Mailchimp Nonprofit Discount: How to Get 15% Off (and Keep It Worth Having)

Does Mailchimp have a nonprofit discount?

Yes. Mailchimp's help center offers verified nonprofits and charities 15% off marketing plans, as of October 2026. The important rule: request it before you purchase. Mailchimp says it can't apply the discount retroactively or refund past purchases.

What the discount actually covers

The help article says the discount applies to "a marketing plan" and doesn't list which tiers. US organizations verify by adding their EIN to the account, and Mailchimp may ask for the 501(c)(3) letter. Outside the US, a link to the organization's website is used.

Mailchimp's prices scale with your contact count, and the pricing page shows prices "per month for 12 months," which may be introductory first-year rates. Budget for the possibility that year two costs more.

The bigger lever: your contact count

Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your monthly contact limit, and the contact limit sets your price. Many nonprofit lists carry years of unsubscribes and old event sign-ups. Archiving contacts you will never email again can drop you to a cheaper tier, a saving that applies before the 15% does.

Worked example

Using the lowest contact tier on Mailchimp's pricing page:

Standard plan

• List: $20/month × 12 = $240 per year
• 15% discount: $240 × 0.15 = $36
• Nonprofit cost: $240 − $36 = $204 per year

Premium plan

• List: $350/month × 12 = $4,200 per year
• 15% discount: $4,200 × 0.15 = $630
• Nonprofit cost: $3,570 per year

On small plans the discount is modest: $36 a year on Standard. That's worth five minutes, not a platform migration. On Premium, $630 a year is real money, and so is the contact-count cleanup above.

15% off, or switch?

The discount rarely justifies staying on its own, and rarely justifies leaving either. Compare total cost:

• Constant Contact gives nonprofits 30% off, but only on a 12-month prepay (20% on 6 months), and nothing on monthly billing. On its Standard plan, that's $35 × 0.70 × 12 = $294 a year, against Mailchimp Standard at $204 after discount at the lowest tiers. See the Constant Contact page for the prepay math.
• Your donor CRM may already send email. If you pay for a CRM that includes email marketing, check whether you're paying twice.

Contact tiers differ between vendors, so compare at your actual list size, not the starting price. The free audit does this with what you pay today.

Who should and shouldn't apply

Apply now if you're about to buy or upgrade a paid plan. Request the discount first, wait for confirmation, then purchase.

Already paying? You can't recover past charges. Mailchimp's help article doesn't clearly say whether an existing paid account can get the discount on future bills; contact Mailchimp support and ask. Meanwhile, clean up your contact list.

Sales tax: Sales-tax exemption is a separate request from the nonprofit discount. Mailchimp's US sales tax article says eligibility depends on your state and its paperwork. Confirm your state's rules with a CPA.

Church eligibility

Our data records no exclusion of churches. Mailchimp verifies US organizations by EIN and may request a 501(c)(3) letter. Churches are tax-exempt automatically and many don't have that letter, so a church without one should ask Mailchimp what documentation it will accept before buying. See church eligibility for nonprofit discounts.