sendifai vs Mailchimp for Churches: Which Is Better in 2026?

Choosing between sendifai and Mailchimp for your church? This is an honest comparison. We'll tell you where Mailchimp wins, where sendifai wins, and help you make the right decision for your congregation.

The Short Answer

Choose Mailchimp if: You need the largest template library, maximum third-party integrations, and your church already uses Mailchimp for other purposes.

Choose sendifai if: You want a free CRM included, church-specific features like pastoral care and family management, and AI tools built for ministry communication.

Where Mailchimp Wins

Let's be honest about Mailchimp's strengths:

1. Larger Template Library

Mailchimp has been around since 2001 and has accumulated hundreds of templates. Their design ecosystem is mature, with templates for nearly every industry and occasion. If you want maximum visual variety out of the box, Mailchimp delivers.

2. More Third-Party Integrations

Mailchimp integrates with over 300 apps natively. From e-commerce platforms to CRMs to social media tools, Mailchimp's integration library is extensive. If your church uses a specific tool that needs email marketing connectivity, Mailchimp likely supports it.

3. Brand Recognition

Mailchimp is a household name. If you're hiring volunteers or staff who've used email marketing before, they've probably used Mailchimp. There's less learning curve for experienced users.

4. E-commerce Features

If your church runs a bookstore, sells merchandise, or has a significant e-commerce component, Mailchimp's Shopify and WooCommerce integrations are more mature. Product recommendations, abandoned cart emails, and purchase tracking are well-established.

Where sendifai Wins

1. Free CRM Included

This is the biggest difference. Mailchimp charges separately for their CRM features. sendifai includes a full free CRM with up to 750 contacts — including contact management, family linking, groups, and segments. No additional cost, ever.

2. Church-Specific Features

Mailchimp was built for e-commerce and general marketing. sendifai was built for churches and nonprofits. Features like:

• Family/Household Management: Link parents, children, and extended family together
• Pastoral Care Dashboard: Track care needs, assign care team members, schedule visits
• Visitor Follow-up: Automated sequences designed for church visitors
• Service Time Segmentation: Built-in support for multiple service times
• Ministry Group Management: Organize volunteers, small groups, and ministry teams

3. AI That Understands Ministry

sendifai's AI assistant isla understands church communication. Ask it to "write a welcome email for new visitors" and it knows the tone, the invitation, the next steps. Mailchimp's AI is general-purpose — it doesn't understand the nuances of ministry communication.

4. UK-Based and GDPR Compliant

sendifai is a UK company, registered with the ICO, with data stored in UK/EU data centres. For UK churches, this simplifies GDPR compliance significantly. Mailchimp is US-based, which can complicate data protection requirements.

5. Complete Giving Module

Mailchimp has zero giving or donation features. sendifai includes a full Giving module:

• UK Gift Aid + HMRC submission: Capture declarations and submit claims directly to HMRC
• GoCardless Direct Debit: Recurring donations via Bacs with fees far lower than card processing
• Fund management: Allocate donations to building funds, missions, youth work, and more
• AI donor health scores: Identify at-risk and high-potential givers automatically
• Stripe + Open Banking: Accept cards and instant bank payments in one platform

With Mailchimp, you need a separate giving tool, a separate CRM, and manual syncing between them. With sendifai, giving, CRM, and email marketing are unified.

6. More Affordable for Growing Churches

Mailchimp's pricing has increased significantly over the years. Their free plan is limited to 500 contacts and 500 emails/month. sendifai's pricing is modular — the CRM is free forever with unlimited contacts, and every Add-on (including Email Marketing) starts free and scales smoothly with your usage. Drag a slider, see your price.

Pricing Comparison

Pricing is where the differences become stark for growing churches:

For a Church with 1,000 Contacts

• Mailchimp Standard: $45/month (limited features)
• Mailchimp Premium: $175/month (full features)
• sendifai: Free CRM with unlimited contacts. Add Email Marketing only if you need it — it starts free and scales with your sends per month.

For a Church with 5,000 Contacts

• Mailchimp Standard: $100/month
• Mailchimp Premium: $350/month
• sendifai: Still free CRM with unlimited contacts. Drag the Email Marketing slider to match your sends per month — price scales smoothly with no surprise contact-count jumps.

The key difference: sendifai's CRM — contact management, smart segments, custom fields, activity timeline, and the AI assistant — is free forever with unlimited contacts. With Mailchimp, you're paying for email marketing only, and the bill jumps as soon as you cross a contact threshold. Registered charities get 30% off sendifai Add-on subscriptions on top of that.

Migration: Moving from Mailchimp to sendifai

If you're currently on Mailchimp and considering a switch:

1. Export your contacts: Mailchimp allows CSV export of all your subscribers
2. Import to sendifai: Our import wizard maps fields automatically
3. Recreate key templates: Most designs can be rebuilt quickly in our builder
4. Set up automations: Welcome sequences and nurture campaigns are straightforward

We offer free migration assistance for churches moving from Mailchimp. Contact our support team to schedule a migration planning call.

Real Talk: When to Choose Mailchimp

Despite our obvious bias, here's when Mailchimp might be the better choice:

• Your church has significant e-commerce operations requiring deep Shopify/WooCommerce integration
• You already use Mailchimp across multiple church departments and switching would be disruptive
• You need integrations with specific tools that Mailchimp supports but sendifai doesn't
• Your volunteers are already trained on Mailchimp and learning curve matters more than features

Real Talk: When to Choose sendifai

sendifai is likely the better choice if:

• You want CRM and email marketing in one platform without paying for both separately
• Church-specific features like pastoral care, family management, and visitor follow-up matter
• You're a UK church and GDPR compliance with UK data storage is important
• You want AI that understands ministry communication, not just generic marketing
• Budget is a concern and you need predictable, affordable pricing as you grow

The Bottom Line

Both platforms can send emails effectively. The question is what else you need.

Mailchimp is a mature, well-established email marketing platform with the largest ecosystem. It's general-purpose and powerful.

sendifai is purpose-built for churches with integrated CRM, ministry-specific features, and AI that understands your context. It's newer but focused on exactly what churches need.

For most churches prioritizing member management alongside communication, sendifai offers better value. For churches with complex e-commerce needs or deep existing Mailchimp workflows, Mailchimp may be worth the higher cost.