To create a segment in Mailchimp, click Audience, then Segments, then Create segment, choose your first condition from the filter drop-down, click Use segment, name it and click Save & exit. You can combine conditions with and/or logic for a more complex segment. The number of conditions you can use depends on your Mailchimp plan.
Which segment builder will you see?
Open Mailchimp's segment tool on two different accounts and you may see two different builders. Which one you get depends on your plan, and it decides how clever your segments can be, so it's worth knowing before you start sketching conditions.
| Plan | Builder | Conditions per segment | Logic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free or Essentials Marketing (as of Nov 2026) | Standard builder | Up to 10 | One and/or operator |
| Standard, Premium, or Legacy with Mailchimp Pro | Advanced segment builder | Unlimited | Nested and/or logic |
For most small businesses, 10 conditions is plenty. Where it bites is mixed logic, which I'll come to below.
Four places you can start a segment
Mailchimp lets you create segments from the contact table, the Segments page, the email checklist or the SMS checklist. The Segments page is the tidiest route for anything you'll reuse, so that's the one I'll walk through.
Building a segment from the Segments page
1. Choose the audience
Click Audience, then Segments. If you've got more than one audience, pick the right one from the Audience drop-down first, because segments belong to a single audience.
2. Start a new segment
Click Create segment to open the builder.
3. Pick your first condition
Use the Select or search a filter drop-down to choose a condition. Mailchimp's own example is Email Date Added, under How your contacts were acquired. A simple segment needs just this one condition.
4. Set the operator and value
Complete the condition, for example is after campaign and The last campaign was sent. That finds everyone who joined since your last send, which is a handy segment for a welcome-style catch-up email.
5. Add more conditions if you need them
For a complex segment, click Add "and" or the or option, then add the next condition. Mailchimp's example combines a group condition (How your contacts are grouped) with an acquisition condition (How your contacts were acquired).
6. Save it
Click Use segment, enter a Segment name and click Save & exit. It's now saved for future sends.
And versus or, in plain English
This is where segments go wrong most often. Choosing or returns contacts who meet one or more of your conditions. Choosing and returns only contacts who meet all of them. So customers in the VIP group or who joined this quarter is a big segment, while customers in the VIP group and who joined this quarter is a small one. Read your segment out loud before saving: if it sounds wrong, the operator is probably wrong.
When 10 conditions and one operator aren't enough
The Mailchimp Help Center article on creating and sending to a segment makes the plan limit plain. On Free or Essentials, a segment tops out at 10 conditions with one and/or operator. That means mixed logic, such as (A and B) or C, needs the advanced builder on Standard, Premium or Mailchimp Pro. If you hit that wall, split the job into two simpler segments and send to both.
Sending to your segment
Saved segments appear in the Saved by you section of the Segments page. Its drop-down lets you send a regular email, a plain-text email or a multivariate testing email straight to the segment.
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You can also pick segments inside the email checklist. Expand Segments under the Send to drop-down, and you can select more than one segment and use the Do not send to option to exclude a segment or tag. Only subscribed contacts within a segment can receive marketing emails or texts, so you won't accidentally mail people who've opted out.
Not sure where to begin? Mailchimp offers pre-built segments for finding your most engaged and loyal contacts, and they're a sensible first send. For the bigger picture on why it's worth the effort, read my piece on why segmenting your email list matters for a small business.
How other tools compare
Klaviyo segments are dynamic groups defined by conditions: they grow as people meet the conditions and shrink as they stop, updating in close to real time. HubSpot notes that some properties can't be edited while they're in use in tools such as segments or workflows. My Klaviyo versus Mailchimp comparison goes into how the two differ for ecommerce.
My verdict on Mailchimp segments
Keep your first segments simple: one or two conditions, clearly named, built from the Segments page so you can reuse them. Get comfortable with and/or logic before you build anything complex, and only worry about the advanced builder once you've hit the 10-condition or single-operator limit on a real campaign.
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Frequently asked questions
Where do I create a segment in Mailchimp?
Audience, then Segments, then Create segment. You can also start from the contact table or the email checklist.
How many conditions can a segment have?
Up to 10 on Free or Essentials, as of Nov 2026; unlimited with the advanced builder on Standard, Premium or Legacy with Pro.
Can I send to more than one segment?
Yes. In the email checklist you can check more than one segment and exclude another with Do not send to.
Do unsubscribed contacts receive emails sent to a segment?
No. Only subscribed contacts in a segment can receive marketing emails or texts.
How do and/or conditions differ?
And requires contacts to meet all conditions; or requires at least one.
