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Purple Engage vs Mailchimp

Mailchimp and Purple Engage compared on guest data, POS, messaging, measurement and pricing. Every statement about Mailchimp comes from its own website and links to its source.

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Mailchimp or Purple Engage: which fits your venue?

Choose Mailchimp if your marketing is built around an online store, you want Meta custom audiences and Zapier today, or your list is small enough for their free plan. 4111214

Choose Purple Engage if your guests come to a venue: it builds contacts from WiFi sign-ins, joins POS, booking and stay data, redeems offers at the POS and measures visits against a held-back group.

How do Mailchimp and Purple Engage compare, feature by feature?

Checked on mailchimp.com on September 30, 2026. The Mailchimp column says only what its own pages state, each with a numbered source. Where its site does not mention something, the cell says “Not listed on their site”, which is not the same as “No”.

Scroll across to compare all columns.

Mailchimp and Purple Engage, feature by feature, checked September 30, 2026
FeatureMailchimpPurple Engage
Guest WiFi captureNot listed on their siteEvery guest WiFi sign-in becomes a contact with a visit history, from Purple WiFi, Cisco Spaces, Cisco Meraki or Juniper Mist.Also runs without Purple WiFi: venues can be created in Engage.
POS integrationsSquare and Lightspeed integrations. 56Square, Lightspeed X-Series, Lightspeed K-Series, Toast, Epos Now, Loyverse and Oracle Simphony.Zonal Aztec.
Offers redeemed at the POSNot listed on their siteCodes pushed into Lightspeed X-Series and Shopify, checked live at Toast and Lightspeed K-Series, and read back from Square, Epos Now, Loyverse and Oracle Simphony sales.Zonal Aztec.
Hotel PMSNot listed on their siteMews and apaleo: stays land on the guest record, and a hotel checkout can start a journey.Oracle OPERA and Cloudbeds.
Email marketingPersonalized emails with behavior-based automations. 7A drag-and-drop builder with a brand kit, campaigns, A/B tests and journeys.
SMSAn add-on to paid plans, in the US, Canada, Australia and over half of Europe. 814Through your own Twilio account, at Twilio's price with no Purple markup.
WhatsAppNot listed on their siteTemplate campaigns through your own Twilio account. Not to US numbers, which Meta does not allow.WhatsApp steps in journeys.
Automated journeysAutomation flows, built for you to review and launch. 9Started by a WiFi visit, a purchase, a completed booking, a hotel checkout, a birthday and more, with split paths and held-back groups.
LoyaltyThrough integrations: “Loyalty” is one of their integration categories. 1No points or stamps loyalty.Wallet passes.
Guest surveysFeedback gathered through integrations and automated emails. 515 question types, with answers written to the guest profile and NPS benchmarks.
Results against a held-back groupA/B and multivariate testing. A held-back group is not listed on their site. 10Extra visits, bookings and POS revenue measured against a held-back group, with a confidence range.
Paid ad audiencesMeta custom audiences. 11Meta Custom Audiences from Engage segments, with part of each audience held back to measure visits.
AI assistantIntuit Assist, Write with AI and Analytics AI, plus connectors for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Codex and Google Workspace. 4An agent that works towards your goals, prepares campaigns and measures results. Choose individual approvals or bounded autopilot.
MCP serverAn MCP server for the Transactional Messaging API. 13A remote MCP server with read and draft scopes. No scope can send.
Zapier and automation appsZapier, to 8,000+ apps. 12Connect workflows through Zapier, Make, Pipedream and Microsoft Power Automate.
Public APIMarketing API and Transactional API. 1A public REST API, and webhooks with 34 event types.

How are Mailchimp and Purple Engage priced?

Mailchimp

Mailchimp publishes its prices and bills on contacts, with monthly email sends capped at 10, 12 or 15 times your contacts depending on the plan. It is free under 250 contacts. At the 0 to 500 contacts setting in GBP, paid plans start at £9.89 (Essentials), £15.21 (Standard) and £266.14 (Premium) a month. 14

SMS is an extra, available as an add-on to paid plans in some countries. 14

As shown on mailchimp.com on September 30, 2026. Prices change, so check their site before you decide.

Purple Engage

Purple Engage publishes its prices. You pay for Actions, where one message sent is one Action, and contacts are unlimited. The free plan includes 500 Actions a month with no card, and paid plans run from $16 to $1,280 a month. Twilio bills SMS and WhatsApp on your own account, with no Purple markup.

See Purple Engage pricing

When is Mailchimp the better choice?

When one of these describes your venues, going by what Mailchimp's own site says.

  • Your marketing is built around an online store: their discount codes and ROI reporting are built on a connected store. 48
  • You want Zapier to 8,000+ apps and Meta custom audiences in the same tool today. 1112
  • Your list is small: the plan is free under 250 contacts, and paid plans start at around £10 a month. 14

Where Mailchimp is ahead today

  • Meta custom audiences, today. 11Purple Engage:Create Meta Custom Audiences from Engage segments.
  • A published Zapier app reaching 8,000+ apps. 12Purple Engage:Connect Engage workflows through Zapier, Make, Pipedream and Microsoft Power Automate.
  • Connectors for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Codex and Google Workspace. 4Purple Engage:Engage's MCP server connects from Claude or ChatGPT with an API key.

