Mailchimp vs MailerLite
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — Mailchimp is from $13/mo, MailerLite is free tier available.
- How to start: Mailchimp is from $13/mo, MailerLite is free tier available.
- Where they differ: only Mailchimp has mobile app and sso (saml); both offer public api.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
What Mailchimp is
What Mailchimp isMailchimp has evolved from a simple newsletter tool into a complete 'Marketing Automation' giant. Its drag-and-drop editor allows anyone to create professional campaigns. However, its real power lies in automated email sequences triggered by user behavior and advanced audience segmentation. With AI tools like 'Creative Assistant,' it can even auto-generate visuals that match your brand style, ensuring you send the right message to the right person at the right time.
What MailerLite is
What MailerLite isMailerLite offers email campaigns, landing pages and automation with a notably generous free tier. It is the sensible default for a small list: campaigns, automation and landing pages without a platform-sized bill. Deep segmentation and event-driven messaging are where it stops, and that is usually the moment to move on.
Side by side
| Mailchimp | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Marketing | Marketing |
| How to start | $13/moverified | Free tiernot a monthly price |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No |
| Open source / self-hostable | No | No |
| SSO (SAML) | Yes | No |
| Visit | Mailchimp ↗ | MailerLite ↗ |
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What Mailchimp is built to do
- Customer Journeys
- Intelligent automation maps that change based on your customers' behavior.
- Predictive Analytics
- Use AI to predict which customers are most likely to purchase again.
- Creative Assistant
- Get design suggestions that automatically use your brand's colors and logos.
- Content Optimizer
- Receive text and layout suggestions to improve your email open and click rates.
What MailerLite is built to do
- Drag-and-drop campaigns
- Builds newsletters visually with reusable blocks.
- Automation workflows
- Triggers sequences from signups, clicks and dates.
- Landing pages and forms
- Hosts signup pages without a separate website tool.
Choose Mailchimp if
- Very small lists: up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month on Free with 1 seat
- Small businesses starting on Essentials at $13/month for 500 contacts with 3 seats and 10x sends
- Marketing teams that want templates, automations and reporting in one familiar product
Skip Mailchimp if
- Your list grows fast — prices step up with contact count, and the listed prices are for 0–500 contacts
- You need more than 5 seats without Premium, which starts at $350/month
- You mainly send transactional email; Mailchimp's marketing plans are priced for campaigns
Choose MailerLite if
- Lists up to 250 subscribers who can live with 2,500 emails a month for free
- Small businesses that want automations and landing pages from $12/month
- Growing senders that need unlimited emails and seats on Power from $25/month
Skip MailerLite if
- Your list grows past the entry tier — prices scale with subscriber count
- You need more than 2 seats on Free or 3 on Comfort
- You need 200K+ subscribers with a dedicated manager: that is Enterprise
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
Mailchimp: pros & cons
- Ease of Entry: The most user-friendly interface for starting with email marketing.
- Ready Templates: Includes hundreds of professional designs for every industry.
- AI Support: Benefit from an AI assistant for design and copywriting advice.
- Huge Integration: Speaks directly with Shopify, WordPress, and hundreds of other apps.
- Price Hikes: Costs rise quite aggressively as your subscriber list grows.
- Advanced Automation: May not be as deep as ActiveCampaign for very complex funnels.
- Free Tier Shrinkage: Sending limits on the free plan have been reduced in recent years.
MailerLite: pros & cons
- Free tier that small senders can live on
- Clean, quick editor
- Landing pages included
- Approval process rejects some accounts
- Fewer integrations than larger rivals
- Advanced automation is limited
Our verdict on Mailchimp
The go-to choice for those seeking a reliable, stylish, and popular email marketing solution.
Our verdict on MailerLite
One of the more generous free tiers in email marketing. Growth beyond a few thousand subscribers invites a comparison.
Published plans, side by side
Every figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page and is shown with the sentence it came from. Where a vendor publishes no plan prices, we say so rather than guess.
Mailchimp
- Free$0/mo
Free: 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day), 1 seat
- Essentials$13/mo
Essentials from $13/month (0–500 contacts): 10x contacts sends, 3 seats, 14-day trial
- Standard$20/mo
Standard from $20/month: 12x sends, 5 seats, 14-day trial
- Premium$350/mo
Premium from $350/month: 15x sends, unlimited seats
MailerLite
- Free$0/mo
Free: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 2 seats
- Comfort$12/mo
Comfort from $12/month: 50 active automations, 3 seats, 10 sites
- Power$25/mo
Power from $25/month: unlimited emails, seats and automations, 24/7 chat
Mailchimp vs MailerLite: common questions
- Does Mailchimp or MailerLite have a free plan?
- Mailchimp publishes a free plan (Free), while MailerLite has a free tier with limits.
- Which is cheaper once you start paying, Mailchimp or MailerLite?
- MailerLite has the cheaper first paid step: Comfort at $12/mo, against Essentials at $13/mo for Mailchimp. Both figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages.
- What is the difference between Mailchimp and MailerLite?
- On the criteria we check, only Mailchimp has mobile app and sso (saml); both offer public api. The table above lists every criterion side by side.