Mailchimp vs. Ontraport

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Mailchimp
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Mailchimp is the email marketing and marketing automation platform. Most email marketing platforms tell you how your campaigns perform, but Mailchimp goes a step beyond and tells you why by analyzing the data from half a billion emails sent through the platform every day to offer personalized recommendations for improving content, targeting, automations, and driving revenue using emails
$0
per month
Ontraport
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
ONTRAPORT offers customer relations management services that help with content management (creating and hosting webpages), lead tracking, traditional marketing approaches (e-mail, SMS, social media, direct mail), managing online payments, and workflow automation.
$29
per month
Pricing
MailchimpOntraport
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MailchimpOntraport
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsOntraport offers a variety of plans to choose from based on the features needed. Pricing adjusts with the number of contacts in the database and users in the account. Monthly or annual plans are available, and all plans start with a 14-day free trial. Ontraport offers a Done-With-You Setup and Training Package for getting set up in the account quickly. Users can also access a free video library with step-by-step instructions on getting started and using every feature of the platform.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
MailchimpOntraport
Considered Both Products
Mailchimp
Chose Mailchimp
As stated previously, I use Mailchimp as a secondary autoresponder (for transitions between platforms or in case of performance issues with the primary). My primary autoresponders are ConvertKit for marketing, and Kajabi for digital product delivery and support, although I am …
Chose Mailchimp
Mailchimp is the most affordable option by far. In fact, the free version is more than acceptable for most of our clients' needs. We use more sophisticated tools for our own internal marketing.
Chose Mailchimp
If you need a program that allows you to visualize your content in a way which is easier to manipulate, then you will do well with this program. The lists and the automation aspects will be hard for a new learner of the program, and they do dive too much into their own hubris …
Ontraport
Chose Ontraport
We initially selected Ontraport based on the seemingly quality reviews. While they are priced much higher than their competitors, we initially took that as a positive. Perhaps the price tag hinted at better service, more robust features and superiority deliverability.

None of …
Chose Ontraport
It let me combine everything into one & have greater control over the whole process of everything, instead of having it scattered apart.
Chose Ontraport
I chose Ontraport over Infusionsoft because I believe it is just as powerful but less confusing.
Chose Ontraport
I really liked the robust features presented in a way that made sense to me. I needed a higher level system that I could understand how to use with little or no ramp-up time.
Chose Ontraport
Ontraport is capable of more than MailChimp and AWeber, both of which I would consider beginner systems. It is also easier to use and understand initially than Infusionsoft, and takes less time to get off the ground when you make the change. It is capable of very complex tasks …
Chose Ontraport
Infusionsoft - I chose ONTRAPORT over Infusionsoft because I could make it match up to my clients processes easier. I value the flexibility. On the flip side, Infusionsoft has some eCommerce integration and pre-configured solutions that are appealing.

