MailerLite Review
What MailerLite's plans cost in USD in 2026, what the free plan covers, and how it compares with Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and Sender.
MailerLite is worth it in 2026 for a small list that wants email, landing pages and automation at a low entry price. The Free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, Comfort starts at $12 a month for 500 subscribers, and Power starts at $25 a month for the same size.
The biggest strength is what Comfort adds for the money: 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, and the MailerLite logo removed. The biggest catch is that the price rises with every subscriber tier, so a 5,000-subscriber list pays $49 a month on Comfort. If you need a free plan that covers more than a few hundred subscribers, Sender's free plan covers 2,500 and is the better starting point.
Key factsBest for: Solo creators and small teams that want email, landing…
- Email, landing pages and automation on a free plan, priced by subscriber count.
- Free plan: Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month
- Power: Unlimited emails, seats and automations
- Enterprise: Custom quote from 200,000 subscribers
- Alternatives covered: Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Sender
Pros
- Comfort adds 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, and removes the MailerLite logo
- Free plan includes 2,500 emails a month and 2 seats
- Power removes the caps on sends, seats and automations
Cons
- Free plan allows only 3 automations, so a growing list hits the limit fast
- Comfort's send limit is 10 emails per subscriber a month
- The price rises at every subscriber tier, reaching $89 a month on Comfort at 10,000
MailerLiteMailerLite sells email campaigns, automations, landing pages, websites and digital products from one login, and it prices every plan by subscriber count.
That pricing model decides the real cost, since a list that fits the free plan today can pay for a higher tier tomorrow.
This review checks what the Free plan actually includes, where each paid tier steps up, and how the numbers compare with Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and Sender.
Every price is in US dollars and was checked on each vendor's own site in October 2026.
Toolradar data: the October 2026 email marketing ranking at Toolradar, the software directory we run, evaluated 107 tools, and it lists MailerLite's profile alongside the four rivals compared below.
MarketingShot data: this newsletter reached 35,000 active subscribers as of 20 September 2026, with a 31% average open rate and a 1.9% average click rate.
Our own newsletters run on beehiiv, so no platform on this page is the one we send from.
How we compared: MailerLite against Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and Sender on three measures: what the free plan includes, the entry price, and how far the cheapest paid plan goes on automation and seats.
Methodology: each price is the figure on the vendor's own site for the stated subscriber or contact count, with yearly discounts shown next to the monthly price. We did not test any of this software.
What is MailerLite?
MailerLite is an email and automation platform that charges by subscriber count. Each paid plan sets a subscriber tier, and the bill rises when the list crosses the next one, whether or not those people open anything.
The free plan has a hard cap on list size and sends, so a growing list has to pay. Comfort and Power add the building blocks a growing business needs: automations, a website, landing pages, and digital products to sell.
How MailerLite works
Signing up takes minutes on Free, and the editor offers three options: drag and drop, custom HTML and a simple editor. Free includes one website, one landing page, one digital product and three automations, enough to test a welcome sequence before paying.
Comfort is the entry paid tier, adding 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, unlimited templates, the AI writing assistant and smart sending. Its send limit is ten emails per subscriber a month, so a 500-subscriber list can send 5,000 emails.
Power removes the caps on sends, seats and automations, and adds 24/7 live chat and email support.
Site limits matter if you run several domains. Comfort allows 10 websites and 10 landing pages, and Power has no limit on either.
MailerLite key features
MailerLite pricing
MailerLite lists USD prices with a monthly or yearly toggle, and yearly billing saves 10%. Comfort and Power are priced by subscriber tier. At 1,000 subscribers Comfort costs $19 a month ($17.10 billed yearly) and Power costs $39 ($35.10 billed yearly).
At 5,000 subscribers the Comfort price is $49 a month. Enterprise is a custom quote from 200,000 subscribers.
The rivals run on different terms. Mailchimp's free plan is also capped at 250 contacts, and its Essentials plan starts at $13 a month on a 12-month term.
Kit's Creator plan costs $33 a month at 1,000 subscribers billed yearly. ActiveCampaign's Starter plan is $15 a month for 1,000 contacts.
Sender's free plan covers 2,500 subscribers, and its Standard tier is $6.30 a month for the first year.
