Mailchimp vs MailerLite (2026): Which Should You Choose?

MailerLite has the more generous free plan and the cheaper entry paid tier, while Mailchimp's case rests on Standard: 200-step journeys and five seats for $20 a month in year one. At 500 contacts, Mailchimp Essentials lists at $13 a month in year one and MailerLite Comfort at $12, both verified on each vendor's pricing page on 10 October 2026, in US dollars.

Those Mailchimp paid rates are first-year only, and its pricing page does not print the rate that follows. MailerLite shows monthly and yearly prices, and yearly billing takes 10% off them.

The entry tiers side by side

Plan	Price (USD)	Contacts in that price	Monthly sends	Seats	Automation limit
Mailchimp Free	$0	Up to 250	500 a month, 250 a day	1	None
MailerLite Free	$0	Up to 250	2,500 a month	2	3 automations, 5 steps each
Mailchimp Essentials	$13 a month, first 12 months	500	5,000 (10x contacts)	3	Up to 4 steps
MailerLite Comfort	$12 a month, or $10.80 billed yearly	500	5,000 (10x the tier top)	3	50 active automations, 100 steps each
Mailchimp Standard	$20 a month, first 12 months	500	6,000 (12x contacts)	5	200 steps
MailerLite Power	$25 a month, or $22.50 billed yearly	500	Unlimited (fair use)	Unlimited	Unlimited active, 100 steps each

Mailchimp's send limits scale with the contact count, so the 500-contact row is the fair side-by-side. Essentials and Standard both include a 14-day trial, and Mailchimp asks for a payment method at signup.

What 500 contacts costs over a year

Essentials at its first-year monthly rate comes to $156 a year. Comfort costs $144 a year billed monthly, or $129.60 billed yearly ($10.80 times 12), which makes it the cheapest paid year in this comparison. On the next tier up, Standard at its first-year monthly rate is $240 a year, while Power costs $300 billed monthly or $270 billed yearly ($22.50 times 12).

The order flips with the tier you buy. Essentials at its first-year $13 runs $1 a month above Comfort's $12, which is noise for most budgets. Standard's first-year $20 undercuts Power's monthly $25 by $5 a month at the same 500 contacts, so Mailchimp is the cheaper pick at that level when you need five seats or journeys past 100 steps. Power pays for unlimited automations and seats; Standard pays for the longest journeys in this comparison.

The gap widens at 50,000 and 100,000 contacts

Mailchimp's comparison table prints $385 a month for Essentials at 50,000 contacts, the most that plan stores. It prints $800 a month for Standard at 100,000 contacts, the most that plan stores. MailerLite prints a price at each tier in the table below, so the two vendors sit side by side wherever Mailchimp prints a figure.

Contacts	Mailchimp	MailerLite Comfort	MailerLite Power
500	Essentials or Standard (entry table)	$12	$25
1,000	Not listed	$19	$39
5,000	Not listed	$49	$69
50,000	$385 Essentials	$319	$389
100,000	$800 Standard	$439	$489

At the top of Mailchimp Standard's storage range, MailerLite Power costs $311 a month less. That saving suits a large list that stays under 100 steps; skip it if your campaigns need Standard's longer builder.

What each bill counts as a contact

Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts in its contact total. Archived, cleaned, and deleted contacts drop out of it. An unsubscribed name keeps costing money on Mailchimp until you archive or delete it.

MailerLite counts an unsubscribed contact that was active at any point in the billing period until that period resets. At the start of the next period the contact leaves the subscriber count. A MailerLite unsubscribe therefore stops costing money at the next reset, and a Mailchimp unsubscribe only stops when you remove it.

A list with a long tail of old unsubscribes is where this rule matters most. Clean the list before you choose either entry tier, or the bill will reflect dead names and push you into a higher contact band before your active audience does.

Automations: where the caps bite

MailerLite Free runs three automations of five steps each, enough for a short welcome path while you test. Mailchimp Free has no automations at all, so a drip on day one means a paid tier. On the paid side, Mailchimp Essentials caps a journey at four steps, which fits a short welcome email and not much else. Standard lifts that cap to 200 steps.

MailerLite Comfort allows 50 active automations of 100 steps each, and Power removes the active-automation limit while keeping the 100-step cap. A welcome series with a re-engagement branch hits Essentials' four-step ceiling long before MailerLite's 100-step ceiling. Mailchimp Standard answers yes if you need more than 100 steps, and so does Premium at $350 a month in year one. The Mailchimp review walks through the same tier limits in more detail.

Billing traps that change the bill

MailerLite prices the next tier as a step, not a slope. Comfort jumps from the 500-subscriber entry price to $19 at 1,000, so a list that crosses 500 pays $7 more a month as soon as it does. Budget for the tier you will reach within a year, not only the one you hold today.