When is Purple Engage the better choice?

When one of these describes your venues.

  • You want every guest WiFi sign-in to become a contact with a visit history, from Purple WiFi, Cisco Spaces, Cisco Meraki or Juniper Mist.
  • You want visits, POS spend, bookings and hotel stays on one guest record, from seven POS systems, ResDiary, Mews and apaleo.
  • You want single-use offer codes redeemed at the POS, on the guest's phone or in a staff scanner app.
  • You want extra visits and POS revenue measured against a held-back group, as well as A/B tests.
  • You want WhatsApp campaigns, sent through your own Twilio account.
  • You want to pay for messages sent, not contacts held: contacts are unlimited on every plan.

How do you switch from Mailchimp to Purple Engage?

Switching from Mailchimp: what changes, step by step.

Moving from Mailchimp

  • You don't have to switch all at once. The Mailchimp connector syncs contacts and consent both ways and can load Engage audiences into Mailchimp.
  1. Create your venues in Engage, or connect Purple WiFi, Cisco Spaces, Cisco Meraki or Juniper Mist.
  2. Import your contacts by CSV. Engage records which channels each contact's consent covers.
  3. Connect your POS, booking system or PMS, so visits, spend, bookings and stays land on the guest record.
  4. Set up your own sending domain for email, and your own Twilio account for SMS and WhatsApp.
  5. Rebuild your automations as journeys, and measure your first campaign against a held-back group.

Questions

Can I use Purple Engage with Mailchimp?

Yes. The Mailchimp connector syncs contacts and consent both ways and can load Engage audiences into Mailchimp.

Does Mailchimp capture guests from WiFi?

It is not listed on Mailchimp's site. Mailchimp lists Square and Lightspeed integrations. Engage builds contacts from guest WiFi sign-ins, with a visit history for each venue. 56

How is Purple Engage priced compared with Mailchimp?

Mailchimp bills on contacts, with monthly sends capped at a multiple of them. Engage bills on Actions, where one message sent is one Action, and contacts are unlimited. Both have a free plan. 14

Does Purple Engage send WhatsApp messages?

Yes. Engage writes WhatsApp templates, submits them to Meta through Twilio and sends campaigns on your own Twilio account. WhatsApp is not listed on Mailchimp's site.

Where do these facts come from?

Every statement about Mailchimp on this page comes from mailchimp.com, read on September 30, 2026. Each source below lists the words we relied on. Purple Engage facts come from our own product pages.

  1. Mailchimp home pagehttps://mailchimp.com/Email & SMS marketing minus the learning curveLoyaltyMarketing APITransactional API
  2. Mailchimp for restaurantshttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/marketing-tools-restaurants/Drive repeat diners with unified email & SMSIntuit group about its products and services, such as Mailchimp
  3. Mailchimp for hotelshttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/marketing-tools-hotels/Keep guests coming back again and again
  4. Mailchimp AI toolshttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/ai-tools/ROI calculation requires an e-commerce store connected to a Mailchimp account.Intuit AssistWrite with AIAnalytics AIMailchimp connects to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Codex, and Google Workspace
  5. Mailchimp and Squarehttps://mailchimp.com/integrations/square/Connect your Square POS and online storeSend targeted emails to welcome new customers, promote new products, or gather feedback.
  6. Mailchimp and Lightspeedhttps://mailchimp.com/integrations/lightspeed/connecting Your Lightspeed store to Mailchimp
  7. Mailchimp email marketinghttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/email-marketing-platform/Create personalized emails, target precisely with behavior-based automations
  8. Mailchimp SMS marketinghttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/sms-marketing-tools/Use Shopify discount codes with confidenceMailchimp can send SMS in the US, Canada, Australia, and now over half of Europe
  9. Mailchimp marketing automationhttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/marketing-automation-tools/then builds the flow so you can review and launch.
  10. Mailchimp A/B testinghttps://mailchimp.com/features/ab-testing/A/B and multivariate testing
  11. Mailchimp social media marketinghttps://mailchimp.com/solutions/social-media-marketing-tools/target the right contacts via Facebook with Meta custom audiences.
  12. Mailchimp and Zapierhttps://mailchimp.com/integrations/zapier/Automatically share data between Mailchimp and 8,000+ apps via Zapier
  13. Mailchimp developer guide: Transactional Messaging MCPhttps://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/guides/how-to-use-mailchimps-transactional-messaging-mcp/Our MCP specifically allows you to interact with the Transactional Messaging API
  14. Mailchimp marketing pricinghttps://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/Under 250 contacts? It's free.starts at £9.89 /monthstarts at £15.21 /monthstarts at £266.14 /month15X contacts12X10XSMS is available as an add-on to paid plans in select countries.

Purple Engage sources

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All comparisons

Every comparison, and how the facts on these pages were checked.

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