Do You Pay for Unsubscribed Contacts in Mailchimp?
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2025 8:44 am
Mailchimp's pricing can seem a bit tricky at first. But when you break it down, it's pretty simple. There are two main parts to their pricing model: contact count and email send volume. Your plan cost depends on how many people are in your audience and how many emails you send.
Contact Count: Mailchimp looks at the total number of people who are subscribed to your email list. This is your "audience." The more people you have, the higher your plan level might be.
Email Send Volume: Each plan also has a limit on how buy phone number list many emails you can send in a month. This is usually based on a multiple of your contact count. For example, a plan might let you send 10 times the number of emails as your number of contacts.
The Role of Non-Marketing Contacts
A key point to understand is the difference between marketing and non-marketing contacts. Marketing contacts are the ones you can actually send emails to. Non-marketing contacts are those you can't.
Marketing contacts: These are your subscribed contacts. You pay for these.
Non-marketing contacts: These include unsubscribed, cleaned, and archived contacts. You don't pay for these. Mailchimp keeps them in your audience for your records. This helps you avoid adding them back to your list by accident.
It's good to keep your audience clean. Deleting non-marketing contacts from your audience isn't always necessary. Mailchimp doesn't charge you for them. However, it can make managing your list simpler.
How Unsubscribes Affect Your Bill
When someone unsubscribes, Mailchimp automatically moves them to the non-marketing category. This change happens right away. Consequently, your total count of marketing contacts goes down. So if you have 1,000 subscribers and 50 people unsubscribe, your new marketing contact count is 950. You'll then be charged based on that lower number.
Why Mailchimp Keeps Unsubscribed Contacts
Mailchimp keeps unsubscribed contacts in your audience for a very important reason. It helps you stay compliant with anti-spam laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM. These laws require you to honor unsubscribe requests. If someone unsubscribes, you must stop sending them emails.
If Mailchimp simply deleted these contacts, you might accidentally add them back. For example, you might upload a new contact list that includes someone who previously unsubscribed. This could get you into trouble. By keeping the record of their unsubscription, Mailchimp prevents you from sending them emails again. It serves as a permanent record.
Mailchimp also stores information on why someone unsubscribed. This can be very useful for you. You can see patterns and find ways to improve your email content. It's a valuable tool for learning.
What About Cleaned Contacts?
Another type of non-marketing contact is a cleaned contact. A cleaned contact is an email address that bounced. This means the email couldn't be delivered. There are two types of bounces:
Soft bounce: This is a temporary problem. Maybe the person's inbox was full.
Hard bounce: This is a permanent problem. The email address might not exist anymore.
Mailchimp automatically removes hard-bounced addresses from your marketing list. These are moved to the "cleaned" category. Like unsubscribed contacts, you don't pay for cleaned contacts. They are also kept in your audience for compliance reasons.
Archiving Contacts
Sometimes, you might want to stop paying for a contact without them unsubscribing. You can do this by archiving them. Archiving a contact removes them from your marketing list. They become non-marketing contacts. You will no longer be charged for them. You also can't send them emails. This is a good option for contacts you don't want to email anymore.
An archived contact can be unarchived. However, if you unarchive them, they will be added back to your marketing list. This will increase your contact count. It's a useful feature for managing your list.
How to Check Your Contact Count
It's easy to see your current number of marketing contacts. You can view this on your Mailchimp dashboard. The number you see there is what your bill will be based on.
Log in to your Mailchimp account.
Go to the "Audience" section.
Click on "All contacts."
You'll see a breakdown of your contacts. This includes your subscribed, unsubscribed, cleaned, and archived contacts. The "subscribed" number is the one that matters for your bill.
Keeping an eye on this number is a good habit. It helps you control your costs. If your number of unsubscribes increases, your bill will go down. This is a benefit of a healthy audience.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
To sum up, Mailchimp does not charge you for unsubscribed contacts. Your bill is based on your active, subscribed contacts. Unsubscribed contacts are moved to a special category. This helps you follow the law and keeps your list clean. It also gives you valuable data. Mailchimp's system is designed to be fair. It ensures you only pay for the people you can actually email.
