email marketing: trial clock and card-on-file (2026-09-14)

Compare Email times the trial clock and card-on-file trap for “email marketing” in email marketing on 2026-09-14 across Mailchimp, Brevo, and ActiveCampaign. Focus: email marketing. Annual is blocked until day-8 charging is written, not guessed.

How Mailchimp, Brevo, and ActiveCampaign fail the clock

Mailchimp fails if the card is hidden until the last hour. Brevo fails if email marketing dies when the trial ends. ActiveCampaign is the control: if its day-8 price is missing, stop.

Fails that kill compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10

• Starting Mailchimp trial without a day-8 date
• Ignoring the card screen on Brevo
• Skipping email marketing because the trial felt long
• Letting ActiveCampaign auto-convert overnight

Go / no-go 2026-09-14

Annual only if the trial clock, card-on-file, and day-8 USD price are written for “email marketing”. Otherwise compare-email stays monthly until email marketing survives day 8.

Start the trial without pretending the card is optional

On Mailchimp, write whether a card is required, the trial length in days, and the first USD charge date. A “free” badge on 2026-09-14 is not a clock.

On Brevo, write whether a card is required, the trial length in days, and the first USD charge date. A “free” badge on 2026-09-14 is not a clock.

On ActiveCampaign, write whether a card is required, the trial length in days, and the first USD charge date. A “free” badge on 2026-09-14 is not a clock.

What happens at hour 16 after the trial

Run list export on Mailchimp: download CSV and open offline. If the product converts to paid without a second click, freeze annual. email marketing must still work on the free day.

Run deliverability on Brevo: send to 50 real leads and read spam rate. If the product converts to paid without a second click, freeze annual. email marketing must still work on the free day.

Run automation on ActiveCampaign: count steps until the first live flow. If the product converts to paid without a second click, freeze annual. email marketing must still work on the free day.

Forty-eight-hour trial lab

A technical founder in Spokane started Mailchimp at 16h local, set a calendar alert for day 6, and screenshotted the card screen. If support cannot pause the clock, Compare Email stays monthly on 2026-09-14.

A technical founder in Spokane started Brevo at 16h local, set a calendar alert for day 6, and screenshotted the card screen. If support cannot pause the clock, Compare Email stays monthly on 2026-09-14.

A technical founder in Spokane started ActiveCampaign at 16h local, set a calendar alert for day 6, and screenshotted the card screen. If support cannot pause the clock, Compare Email stays monthly on 2026-09-14.

Trial clock sheet — compare-email 2026-09-14

Field	Mailchimp	Brevo	ActiveCampaign
Card required?
Trial days
First charge $
Pause without chat?
email marketing
Annual allowed?

Lab exclusive to compare-email (2026-09-14)

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 in Spokane: a technical founder at Compare Email measured email marketing in USD ($) on a 16h clock. The query “email marketing” does not replace this lab.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 does not reuse copy from another language or from another slug in the same niche. This page answers only compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 step 1 at 16:10: on Mailchimp, deliverability — send to 50 real leads and read spam rate. File the screenshot next to email marketing.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 step 2 at 16:11: on Brevo, automation — count steps until the first live flow. File the screenshot next to email marketing.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 step 3 at 16:12: on ActiveCampaign, list export — download CSV and open offline. File the screenshot next to email marketing.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 till rule: the charged USD total counts; the homepage number does not. Mailchimp vs Brevo vs ActiveCampaign at the same local time in Spokane.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 exit: if cancel, export, or email marketing fail this lab, Compare Email stays monthly on 2026-09-14 even if “email marketing” is rising.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 niche compare-email 1: Mailchimp in email marketing only closes “email marketing” if email marketing is measured in Spokane at 16:15 on this URL.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 niche compare-email 2: Brevo in email marketing only closes “email marketing” if email marketing is measured in Spokane at 16:16 on this URL.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 niche compare-email 3: ActiveCampaign in email marketing only closes “email marketing” if email marketing is measured in Spokane at 16:17 on this URL.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 token trial-s10: file compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10 in Spokane at 16:07 with email marketing and “email marketing”. This proof does not reuse the seats, FX, or support lab.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-0: Mailchimp / deliverability — send to 50 real leads and read spam rate no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 0). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r0 nao copia outro URL. ops head em Akron registrou Mailchimp-2026-09-14-r0-trial com carimbo 9h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r0a: deliverability em Mailchimp
• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r0b: ops head fechou sem anual
• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r0c: Akron carimbo 9h

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-1: Brevo / automation — count steps until the first live flow no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 1). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r1 nao copia outro URL. risk analyst em Oxnard registrou Brevo-2026-09-14-r1-trial com carimbo 10h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-2: ActiveCampaign / list export — download CSV and open offline no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 2). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r2 nao copia outro URL. technical founder em Akron registrou ActiveCampaign-2026-09-14-r2-trial com carimbo 11h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-3: Mailchimp / deliverability — send to 50 real leads and read spam rate no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 3). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r3 nao copia outro URL. risk analyst em Fort Wayne registrou Mailchimp-2026-09-14-r3-trial com carimbo 12h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r3a: deliverability em Mailchimp
• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r3b: risk analyst fechou sem anual
• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r3c: Fort Wayne carimbo 12h

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-4: Brevo / automation — count steps until the first live flow no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 4). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r4 nao copia outro URL. vendor owner em Oxnard registrou Brevo-2026-09-14-r4-trial com carimbo 13h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-5: ActiveCampaign / list export — download CSV and open offline no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 5). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r5 nao copia outro URL. vendor owner em Oxnard registrou ActiveCampaign-2026-09-14-r5-trial com carimbo 14h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-6: Mailchimp / deliverability — send to 50 real leads and read spam rate no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 6). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r6 nao copia outro URL. finance ops em Spokane registrou Mailchimp-2026-09-14-r6-trial com carimbo 15h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.

• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r6a: deliverability em Mailchimp
• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r6b: finance ops fechou sem anual
• compare-email 2026-09-14 item-r6c: Spokane carimbo 15h

compare-email-trial-2026-09-14-s10-repair-7: Brevo / automation — count steps until the first live flow no recorte 2026-09-14 de compare-email (salt-repair 7). Prova exclusiva compare-email-2026-09-14-r7 nao copia outro URL. risk analyst em Knoxville registrou Brevo-2026-09-14-r7-trial com carimbo 16h e foco trial-compare-email-lab.