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Pricing checked 23 Oct 2026

MailerLite review: cheap and simple, with caps to watch

MailerLite is the low-cost default for small lists. The pricing is simple, but the free plan is small and Comfort caps monthly emails, so check the details against how often you send.

On this page
  1. What each plan includes
  2. What’s good
  3. What’s not so good
  4. Who should choose MailerLite
  5. Who should skip it
  6. What an operator should check before paying
  7. Your first hour on MailerLite
  8. Alternatives
  9. About this review
  10. Frequently asked questions
Hands-on status: not hands-on tested for this page. Pricing and features here come from MailerLite's own pages, checked 23 Oct 2026. The advice about lists and growth is from my own newsletter experience, not a test of MailerLite. How we review.
Free option
Free plan, up to 250 subscribers (2,500 emails/month)
Cheapest paid
Comfort $12/mo monthly, $10.80/mo billed yearly (at 500 subscribers)
Priced on
Subscriber count (price shown for 500 subscribers)
Selling paid subs
Paid subscriptions are offered; check MailerLite for the current fee before relying on it
Trial
14-day free trial of all features, no credit card required

Checked 23 Oct 2026. Source: MailerLite pricing page. Prices are USD list prices; they change.

What each plan includes

From MailerLite’s pricing page on 23 Oct 2026 (prices at 500 subscribers unless stated):

  • Free ($0): 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, automations, a landing page, signup forms, 2 user seats, 100+ integrations. Knowledge-base support.
  • Comfort ($12/mo monthly, $10.80/mo billed yearly): 5,000 monthly emails, 50 automations, 10 forms, 10 sites, 5 digital products, 3 seats, email support, branding removal.
  • Power ($25/mo monthly, $22.50/mo billed yearly): unlimited monthly emails, unlimited automations, forms, sites, digital products and seats, live chat and email support.
  • Enterprise (custom, 200K+ subscribers): dedicated IP, deliverability support, onboarding.

MailerLite says every paid plan gets its full feature set and you pay more for bigger lists or more sending.

What’s good

  • Low entry price. Comfort at $12 a month (or $10.80 yearly) is the cheapest mainstream paid entry point on this site, apart from Moosend’s.
  • Free plan includes automations, a landing page and signup forms.
  • Unsubscribed and bounced contacts don’t count towards your billable total, per its pricing page. Billing counts anyone active at any point in the cycle, so a contact you delete mid-cycle still counts until the next one.
  • A 14-day free trial of all features with no credit card required.

What’s not so good

  • The free plan is small: 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with knowledge-base support only.
  • Comfort caps monthly emails (10 times the top of your subscriber tier, which is 5,000 at the 500-subscriber tier). A weekly send to 500 people is about 2,000 emails, which is fine; a daily send to 500 is about 15,000 a month, which isn’t.
  • Power costs more than Mailchimp Standard at the same list size on the pages we checked ($25 vs $20 at 500). See Mailchimp vs MailerLite.
  • Not a growth platform. There’s no recommendation network or ad marketplace on its pricing page.

Who should choose MailerLite

  • Small businesses with lists in the hundreds or low thousands.
  • Newsletter writers who want a cheap paid tier with automations.
  • Anyone who wants a free plan with automations for a very small list.

Who should skip it

  • Daily or high-frequency senders on a budget: Comfort’s cap will bite; check Power or consider Brevo, which prices by emails sent.
  • People who want a huge free plan: Kit’s is free to 10,000; see free newsletter platforms.
  • Creators who want monetisation tools: compare beehiiv.

What an operator should check before paying

  1. Calculate monthly emails: list size × sends per month. If it passes the Comfort cap at your size, price Power instead.
  2. Test the automation limits: Comfort has 50 automations, which is plenty for most, and the free plan lists free automations.
  3. Check support needs: free has knowledge-base only; chat comes with Power.
  4. Export before you start and know your exit; see the migration checklist.

Your first hour on MailerLite

  1. Create a free account and a signup form.
  2. Build a welcome automation, which the free plan lists.
  3. Calculate monthly emails (list size times sends) against the plan cap.
  4. Import 50 contacts and check statuses and dates.

Alternatives

About this review

This is a research-based review, not a hands-on test: we’ve read MailerLite’s pricing page (checked 23 Oct 2026, linked above and on the pricing tracker). We show no star ratings. The MailerLite link on this page is currently a plain link; MailerLite has an affiliate programme and we plan to join, after which links may earn commission. Our verdict wouldn’t change. See the disclosure and how we review.

Frequently asked questions

Is MailerLite free?

There's a free plan for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, with automations, a landing page, signup forms and 2 user seats. Support is the knowledge base only.

How much does MailerLite cost?

On its pricing page on 23 Oct 2026, at 500 subscribers: Comfort was $12 a month monthly or $10.80 a month billed yearly, and Power was $25 a month monthly or $22.50 a month billed yearly. Prices rise with list size.

What is the difference between Comfort and Power?

At 500 subscribers, Comfort lists 5,000 monthly emails, 50 automations, 10 forms, 10 sites and 3 seats. Power lists unlimited monthly emails and unlimited automations, forms, sites and seats, plus live chat support.

Does MailerLite count unsubscribed contacts?

Its pricing page says unsubscribed and bounced subscribers don't count towards your subscriber total. Inactive but subscribed contacts do count, so pruning still saves money.

Is MailerLite better than Mailchimp?

For small lists it's usually cheaper and simpler. Mailchimp has more integrations. See our Mailchimp vs MailerLite comparison for the plan-by-plan view.