Mailchimp for WordPress vs MailPoet

Mailchimp for WordPress and MailPoet are both WordPress email marketing plugins, and they split the same way Mailchimp for WordPress does against most competitors on this list: Mailchimp for WordPress connects your site's forms to a separate Mailchimp account and lets Mailchimp handle delivery, while MailPoet sends newsletters and automated emails directly from WordPress, including its own delivery infrastructure. Mailchimp for WordPress holds the larger install base - an estimated 1.81 million active installs against MailPoet's 551,000 - and a higher rating, 4.8 stars against 4.4.

MailPoet leans specifically into WooCommerce integration - abandoned cart emails and purchase-triggered automation - in a way that goes deeper than Mailchimp for WordPress's more general e-commerce tracking add-on. If your site is a WooCommerce store first, that's a meaningfully different starting point than a general content or lead-gen site.

Quick verdict: Choose Mailchimp for WordPress if you already use Mailchimp or want its broader marketing ecosystem. Choose MailPoet if you run a WooCommerce store and want email marketing, including abandoned-cart automation, handled from inside WordPress without a separate ESP account.

Mailchimp for WordPress vs MailPoet at a glance

Numbers above are StatWP's own estimates, derived from WordPress.org's bucketed reporting rather than an exact figure the directory publishes, and update automatically rather than reflecting a fixed snapshot.

Feature and starting price at a glance

Both vendors keep exact premium pricing off their public marketing pages - confirm current figures directly before comparing cost.

What does Mailchimp for WordPress actually do?

MC4WP positions itself as a connector to Mailchimp rather than a full email tool:

• Flexible sign-up forms deployable anywhere on the site.

• Premium add-on unlocks e-commerce tracking, cart recovery, and automatic subscriber sync.

• Campaign creation from the Gutenberg editor (premium).

Its value depends specifically on wanting Mailchimp as the sending platform underneath it.

What does MailPoet actually do?

MailPoet positions itself as “Better Email for WordPress-Powered Websites” - a self-contained tool built with WooCommerce in mind:

• Drag-and-drop newsletter templates with no coding required.

• Automated welcome series and post-notification emails.

• WooCommerce-specific automation, including abandoned cart recovery.

• Its own delivery infrastructure tuned for WordPress sending, reporting a 90% customer happiness score.

Its pitch is keeping list management and sending inside WordPress, without a separate ESP relationship to manage.

What features does each one have that the other doesn't?

Mailchimp for WordPress's advantage is Mailchimp's own broader marketing ecosystem - audience segmentation, analytics, and integrations built by a dedicated ESP with a much larger footprint outside WordPress.

MailPoet's advantage is depth on WooCommerce specifically - abandoned-cart and purchase-triggered automation baked in, without needing the separate e-commerce add-on Mailchimp for WordPress requires.

Which should you actually use?

If you already use Mailchimp, or want access to its broader ecosystem beyond WordPress, Mailchimp for WordPress is the natural connector. If your site is a WooCommerce store and you want cart-recovery and purchase-based automation without adding a separate ESP account, MailPoet's built-in commerce focus is the more direct fit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Mailchimp for WordPress and MailPoet?

Mailchimp for WordPress connects your site to a separate Mailchimp account for sending. MailPoet sends newsletters and automations directly from WordPress using its own infrastructure, with deeper built-in WooCommerce automation.

Is MailPoet better than Mailchimp for WordPress?

For WooCommerce-specific automation like abandoned cart emails, MailPoet's built-in depth is stronger. For access to Mailchimp's broader marketing ecosystem, Mailchimp for WordPress - with its larger install base and higher rating - is the more established pick.

Does MailPoet require a separate email service account?

No - MailPoet handles sending itself through its own infrastructure, unlike Mailchimp for WordPress, which requires a Mailchimp account.

Can MailPoet send abandoned cart emails?

Yes - abandoned cart recovery is a built-in WooCommerce automation in MailPoet, rather than a separate add-on.

See the live, current numbers for either plugin any time on StatWP's Mailchimp for WordPress page or StatWP's MailPoet page, or run this comparison yourself with StatWP's compare tool.