What counts toward the Mailchimp Free plan's 250-contact limit

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The Mailchimp Free plan includes up to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, with a daily send limit of 250. It also comes with 1 audience and 1 seat (About Mailchimp Pricing Plans). The 250 is a contact count, not a subscriber count, so it matters which contacts Mailchimp includes.

What counts toward the 250

Count: subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts (source; About Your Contacts).
Don't count: archived, cleaned, and deleted contacts (source), plus pending contacts who haven't confirmed their opt-in (source).
Pending contacts who don't confirm within 60 days are removed and deleted (source).

That means people who unsubscribed, and people added from a store, an integration, or an import without opting in, still use up your Free plan allowance (unsubscribed contacts and billing).

What happens if you go over 250

Mailchimp places a hold on sending live emails or test emails until you upgrade to a paid plan or reduce your contact total (source).
During the hold you can still work on your emails and templates, and collect and import new contacts (source).

How to get back under the limit

Check how many of your contacts are unsubscribed or non-subscribed. Both count, but neither can receive your marketing emails (source).
Archive the ones you don't need. Archived contacts don't count toward your contact total, and you keep their data (source; archive unsubscribed contacts in bulk).
For non-subscribed contacts, Mailchimp notes that if you only use your account for bulk email sending, you may find more value in archiving them (About Non-Subscribed Contacts).

Export your audience, then run AudienceTrim's free audit in your browser. It counts unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts (nothing is uploaded).

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FAQ

How many contacts does the Mailchimp Free plan include? Up to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, with a daily send limit of 250.

Do unsubscribed contacts count toward the Mailchimp Free plan limit? Yes. Subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts all count toward your contact total. Archived, cleaned, and deleted contacts don't.

What happens if I go over 250 contacts on the Mailchimp Free plan? Mailchimp places a hold on sending live emails or test emails until you upgrade to a paid plan or reduce your contact total.

Can I still collect signups while over the Free plan limit? Yes. Mailchimp says you can still work on your emails and templates and collect and import new contacts during the hold.

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AudienceTrim isn't affiliated with Mailchimp or Intuit. Steps and quotes are from Mailchimp's help center, accessed October 2026. Privacy · Terms