PayPal + Mailchimp integration

Plandalf connects them; Mailchimp does not read PayPal. PayPal takes the payment on a Plandalf checkout, and a sequence then runs native Mailchimp steps: add or update the contact, add tags, or record an event a Customer Journey starts from. Purchases arrive as events, not as Mailchimp orders, and PayPal refunds do not remove tags on their own.

1. Switch PayPal on for the offer

   Connect PayPal in Plandalf and add it as a payment option on the offer you sell. Leave card payment available beside it, and connect the sandbox environment to test.

2. Create a Mailchimp key

   In Mailchimp open your profile menu, then Extras, then API keys, and click Create A Key. Copy all of it, including the data-centre ending such as -us21, or Plandalf cannot reach your account.

3. Connect Mailchimp

   In Plandalf go to Automation, Marketplace, find Mailchimp under Available now and click Connect. Paste the key into API Key.

4. Tag the buyer

   Create a sequence on Plandalf, Checkout Completed, for your offer. Add Mailchimp, Add Tags to Contact: pick the Audience, set Email Address to {{trigger.customer_email}} and add a tag such as Paid. Leave Status for New Contacts on Subscribed only if buyers agreed to marketing email; otherwise choose Transactional.

5. Record the event

   Add Mailchimp, Record Event with Event Name bought_course and a plan property of {{trigger.line_items_summary}}. In Mailchimp build a Customer Journey on the same audience that starts from an event with that exact name.

6. Test with a sandbox payment

   Approve a PayPal sandbox payment, check the Events view and the contact in Mailchimp, and turn on Run on test purchases in the sequence settings if nothing ran. Switch it off afterwards.

• Purchases reach Mailchimp as custom events on the contact. They do not appear as Mailchimp orders or products, and the event carries no revenue.
• The API key must include the part after the dash, such as -us21. A key without it is rejected when you connect.
• Invoice Refunded is documented for refunds that succeed in Stripe, so a PayPal refund leaves tags and journeys as they were.
• New contacts get the status you choose in Status for New Contacts. Existing contacts keep theirs, so a step never resubscribes someone who opted out.
• Merge fields must already exist in the audience. Mailchimp does not create one the first time a value is sent.

Does PayPal integrate with Mailchimp?

Plandalf links them rather than the two apps syncing. PayPal pays for the order on a Plandalf checkout, then a sequence adds the buyer to a Mailchimp audience and tags them. Look at Mailchimp's own integrations list for a PayPal route that does not use Plandalf.

How do I connect PayPal to Mailchimp?

Enable PayPal on a Plandalf offer, connect Mailchimp with an API key under Automation, then build a Checkout Completed sequence with Add Tags to Contact or Record Event.

Mailchimp PayPal integration: will buyers show as Mailchimp orders?

No. Plandalf records a custom event and tags. It does not send orders to Mailchimp's ecommerce API.

Can a PayPal payment start a Customer Journey?

Yes, through the Record Event step: use the same event name as the journey's starting point. Confirm it with a PayPal sandbox payment first.

Checked October 26, 2026 against Plandalf's own setup guides.