May 2, 2017
Announcing Free Marketing Automation for Everyone

Drum roll, please…
We’re excited to announce that our powerful marketing automation features are now free for all MailChimp users! No matter what type of plan you’re on—Forever Free, Monthly, Pro, or Pay As You Go—you can now send personalized automations at no extra cost.
An extra set of hands for your marketing
Automation helps you communicate with your customers exactly how you would, but eliminates the need to create and send every message manually. Think of it as an extra set of hands that help you operate—and grow—your business each day.
And if you’re new to marketing automation, our intent-based campaign creation process will help you get started by guiding you to the right automation for your goals. We’ll show you the different campaigns that fit your objectives, so you can be more effective with your marketing and still have time to spend on other things that add value to your business.
The backstory
At MailChimp, our mission has always been to help small businesses grow by democratizing powerful marketing tools that are often reserved for large enterprises.
Automation empowers our customers to create sophisticated campaigns that help them compete with bigger companies, but we know that not everyone has a large list or the budget to upgrade to a paid account when they first get started. Small businesses look to MailChimp to help them build their brand, and we want to give everyone—no matter their account type or list size—the opportunity to use our marketing automation tools to do just that.
Send the right message at the right moment
Whether you operate an online store, head a nonprofit, or run a creative side project, automation makes it easy to send the right message to the right people at exactly the right time, giving you a competitive edge without burning a hole in your budget.
Our collection of preset automations gives you the power to choose the right workflow for your business, customize its settings, and start sending in just a few clicks. Greet your new subscribers with a welcome message, educate readers about a specific topic, follow up after a purchase, increase brand awareness, and more.
The best part? You’ll know you can always be there for your customers (even when you’re not).
Become a better marketer
Developing a marketing journey for your audience can be a bit overwhelming. No matter your line of work, you have to identify the intent of your messaging, decide how you want to reach your customers, and then make sure you include the right content each step of the way.
With this in mind, we’ve redesigned our campaign creation process, making it easier than ever to create a personalized experience for your customers or subscribers.
A guide for building your customer journey

When you create a campaign, you’ll notice that we’ve streamlined all of your options. If you already know exactly what type of campaign you need, you can jump right into creating an email or ad. But if you’re not sure how to get started, we’ll guide you through the process by showing you the most useful and profitable ones for your marketing goal.
Don’t have an email list yet? Start with the Build your brand section.
Do you have an established customer base you want to grow? Decide what type of campaign under the Sell more stuff or Boost loyalty sections works for you. Here are just a few of the things you can do:
- Follow up on purchases
- Send order notifications
- Recover abandoned carts
- Reward your best customers
- Suggest other products your customers will love
Whether you sell stuff online or want to send updates to your subscribers, we have campaigns and automations to fit your customer journey. And if you want something specific, try typing what you’re looking for in the search bar up top.
Marketing automation is available to everyone today, May 2, from the Automation tab in your account. We’re beginning the rollout of our new customer journey path today, and it will be available to all users by next week.
Dive into our guide to getting started with marketing automation to learn more about connecting with your new contacts, generating more revenue, boosting customer loyalty, re-engaging inactive subscribers, and more.
Kasey
Awesome news!
I got a paid monthly plan just so I can get my hands on automation. I have fewer than 2000 subs. So now I can downgrade to free, and I won’t lose my automation features?
Please let me know!
05.02.2017
Maggie MailChimp
That’s right, Kasey!
You can downgrade to a free plan without losing our marketing automation tool. There is a sending limit for free accounts, and you’ll want to keep in mind that an account can only ever be downgraded once. Here’s a guide from our Knowledge Base to help you switch your plan: http://eepurl.com/b8cHwD.
05.03.2017
Rose
I was just drafted yesterday for my subscription. Is there something I need to do so MC won’t draft anymore?
05.02.2017
Brandon MailChimp
Hi there Rose, if you’d like to downgrade to the Forever Free plan, you can do so from the Account > Billing > Monthly plans or credits section of your MailChimp account. Check out this article for all the details.
05.08.2017
Natalie G.
Wow! You guys rock! Lack of automation on the free accounts was my only little niggle with MailChimp. Now you’re simply amazing ;-).
05.02.2017
MTM-Paul
Can’t wait to try it. Nicely done.
05.02.2017
Amy
Any plans to have this easily integrate with BigCommerce anytime soon? Abandoned cart recovery would be an awesome feature to add to my sales system.
