Ontraport vs. Mailchimp

If you’re reading this Ontraport vs. Mailchimp review, you’re clearly on track to finding a platform that can handle all your CRM and email marketing needs.

Still, with so many different features, packages and price points offered by both platforms, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one is right for you.

It’s a big decision and an important investment for your business.

We get it, and that’s why we’re here to help clear things up. We’ll give you the facts about Ontraport and our honest assessment of how Ontraport compares to Mailchimp.

But first, a note: We realize we may come off as biased (heck, we’re Ontraport, comparing ourselves to one of our competitors), but that’s not our intention! We want what’s best for you, whether it’s Ontraport or not. (It’s true — we often refer potential customers elsewhere if we know another tool would better suit their needs. We want you to be successful with our platform, not just pay our bill.)

So, let’s take a look ...

We’ll get into the feature comparisons below, but what it all comes down to is this:

At Ontraport, we see ourselves as a partner in your success, not just as another software tool on your belt. Our team cares about your business: We’ll start by working side-by-side with you to create a roadmap for your success, and from then on our over-the-top-helpful support team will be available anytime you need.

Outside of our team, you’ll find a strong community of entrepreneurs and marketers in our highly active Facebook group. While you’re there, you’ll get to know our founder and CEO: He pops up on the regular (really, we can’t keep him away!) to answer questions and share updates.

We built this platform because we wanted to remove the burden of technology so small businesses could bring their value to the world (ahem, that's our mission statement). That translates to a thoughtfully built toolset that empowers you to effectively market and sell your services, alongside a team that’s got your back — for the long haul.

Let's look at the top differences

Our sales reps have talked to thousands of people who are comparing Ontraport vs. Mailchimp, so they have a good idea of what separates the two. Here’s what they had to say.

Ontraport offers all the features you need now and as you grow

If all you need is basic email automation and landing pages, Mailchimp could work. But as your business grows, you’ll want to do more than that. If you’re looking for a platform that’s built to handle all your business needs in one platform — including an advanced CRM, sales pipeline management, business process automation, SMS marketing, membership sites, and comprehensive tracking and analytics — Ontraport has you covered. You won’t have to buy add-on packages or invest in or integrate additional software if your needs change.

Ontraport offers a broad feature set, without sacrificing depth

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Ontraport and Mailchimp offer many similar features, but if you’re looking for deep functionality within each feature, Ontraport is for you. We created each of our features with real business owners and their use cases in mind — so when you build an email, web page or campaign, or if you want to pull data to analyze, you have all the functionality and customization options you need.

Ontraport’s templates give you unlimited customization

While both Ontraport and Mailchimp offer libraries of email and landing page templates, Mailchimp has limited designs with basic builders that lock you into a few preset color palettes and layout options. Ontraport, on the other hand, gives you unlimited customization access so you can tailor your pages and emails to fit your exact needs.

Ontraport support representatives helping clients

Ontraport makes it easy to send segmented and personalized emails

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When it comes to segmenting your list so you can send targeted messages, the type of system you go with matters. With list-based systems like Mailchimp, you have to manually move contacts to different segments as they move through your sales cycle or show interest in different types of offerings. This often ends in messy situations such as duplicate contacts and people getting the wrong emails. With Ontraport’s database-based email system, contacts are automatically added and removed from segments based on criteria you set up.

Ontraport goes the extra mile to deliver your emails

With over 15 years of experience managing some of the biggest email programs in the industry, Ontraport’s team of experts knows what it takes to get your emails into your contacts’ inboxes. While Mailchimp does not offer email deliverability consultations, Ontraport’s postmaster team is available to review your email program and coach you to success. All plan levels get custom sending domains, an important foundation for strong email deliverability, and access to seed tests to further analyze and improve your deliverability. Plus, high-volume senders can get a dedicated IP for complete control.

Ontraport tracks the most extensive, granular data

While Mailchimp offers some marketing analytics tools, Ontraport will give you far more detailed and customized results, from top-level sales and revenue performance to granular email and landing page stats. You can view your data in real time, use UTM tracking and lead source attribution to see where your leads are coming from, and leverage campaign performance stats to optimize your marketing.

Screenshot of visual trend graphs in the Ontraport app

Ontraport makes it easy to launch online courses or a membership site

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Mailchimp doesn’t offer membership capabilities so it’s not ideal if you plan to provide online courses. With Ontraport, you can create, publish and host a complete site, plus seamlessly manage all your members and your related communications. You can even use our prebuilt system to get your whole site up and running in minutes — no integrations needed.

Ontraport offers unmatched customer support

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Learning the ins and outs of new software can be challenging, and you’ll probably have some questions along the way. Like many marketing platforms, Mailchimp offers email support to all users — but if you want access to chat or phone support, you’ll have to subscribe to the top-tier plans. Ontraport offers unlimited email, chat and screen share support to all account levels, and our award-winning Support team is known for going above and beyond. They not only answer the question you come in with, but they give you tips and guidance to help you reach your bigger goals.

What about pricing?
Let's compare.

Pricing for Ontraport Pro and Mailchimp Premium look pretty similar at first glance. But it’s important to consider what you’re getting for the price. With Ontraport you’re getting far more capabilities all in one place and won’t need to change software as you grow; with Mailchimp you’ll need to pay for additional software — and those price tags tend to add up quickly.

Plus, if you take a closer look, you’ll notice Mailchimp’s website and commerce features aren’t part of their marketing platform — so if you want to sell online, you’ll need their add-on ecommerce subscription.

Ontraport comes with all the features you need in one package, and its pricing tiers are designed to grow as your business grows so you’ll never end up with a price tag that’s disproportionate to your business size. All plans start with a 14-day free trial, and there’s no commitment. If you decide to purchase, you can choose from our flexible pricing plans and upgrade or downgrade any time.

Here's what our customers are saying

“Having an all-in-one system from the start saves you so much time, money and headache … If you have Ontraport, you have everything you need.”

Em Boden
EmBoden.com

“Ontraport is like a Ferrari and Mailchimp is like a Toyota Corolla. Ontraport has enormous amounts of flexibility to work as the digital engine for almost any way a business is organized.”

Sam Ovett
Mobile Pocket Office

“All of my contact database is stored in Ontraport. The combination of landing pages, lead magnet delivery, nurture campaigns and autoresponders plus advanced contact tagging means that I don't need anything else. More advanced than Mailchimp, less intimidating than SendGrid, etc. I love it.”

Matt Knight
Precium

“I LOVE Ontraport! As a CRM, it's user-friendly and even though I'm not techy, I can figure most things out. But even when I get stuck, the Ontraport support team is AMAZING! I love that Ontraport is an all-in-one marketing platform. Landing pages, email marketing, membership management, payment platform, everything!”

Ellen Bathgate
Rent Roll Starter

“Mailchimp is a mass communication tool. Ontraport is mass communication, personal communication, time-saving, money-making tool. I have built out some very powerful systems in Ontraport for travel agents that wouldn't be close to possible in Mailchimp.”

Neil Kristianson
Email Splat

“The price of the product is obviously higher than an entry-level product, but the functionality more than makes up for it...When you get an automation tool like Ontraport and utilize all the features it offers, it can legitimately serve your company in the same way as multiple employees would. For a product of this caliber, it's worth its weight in gold!”