VTrenz, Marketo, Silverpop …
Chose Ontraport
I have used AWebber, Digital Access pass, MailChimp, and Constant Contact. Ontraport is a more feature-rich product, but I assess that their lack of attention to detail, poor usability, low quality, and missing the underlying purpose of their customer's usage of the product are …
Chose Ontraport
Infusionsoft. I picked OAP because there was no $2,000 training fee, pricing seemed fairly reasonable, and features were a good match.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
MailchimpOntraport
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Mailchimp
8.0
475 Ratings
3% above category average
Ontraport
9.0
17 Ratings
14% above category average
WYSIWYG email editor8.1440 Ratings8.216 Ratings
Dynamic content7.8423 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content7.9404 Ratings8.37 Ratings
Landing pages7.5327 Ratings10.016 Ratings
A/B testing8.0358 Ratings9.912 Ratings
Mobile optimization8.1434 Ratings8.410 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.5462 Ratings6.016 Ratings
List management8.1462 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences7.7319 Ratings9.813 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Mailchimp
9.1
2 Ratings
16% above category average
Ontraport
5.5
17 Ratings
34% below category average
Lead nurturing automation6.22 Ratings7.115 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading10.01 Ratings2.413 Ratings
Data quality management10.01 Ratings2.614 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks10.01 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Mailchimp
8.1
50 Ratings
6% above category average
Ontraport
7.7
8 Ratings
1% above category average
Calendaring8.445 Ratings6.25 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing7.836 Ratings9.38 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Mailchimp
8.2
44 Ratings
9% above category average
Ontraport
7.1
4 Ratings
6% below category average
Social sharing and campaigns8.342 Ratings7.13 Ratings
Social profile integration8.135 Ratings7.24 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Mailchimp
7.6
460 Ratings
1% above category average
Ontraport
9.3
16 Ratings
21% above category average
Dashboards7.7123 Ratings10.015 Ratings
Standard reports8.0458 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Custom reports7.250 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Mailchimp
7.4
44 Ratings
2% below category average
Ontraport
7.3
15 Ratings
4% below category average
API7.833 Ratings3.011 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals6.57 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Customizability5.62 Ratings10.013 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com8.421 Ratings7.31 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.618 Ratings7.31 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM8.12 Ratings7.31 Ratings
Third-party software integrations7.639 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
MailchimpOntraport
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.5 out of 10
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
MailchimpOntraport
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(499 ratings)
10.0
(20 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(51 ratings)
9.1
(8 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(373 ratings)
7.8
(3 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(7 ratings)
7.7
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(15 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(22 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.5
(6 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
MailchimpOntraport
Likelihood to Recommend
Mailchimp
With Mailchimp we are able to revive and enhance our personal connect with the customers. The easy-to-use tools allows us to personalize the email content, segregate and target important leads & send relevant messages. Also, it offers interactive analysis on the performance of a particular campaign. We can judge the effectiveness of our mailers in real time.
Read full review
Ontraport
Here are some cases where Ontraport is well suited : - When writing emails, you can easily access to preview, manage the changes and go back to what you did before - When using automations, if there's an error, you can go back to a previous version of it. There are also some super tools that allows to see where a clients is on an automation without having to go through the all automation. It is less appropriate when you are several colleague that are addressing an issue on an email/automation as it doesn't allows you to be multiple person on the item.
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Pros
Mailchimp
  • Mailchimp allows you to manage your mailing list really well. You can subscribe people, unsubscribe people manage the mailing list directly into segments, and what not.
  • Mailchimp has features where you can create campaigns based on your mailing lists and send out newsletters to your subscribers based on a multitude of parameters that you can setup. Such as send email daily, weekly, monthly and they also have event based mails that you can send out.
  • Mailchimp also has a feature where you can design your emails. The look and aesthetics are very important when sending emails to your subscribers and all those needs are addressed here.
Read full review
Ontraport
  • Dashboards for our daily stats.
  • The email follows up and broadcasts are simple and easy.
  • Sales and marketing can now see the impact they have working together. Nobody can point finger anymore.
  • They have the best customer support. I can't tell you how many times they have walked me through the problems that I created.
  • Amazing email inboxing.
Read full review
Cons
Mailchimp
  • The interface remains a cluttered, non-intuitive mess. That's true from the haphazard way features are organized to the actual email layout.
  • Analytics have never been a priority, and I don't see that changing with Intuit's new ownership. I'm very frustrated over the limited choices for reporting, even when using third-party solutions. If I needed that function, I would not use MailChimp.
  • I would love to develop a workflow screen that lets me focus on the things that I use all the time. Customizing the interface where the content actually goes into the software would help.
  • I never understood why we couldn't import a document into a MC template. At best, we're spending time copying-and-pasting from one app into MC.
Read full review
Ontraport
  • Wish they had more options for their forms. Would really like to use multi-step forms.
  • A lot of times their forms load slowly on the website. Would like to see them speed up their services.
  • Their broadcasting options are legacy. There are better options out there for sending broadcast messages.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Mailchimp
We've had Mailchimp for about ten years, I want to say. I started with the company about four years ago, and I don't see us ever diverting to another source. It's easy for us to use, and we have all our clients already built into the database. I imagine we'll use them for as long as we have the company.
Read full review
Ontraport
My client was already using Ontraport and had a decent investment in the tool. As soon as we turn around the revenue situation with my client's products, we will be ditching OAP immediately, despite the significant re-implementation cost we are going to face moving to a new system. I am part of a high-end, professional marketing group, and the overwhelming sentiment with these other professionals is that one should run away from this as fast as humanly possible. I thought their words were just ungrounded opinion, and I deeply regret that I did not heed them more closely before sinking still more time and effort into OAP.
