Mailchimp is shutting down TinyLetter

Mailchimp is shutting TinyLetter, a service that I loved that let individuals easily write and publish simple but nice-looking email newsletters. The service will be discontinued on February 29th, 2024, according to a message I see when logged into my TinyLetter account.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a screenshot of what looks to be a message from Mailchimp that provides some additional context about the shutdown. Since Mailchimp acquired TinyLetter in 2011, “our business priorities have evolved, and we’ve been laser focused on building tools to serve marketers and help small businesses grow,” according to the message. “The TinyLetter community’s needs have changed too, with some customers moving to Mailchimp to scale and monetize their newsletters, and some moving to alternative services that cater specifically to writers. With all of that in mind, we’ve made the decision to close TinyLetter and focus on our core Mailchimp product.”

Mailchimp didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. In 2018, the company had to assuage fears that it was planning to make changes to the platform that year, though Ben Chestnut, Mailchimp’s CEO at the time (and who is also a co-founder of the company), did say that “in the long term, we do intend to integrate TinyLetter into MailChimp.”

If you’re a current TinyLetter user and you log into your account, you’ll see a message from Mailchimp reminding you to export your data before the shutdown and encouraging you to try Mailchimp proper. But while TinyLetter, which is free, lets users send emails to as many as 5,000 subscribers, Mailchimp’s free tier only allows for 1,000 “monthly email sends,” according to Mailchimp’s pricing page. Depending on how big your subscriber list is, migrating to Mailchimp may not be the best option.

Personally, I’m sad to see TinyLetter go. While I haven’t written a TinyLetter email in years, I enjoyed how it made the act of writing and publishing a clean newsletter really easy. RIP TinyLetter.