Why it's an alternative to Mailchimp: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for creators: visual automations, landing pages and paid newsletters in one place.
made by
Nathan Barry
Nathan Barryself-reported revenue: $1.19M MRR (Jan 2019)
4 indie alternatives · Marketing & SEO Tools
Indie alternatives to Mailchimp (2026)
Mailchimp is the best-known email marketing platform, now owned by Intuit. Users often look elsewhere because of rising contact-based pricing and a cluttered editor built for every kind of business at once. Below are 4 alternatives built by independent makers — Kit, Bento and Buttondown and more — with what each does differently, who makes it and any revenue they have shared publicly.
Mailchimp alternatives at a glance
Jump to any product for the full write-up.
| # | Product | Maker | Status | Reported revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kit | Nathan Barry | Active | $1.19M MRR (Jan 2019) |
| 2 | Bento | Jesse Hanley | Active | — |
| 3 | Buttondown | Justin Duke | Active | ~$15K MRR (Dec 2022) |
| 4 | Userlist | Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke | Active | — |
The 4 best indie alternatives to Mailchimp
Each product is made and run by an independent maker or a small, self-directed team.
Why it's an alternative to Mailchimp: All-in-one email for SaaS and e-commerce that covers marketing, automation and transactional email from one account.
made by
Jesse Hanley
Jesse Hanley
Why it's an alternative to Mailchimp: Minimal, developer-friendly newsletter tool with Markdown writing, an API and a free tier for small lists.
made by
Justin Duke
Justin Dukeself-reported revenue: ~$15K MRR (Dec 2022)
Why it's an alternative to Mailchimp: Behavior-based lifecycle emails made specifically for SaaS companies, tracking both users and the accounts they belong to.
Jane Portman
Benedikt DeickeWhy choose an indie-made tool?
You talk to the maker
With a small product, support requests and feature ideas usually reach the person who wrote the code, and many makers build in public and reply to users directly.
Focused and fairly priced
Small teams tend to do one job well instead of bundling every feature into enterprise tiers, and many indie tools offer one-time licenses, open-source editions or free plans.
Built by real people
These 4 alternatives come from 5 makers in United States Japan Germany. Paying them funds a sustainable, independent business.
Meet the makers: Nathan Barry, Jesse Hanley, Justin Duke, Jane Portman, Benedikt Deicke.
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Mailchimp alternatives FAQ
What are the best indie alternatives to Mailchimp?
IndieMakerList lists 4 indie-made alternatives to Mailchimp: Kit (by Nathan Barry), Bento (by Jesse Hanley), Buttondown (by Justin Duke) and Userlist (by Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke).
Why do people look for alternatives to Mailchimp?
Mailchimp is the best-known email marketing platform, now owned by Intuit. Users often look elsewhere because of rising contact-based pricing and a cluttered editor built for every kind of business at once.
Who builds these Mailchimp alternatives?
They are built by 5 independent makers from 3 countries, including United States, Japan and Germany, rather than a large company. Each maker has a profile on IndieMakerList with their other products and links.
Are these Mailchimp alternatives still maintained?
Yes. As far as IndieMakerList knows, all 4 are active and still run by the makers who built them.
How much revenue do indie alternatives to Mailchimp make?
Publicly reported figures include Kit: $1.19M MRR (Jan 2019) and Buttondown: ~$15K MRR (Dec 2022). These numbers are self-reported by the makers and not independently verified.
Built an indie alternative to Mailchimp? Submit a maker to IndieMakerList →