Drip vs Mailchimp: Which Email Marketing Platform is Best for eCommerce?

Struggling to pick between Drip and Mailchimp? Yeah, we’ve been there. At first glance, they kinda look the same… but trust me, they’re built for totally different goals.

Drip is made for online shops. Mailchimp? More for general email stuff. So if you’re running an eCommerce store, choosing wrong can actually cost you sales.

We tested both. Drip is like that friend who just gets your store. Mailchimp is easier to start with, but Drip’s the one that grows with you.

Let’s break it down together. We’ll compare their automation, segmentation, pricing, and everything in between. Keep reading—this is the email showdown you’ve been waiting for.

Who is Drip?

Drip is an email marketing platform built specifically for eCommerce brands. Launched in 2013, Drip has positioned itself as the go-to marketing automation solution for online stores looking to go beyond the basics. With robust customer data tools, advanced automation workflows, and real-time analytics, Drip helps DTC brands build strong customer relationships that drive repeat purchases.

Unlike more generalist platforms, Drip is hyper-focused on eCommerce. That means its features, automation flows, and reporting are all tailored to help online shops make more money from their email marketing—whether you’re using Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom cart.

If you’re tired of hitting ceilings with general email tools and want to unlock personalized marketing that truly scales, Drip might be your next step.

Who is Mailchimp?

Mailchimp, founded in 2001, is one of the most widely known email marketing platforms for small businesses. Many users are drawn to Mailchimp for its free plan and beginner-friendly interface. It’s a name that most marketers have heard of, and for good reason—it’s long been the entry point into email marketing for freelancers, solopreneurs, and side hustlers.

However, Mailchimp was built with general-purpose marketing in mind. It offers simple tools to create and send emails, manage lists, and automate basic sequences like welcome emails or birthday offers.

It’s a solid platform if you’re just starting out, but as your business—and your need for deeper insights and tailored automations—grows, Mailchimp can quickly feel limiting.

How do Drip and Mailchimp compare?

At a glance, both Drip and Mailchimp offer email marketing, forms, automation, and analytics. But dig deeper, and their target audiences and capabilities start to diverge.

Automation: Powerful vs. Limited

Automation is where Drip truly shines.

Drip’s automation builder is visual, flexible, and packed with conditional logic that lets you craft behavior-based customer journeys with ease. You can set up workflows triggered by actions like “clicked product X,” “viewed page Y,” or “hasn’t purchased in 30 days.” You can then branch your flows, assign tags, add delays, and trigger other workflows—all from one drag-and-drop canvas.

Drip was made for marketers who want to deliver truly personalized content based on user behavior, purchase history, or engagement level. This allows you to send perfectly timed emails that feel like they were hand-written just for the subscriber.

Mailchimp, on the other hand, offers basic automation tools suitable for welcome emails, abandoned carts, or date-based triggers. But its automation builder is more rigid, and lacks the advanced behavioral triggers, conditional branching, and custom event tracking that Drip offers. Even on its paid plans, Mailchimp’s automation options are generally more surface-level.

TL;DR:
If you’re just starting out, Mailchimp’s automation is fine. But if you want to create strategic, personalized flows that scale with your business, Drip wins.

Audience Segmentation: Intelligent Targeting vs. List-Based Limits

Segmentation is what allows you to send the right message to the right person at the right time—and this is where Drip pulls ahead again.

Drip gives you powerful segmentation tools that go beyond tags and email opens. You can segment users based on browsing behavior, order value, product category interest, lifecycle stage, and so much more. The platform uses real-time eCommerce data to create dynamic segments that update automatically as customer behavior changes.

Mailchimp offers basic segmentation through tags, groups, and list filters. But here’s a key issue: Mailchimp charges you for the same contact if they exist in multiple lists. So if you want to build multiple audience segments, you’ll either pay more or face limitations.

Drip avoids this problem by using a single customer view. One contact record, with all their actions, purchases, and tags tracked in one place. That makes segmentation cleaner, more affordable, and more effective.

Email Builder: eCommerce Personalization vs. Basic Templates

Drip’s email builder is designed to help eCommerce brands deliver personalized messages at scale. It comes with customizable, mobile-responsive templates and a drag-and-drop editor that allows full flexibility. You can pull in customer data, product recommendations, or cart contents dynamically—no coding required.

Want to show a 20% discount to customers who haven’t purchased in 60 days? Drip lets you do that. You can even A/B test content and automate follow-ups based on the results. The email builder is tightly integrated with your product catalog, so personalizing offers is just a few clicks away.

Mailchimp’s email builder is also drag-and-drop and beginner-friendly. You’ll find it easy to create simple, branded emails using its selection of 100+ templates. However, it lacks the deep eCommerce integrations and real-time personalization features that Drip includes out of the box.

Mailchimp’s builder works well for newsletters or basic campaigns, but if your business relies on tailoring emails to product preferences or past purchases, Drip is the stronger choice.

Forms: Smart Conversions vs. Simplicity

Both platforms offer forms—but they’re built with different audiences in mind.

Drip offers smart form tools designed to boost conversions. You can create popups, embedded forms, slide-ins, and more—all styled to match your branding. With Drip’s behavioral display logic, you can choose when and where your forms appear based on user actions, like exit intent or time on page. You can even tag users based on which form they completed to personalize their automation journey.

Mailchimp’s form builder is simple and easy to use. It allows you to build embedded signup forms, popups, and landing pages. You can adjust colors, add fields, and collect basic subscriber info. But the targeting and behavioral logic is limited, and advanced customization typically requires a workaround or third-party tool.

Bottom line: Drip gives you smarter, more strategic form-building options that integrate directly with your email flows. Mailchimp gets you started—but you’ll probably outgrow it fast.