If you want to manage your costs, focus on building a healthy list. Encourage your subscribers to stay. This is the best way to get the most out of your Mailchimp account. You can also archive contacts you no longer need. This is another great way to keep your bill low. Understanding these details will help you use Mailchimp more wisely.
Contact Count: Mailchimp looks at the total number of people who are subscribed to your email list. This is your "audience." The more people you have, the higher your plan level might be.
Email Send Volume: Each plan also has a limit on how buy phone number list many emails you can send in a month. This is usually based on a multiple of your contact count. For example, a plan might let you send 10 times the number of emails as your number of contacts.
The Role of Non-Marketing Contacts
A key point to understand is the difference between marketing and non-marketing contacts. Marketing contacts are the ones you can actually send emails to. Non-marketing contacts are those you can't.
Marketing contacts: These are your subscribed contacts. You pay for these.
Non-marketing contacts: These include unsubscribed, cleaned, and archived contacts. You don't pay for these. Mailchimp keeps them in your audience for your records. This helps you avoid adding them back to your list by accident.
It's good to keep your audience clean. Deleting non-marketing contacts from your audience isn't always necessary. Mailchimp doesn't charge you for them. However, it can make managing your list simpler.
How Unsubscribes Affect Your Bill
When someone unsubscribes, Mailchimp automatically moves them to the non-marketing category. This change happens right away. Consequently, your total count of marketing contacts goes down. So if you have 1,000 subscribers and 50 people unsubscribe, your new marketing contact count is 950. You'll then be charged based on that lower number.
Why Mailchimp Keeps Unsubscribed Contacts
Mailchimp keeps unsubscribed contacts in your audience for a very important reason. It helps you stay compliant with anti-spam laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM. These laws require you to honor unsubscribe requests. If someone unsubscribes, you must stop sending them emails.
If Mailchimp simply deleted these contacts, you might accidentally add them back. For example, you might upload a new contact list that includes someone who previously unsubscribed. This could get you into trouble. By keeping the record of their unsubscription, Mailchimp prevents you from sending them emails again. It serves as a permanent record.
Mailchimp also stores information on why someone unsubscribed. This can be very useful for you. You can see patterns and find ways to improve your email content. It's a valuable tool for learning.
What About Cleaned Contacts?
Another type of non-marketing contact is a cleaned contact. A cleaned contact is an email address that bounced. This means the email couldn't be delivered. There are two types of bounces:
Soft bounce: This is a temporary problem. Maybe the person's inbox was full.
Hard bounce: This is a permanent problem. The email address might not exist anymore.
Mailchimp automatically removes hard-bounced addresses from your marketing list. These are moved to the "cleaned" category. Like unsubscribed contacts, you don't pay for cleaned contacts. They are also kept in your audience for compliance reasons.
Archiving Contacts
Sometimes, you might want to stop paying for a contact without them unsubscribing. You can do this by archiving them. Archiving a contact removes them from your marketing list. They become non-marketing contacts. You will no longer be charged for them. You also can't send them emails. This is a good option for contacts you don't want to email anymore.
An archived contact can be unarchived. However, if you unarchive them, they will be added back to your marketing list. This will increase your contact count. It's a useful feature for managing your list.
How to Check Your Contact Count
It's easy to see your current number of marketing contacts. You can view this on your Mailchimp dashboard. The number you see there is what your bill will be based on.
Log in to your Mailchimp account.
Go to the "Audience" section.
Click on "All contacts."
You'll see a breakdown of your contacts. This includes your subscribed, unsubscribed, cleaned, and archived contacts. The "subscribed" number is the one that matters for your bill.
Keeping an eye on this number is a good habit. It helps you control your costs. If your number of unsubscribes increases, your bill will go down. This is a benefit of a healthy audience.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
To sum up, Mailchimp does not charge you for unsubscribed contacts. Your bill is based on your active, subscribed contacts. Unsubscribed contacts are moved to a special category. This helps you follow the law and keeps your list clean. It also gives you valuable data. Mailchimp's system is designed to be fair. It ensures you only pay for the people you can actually email.
If you want to manage your costs, focus on building a healthy list. Encourage your subscribers to stay. This is the best way to get the most out of your Mailchimp account. You can also archive contacts you no longer need. This is another great way to keep your bill low. Understanding these details will help you use Mailchimp more wisely.