05.02.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Amy,
We do have a MailChimp for BigCommerce integration, but it currently doesn’t support our abandoned cart automation: http://eepurl.com/cNpV2v. When you connect your BigCommerce store to MailChimp, you’ll be able to sync your customer purchase data to your list so you can send targeted campaigns and automations to your customers. We’ll pass along your feedback about having the integration support abandoned cart to our developers!
05.03.2017
Roshan
What about the users who already had automation?
If I was using a monthly plan for the automation features, but the email list is smaller than 2000 subscribers, can I switch back to Forever Free without losing my already created automation campaigns?
05.03.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Roshan,
If you have 2,000 or fewer subscribers in your account, then you can definitely switch from a paid plan to Forever Free. You’ll just want to keep in mind that things like chat and email support and features like predicted demographics are limited to paid users, and an account can only ever be downgraded once. This guide from our Knowledge Base will help you switch to our Forever Free plan: http://eepurl.com/b8cHwD
05.03.2017
Alex
Hi Maggie,
That’s great news. On this moment i’m already using (and paying for) marketing automation. How can I change my settings to get the marketing automation for free?
05.03.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Alex,
It’s definitely possible to switch to our Forever Free plan, but you’ll want to keep in mind that features like chat and email support, Inbox Preview, and unlimited sending are all part of our Monthly plan. There is a sending limit for free accounts (http://eepurl.com/cyiZvX), and an account can only ever be downgraded once. Here’s a guide from our Knowledge Base to walk you through the steps for switching to Forever Free: http://eepurl.com/b8cHwD.
05.03.2017
Ricky
This is fantastic ! I love it.
And I believe mailchimp is killing the competition with this . http://bizanosa.com/mailchimp-killing-competition/
05.03.2017
Kathe Kline
I have a free version of Mailchimp, which I downgraded because I wasn’t using the features. Then I started using a competitor’s product specifically for their automation features. It wasn’t working as well as I had hoped, and I have an appointment with them today.
I’m definitely reconsidering Mailchimp now, and since I’m getting closer to my 2000 person limit, I think I’ll be back to a paying customer very soon.
All because of this.
Good job Chimparoos!
05.03.2017
Jenn
THANK YOU! This is awesome! I’ve been frustrated by the lack of ability to automate, due to lack of funds in my small business. So, this is perfect! Much appreciated!
05.03.2017
Ana
You. Are. Awesome. That is all :-)
05.03.2017
Jana Jeffery
AH! I’m SO excited! This is amaze-balls.
Now, I just need some real-estate focused drip / automated campaigns. :)
05.03.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Thanks for the hint, Jana! We’ll pass that feedback along to our developers.
05.03.2017
Hardik
Wow! Can’t believe! Thanks Mail chimp!
05.03.2017
Maura
Why did we have to pay for it today if it’s free ?
05.03.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Maura,
If your account is on the Forever Free plan, automation should now automatically be available from that tab in your account. Mind reaching out to our Support team through this form so they can take a closer look?: https://mailchimp.com/contact/
05.03.2017
Victoria
Great news!
Tell me please, will I have any limits in Automation functions if I downgrade to the Forever Free Plan?
05.03.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Victoria,
There is a daily and monthly sending limit for Forever Free accounts you’ll want to keep in mind before you downgrade—2,000 emails in a 24-hour period, and 12,000 emails a month. This article from our Knowledge Base has more information about this plan: http://eepurl.com/b58LFr. Free users also don’t have access to Support or paid features like predicted demographics and inbox preview, but automation is fully functional on the Forever Free plan
05.03.2017
Niquee
We are currently using HubSpot. usually for automation and their marketing dox are nice. I wonder if we still need Hubspot if MailChimp is forever free!!!
05.03.2017
Hill
Brilliant thank you so much to the team at Mailchimp! Was about to jump ship too (for my account and my client accounts) to find another platform for automation so thank you, love your work!
05.03.2017
Ebrahim
Thanks. This is so helpful and I am looking forward to trying out a couple of things
05.04.2017
Crystal
Oh my word! I am sooooo happy about this! :D I love the cover photo too! Thank you, thank you!
http://www.cwdesign.studio
05.04.2017
Luana Spinetti
Great news! I’m way below 2,000 subscribers for now (on a Free Forever plan), but I was really wishing you guys would make a few automation options available for us free account owners. So this news makes my week! Thank you :D
– Luana
05.06.2017
Vatsala Shukla
Thank you Team Mailchimp! This is the best news I’ve had post Mercury Retrograde.
05.08.2017
Claire Attkisson
Hi, Great new feature, however, when I click create campaign now I get a blank screen. Even when I click automate a new campaign I get a blank screen. Is anyone else having this problem. Please help!
