Tools and providers
Part of Choosing email software from the workflow up, with the buying gates kept apart
Email marketing software: what Mailchimp documents, and the checks to run before any shortlist
Email marketing software for UK buyers: what Mailchimp documents on automation, segmentation, export and hosting, and the checks to run on Brevo or any rival.
What to take away
- Mailchimp documents automated workflows for a whole customer journey on its Standard and Premium plans, and it documents predictive segmentation. Test both against your own list.
- Mailchimp operates its own servers in the United States, so ask every other supplier, Brevo included, where its data sits and compare the answers.
- A sterling figure is not the dollar or euro figurecurrency, VAT and the contracting entity sit on the order form.
- Exclude an edition that cannot evidence a control you need, rather than offsetting the gap with extra features.
- Treat this as a one-supplier evidence file plus a test plan, not a ranking.
Shortlist and scope
This page records what one supplier documents and sets the same tests for any rival. It is a comparison of methods applied to a candidate, not a market survey, so no platform is ranked.
Inclusion needs a named paid edition, documented campaign or automation capability, a DPA route and published export instructions. The selection checklist turns that into go, hold or stop.
| Criterion | What Mailchimp documents | Test for Brevo or any rival |
|---|---|---|
| Automation | A workflow for the whole customer journey is possible on Standard and Premium; the Free plan allows a single email automation | Build a welcome flow and a two-step flow in a trial and count the steps allowed |
| Segmentation | Predictive segmentation identifies customers most likely to purchase again | Build one behavioural segment and one exclusion in a trial |
| Export | A single-contact export produces a folder of several CSV files | Run a full export and check permission history survives |
| DPA route | Read the addendum, the sub-processor list and the transfer terms | Read the addendum attached to your order |
| Hosting | Owned and operated servers are in the United States | Ask for the storage region in writing |
| Accessibility | Not covered in the pages reviewed; test it | Test keyboard, zoom and screen reader on a built email |
Mailchimp's marketing automation tools page says an automated workflow for the whole customer journey is available on its Standard and Premium packages. A shortlist is only as strong as the tests behind it, so keep the untested rows visible until you have run them.
Deliverability checks for any supplier
A supplier's sending tools only help if your domain is set up properly. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are separate controls: SPF publishes the IP addresses trusted to send for your domain, DKIM signs the mail, and DMARC sets a policy for mail that fails SPF and DKIM checks.
Test all three with each trial before you move a list. Send to seed inboxes at the large mailbox providers, and watch bounces and complaints on the first campaign.
Costs for a UK buyer
Both suppliers price on more than one axis, usually contacts and sends. A buyer who compares on list size alone can misread the bill. Read the live plan fee for your band from each supplier's pricing page, in the currency shown.
- Note the contact band your list falls into and the sends you need each month.
- Read the plan fee for that band from the supplier's live pricing page, in the currency shown.
- Add any overage charge for sends or contacts above the band.
- Add VAT if your business is VAT registered and the supply is taxable. The standard VAT rate is 20%.
- Add your card provider's exchange fee if the invoice is not in sterling.
No sterling plan fee is quoted here, because no UK order form was verified. Treat any number you meet as an opening quote.
Example: applying the grid
Illustrative inputs, not a customer story: a 6,000-contact list, two campaigns a month and one welcome automation.
If several people build campaigns, check how many seats and roles each plan allows, and read who builds and who approves a campaign. If those two campaigns are large, send limits carry more weight.
The export row usually decides. Check whether permission history and suppressions survive the file. The vendor due diligence checklist works through that exit test in order.
Checklist before you buy
- Check your data protection fee position before live addresses go in.
- Record the lawful basis and consent evidence for each list.
- Confirm the contracting entity and governing law on the order form.
- Read the DPA, the sub-processor schedule and the transfer position before signing.
- Run a test export and confirm subscription status and permission history survive.
- Confirm currency and VAT treatment on the invoice.
Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, organisations, including sole traders, that use personal information need to pay the ICO a data protection fee unless they are exempt. Settle that before live addresses go in.
Common questions
Is this a full market comparison?
No. It records one supplier's documentation and sets tests for others. For a wider field, see the round-up of email software providers in England.
Do these tools make me compliant on their own?
No. A DPA route covers the processing relationship, not your lawful basis for mailing. Consent and PECR duties stay with the sender.
Can I leave with my data?
Run the export test before you sign. Mailchimp's own security and privacy page says its owned and operated servers are located in data centres in the United States, so ask where exported and backed-up data will sit.
What would change the answer?
A tested UK order form with settled sterling pricing, or published evidence on accessibility and data location from either supplier. Use the quality checks to record what you find.
