Mailchimp AI vs Substack

Mailchimp AI and Substack both serve the email space, but they target different segments of the market and solve fundamentally different problems.

Mailchimp AI: Mailchimp's AI capabilities transform basic email marketing into predictive segmentation and content optimization, but integration remains clunky for enterprise workflows.

Substack: Publish a newsletter with built-in subscriptions and audience growth — Substack handles writing, distribution, and payments without technical setup.

In our 9-dimension evaluation, Mailchimp AI scores 7.2/100 and Substack scores 68/100. Substack edges out with higher marks in strategic fit, reliability, and ROI dimensions.

Mailchimp AI's key advantage: Freemium AI access lowers adoption friction; teams can test predictive send times and subject suggestions without additional cost or commitment.

Substack's key advantage: Publish a newsletter with built-in subscriptions and audience growth — Substack handles writing, dis

Our take on Substack: Our current platform. The AI writing is basic but the community and discovery features drove our migration decision.

Choose Mailchimp AI if your team focuses on small-to-mid-market teams already using mailchimp, non-technical marketers seeking ai without complexity. Choose Substack if you prioritize startup teams, outreach & crm workflows.

Watch out: Mailchimp AI — AI value diminishes significantly if your email data lives outside Mailchimp; no native connectors to Klaviyo, Braze, or HubSpot limit cross-platform . Substack — Newer entry — full review in progress.