05.08.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Claire,
It sounds like you might need to try clearing your cache and cookies or using a different browser. If that doesn’t work, our Support team will need to get more information. Send them an email through this form: http://eepurl.com/cN_Q0f.
05.09.2017
Mark
I’m a realtor. Will this feature work for my business?
05.08.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Mark,
Marketing automation is designed to help you stay in touch with your contacts without having to manually set up a message every time. The best way to see if automation will work for you is to set one up and try it out! This guide will help you get started: http://eepurl.com/cN_R7L.
05.09.2017
Alice William
This was the only feature that was holding me back from using Mail Chimp! You did it. Count me in :)
05.08.2017
Guy
Hi – this sounds great. I have been looking for a way to write to all list subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked a mailout after a certain time. I have searched the Automation section, but still cannot find this option. Can you please help?
05.08.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Guy,
Most of our preset automations, like the Welcome message, can have a trigger based on campaign activity, or you can choose our Custom Event Workflow. To edit a trigger, click on the automation to open it and see a list of the emails in the workflow > click the ‘Edit trigger’ link on top of the email > select the ‘Campaign Activity’ tab to trigger the automation email to send when a sent campaign wasn’t opened. Here’s an article from our Knowledge Base that lists all the different automation triggers: http://eepurl.com/cN_DWf. And this guide will walk you through how to edit the trigger: http://eepurl.com/bY5XHH.
05.09.2017
Gary
Just found out about this today via an email from you good folks at MC. I’ve already created an auto-email for new subscribers to my list. No more hustling to do it manually. Thank you!
05.08.2017
Paul
Thank you for doing this!
05.08.2017
Amy
Perfect! MailChimp is my favourite newsletter service but the lack of automation made things difficult. Now I’ve got a few automations set up and within hours am seeing results as old customers are coming back! If it keeps up, I’ll eventually need to upgrade to a pay plan but I won’t mind. Thank you!
05.08.2017
Jody Reynolds
Thanks! This is great news.
I have been considering paying for automation but had not made the leap because my list is still pretty small. This should make it much easier for me to continue to build my list.
05.08.2017
Amy
Order Confirmations don’t work unfortunately – I placed a couple test orders after setting them up and nothing came through :(
05.08.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Amy,
Let’s have our Support team investigate why order notifications aren’t working in your account. You can send them an email through this form: http://eepurl.com/cN_BfP.
05.09.2017
Rob Lopes
Wow. That’s amazing. I always share how I love MailChimp to the people that I help with email marketing. Now it is unbelievable. Thanks so much. You have no idea how helpful this will be for people starting their own small business.
Thanks a million!
Rob
05.08.2017
Ankit
This is great! I needed this! :) Thank you!!
05.09.2017
Arvid Kuipers
This is great. Great to help me get started. Thank you!
05.09.2017
Csaba
It’s a great news!
I’m very happy!
Thank You!
05.09.2017
Scott F.
OMG, this is awesome news; especially for people like me who are financially challenged. I really appreciate this so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
05.09.2017
Jose Antonio Delgado
Sounds great! I will try
05.10.2017
Susanna Perkins
I have a Forever Free plan, so giving us Automation is great. But. . . I went to draft a campaign this morning and the SCHEDULE option seems to be missing. Is this the tradeoff? Or am I missing something?
05.11.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Susanna,
You should be able to schedule a campaign in your account. Any chance the campaign you want to schedule would exceed the 24-hour send limit for free users? To see if this is the case, you’ll want to open your draft campaign > click ‘Confirm’ along the bottom > see if there’s an ‘x’ in a red circle for any of the items in the pre-delivery checklist. If you still need some assistance, feel free to email our Support team through this form: http://eepurl.com/cOxfBH.
05.11.2017
Linda
This is great news, thanks so much, you guys are awesome!
05.12.2017
Micki Rose
Can I link this to an Ecwid store at all please?
05.15.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Micki,
MailChimp hasn’t developed an integration for Ecwid stores, but we did find this one created by third-party developers: https://connect.mailchimp.com/integrations/mailchimp-integration-for-ecwid. Let us know if you have any further questions!
05.15.2017
Tanieka
I am on Wix and Ecwid is my shopping cart. I didn’t see an integration for those.
05.15.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Tanieka,
The Wix plugin was retired last year, but there is a third-party integration for Ecwid you might want to check out: https://connect.mailchimp.com/integrations/mailchimp-integration-for-ecwid. Feel free to contact our Support team if you have any further questions: https://mailchimp.com/contact/.
