MailerLiteMailerLite review 2026: our full test, pricing and limits
MailerLite built its reputation on something its competitors lost sight of: sending a good-looking newsletter should not require training. The email editor is the smoothest in this comparison, the free plan is genuinely usable, and pricing stays among the lowest on the market. We tested it to find where that simplicity ends, and when it becomes a constraint.
Verdict: the most pleasant way to build and send a newsletter
MailerLite saves time where it matters, in building the email itself: the editor is quick, the templates are clean, and you ship a first campaign in half an hour without reading documentation. The free plan lets you start properly, and prices stay contained as the list grows. The trade-off is functional: automation is simpler than ActiveCampaign’s, and the product does not pretend to run a full sales funnel.
What to remember
- The fastest email editor we tested, with no learning curve.
- A real free plan, then around $10 a month depending on list size.
- Automation is deliberately simple: this is not a marketing automation platform.
What we liked
- +
The smoothest email editor we have tested, with restrained, well-built templates.
- +
A free plan you can genuinely start a newsletter on.
- +
Among the lowest prices on the market at equivalent list size.
- +
Landing pages, forms and simple websites included at no extra charge.
- +
Responsive support and a clean, uncluttered interface.
What could be better
- –
Automation stays basic next to ActiveCampaign or GetResponse.
- –
No CRM and no sales pipeline.
- –
Manual account review can delay your very first send.
- –
Free plan allowances have been reduced: check the current quota before signing up.
Spec sheet
- Vendor
- MailerLite, Lithuania
- Free plan
- Yes, around 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month
- Entry plan
- Around $10/month
- Higher plan
- Around $18 to $20/month
- Billing basis
- Number of subscribers
- Annual discount
- Around 10 %
- Landing pages
- Included
- Websites
- Simple builder included
- Best for
- Newsletters, blogs, small shops
Indicative prices for a small list, checked on 3 August 2026. Costs rise with subscriber count, and both plan names and free-tier quotas have moved recently: the grid shown at signup is the one that counts.
Go for it if
- ✓
You send a regular newsletter and want to spend as little time as possible on it.
- ✓
You are starting out and the free plan needs to cover your first months.
- ✓
You want clean, well-rendered emails without touching HTML.
Look elsewhere if
- ✕
Your strategy depends on branching automation flows.
- ✕
You need a CRM and sales tracking in the same tool.
- ✕
You sell through complex funnels and webinars.
What exactly is MailerLite?
MailerLite is a Lithuanian email marketing platform founded in 2010 and used by more than a million accounts worldwide. Its positioning fits in one word, simplicity, which is claimed in the name itself.
Where most competitors have piled on features over the years, MailerLite has kept a short, readable interface. You get the essentials of the job, campaigns, subscribers, forms, automations and landing pages, without the configuration layers that make beginners give up.
The model is standard freemium, with pricing indexed to subscriber count rather than features. That is worth understanding: your bill follows the growth of your list, not your usage. A ten-thousand-contact list you email once a quarter costs the same as one you work every week.
What are the key features of MailerLite?
The heart of the product is the email editor, and that is where it wins. Drag-and-drop blocks, instant mobile preview, and templates that look restrained rather than like a 2000s flyer: building a campaign takes minutes instead of an evening. On that specific point it has no equal in this comparison.
Around it sit segmentation by groups and custom fields, signup forms and pop-ups, landing pages and even a simple website builder, all included at no extra cost. For a content creator or a small shop, that covers the whole chain from capturing an address to sending the email.
Automations exist and cover the common cases: welcome email, onboarding sequence, abandoned cart recovery through the e-commerce connectors, date-based sends. They stay deliberately more linear than the branching flows of ActiveCampaign. That is a product choice, and it is also the main limit for a company industrialising its marketing.
MailerLite does not try to do everything its rivals do. It does the part you actually use every week, and it does it better.
Try MailerLite for free
The free plan is enough to build your list and send your first campaigns.
How much does MailerLite cost?
Pricing follows subscriber count. The free plan gets you started, then two paid tiers follow, with a discount for annual billing.
| Plan | Indicative price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Around 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month |
| Mid tier | Around $10/month | Unlimited sends, automations, no forced branding |
| Upper tier | Around $18 to $20/month | Advanced A/B testing, multiple users, priority support |
Indicative prices for a small list, checked on 3 August 2026. Costs rise with subscriber count. The vendor has renamed its plans and revised free-tier quotas recently, so the grid displayed at signup is the one that applies.
Compare like for like. At a thousand contacts, MailerLite sits around $10 to $15 a month, against $15 for ActiveCampaign on annual billing, $19 for GetResponse and $13 for Mailchimp. The gap is modest at that size and widens sharply above ten thousand subscribers, where MailerLite stays materially cheaper.
The thing to watch is therefore not the entry price but the per-subscriber billing model. Cleaning inactive addresses regularly is not just good deliverability practice, it is the most direct way to keep the bill down.
Who is MailerLite for?
MailerLite suits people for whom email is an editorial channel rather than a conversion machine: content creators, publishers, nonprofits, small shops, freelancers and small businesses sending a regular newsletter. If your real job is to write, format and send, this is the tool that will waste the least of your time.
It suits companies building complex automated journeys less well, with scoring, nested conditions and sales follow-up. For that, ActiveCampaign is a clear step up. And if your strategy runs on webinars and sales funnels, GetResponse covers that ground natively.
What are the alternatives to MailerLite?
Brevo is the closest alternative, billing by emails sent rather than by contact stored, with European hosting. ActiveCampaign takes over as soon as automation becomes central. Mailchimp remains the household name, though its free plan was cut sharply in 2026.
To compare real cost at your list size, read our comparison of the best email marketing software in 2026. If you are starting from scratch, our guide on how to create a newsletter walks through the method.
Our verdict: 4.5/5, the simplest and most pleasant
Start on the free plan: two campaigns will tell you whether the editor suits you.
Frequently asked questions
Is MailerLite free?
Yes, there is a free plan, around 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month on the grid in force in August 2026. Allowances have been revised downward recently, so check the figure shown when you sign up. Paid plans start around $10 a month for a small list.
How does MailerLite bill?
By subscriber, not by email sent. Your bill therefore follows the size of your list whether you email it or not. That is the structural difference with Brevo, which bills on send volume. Cleaning inactive addresses regularly is the most direct way to control the cost.
Does MailerLite do marketing automation?
It handles the common cases: welcome emails, onboarding sequences, date or action triggers, abandoned cart recovery through e-commerce connectors. It does not handle branching flows with scoring and nested conditions, which is where ActiveCampaign is considerably more advanced.
MailerLite or Brevo: which should you choose?
MailerLite wins on editing comfort and template quality. Brevo is preferable if you want European hosting, billing by send volume and transactional or SMS features. The choice comes down to your send volume relative to the size of your list.