The illusion of affordability
At first glance, Mailchimp looks affordable. But its pricing model hides costs that accumulate as you grow:
- You pay for every contact, active or not.
- Duplicates across lists double your cost.
- Advanced automations and segmentation sit behind higher tiers.
So while your campaigns get more sophisticated, your bills grow faster — and your ROI stalls.
Mailchimp stops at cost control.
Marketing Cloud starts with profit optimisation.
Deliverability and ROI: The hidden link
What’s the value of an email that never reaches the inbox?
Mailchimp’s shared IP pools deliver around 81% inbox placement. That’s like losing one in five opportunities before your campaign even starts. For a typical mid-market sender, that’s 27,000–31,000 customers never reached each month.
Marketing Cloud operates on dedicated infrastructure, achieving 98% inbox placement — a 17-point advantage that directly translates into real revenue.
At a 2% conversion rate and $50 AOV, that’s nearly $29,000 in monthly revenue recovered, simply by ensuring emails reach their audience.
Predictable pricing, measurable ROI
Marketing Cloud’s volume-based model — $339 AUD/month for 225K sends — keeps costs consistent as you grow.
That alone improves ROI. But the platform also drives measurable gains in:
- Engagement rates (+15–20%)
- Repeat purchase frequency
- Revenue per send
And because every feature (automation, segmentation, personalization) is included, there are no upgrade traps or “enterprise-only” paywalls.
From manual management to marketing intelligence
Mailchimp users often juggle multiple tools to fill its gaps — CRM, analytics, SMS, segmentation plug-ins. Marketing Cloud consolidates everything into one ecosystem.
With deep dive native integrations and real-time behavioural data, you get a full view of your customer journey — from first click to final sale. That makes optimisation automatic, not manual.
And with 24/7 expert support, you’re not stuck in ticket queues when deliverability or automation matters most.
The ROI timeline
Most teams migrating from Mailchimp to Marketing Cloud see a positive ROI within 60–90 days, thanks to:
- Immediate deliverability gains
- Smarter automations that drive repeat sales
- Operational time savings from unified workflows
It’s not just a platform switch — it’s a revenue unlock.
The takeaway
Mailchimp’s simplicity comes at a cost: limited depth, unpredictable pricing, and lost revenue opportunities.
Marketing Cloud delivers enterprise-grade ROI with small-team simplicity — predictable pricing, high deliverability, smarter automation, and measurable impact.
If your goal is profit, not just presence — that’s where Marketing Cloud starts.