05.16.2017
Tanya Willis
Fantastic! I’ve already started to play around with it! Question, why would I be getting a warning at the top of my email from MailChimp sign up page when I am doing the sign up process. It say this sender failed our fraud detection checks and may not be who they appear to be. I use Outlook. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Tanya
05.16.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Not sure we’re clear on what you’re seeing, Tanya, but our Support team might be able to offer further assistance. Send them an email through this form: http://eepurl.com/cO4f11.
05.16.2017
Khalid HAZAM
Hello,
I’ve been using Ebizmarts extension for Magento 2 but I don’t think it supports marketing automation. Is there any plan to support Magento 2?
06.03.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Khalid,
We don’t have plans to support Magento 2 right now, but since that version uses API 3.0, you should be able to create and send most of our automation types. Certain e-commerce automations, like abandoned cart and order notifications, cannot be sent using Magento 2.
06.05.2017
Kamela
Hi there!
I have a free plan, which means I can’t get tech support, but I have an interesting problem with the automations, which I started using once they went free (thank you!).
For those on my list who have selected to receive plain text emails, they get blank emails from the automations. They receive my other emails just fine in plain text. Is there some setting or something I’m missing in the automation setup that causes it to also generate plain text emails?
thanks!
Kamela
06.06.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Kamela,
That does sound odd. Would you mind contacting our Support team through this form so they can get more information to troubleshoot what your subscribers are seeing?: http://eepurl.com/cRB1oH.
06.06.2017
Leigh
Hi there. Does this include automation campaigns for a mini course where subcrribers receive and email a day for a week say?
06.07.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Leigh,
All our Automation options are free for everyone, but depending on the type of plan you’re on (Forever Free, Pay As You Go, Monthly), there are sending limits you’ll want to keep in mind. Here’s some information on our different plans: http://kb.mailchimp.com/accounts/billing/about-mailchimp-pricing-plans
06.13.2017
ArtbyJenny
Wonderful :) I’m so grateful for this addition. Thanks so much!
06.21.2017
Paul
Good news! Only the Goal product you offered is gone now right? Is there a way to segment a maling list on the browsing history of users? Can segments based on a automation but there is no automation yet that offers workflow based on browsing history.
06.21.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Paul,
Mind sending an email to our Support team through this contact form?: http://eepurl.com/cUzYnv. They’ll have more information on setting up an automation workflow.
06.30.2017
Anna
Great News! I have a free account with just 260 subscribers, how can I get access to this new feature. Where should I click. I’ m an amateur marketer of a small bussiness. Thanks. Looking forward to your comments!
06.28.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Thanks for reaching out to us, Anna! There are a couple ways you can create a marketing automation in your account. When you log in to your account, you will see the names of different sections along the top—Campaigns, Templates, Lists, Reports, Automation. If you click “Automation,” you’ll be taken to the section where you can create one. Alternatively, you can click the “Create Campaign” button in the top right-hand corner of your account, choose “Create an Email,” and select “Automated.”
Here a few Knowledge Base articles to help you get started:
Add an Automation: http://eepurl.com/b37gyz
Using the Customer Journey: https://blog.mailchimp.com/using-the-customer-journey-to-guide-your-campaigns/
06.30.2017
Wayne
My automation tab has been removed. Any idea why?
08.09.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Wayne,
We recently moved marketing automation to the ‘Campaigns’ section of the app, so you can create and view the performance of all your campaigns—automation, email, ad—without having to switch between tabs. Check out the blog post we published yesterday for more information: https://blog.mailchimp.com/we-merged-automations-with-campaigns-heres-why/
08.11.2017
Bruno Gama
What happened to the Automation section?
Why can’t I see it anymore?
08.10.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hi Bruno,
We recently removed the ‘Automation’ tab and moved all campaign types—marketing automation, email, ad—to the ‘Campaigns’ section of the app. Check out the blog post we published yesterday for more details: https://blog.mailchimp.com/we-merged-automations-with-campaigns-heres-why/
08.11.2017
Suzanne
Hi, Any reason the Automation tab has disappeared from my forever free plan today? This is majorly concerning to me and I can’t find any reason or discussion of it….
08.11.2017
Maggie MailChimp
Hey Suzanne,
We recently merged marketing automation with email and ad campaigns inside the app, so you’ll want to head to the ‘Campaigns’ section and select ‘Ongoing’ on the left-hand side to view your automations going forward. Check out the blog post we published yesterday for more information: https://blog.mailchimp.com/we-merged-automations-with-campaigns-heres-why/
08.11.2017