expensive at scale
Limited automation
Feature creep

Who Should Use Mailchimp?

Best For

Beginners
Small Lists
Ecommerce

Not Ideal For

Large Lists
Advanced Automation

Vibe Coding Mailchimp

Using AI tools like Cursor and Claude, you can build a mailchimp-like solution in 2-3 weeks for approximately $5k-15k.

What You Can Build

What's Harder to Replicate

Getting Started

Use this prompt with Cursor or Claude to scaffold your alternative:

Build a email marketing platform with these core features:


Tech stack: Next.js 14, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL, Tailwind, shadcn/ui
Include authentication, API routes, database schema, and a clean UI.

Alternatives to Mailchimp

ConvertKit

Creator-focused

Beehiiv

Newsletter-focused

Resend

Developer-friendly

The Bottom Line

Whether to build or buy Mailchimp depends on your situation. Evaluate your actual requirements before deciding.

Calculate Your Build vs Buy Costs →