Email marketing remains one of the highest-returning channels for UK small businesses — but only if you’re using the right platform. Mailchimp and GetResponse are two of the most popular options, both with strong free tiers and capable paid plans. This comparison helps you choose the right one for your business.
Quick verdict
Choose Mailchimp if: You want the most widely recognised email marketing platform with the simplest interface and the strongest brand recognition.
Choose GetResponse if: You want more features at a lower price — particularly marketing automation, landing pages, and webinars — without paying enterprise prices.
For most UK small businesses: GetResponse offers significantly more value at comparable price points. Mailchimp’s advantage is brand familiarity and simplicity — but you pay a premium for it.
What is Mailchimp?
Mailchimp is the most recognised email marketing platform in the world — the one most people think of first when they think of email newsletters. It started as a simple email tool and has expanded to include landing pages, basic automation, social media posting, and a website builder.
Its free plan and recognisable brand have made it the default starting point for millions of small businesses.
UK pricing:
- Free — 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month
- Essentials — from £9/month, 500 contacts, 5,000 sends
- Standard — from £13/month, 500 contacts, 6,000 sends, automation
- Premium — from £270/month, advanced features
What is GetResponse?
GetResponse is an all-in-one marketing platform covering email marketing, automation, landing pages, webinars, and an AI-powered website builder. It’s been growing steadily and now serves over 350,000 businesses worldwide.
GetResponse offers more features than Mailchimp at comparable price points — making it particularly attractive for small businesses that want to grow beyond basic email newsletters.
UK pricing:
- Free — 500 contacts, basic email and website builder
- Email Marketing — from £11/month, unlimited emails, autoresponders
- Marketing Automation — from £35/month, full automation workflows
- Ecommerce Marketing — from £95/month, ecommerce specific tools
Head to head comparison
Email editor and templates
Both platforms have drag-and-drop email editors and extensive template libraries. Mailchimp’s email editor is slightly more polished and its templates are well-designed — it’s been refining this for longer.
GetResponse’s email editor is also capable with a strong template library. The AI email generator helps produce campaigns quickly from a brief.
Winner: Mailchimp — marginally
Marketing automation
This is where GetResponse pulls significantly ahead. GetResponse’s automation builder is available from the Marketing Automation plan at £35/month — creating sophisticated workflows based on subscriber behaviour, tags, and events.
Mailchimp’s automation on the Standard plan (£13/month) covers basic sequences — welcome emails, abandoned cart, and simple behavioural triggers. More advanced automation requires the Premium plan at £270/month — far beyond most small businesses.
For small businesses that want meaningful email automation without enterprise pricing, GetResponse wins clearly.
Winner: GetResponse — significantly
Landing pages
GetResponse includes a landing page builder on all paid plans — create opt-in pages, sales pages, and thank-you pages without needing a separate tool.
Mailchimp includes basic landing pages but they’re more limited — fewer templates and less customisation than GetResponse.
Winner: GetResponse
Webinars
GetResponse uniquely includes webinar hosting on the Marketing Automation plan and above — host webinars for up to 100 attendees without paying for a separate tool like Zoom Webinars.
Mailchimp has no webinar functionality.
Winner: GetResponse — significantly
Free plan
Both platforms offer free plans for up to 500 contacts. Mailchimp’s free plan includes more email sends per month — 1,000 versus GetResponse’s more limited free tier.
However GetResponse’s free plan includes a website builder and basic landing pages — Mailchimp’s free plan is more narrowly focused on email.
Winner: Draw — Mailchimp wins on email sends, GetResponse wins on features
Deliverability
Email deliverability — the percentage of emails that actually reach the inbox rather than spam — is crucial for email marketing success. Both platforms have strong deliverability records.
Mailchimp has a slight edge on deliverability reputation — its long track record and large sending volume have helped it maintain strong relationships with major email providers.
Winner: Mailchimp — marginally
Ease of use
Mailchimp is simpler — its interface is clean and the learning curve is shallow. For businesses that just want to send newsletters, Mailchimp gets you there with less setup time.
GetResponse has more features and therefore more complexity. The interface is well-designed but there’s more to learn — particularly around automation workflows and the broader platform features.
Winner: Mailchimp
eCommerce integration
Both platforms integrate with Shopify, WooCommerce, and major UK eCommerce platforms. GetResponse’s Ecommerce Marketing plan includes more sophisticated eCommerce features — abandoned cart recovery, product recommendations, and purchase-based segmentation.
Mailchimp also has eCommerce features but they’re less developed than GetResponse’s dedicated eCommerce plan.
Winner: GetResponse — for eCommerce businesses
AI features
GetResponse has invested heavily in AI — its AI email generator, AI subject line optimiser, and AI campaign assistant all help produce better content faster.
Mailchimp also has AI features including content suggestions and send time optimisation — but GetResponse’s AI implementation is more comprehensive.
Winner: GetResponse
Customer support
Both platforms offer email and chat support on paid plans. Mailchimp has a larger knowledge base and more community resources given its longer history and larger user base.
GetResponse offers 24/7 live chat support on paid plans — responsive and helpful in our testing.
Winner: Draw
Pricing comparison
| Feature | Mailchimp Free | Mailchimp Standard | GetResponse Free | GetResponse Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | 500 | 500 | 500 | 1,000 |
| Emails/month | 1,000 | 6,000 | Limited | Unlimited |
| Automation | No | Basic | No | Autoresponders |
| Landing pages | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Webinars | No | No | No | No |
| Price/month | Free | £13 | Free | £11 |
Who should choose each platform?
Businesses just starting with email marketing Mailchimp’s simplicity makes it the easier starting point — particularly if you just want to send a monthly newsletter to a small list.
Businesses wanting automation without enterprise pricing GetResponse wins clearly — meaningful automation at £35/month versus Mailchimp’s £270/month Premium plan.
Businesses running webinars GetResponse is the only choice — Mailchimp has no webinar functionality.
eCommerce businesses GetResponse’s dedicated eCommerce plan has stronger features. However Klaviyo remains the gold standard for serious eCommerce email marketing.
Businesses focused purely on email newsletters Mailchimp’s polished email editor and strong deliverability make it the better pure newsletter tool.
Businesses wanting an all-in-one marketing platform GetResponse covers more ground — email, automation, landing pages, webinars, and website builder in one subscription.
The honest verdict
GetResponse offers better value for most UK small businesses — more features at comparable or lower prices, stronger automation at accessible price points, and the addition of landing pages and webinars that Mailchimp simply doesn’t include.
Mailchimp wins on simplicity and brand familiarity — if you just want the easiest email newsletter tool with the strongest deliverability reputation, Mailchimp is the more straightforward choice.
The key question is what you need beyond basic email newsletters. If the answer is automation, landing pages, or webinars — GetResponse is the better value. If you just need clean, reliable email newsletters — Mailchimp is perfectly adequate.
Getting started
Mailchimp: Go to mailchimp.com and sign up free. The free plan supports up to 500 contacts — more than enough to get started.
GetResponse: Go to getresponse.com and sign up for the free plan. Test the email builder, landing pages, and automation features before deciding whether to upgrade.
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Final thoughts
Mailchimp and GetResponse are both solid email marketing platforms — either will serve a UK small business well for basic email campaigns. The meaningful differences emerge when you need automation, landing pages, or webinars — where GetResponse’s value proposition becomes clear.
Start with whichever platform’s free plan feels more intuitive. If you hit limitations that the other platform would solve, switching early is easier than switching after building a large list and complex automations.