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Usability
Mailchimp
Our team use Mailchimp almost every week. Overall UI is simple for anyone to get started with it. The resource library around using particular features is also there, so we don't have to train our team on this product. We also used a lot of other features as well.
Read full review
Ontraport
The software is just easy to use. The UI is fairly intuitive. The help system is pretty good. I find it is pretty quick to get my work completed and if I don't document my things well, I can always figure out how I did something when I need to make changes. When I have a problem the tech support is easy to deal with and when things need to get escalated they are resolved quickly.
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Reliability and Availability
Mailchimp
I have, in the 4+ years that I've used Mailchimp, never seen an issue that restricted the use of their software/tools. I don't know of a single time when they're system crashed or went down. I could be wrong, but I honestly haven't experienced any issues with outages, errors or unplanned downtime
Read full review
Ontraport
No answers on this topic
Performance
Mailchimp
I haven't noticed any slow speeds from Mailchimp or their tools. I think the landing pages load quickly and look nice. The email reports and editing operates smoothly and doesn't take time to load. Additionally, when I use Mailchimp in conjunction with Zapier + Hubspot I don't notice any drag between any of these tools
Read full review
Ontraport
Most of the time OP runs fine. But I've had to submit more support tickets this year do to messages, seq.'s or rules not running correctly. Also experienced slow response times moving in and around OP.
Read full review
Support Rating
Mailchimp
Website tools were easy to use and understand so a novice can easily meet or exceed their client's expectations! Loved that we were able to totally customize so that the e-mail we created conveyed our client's overall messaging consistent with their branding! Client love that we can provide turnkey services to support their sales and marketing teams!
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Ontraport
The techs are reasonably savvy, highly courteous and want to do right by their customers. Unfortunately, the product they are supporting is so deeply flawed that there's only so much they can do when your legitimate business requirements are simply not supported.
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In-Person Training
Mailchimp
No answers on this topic
Ontraport
I went to their Ontrapalooza event, and it opened my mind as to how the software can be used.
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Implementation Rating
Mailchimp
It's pretty easy to get up and running! There's a slight learning curve on a few things, but once you find where everything is located, you can import your list and send your first email. It really makes our clients feel great to see how quickly they can get that first email out.
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Ontraport
If you know your business, ONTRAPORT is easy
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Alternatives Considered
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a means to an end and a way to stay within GDPR laws. We may not use it if this wasn't a requirement. Other platforms are better for design or management of contacts, but Mailchimp offers that secure storage of data that is required. I have not tried other bulk mail applications, so am unable to compare these.
Read full review
Ontraport
Task management was the main thing that separated ONTRAPORT for me. Keeping things accountable. As well, I felt the campaign builder was slicker, and that the contact management was more robust. Custom fields are very customizable.
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Scalability
Mailchimp
Mailchimp over the years I've used it has grown in leaps and bounds. They have added so many additional features than were previously available. They are truly an all-in-one marketing platform now. If you're a small operation and just want to add email to your marketing efforts, they're there for you. If you're a larger operation and want to start sending postcard advertisements, they can do that. If you'd good with that and want to kick up your marketing by going social, you can do that on their platform. They are truly able to be as small as you need, but also get quite large in whatever it is you'd like to do through their system.
Read full review
Ontraport
With the new lower priced options, it's now easier for newer businesses to start with a more basic version and upgrade as they need more features.
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Return on Investment
Mailchimp
  • Mailchimp has allowed us to communicate effectively with thousands of customers with ease.
  • Mailchimp's use during our second year of business helped us expand our list of brands considerably (almost 30% YTD) because of regular interactions that we've launched.
  • Mailchimp ramp-up time is minimal for new users so I can turn things over to junior staff - saving me time and money.
Read full review
Ontraport
  • We are providing better customer service as a direct result of Ontraport. We can track where all of our customers are, what pages/sites/modules they are visiting with ease and tailor our communication accordingly.
  • Our marketing funnel has become vastly improved, meaning that our ROI for marketing has gone up. Sales this April are double what they were last year.
  • Our team works better together because we all have a better idea of what the other needs and when. The tasks that we can assign in Ontraport mean nothing gets missed, creating a better customer and employee experience.
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ScreenShots

Mailchimp Screenshots

Screenshot of Mailchimp's advanced analytics and reporting tools. These are used to monitor trends, track performance, and get actionable insights that help users to create better campaigns and drive customer engagement.Screenshot of Mailchimp's precise audience segmentation. Its AI simplifies the workflow by generating complex customer segments for highly personalized campaigns.Screenshot of omnichannel marketing. Campaigns can be built across multiple channels, and then managed from one convenient place.Screenshot of marketing automations with the Customer Journey Builder. This is used to reach the right people with the right message at exactly the right time, which helps to drive more repeat business, increase customer retention, and see more orders.Screenshot of Mailchimp's SMS marketing. SMS can be integrated into email, automations, and social campaigns.Screenshot of Mailchimp's AI, used to deliver relevant content faster. It can generate professionally written, on-brand marketing emails with the press of a button. The user only needs to review, edit, and send.

Ontraport Screenshots

Screenshot of Manage, track, sort and add to a contact listScreenshot of Design professional emails, forms and landing pages with block formatsScreenshot of Utilize the Support Center's in-depth advice on maximizing Ontraport's features