Mailchimp Email Templates: Types, Saved Templates and the Two-Builder Trap

The catch nobody warns you about is that Mailchimp has two email builders, and templates don't cross between them. A template saved in the new builder only works in the new builder, and a legacy template only works in the legacy builder. The one exception Mailchimp lists: one-column emails designed in the legacy builder can also be used in the new builder.

Mailchimp's own distinction is simple. Templates hold the reusable parts, such as your logo, regular images and recurring sections. Campaigns hold the message you're sending this time.

The template types, as of October 2026

Type	Builder	What you get
Fully designed	New	Pre-designed colours, fonts and layouts, filtered by category, style and industry
Basic layout	New	Monochrome layouts with spaces for a logo, header, paragraph, image and button
Branded	New	Mailchimp templates previewed in your Brand Kit colours, fonts, logos and buttons; Essentials plan or higher
Layouts	Legacy	Featured layouts with suggested content, and Basic blank layouts with fixed columns
Themes	Legacy	Designs built around newsletters, e-commerce, holidays, sports and events, plus SurveyMonkey and Eventbrite templates
Code your own	Both	Your own HTML; Standard plan or higher
Transactional	Transactional add-on	Templates you publish for the Mailchimp Transactional API

You'll design in the new builder by default unless you've used the legacy builder before. In the new builder, categories include Welcome, Newsletter, Sell products and Grow SMS List, and styles include minimalist, bold, playful and professional. Branded templates need a Brand Kit set up, and you switch on Apply Brand Kit to see every template in your own colours before you pick.

Saving an email as a template

1. Click Campaigns and open the draft email. To reuse a sent email, replicate it first.
2. In the Content section, click Edit Design or Resolve.
3. In the new builder, open the Save and exit drop-down and choose Save as a template. In the legacy builder, open the Template drop-down and choose Save this design as a template.
4. Name it and click Save.

It then appears on the Email templates page and under Saved templates when you start a new email. You can save as many as you like and keep them tidy in folders, from the Folder drop-down on the Email templates page.

When template edits reach your drafts

This trips people up in both directions. For templates built in the legacy builder, Mailchimp warns that template edits won't be applied to draft or scheduled emails. Custom-coded templates work the opposite way: changes are reflected in existing draft emails made from the template, and Mailchimp says they may affect ongoing campaigns too. So if you've coded your own and a campaign's in progress, replicate the template before you experiment.

Replicating is the safe way to try a new design anyway. It copies the layout and content so the original stays untouched, but again only within the same builder.

Custom HTML templates: the import rules

Coding your own needs a Standard plan or higher, and Mailchimp calls it an advanced feature. You can paste code, import an HTML file or import a ZIP, all from Code your own on the Email templates page, and Mailchimp runs your code through a validator. Before you import, check these:

• Include the *|UNSUB|* tag, which every campaign needs.
• Save the file with UTF-8 character encoding.
• Use JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF images.
• For a ZIP, stay under 1MB with one HTML file. If there's more than one, Mailchimp uses the first it finds.
• Put every image in the root of the ZIP, not in subfolders, and name files with letters, numbers and hyphens only. The upload's case sensitive, so your code must match the file names exactly.

Designers can use Mailchimp's template language to make sections editable, repeatable or hideable, which is handy when you're building a template for a client to fill in.

Width and images

Mailchimp templates are designed to be no more than 600px wide, to suit most email clients. In the legacy builder there's no setting to change that; Mailchimp's workaround is a thin, transparent image wider than 600px in each section, and it recommends testing in as many email clients as possible if you do it.

For images, use JPG, GIF or PNG saved in RGB, not CMYK, and keep files to 1MB or less. Take padding off the width: with 10px of padding on each side, a header image in a 600px template should be 580px. In drag-and-drop templates, upload full-size images and let the editor scale them, so they stay sharp on high-density screens.

Sharing, exporting and moving templates

You want to	How, as of October 2026
Give a template to another Mailchimp account	Share, then Share by email or Share by URL; no HTML needed
Receive one	Click Add to Your Account in the email, or paste the URL into your browser and log in
Edit the code outside Mailchimp	More options, then Export as template (custom-coded templates only)
Export a drag-and-drop template	Not possible

That last row catches people who want to leave. Drag-and-drop templates can't be exported, only coded ones. If you might move platforms one day, a coded template is the one you can take with you.

Transactional templates are a one-way door

If you've got the Mailchimp Transactional add-on, you can convert a saved marketing template with Convert to Transactional. Mailchimp makes a transactional-only copy and leaves your original alone, but the conversion is permanent: that copy can't ever be used for marketing campaigns. You also have to publish it before the API can send it.

Testing a template

Contact-specific merge tags and dynamic content don't fill in on test emails. To check them, create an email from the template and preview it with Enable live merge tag info switched on, or send a live email to a small test segment of your audience.

My verdict on Mailchimp email templates

Pick your builder first and stick with it, because that decides where your saved templates will work. For most small businesses, a branded or fully designed template in the new builder, saved once with your logo and footer, covers every newsletter. I'd only code your own if you've got a developer, or you'll want to take the design elsewhere later. If you'd like more layouts to start from, here are free templates from elsewhere, and if Mailchimp's builder feels limiting, compare the best email template builders.

If your team spends too long rebuilding the same emails, setting up templates and the AI tools around them is part of what I do. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement, AI automation and GEO, which is about getting your business seen and cited in AI answers. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a new builder template in the legacy builder?

No. Templates designed in the new email builder or the legacy email builder can be accessed in the corresponding builder only.

Which Mailchimp plan do I need for custom HTML templates?

Accounts on a Mailchimp Standard plan or higher can use custom HTML templates.

Can I export a Mailchimp drag-and-drop template?

No. Only custom-coded templates can be exported as HTML. Drag-and-drop templates can't be exported.

How do I share a Mailchimp template with another account?

Choose Share from the template's drop-down, then Share by email or Share by URL. The other person adds it after logging in to their account.

Can I undo converting a template to transactional?

No. The conversion is permanent. Your original marketing template stays the same, but the transactional copy can't be used for marketing campaigns.

How wide should a Mailchimp email template be?

Mailchimp templates are designed to be no greater than 600px wide to fit most email clients.