Send allowances follow the tier top as well. MailerLite's pricing FAQ gives the up-to-1,000 tier as its example: 10,000 emails a month whether a list holds 200 subscribers or 900. Mailchimp sets its Essentials sends at 10 times the maximum contact count instead, so its allowance grows with the plan's contact cap.

A store that sells products is buying a different tool, so read the Mailchimp vs Klaviyo breakdown before either entry tier here.

Free plans: MailerLite sends five times as much

Mailchimp Free holds 250 contacts, sends 500 emails a month or 250 a day, and gives you one seat and one audience. Its email support lasts 30 days. MailerLite Free holds 250 subscribers, sends five times that monthly volume, and gives you two seats and three automations.

The send allowance is the real gap. Mailchimp's monthly free sends cover a weekly newsletter to 125 people. MailerLite's free volume covers a weekly newsletter to all 250 free subscribers, with 1,500 emails left over. Free plans are for testing, so pick the one whose sending limit covers your real schedule. For the wider set of free options, the free email marketing software roundup lists the rest.

Support and testing

Mailchimp includes email and chat support 24/7 on Essentials and Standard, and it reserves priority phone support for Premium. A/B testing is included from Essentials upward, so the entry paid tier already has it.

MailerLite lists 24/7 live chat support on Power, its highest plan in this comparison.

Who should pick which

Pick MailerLite when the list sits on the entry tiers, your monthly sends would pass the free Mailchimp send cap, and no journey needs more than 100 steps. Its unsubscribe rule also helps a list that loses names every month, because those contacts stop counting at the next reset.

Pick Mailchimp Standard when a journey needs more than 100 steps or when a team of five needs seats. Pick Premium only when phone support or unlimited seats justify $350 a month in year one at a 10,000-contact base. Before you commit, read the Mailchimp pricing breakdown and the Mailchimp alternatives list, which cover the other budget options.

Pick neither when the list has to sit inside a sales CRM with pipelines attached. The ActiveCampaign review is the next read for that buyer, and the email marketing software roundup covers the wider field. A small business that only needs a cheap sender should start with the email marketing for small business roundup.

A list that is still growing from zero raises a different question than price, which the how to grow a newsletter guide takes up.

Toolradar data and our own stack

Toolradar data: Toolradar evaluated 107 email marketing tools for its October 2026 ranking, which weighs G2 and Capterra review volume and rating plus media mentions. Mailchimp placed fourth and MailerLite eighth. That measures market attention, not price or plan fit, so it does not settle this comparison. Directory profiles are at Mailchimp and MailerLite, and the full list is the email marketing ranking.

Our own disclosure: MarketingShot is sent on beehiiv, so neither platform compared here is the tool behind this newsletter. For the newsletter-platform field as a whole, the newsletter platforms ranking sets the options side by side.

How we compared

This is a price and plan-limit comparison. We read Mailchimp's pricing page, its compare-plans table and MailerLite's pricing page in US dollars on 10 October 2026. Mailchimp's contact-count rules come from its help center, and MailerLite's unsubscribe rule from its help center. We did not send test campaigns on either platform.

Re-check both pricing pages before you buy. Mailchimp's year-two rate is not printed, and both vendors move their contact tiers.

FAQ

Is Mailchimp or MailerLite better in 2026?

MailerLite is the better buy for most small lists in 2026. Its Comfort tier costs $12 a month at 500 subscribers, a dollar under Mailchimp Essentials' first-year rate, and its free plan sends five times the 500 emails a month that Mailchimp Free allows. Mailchimp is the better choice when a journey needs more than 100 steps or a team needs five seats on Standard.

How much does Mailchimp cost compared with MailerLite?

At 500 contacts, Mailchimp Essentials is $13 a month and Standard is $20, both shown as first-year rates. MailerLite Comfort is $12 a month or $10.80 billed yearly, and Power is $25 or $22.50 billed yearly. At 100,000 contacts, Mailchimp Standard costs $800 a month and MailerLite Power costs $489.

Which free plan is better, Mailchimp or MailerLite?

MailerLite's free plan is the more generous of the two. It covers 250 subscribers, sends 2,500 emails a month, gives two seats, and includes three automations of five steps each. Mailchimp's free plan holds the same 250 contacts but caps sends at 500 a month or 250 a day, with one seat and no automations.

Do unsubscribed contacts cost money on Mailchimp and MailerLite?

Yes on both, for different lengths of time. Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts until you archive, clean, or delete them. MailerLite counts a contact that was active during the billing period until that period resets, then drops it from the subscriber count.

Which platform allows longer automations?

Mailchimp Standard and Premium allow 200 steps per journey. MailerLite Comfort and Power cap each automation at 100 steps. Mailchimp Essentials caps journeys at four steps, and MailerLite Free caps its three automations at five steps each.

Cite this: MarketingShot, "Mailchimp vs MailerLite (2026): Which Should You Choose?", October 2026.

Get the daily MarketingShot brief at marketingshot.com.

Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.