Integrations: 200+ vs. 900+—But Quality Counts

Mailchimp has a sizable list of over 250 integrations, including tools like Shopify, Stripe, Facebook, and Canva. For general marketing needs, it covers most of the basics. But when it comes to seamless eCommerce workflows, Mailchimp often requires patching things together with workarounds or middleware tools like Zapier.

Drip integrates natively with all major eCommerce platforms—Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and more. It also connects to tools like Recharge, Yotpo, and Facebook Custom Audiences. These integrations go deeper than Mailchimp’s, letting you automate workflows based on product purchases, order value, or customer status.

And for anything else? Drip also supports Zapier and has an open API.

Reporting: Revenue-Driven Insights vs. Email Opens

Drip’s reporting is laser-focused on revenue. You can see exactly how much money each email or automation flow brought in. Track metrics like average order value, lifetime value, and new vs. returning customer performance—all tied directly to your eCommerce sales.

You also get detailed email performance stats like open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes. But what makes Drip stand out is its attribution model. You can identify which workflows and emails actually drive conversions—not just engagement.

Mailchimp’s reports are clean and easy to read. They cover opens, clicks, bounces, and basic audience growth. For paid plans, you can also view A/B test results and performance by device.

However, Mailchimp doesn’t tie revenue data back to campaigns very effectively unless you’re on higher plans and using specific eCommerce integrations. Even then, attribution can be vague.

If data-driven marketing is your thing—Drip is the clear winner.

CRM & eCommerce Focus: Built-In vs. Bolted-On

Drip was designed with eCommerce in mind. That’s why it doesn’t just collect contact info—it builds rich customer profiles based on site behavior, purchase history, product views, email activity, and more. Every subscriber is treated like a potential repeat customer, not just a name in a database.

Drip doesn’t claim to be a full-blown CRM—but for eCommerce brands, it doesn’t need to be. It has all the tools needed to segment, tag, score, and track leads across their customer journey—and it integrates beautifully with real CRMs if needed.

Mailchimp, on the other hand, has a very light version of CRM capabilities. You can create tags, track basic engagement, and view contact info. But its data structure is list-based and siloed. There’s no unified customer view, which makes it harder to build a long-term relationship across multiple campaigns and channels.

In short: Drip gives you the visibility and depth you need to treat subscribers like people, not just email addresses.

Deliverability: Solid Results on Both, But Drip Has the Edge

Deliverability is often overlooked, but it’s everything in email marketing. If your emails don’t land in the inbox, they won’t convert.

Both platforms perform well in this department. Mailchimp has solid deliverability and a good sender reputation. But Drip edges ahead thanks to its advanced list hygiene, automatic suppression of disengaged contacts, and deliverability-focused infrastructure tailored for high-performing eCommerce flows.

In recent EmailToolTester benchmarks, Drip consistently landed above the 99% inbox rate mark—especially impressive considering how heavily its users rely on promotional content.

Pricing Comparison: Mailchimp Is Cheaper—But You Get What You Pay For

Mailchimp offers a free plan for up to 500 contacts with very limited features—no automation builder, no advanced segmentation, and fewer templates. As you grow, you’ll hit pricing tiers fast. Also, Mailchimp charges you per list, so duplicated contacts cost more.

Paid plans start at $13/month (Essentials) and rise quickly depending on contact count. For many users, the Standard plan (starting at $20/month for 500 contacts) is required to unlock basic automation features.

Drip offers a 14-day free trial and then starts at $39/month for up to 2,500 people on your list. It may seem higher, but you get unlimited email sends, advanced automation, full segmentation, revenue reporting, and eCommerce integrations at every tier.

Drip’s pricing is transparent, feature-rich, and scales with you as your store grows.

Why Do People Switch from Mailchimp to Drip?

Many users switch when they realize they’ve outgrown Mailchimp’s simplicity.

They want automation that can handle more than welcome emails. They want to use real customer data. They want to sell more with their emails—not just send them.

Drip customers often cite frustration with Mailchimp’s limitations: siloed lists, clunky automation builders, and poor eCommerce insights. Once they switch, they report better engagement, higher conversions, and clearer ROI from email marketing.

Real example:
One Shopify store saw a 3x lift in revenue per email after switching from Mailchimp to Drip—just by creating smarter segments and behavior-based flows.

What Are Real Users Saying?

“Mailchimp was great at first, but once we hit 5,000 subscribers, it felt like we were fighting the platform. Drip just makes sense for eCommerce.”
— Verified G2 reviewer

“Drip gave us the automation and insights we were missing. Now we know what emails actually drive revenue.”
— Shopify merchant using Drip

“We tried to make Mailchimp work for abandoned carts and product upsells. Drip does it better in half the time.”
— DTC brand founder

FAQ

What is Drip best used for?
Drip is best for eCommerce stores that want to personalize email marketing, automate based on real customer behavior, and track revenue from every campaign.

Does Mailchimp work for online stores?
Yes, but it’s limited. Mailchimp has some basic integrations, but lacks the depth, flexibility, and personalization tools most growing eCommerce brands need.

Can I migrate from Mailchimp to Drip easily?
Yes! Drip provides simple migration tools to import your contacts, tags, forms, and workflows from Mailchimp.

Does Drip have a free plan?
No free plan, but you get a full-featured 14-day trial with no credit card required.

Final Thoughts: Drip vs Mailchimp

Choose Mailchimp if:

• You’re just getting started
• You want something simple and inexpensive
• Your email list is small and doesn’t need personalization yet

Choose Drip if:

• You run an eCommerce brand
• You want real marketing automation
• You care about revenue—not just opens

Try Drip free for 14 days and see the difference yourself.