Omnisend is the ecommerce-first option: cheaper to start, and its free plan already includes automation and AI writing tools. Mailchimp is the general-purpose marketing platform that also handles Shopify stores well, with a broader feature set outside of email but less included at the entry tier. Most comparisons of the two stop at a pricing table copied from last year and never mention that one of them gates AI and automation behind a paid plan and the other doesn't. Here's the current pricing, what each one's AI actually does and who gets it, and a straight answer on which to pick.
What's the actual price difference between Omnisend and Mailchimp?
Both start at the same free-plan limits, then diverge on what that free plan includes.
| Omnisend | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 250 contacts, 500 emails/mo, 500 web push/mo, automation and AI tools included | 250 contacts, 500 emails/mo (max 250/day), no automation flows |
| First paid tier | Standard: $16/mo for 500 contacts, 6,000 emails/mo (Omnisend advertises $11.20/mo if you prepay 3 months at 30% off; it reverts to $16/mo after) | Essentials: $13/mo for 500 contacts, limited automation (up to 4 flow steps) |
| SMS | Not on Free or Standard; Pro plan only, from $0.007/message | Not included on any tier; separate SMS add-on, regional credit pricing, from Essentials up |
| AI writing tools | Included from the free plan: subject lines, content drafts, Forms AI, brand-asset import | "Write with AI" (beta): Standard plan or higher only, US/UK/CA/AU accounts only |
| Billing basis | Contacts on your list | Contacts on your list |
At the exact entry paid tier, Mailchimp's $13 undercuts Omnisend's real $16 (or even the $11.20 promo rate, by a little). But that comparison alone misses the bigger gap: Omnisend's free plan already includes automation and AI drafting, while Mailchimp's free plan has no automation at all, and its AI tool doesn't show up until Standard. If you're trying to run real flows before you're ready to pay for either platform, that's the number that actually matters.
Which has stronger automation for a Shopify store?
Both sync products, orders, and customers from Shopify automatically.
- Automation on the free plan. Omnisend's free plan runs automated flows (welcome, abandoned cart, and more) out of the box. Mailchimp's free plan has none; you need Essentials or higher just to turn on a flow.
- Flow depth. Mailchimp's Essentials plan caps automations at 4 steps per flow. Omnisend doesn't publish a step cap on its flows at Standard and above.
- Reporting. Both report opens, clicks, and revenue per campaign. Neither platform's free documentation claims predictive or forecasting analytics at the entry tiers, so don't expect that from either one until you check a specific paid tier's feature list yourself.
- Popups and forms. Both include on-site signup forms; neither is a dedicated popup builder with the targeting depth of a standalone popup app.
If you're not running any automation yet, Omnisend's free plan gets you further before you pay anything. If you're already committed to Mailchimp for other marketing and just need basic flows, Essentials covers the fundamentals, just with a lower step ceiling.
Does either one include AI email writing?
Yes, both do, but access to it is where they really split.
Omnisend's AI tools are available starting on the free plan: an AI copywriting assistant for subject lines and body content, a Forms AI assistant that builds a signup form or popup structure from a plain description, a brand-assets tool that pulls your logo, colors, and fonts from your store, and a personalized product recommender driven by browsing and purchase behavior.
Mailchimp's AI tool, called Write with AI, drafts email copy from a prompt and can edit existing copy for tone or length. It's currently in beta, and Mailchimp's own help documentation states it ships "with the Standard plan or higher," limited to accounts with a US, UK, Canadian, or Australian mailing address.
Neither one reads your full product catalog and generates a finished, on-brand email without you prompting and reviewing it. Both are prompt-and-suggest tools you still have to direct. A dedicated email-generation tool like JetFlow works differently: it reads your store's products and branding continuously and produces finished emails and popups without a fresh prompt each time. Right now that kind of tool pushes into Klaviyo, not Omnisend or Mailchimp, which is worth knowing if "less typing per campaign" is part of your decision. See how that comparison looks against Klaviyo's own templates.
Which one has the better Shopify track record?
Both have a native Shopify integration that syncs customers, orders, and products. On the Shopify App Store, Omnisend sits at 4.7 stars from roughly 3,200 reviews, and Mailchimp sits at 4.8 stars from roughly 1,560 reviews. Mailchimp's rating is a touch higher on fewer total reviews; Omnisend has the larger ecommerce-specific review base. Neither gap is large enough to decide this on its own.
Which should you pick?
Pick Omnisend if:
- You want automation and AI writing included from the free plan, before you're paying for either platform.
- You want SMS and email under one vendor relationship, even though SMS itself only unlocks on Pro.
- Your store is ecommerce-only and you don't need Mailchimp's broader marketing tools (landing pages, CRM-style contact management) outside of email.
Pick Mailchimp if:
- You already run other marketing through Mailchimp (audiences, landing pages, ads) and want one platform instead of two logins.
- Your automation needs are simple enough to fit Essentials' 4-step flow limit.
- The $13 entry price matters more to you than what's included in the free tier.
Either one is fine if you're under a few hundred contacts and mostly sending occasional campaigns rather than built-out flows. The gap shows up once you want automation and AI drafting without paying yet, which is where Omnisend's free plan pulls ahead.
Where JetFlow fits
We make JetFlow. It doesn't replace Omnisend or Mailchimp, or decide which one you should use: it generates complete emails, flows, and signup popups from your store's products and branding, then exports them into Klaviyo in one click. If you land on Klaviyo instead of either platform here, see the full roundup of Klaviyo add-ons for Shopify stores for where a tool like this fits alongside everything else.