Mailchimp vs Postscript for SaaS companies is a relevant comparison as these tools serve overlapping but distinct marketing automation needs. Mailchimp focuses on email marketing with ecommerce integrations, while Postscript specializes in SMS marketing primarily for Shopify stores. Evaluating features, pricing, ease of use, and ideal customer profiles helps clarify which fits best depending on a SaaS company’s marketing strategy.

Understanding Mailchimp and Postscript: Who They Serve

Mailchimp is widely known for its email marketing platform that includes automation workflows, audience segmentation, and ecommerce integrations. Its strength lies in creating detailed email campaigns that nurture leads and customers, making it applicable beyond ecommerce to broad SaaS marketing.

Postscript, meanwhile, is an SMS marketing solution designed specifically for Shopify merchants. It leverages SMS as a direct communication channel to drive sales through targeted text campaigns and automations. While it can be adapted for SaaS products sold via Shopify, its core focus is on SMS and ecommerce.

Core Features and Functionality

Mailchimp

Mailchimp provides a broad suite of email marketing tools:

  • Drag-and-drop email builder with customizable templates
  • Advanced automation workflows for onboarding, cart abandonment, re-engagement
  • Audience segmentation based on behavior, demographics, and purchase history
  • A/B testing for campaign optimization
  • Reporting dashboards with campaign performance and customer insights
  • Ecommerce integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento
  • Multi-channel marketing options including email, social ads, and landing pages

Mailchimp’s automation capabilities are strong for SaaS companies looking to nurture leads via email drip campaigns and personalized sequences. It supports transactional emails integration with APIs.

Postscript

Postscript focuses on SMS marketing and offers:

  • SMS campaign creation and scheduling
  • Automated text flows for welcome messages, cart reminders, order updates
  • Subscriber segmentation by purchase history and behavior
  • Compliance management tools for SMS marketing laws
  • Shopify-native integration for pulling customer data and automating texts
  • MMS support for richer media messages

Its specialization means Postscript lacks traditional email marketing tools, but excels at SMS engagement with Shopify’s data.

Gotchas and Edge Cases

  • Mailchimp’s automation can be overwhelming to new users due to its many options and complex workflows. SaaS teams without dedicated marketing specialists may find setup time-consuming.
  • Postscript’s SMS focus limits it for companies wanting to run full email campaigns alongside SMS. Also, SMS marketing rules vary by region and require strict opt-in compliance.
  • Postscript only integrates natively with Shopify, which may exclude SaaS companies selling outside or without Shopify.
  • Mailchimp’s ecommerce features are more generalized and may miss Shopify-specific updates Postscript leverages.

Pricing and Value

Pricing is a crucial consideration, especially for SaaS companies balancing budgets against marketing impact.

Feature / Plan Mailchimp (Standard Plan) Postscript (Growth Plan)
Starting Price Around $17/month for 500 contacts Around $50/month + per SMS cost
Contact Limits Pricing scales by contacts, up to 100k+ Pricing scales by number of subscribers
Email Sends Unlimited emails SMS sends priced per message
Automation Features Included in Standard and above Included in Growth and above
Integrations Shopify, WooCommerce, others Shopify only
Support Email & chat support on paid plans Email, live chat, and phone support
Rating (G2, Capterra average) ~4.1 stars (20k+ reviews) ~4.5 stars (500+ reviews)

Mailchimp’s tiered pricing lets SaaS companies start small with free or Essentials plans but quickly pay more as lists grow. Postscript’s pricing depends on SMS volume and subscriber count, making costs variable but often higher than email marketing alone.

Pricing Considerations for SaaS Companies

  • Mailchimp provides more cost-effective scaling for large email lists.
  • Postscript’s cost per SMS can add up, especially for frequent campaigns.
  • SaaS companies selling digitally with Shopify may find Postscript’s SMS cost justified by higher engagement.
  • Budget-conscious companies wanting multi-channel email and ads get more from Mailchimp’s all-in-one platform.

Ease of Setup and Use

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has improved usability with a guided onboarding process and template libraries. However, its many features and complex automation builder may require a learning curve. SaaS companies without marketing experts might face initial hurdles building effective workflows.

Postscript

Postscript offers an intuitive interface optimized for Shopify users. Setup is straightforward if the SaaS company’s product is sold via Shopify, with easy subscriber import and prebuilt SMS flow templates. For non-Shopify SaaS, setup is complex or unavailable.

