ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite 2026: Email Plans Compared

Choose MailerLite to start a small list without a subscription: its current Free plan covers up to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Consider ActiveCampaign when multi-step marketing automation is the main requirement and a paid plan fits the budget. ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day trial; its FAQ says pricing starts at $15, but the offer for your contacts and billing term must be checked. Sources reviewed October 28, 2026.

MailerLite changed its free limits in June 2026. Advice that still describes 500 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails reflects an older version of the plan. Neither vendor's entry price is a substitute for a quote at the list size and sending volume you actually need.

Toolradar data: On October 28, 2026, our software directory listed 109 email marketing tools in its category ranking. That is a category count, not a product test. Toolradar’s ActiveCampaign profile and MailerLite profile provide product context.

ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite at a glance

Question	ActiveCampaign	MailerLite
Starting option	14-day free trial	Ongoing Free plan
Entry cost	Vendor FAQ says prices start at $15; confirm billing and contact tier	Free at the published limits; Comfort starts at $12/month
Free audience	Trial lists up to 100 contacts	Up to 250 active subscribers
Free sending	Trial lists up to 100 emails	Up to 2,500 emails per month
Automation	Starter lists email marketing automation	Free lists up to 3 automations
Users	Starter documentation lists 1 seat	Free lists 2 seats

These details come from ActiveCampaign's FAQ, its plan overview and MailerLite's free-plan update. A time-limited trial should not be budgeted as an ongoing free subscription. The products count contacts and usage differently, so verify what each account will bill.

What would a small newsletter need?

Consider a newsletter with 200 consenting active subscribers, four broadcasts per month and one simple welcome automation. The broadcasts alone produce 200 × 4, or 800 recipient sends in a month. Actual automation messages add to that total, and recipients must be eligible to receive each campaign.

Requirement	MailerLite Free	ActiveCampaign trial
Store 200 active subscribers	Within published 250-subscriber limit	Trial FAQ lists up to 100 contacts
Send 800 broadcast emails	Within published 2,500-monthly-email limit, before automation	Trial FAQ lists up to 100 emails
Welcome workflow	Free plan lists up to 3 automations; verify desired steps	Trial features and limits apply for 14 days
Ongoing subscription	$0 while the account fits Free terms	Request a paid-plan quote after trial

This is a capacity example, not a deliverability test. A list with 251 active subscribers is outside MailerLite's stated free subscriber limit even if it sends fewer than 2,500 emails. A list of 200 can still exceed the monthly send allowance if automations or additional campaigns use the remaining capacity.

MailerLite says a send is one email to one subscriber. Its pricing FAQ explains the limits and what happens when an account exceeds them. Check the current account terms before importing the list, and do not confuse a user seat with an email subscriber.

How do paid prices work?

ActiveCampaign's FAQ says pricing starts at $15 for accounts with fewer than 1,000 contacts. Its dynamic pricing page and other vendor pages present plan and contact selections differently, so that starting figure is not a verified quote for an account with exactly 1,000 contacts or a particular billing interval. Request the selected Starter or other plan with the intended contact band, send volume, users and add-ons shown on the order form.

MailerLite describes Comfort as starting at $12 per month and Power as starting at $25 per month on its pricing page. The page says paid pricing depends on active subscribers and sending volume. Those are starting prices, not the cost of a particular 1,000-person list. Confirm the selected tier and whether the figure is billed monthly or annually before comparing it with ActiveCampaign.

A reasonable quote request names the same job on both sides: 1,000 active contacts, a specified monthly email volume, the required number of staff and a welcome sequence. Record the full monthly price, annual commitment, tax and required add-ons. If the two quotes include different features or send allowances, list the differences next to the totals rather than declaring a winner from their entry prices.

MailerLite's pricing FAQ says Comfort includes monthly sends equal to ten times the ceiling of the subscriber tier. For example, a tier capped at 1,000 subscribers lists 10,000 monthly emails, whether the account has 200 or 900 active subscribers. Confirm the tier and current terms in checkout; a larger tier can change the allowance and price.

What happens when a list grows?

MailerLite's plan and billing guide says a paid account may automatically move to a higher tier when subscriber or sending limits are exceeded. Its Free-plan FAQ says a free user is not charged automatically merely for exceeding the limit, but sending campaigns and automations can be paused when the account exceeds the subscriber cap. Review the current limits and notifications before a major acquisition campaign.

MailerLite also says its subscriber count uses active addresses during the billing cycle, including an address that was active earlier in the cycle and then deleted. A marketer should therefore check the billing definition before assuming that deleting a batch immediately reduces the current bill.

ActiveCampaign's contact-limit documentation describes what happens at the account's limit. Ask the vendor which contacts count, when a tier changes, and whether the selected plan has a maximum. Avoid estimating future cost from today's contact count alone.

