Mailchimp alternative for waitlists
Stop hacking together waitlists with email tools. Waitlister is purpose-built for pre-launch campaigns with landing pages, viral referrals, and waitlist management — all from $15/month.
5,000+ businesses choose purpose-built Mailchimp alternative
"Do not sleep on this tool. I can have a CTA page up in 10-15 mins that captures activity and can send welcome emails and encourage others to share via a soft referral system."
Mailchimp vs Waitlister
Compare Mailchimp and Waitlister for running pre-launch waitlist campaigns
| Feature |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free Forever | Free 250 contacts, 500 emails/month |
| Contact/Subscriber Limit | 100 subscribers Waitlist-focused | 250 contacts Counts unsubscribed contacts |
| Waitlist Landing Pages | Drag & drop waitlist builder | Generic landing page builder |
| Viral Referrals | Growth plan feature | Not available |
| Waitlist Position Tracking | Automatic position tracking | Not a waitlist feature |
| Email Campaigns | Launch plan required | 500 emails/month, no automations |
| Website Integrations | Framer, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify, 10+ more | Embedded forms and popups |
| API Access | Growth plan feature | Full marketing API |
| Webhooks | Growth plan feature | Available on all plans |
| Custom Domains | Not included Growth plan feature | Not included Requires paid Websites plan |
| Pricing Model | Flat rate Unlimited subscribers on paid plans | Per-contact Price increases as contacts grow |
| Charges for Unsubscribed Contacts | Never charged for inactive contacts | Unsubscribed contacts count toward limits |
| Setup Complexity | 10 minutes Purpose-built for waitlists | 30+ minutes Requires manual setup and workarounds |
Why choose Waitlister
over Mailchimp for waitlists?
Mailchimp is a great email tool, but it wasn't built for waitlists. Here's why Waitlister is the better choice.
Purpose-built for waitlists
Waitlister is designed specifically for pre-launch campaigns. With Mailchimp, you'd need to manually configure audiences, landing pages, and automations just to mimic a basic waitlist.
Viral referral system
Waitlister includes point-based referrals, leaderboards, and social sharing to grow your waitlist organically. Mailchimp has no referral or viral growth features whatsoever.
Flat pricing, not per-contact
Waitlister offers unlimited subscribers on paid plans for a flat monthly fee. Mailchimp's price increases as your contact list grows — a 5,000-contact list costs $45+/month on Essentials.
Waitlist-optimized pages
Waitlister's drag-and-drop builder creates pages optimized for waitlist signups. Mailchimp's landing pages are generic marketing pages — not designed for pre-launch campaigns.
No charges for inactive contacts
Mailchimp counts unsubscribed and inactive contacts toward your billing limit. Waitlister never charges for contacts who've left your list.
Live in 10 minutes, not hours
Setting up a waitlist in Mailchimp means configuring audiences, building pages, and creating automations from scratch. Waitlister does it all out of the box.
Why people choose
Mailchimp alternative for waitlists?
Join 5,000+ happy entrepreneurs and businesses
who choose Waitlister for their pre-launch campaigns
I can only say good things about Waitlister...and I am a picky/difficult client. Their landing page is very user friendly and pricing is more than reasonable.
Waitlister has been amazing; honestly, I don't plan on changing to another provider. For one, being able to create beautiful landing pages for my waitlist has been amazing.
Waitlister provides a one-of-a-kind builder platform to design your own waitlist page that actually stands out from competitors. Once the page is ready and deployed, we never worry about uptime or data reliability.
I've been looking for a tool like this for a long time. Fast and effective landing pages for the low-bandwidth brain. I didn't even look for directions. Intuitive.
This is hands down one of the best products that I've purchased on AppSumo in recent years. Waitlister's a great product for testing the interest for your ideas in the marketplace and having a quick landing page to capture leads.
If you're looking for a quick, no-fuss way to launch a waitlist for your product or service, I 100% recommend Waitlister. Within 10 minutes, my waitlist page was live — no coding, no stress. The interface is super clean and beginner-friendly.
Get started with Mailchimp alternative for waitlists
Built for waitlists, not general email marketing
Mailchimp is a powerful email platform, but setting up a waitlist requires manual configuration across audiences, landing pages, and automations. Waitlister gives you everything pre-configured and optimized for pre-launch campaigns.
- Waitlist-specific landing page templates
- Automatic position tracking and leaderboards
- Built-in referral system for viral growth
Flat pricing that doesn't punish growth
Mailchimp charges more as your contact list grows — a successful waitlist becomes expensive fast. Waitlister offers unlimited subscribers on paid plans for a flat monthly fee, so your costs stay predictable.
- Unlimited subscribers from $15/month
- No charges for unsubscribed contacts
- Email campaigns included in pricing
Embed waitlist forms on any website
Waitlister integrates with Framer, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify, and 10+ platforms with dedicated plugins and embeddable forms. Keep your brand experience consistent across your site.
Mailchimp Alternative FAQ
Common questions about using Waitlister instead of Mailchimp for waitlists
While Mailchimp can technically collect emails, it wasn't built for waitlists: • No waitlist position tracking or leaderboards • No viral referral system for organic growth • No waitlist-specific landing page templates • Per-contact pricing gets expensive as your list grows • Charges for unsubscribed and inactive contacts • Requires manual setup across multiple features Waitlister gives you all of this out of the box, purpose-built for pre-launch campaigns.
Yes! Many users use Waitlister for the waitlist campaign and Mailchimp for ongoing email marketing after launch: • Use Waitlister to collect and manage waitlist signups • Use Waitlister's referral system to grow your list virally • Export subscribers to Mailchimp when you're ready to launch • Or connect via webhooks for real-time sync Waitlister handles the pre-launch, Mailchimp handles post-launch email marketing.
Waitlister is far more affordable for waitlists: • Waitlister Free: 100 subscribers + landing page builder • Mailchimp Free: 250 contacts + 500 emails/month (no automation) • Waitlister Launch ($15/mo): Unlimited subscribers + email campaigns • Mailchimp Essentials ($13/mo): Only 500 contacts + no referrals • Mailchimp at 5,000 contacts: $45+/month on Essentials Mailchimp's per-contact pricing means a successful waitlist gets expensive fast. Waitlister stays flat.
No. Mailchimp has no viral referral, waitlist position, or social sharing features. You would need a third-party tool on top of Mailchimp. Waitlister includes a complete referral system: • Point-based referral rewards • Automatic tracking and leaderboards • Social sharing capabilities • Referral analytics and insights • Available on Growth plan ($39/month) and above
Yes! Migration is simple: 1. Export your contact list from Mailchimp as CSV 2. Create your free Waitlister account 3. Import contacts using our bulk import tool 4. Build a waitlist landing page with drag-and-drop builder 5. Set up referral programs and email campaigns Your existing contacts are preserved, and you gain waitlist-specific features Mailchimp doesn't offer.
Yes! Waitlister includes built-in email campaigns starting at $15/month: • Custom email templates • Automated welcome emails • Broadcast campaigns up to 50,000/month • Email analytics with open/click tracking While Mailchimp is more advanced for general email marketing, Waitlister covers everything you need for pre-launch waitlist communication.
Get started for free
Start collecting sign ups for your
product launch in minutes — no coding required.