Integrations

Integration Aspect Mailchimp Postscript
Shopify Native integration with sync for customers, orders, products Shopify-native, core platform
Other Ecommerce Platforms WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce No support outside Shopify
CRM and SaaS Tools Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier Limited external integrations beyond Shopify
API Access Yes Limited to Shopify ecosystem

Mailchimp’s wider integration ecosystem suits SaaS companies using multiple platforms or CRMs. Postscript’s Shopify-only focus can be a limitation unless the SaaS company’s sales are Shopify-based.

Customer Support and Documentation

Mailchimp offers email and chat support on paid plans with extensive online documentation and active community forums. Postscript provides email, phone, and live chat support with documentation tailored to SMS compliance and Shopify-specific use cases.

Both platforms provide solid resources but:

  • Mailchimp’s larger user base results in extensive third-party tutorials.
  • Postscript’s focused niche means faster support for Shopify-related issues but less community content for broader SaaS scenarios.

Best-Fit Customer Profiles

Profile Aspect Mailchimp Postscript
SaaS Companies Selling On Any platform including Shopify, custom apps Shopify stores primarily
Marketing Channel Focus Email marketing with multi-channel options SMS marketing with some email add-ons
Company Size Small to large with growing email lists Small to medium Shopify merchants
Marketing Expertise Teams with some email automation experience Teams wanting straightforward SMS setup
Budget Sensitivity Looking for scalable email marketing cost Willing to invest in high ROI SMS

For SaaS companies targeting broad email campaigns with various platforms, Mailchimp fits better. For Shopify-based SaaS wanting SMS-driven sales and engagement, Postscript is the preferred choice.

Mailchimp vs Postscript for SaaS Companies: Which to Choose?

Choosing between Mailchimp and Postscript depends on your SaaS company’s sales channels, marketing approach, and resource availability:

  • Choose Mailchimp if you want a versatile email marketing platform with ecommerce support, need multi-channel marketing, or sell SaaS products across platforms beyond Shopify. It offers robust automation, analytics, and integrations, though it may take time to master.

  • Choose Postscript if your SaaS product is sold via Shopify and you want to capitalize on SMS marketing to drive immediate user actions. It excels at SMS flows and Shopify data integration but is limited outside that ecosystem.

For SaaS companies considering alternatives to Mailchimp or Postscript, it may be helpful to explore tools like Klaviyo or Attentive, which also provide ecommerce-centric marketing automation. We discussed these options in the Omnisend vs Mailchimp vs Klaviyo article and offered a head-to-head comparison including Postscript in Postscript vs Attentive vs Mailchimp.

Mailchimp alternatives?

Besides Postscript, SaaS companies looking for Mailchimp alternatives can consider platforms such as Klaviyo, Omnisend, and ActiveCampaign. These tools provide comparable email marketing and automation features with varying focuses on ecommerce and CRM integration. Klaviyo and Omnisend, for example, offer stronger ecommerce data syncing and segmentation than Mailchimp in some use cases. For a detailed look at alternatives, see Mailchimp Alternatives: Email automation tools Compared.

Postscript alternatives?

Alternatives to Postscript for SMS marketing include Attentive, Klaviyo SMS, and SMSBump. Attentive is a key competitor with similar Shopify integration and SMS automation abilities but offers a different pricing structure. Klaviyo SMS blends email and SMS marketing in one platform for a more unified marketing strategy. For a complete breakdown, check out Postscript vs Attentive vs Mailchimp.

Feature and Pricing Comparison Table

Criteria Mailchimp Postscript
Core Features Email campaigns, automation, segmentation, multi-channel marketing SMS campaigns, automated SMS flows, Shopify integration
Pricing From $17/month (500 contacts), tiered by list size From $50/month + per SMS charges, tiered by subscriber count
Setup Complexity Moderate, requires marketing knowledge Low for Shopify users, complex for others
Platform Integrations Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, Zapier Shopify only
Support Email, chat, knowledge base Email, chat, phone, documentation
Target Customer SaaS companies with multi-platform sales Shopify-based SaaS and ecommerce brands
G2 Rating (approx.) 4.1 stars 4.5 stars
Number of Reviews 20,000+ 500+

Worth a Look: Zigpoll

If you are evaluating marketing tools for Shopify-based SaaS companies, Zigpoll might be worth considering alongside Mailchimp and Postscript. Zigpoll specializes in Shopify surveys including post-purchase, on-site, and exit-intent surveys to gather customer feedback and improve engagement. It provides a complementary approach to marketing that fits well with SMS and email automation strategies.


This comparison aims to clarify the choices SaaS companies face when selecting email or SMS marketing automation tools. The decision between Mailchimp and Postscript hinges on sales platform, marketing channel preferences, budget, and team expertise rather than a simple winner or loser.

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