For a wider budget comparison, see ActiveCampaign pricing and the best email marketing software guide.

Which is better for automation?

ActiveCampaign's Starter documentation lists email marketing automation and specifies up to five actions per automation on that plan. It also lists one user seat, with the ability to purchase one additional seat. Check the exact trigger, actions and integrations required for your workflow, and verify the plan offered to your account. A plan called Starter in an old review may not match the current version.

MailerLite's updated Free plan lists up to three automations. That can be enough for a small welcome workflow, but the number alone does not establish that every branch, trigger or integration you need is available. Check the full feature comparison and test the intended workflow during an appropriate trial.

Use the same example with both vendors: a reader signs up, receives a resource, clicks a link and then receives a relevant follow-up. Document the consent source, conditions, timing, actions and unsubscribe behavior. Ask what occurs if a contact changes a tag or unsubscribes between steps. If the automation requires more actions than the entry plan permits, compare the appropriate higher plan rather than the cheapest headline.

Our ActiveCampaign review and MailerLite review provide broader product context. For other approaches, compare marketing automation software and email marketing for small businesses.

Campaigns, landing pages and team access

MailerLite's current Free plan lists two seats, three forms and one landing page, as well as a website with up to five pages. A two-person team can assess whether those limits support its actual process. Confirm permissions and the final plan details in the account; a seat count does not by itself specify who can approve or publish a campaign.

ActiveCampaign's plan overview describes Starter for email and marketing automation, while Plus adds items including landing pages and further multichannel capabilities. Its documentation says Starter is not available to existing customers, so an existing account should not assume it can select the same offer as a new buyer.

For each product, test whether the form captures the information you need, whether consent is recorded and whether a subscriber can update preferences or unsubscribe. A page-building feature is useful only if the resulting data reaches the correct audience and the organization can meet its own privacy obligations.

If you are choosing a landing-page tool independently, see our landing page builders guide. For related product decisions, ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp and Kit vs Mailchimp cover different comparisons.

What should you test before migrating?

First, export a representative sample and reconcile active subscribers, unsubscribes and source data. Each vendor can have its own billing definition, and contacts who should not receive mail must remain excluded after import. Check which fields, tags and segments can be transferred without manual cleanup.

Second, recreate one real automation on a small authorized test audience. Record the trigger, each step, timing, failure handling and exit condition. Ask each vendor to confirm whether the chosen plan supports that exact workflow and how the email sends count toward the allowance.

Third, compare the first-year quote with a growth scenario. Specify subscriber counts at the start and end of the year, expected monthly sends, seats and features. Ask about automatic tier changes, taxes, renewal rates and the price of added users or transactional services. A lower starting plan can stop being the lower total when a list grows or a required feature is missing.

Our free email marketing tools guide offers more starting options. If acquisition is the immediate problem, how to grow an email list from zero focuses on the list itself rather than the subscription.

Frequently asked questions

Does MailerLite have a free plan?

Yes. Its updated Free plan lists up to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly email sends. Check account terms and feature-use limits before relying on it.

Is ActiveCampaign's free trial permanent?

No. ActiveCampaign describes a 14-day trial, with up to 100 contacts and 100 emails in its FAQ. Confirm the post-trial plan and price for your account.

Why do older guides say MailerLite supports 500 free subscribers?

MailerLite says it changed the Free plan on June 16, 2026, reducing its subscriber and sending limits. Legacy account terms can differ, so check the plan shown in your own account.

Can MailerLite Free run automations?

MailerLite's updated Free plan lists up to three automations. Verify the triggers, steps and other feature limits for the workflow you want.

How much does ActiveCampaign Starter cost for 1,000 contacts?

Request a current quote for the contact band and billing term. Its public FAQ and other vendor pages use different descriptions of the starting contact limit, so do not assume a headline applies to your exact account.

How many users does MailerLite Free include?

The updated plan lists two seats. Check permissions and the requirements for approval and publishing in your own account.

Does MailerLite automatically charge a free account that exceeds its limit?

MailerLite says a Free account is charged only if the user chooses to upgrade. It also says exceeding the free subscriber limit can pause sending and automations. Paid accounts have different automatic tier-upgrade rules.

Which is better for a growing list?

Compare quotes at today's active contact count and the expected future count, including send volume, seats and the automation required. Check each vendor's rules for tier changes before deciding.

Methodology

We reviewed MailerLite's current pricing, free-plan update and billing documentation, and ActiveCampaign's FAQ and plan documentation on October 28, 2026. The 200-subscriber scenario is arithmetic, not a delivery or product test. We did not create accounts or perform product testing. Plans and prices can change, so verify the offer for your account before switching.

Cite this: MarketingShot, "ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite 2026: Email Plans Compared", October 2026.

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