A worked example: a 5,000-subscriber newsletter pays $529.20 a year on Comfort billed yearly, against $588 billed monthly, and $745.20 a year on Power billed yearly, against $828 billed monthly.
The yearly discount is worth $58.80 a year on Comfort at that size.
Prices were read on MailerLite's pricing page, Mailchimp's pricing page, Kit's pricing page, ActiveCampaign's comparison page and Sender's pricing page in October 2026.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite Free | $0/mo | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 automations |
| MailerLite Comfort, 500 subscribers | $12/mo, or $10.80/mo billed yearly | 5,000 emails a month, 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, 3 seats |
| MailerLite Comfort, 1,000 subscribers | $19/mo, or $17.10/mo billed yearly | 10,000 emails a month, same feature set as the 500 tier |
| MailerLite Power, 500 subscribers | $25/mo, or $22.50/mo billed yearly | Unlimited emails, seats and automations, 24/7 live chat and email support |
| MailerLite Enterprise | Custom | Plans from 200,000 subscribers, with a dedicated success manager |
| Mailchimp Free | $0/mo | Up to 250 contacts, 500 emails a month (250 a day), 1 seat, no automation |
| Mailchimp Essentials | $13/mo on a 12-month term | Paid plan with automation flows |
| Kit Creator, 1,000 subscribers | $33/mo, billed yearly at $390 a year | Unlimited visual automations and email sequences |
| ActiveCampaign Starter, 1,000 contacts | $15/mo | Branching automation and multiple triggers, with 5 actions per automation |
| ActiveCampaign Plus, 1,000 contacts | $49/mo | Unlimited automation actions, landing pages and site messages |
| Sender Free Forever | $0/mo | Up to 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month, 1 seat |
| Sender Standard | $6.30/mo for the first year | Up to 500 subscribers and 6,000 emails a month, with a 30% first-time discount |
MailerLite pros and cons
What we like
- Comfort adds 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, and removes the MailerLite logo
- Free plan includes 2,500 emails a month and 2 seats
- Power removes the caps on sends, seats and automations
What could be better
- Free plan allows only 3 automations, so a growing list hits the limit fast
- Comfort's send limit is 10 emails per subscriber a month
- The price rises at every subscriber tier, reaching $89 a month on Comfort at 10,000
Who MailerLite is for
MailerLite fits a solo creator or small team whose list has outgrown the free plan but stays within a few thousand subscribers, and that wants email, landing pages and automation without a second tool.
Comfort covers that list with 50 automations and a clear step up from Free.
Skip it if you need branching automation for a large list, or a free plan that covers a list beyond a few hundred subscribers. ActiveCampaign's Plus plan is the stronger comparison for automation depth, and Sender's free plan is the better start for a bigger free list.
Best MailerLite alternatives
If MailerLite is not the right fit, these are the closest options.
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Solo creators and small teams that want email, landing pages and automation at a low entry price. | Free up to 250 subscribers | Visit → |
| Mailchimp | Buyers who want the best-known name and can live with a tight free plan. | Free up to 250 contacts | Visit → |
| Kit | Creators who sell to an audience and want unlimited automations and sequences. | Free plan | Visit → |
| ActiveCampaign | Teams that need branching automation and will pay more than MailerLite charges for it. | Starter $15/mo and Plus $49/mo, both for 1,000 contacts | Visit → |
| Sender | Budget-minded senders who want a large free list and a low paid tier. | Free up to 2,500 subscribers | Visit → |
The bottom line
MailerLite earns its place for a small list that wants email, landing pages and automation at a low entry price. Free is generous enough to test a welcome sequence without paying, and Comfort is the sensible first paid tier.
Power only makes sense for a team that sends often or runs many seats.
The honest catch is the price ladder. Each subscriber tier adds cost, and Comfort's cap of 50 automations is the number to check against your own workflows.
If automation depth or a bigger free plan matters more, price out ActiveCampaign or Sender before committing.
Cite this: MarketingShot, "MailerLite Review 2026", October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.
- MailerLite pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Mailchimp pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Kit pricingchecked Sep 2026
- ActiveCampaign pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Sender pricingchecked Sep 2026
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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