Comparison — from the record, 2026-08-26
MailerLite vs Mailchimp: what the pricing pages actually say
OUR PICK
Our pick between these two: MailerLite, and it isn't close.
Both have free plans for tiny lists — but MailerLite's free tier includes more (2,500 emails a month, automations, a landing page), its $12/month entry is the real price rather than a promo, and nothing doubles at month 13. Mailchimp's advertised prices are 12-month promos, and every paid plan caps how many emails you may send.
The other way: Pick Mailchimp only if you're locked into its ecosystem — its marketplace of integrations is the largest in the category, and if a tool you depend on connects to Mailchimp first, that convenience can be worth the pricing games.
How to read this page: every number below was read from the vendor’s own public pricing page on the date shown, and the pages are re-checked daily. Currencies differ because that is what each vendor showed an EU visitor. Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you subscribe through one we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Per
our method, that never changes a number or a verdict. Source links always point to the vendor’s plain page.
The two pricing pages, side by side
MailerLite — USD, read 2026-08-26
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Free | Free | up to 250 | 2,500 monthly emails, 2 seats, 3 automations, 1 landing page, community support |
| Comfort | $12/mo ($10.8 annual) | from 500 (scales) | 5,000 monthly emails, 3 seats, 50 automations, 10 landing pages, removes MailerLite logo |
| Power | $25/mo ($22.5 annual) | from 500 (scales) | Unlimited emails, unlimited seats, unlimited automations & landing pages, 24/7 live chat |
| Enterprise | Custom | 200K+ | Custom volume, dedicated support |
Source: https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing · read 2026-08-26 (UTC) · Prices shown at the 500-subscriber base tier; annual billing saves 10% (annual per-month rates shown alongside). Prices rise with subscriber count. New Comfort/Power plan structure.
Mailchimp — USD, read 2026-08-26
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Free | Free | Under 250 | Core features; sending pauses if contact or send limit is exceeded |
| Essentials | $13/mo | starts at 500 | $6.50/mo first 12 months (promo). Sends capped at 10x contacts, 3 seats, automation flows limited to 4 steps |
| Standard | $20/mo | starts at 500 | $10/mo first 12 months (promo). Sends capped at 12x contacts, 5 seats, up to 200 automation flows, generative AI add-on |
| Premium | $350/mo | unlimited | $175/mo first 12 months (promo). Sends capped at 15x contacts, unlimited seats, priority support |
Source: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/ · read 2026-08-26 (UTC) · Prices shown are the 'starts at' base tier (500 contacts) as read from the page; every paid plan was displayed with a 50%-off-for-12-months promo. Prices rise with contact count.
What the record says
This is the most-searched budget pairing in email marketing, and the pricing pages settle it faster than any feature list.
MailerLite's numbers mean what they say. Free: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 3 automations, a landing page — a small newsletter can live there indefinitely. Comfort at $12/month (500-subscriber base, $10.80 on annual) adds 5,000 monthly emails and 50 automations; Power at $25 removes every cap. The only promo on the page is a 50%-off first-month code, and it's labelled as exactly that.
Mailchimp's page is promo-first: the visible $6.50 and $10 are 12-month discounts on real prices of $13 (Essentials) and $20 (Standard), at a 500-contact base that climbs through bands. Its free tier covers under 250 contacts with core features — and sending pauses if you exceed limits. Most importantly: every paid plan caps monthly sends at 10–15× your contact count.
The send-cap comparison is stark at the budget end: MailerLite Comfort gives a 500-subscriber list 5,000 monthly emails for $12. Mailchimp Essentials gives the same list 5,000 sends for $13 — after a promo year at $6.50 that will have taught you the wrong price. Same ceiling, less honest road to it. And when you outgrow the cap, MailerLite's answer is $25 for unlimited; Mailchimp's is a higher band of the same capped structure.
Beyond the price tag
Editors & ease
MailerLite's editor is repeatedly rated among the cleanest in the category — a genuine pleasure for beginners. Mailchimp is also polished and famously familiar; most tutorials on the internet assume it.
Ecosystem
This is Mailchimp's real advantage: the largest integration marketplace in email marketing, plus brand familiarity with clients and agencies. MailerLite covers the essentials (including Claude and ChatGPT integrations, per its own page) but can't match the long tail.
Beyond email
MailerLite quietly bundles a creator toolkit even on cheap tiers: websites, landing pages, paid digital products and bookings. Mailchimp's extras concentrate in higher tiers and its ecommerce reporting.
Questions people actually search
Which free plan is better?
MailerLite's: 250 subscribers with 2,500 monthly emails, automations and a landing page, versus Mailchimp's under-250 tier with core features and sending that pauses over the limit. Both read from the vendors' pages, 26 Aug 2026.
Is Mailchimp's $6.50 price real?
It's a 12-month promo. The durable price is $13/month for Essentials at the 500-contact base — and it rises with contact count.
Which is cheaper long-term?
At comparable list sizes MailerLite is cheaper in year two by construction: its prices don't jump after a promo year, and its $25 Power tier buys unlimited sending that Mailchimp doesn't sell at any small-business tier.
When is Mailchimp the right pick?
When its integration marketplace is the deciding factor — if your stack connects to Mailchimp first, that's a legitimate reason to accept the pricing structure. Go in knowing the promo maths.
THE VERDICT, ONE MORE TIME
Our pick between these two: MailerLite, and it isn't close.
Both have free plans for tiny lists — but MailerLite's free tier includes more (2,500 emails a month, automations, a landing page), its $12/month entry is the real price rather than a promo, and nothing doubles at month 13. Mailchimp's advertised prices are 12-month promos, and every paid plan caps how many emails you may send.
We verified the prices and plan limits on both vendors' own pages (dates shown above). Feature descriptions are aggregated from the vendors' public materials. What we did not verify is listed in full in our method. The method →
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