The Problem
Why teams leave Mailchimp
Free tier gutted — 500 contacts with Mailchimp branding
Contact-based pricing makes scaling expensive
Advanced automation only on Standard/Premium plans
Post-Intuit acquisition price increases
Limited A/B testing on lower tiers
Pay for unsubscribed contacts unless manually cleaned
What We Build Instead
Your custom marketing tool
Email marketing platform with unlimited contacts and sends
Drag-and-drop email builder with your templates
Automation workflows with advanced segmentation
A/B and multivariate testing on every campaign
Analytics dashboard with revenue attribution
No branding — it's your platform
The Math
Mailchimp vs. custom build
Based on 10 seats at $30/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.
Keep paying Mailchimp
Build with 86 SaaS
3-year savings with 10 seats
-$20,745
-175% less than Mailchimp
Pricing Breakdown
Mailchimp tier pricing vs. one-time custom build
Compare what you pay per seat across Mailchimp's tiers against a single investment in software you own forever.
| Tier | Monthly/Seat | Annual/Seat | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $13/mo | $11/mo | Email campaigns, Basic automation, 500 contacts, Mailchimp branding |
| Essentials | $27/mo | $23/mo | 5,000 contacts, A/B testing, Remove branding, 24/7 email support |
| Standard | $75/mo | $63/mo | 6,000 contacts, Advanced automation, Retargeting ads, Send time optimization |
| Premium | $350/mo | $295/mo | 150,000 contacts, Multivariate testing, Comparative reporting, Phone support |
| Custom Build by 86 SaaS | $15,000–$30,000 one-time | $0/seat | Unlimited users, full ownership, no recurring fees |
Migration Timeline
From Mailchimp to ownership — week by week
A structured migration plan to move off Mailchimp in 4-8 weeks with zero downtime.
Discovery & Audit
1 weekAudit email lists, templates, automations, and deliverability metrics
Architecture & Design
1 weekDesign email platform with template system and automation engine
Core Development
2-4 weeksBuild email builder, automation workflows, and analytics dashboard
Data Migration & Testing
1 weekMigrate contact lists, templates, and validate email deliverability
Deployment & Training
1 weekLaunch email platform and train team on campaign management
Total build time
4-8 weeks
Feature Comparison
What you keep, what you skip, and why
A transparent comparison of Mailchimp features vs. your custom-built alternative.
| Feature | Mailchimp | Custom Build | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop Email Builder | |||
| Marketing Automation | |||
| Audience Segmentation | |||
| A/B Testing | |||
| Analytics & Reporting | |||
| Landing Pages | |||
| Social Media Posting | Better handled by dedicated social media tools | ||
| Retargeting Ads | Use dedicated ad platforms for better ROI tracking | ||
| Send Time Optimization | |||
| Unlimited Contacts | No contact-based pricing — send to everyone |
Your custom build focuses on the features your team actually uses — typically 15-20% of what Mailchimp offers — built exactly for your workflow.
How It Works
From Mailchimp to ownership in 4-8 weeks
Free Audit
We analyze your Mailchimp usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.
Scope & Build
We build your custom marketing tool with only the features you need. 4-8 weeks.
Deploy & Migrate
We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Mailchimp, and train your team.
You Own It
Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.