4 Best Alternatives to MailerLite in 2026
By Noahlast updated pricing verified
From our data: Three of the five MailerLite alternatives listed here (Mailchimp, Brevo, and Kit) carry a genuinely free tier, matching MailerLite's own free plan, while ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact offer none, only a trial period before billing starts.
Mailchimp
ActiveCampaign
BrevoHow we picked
- Ranked using external review-platform ratings and volume: Mailchimp holds by far the largest sample (4.5/5 from 17,674 Capterra reviews), well above MailerLite's own 4.7/5 from 2,322 reviews, with Brevo (4.6/5, 3,512 reviews) and ActiveCampaign (4.6/5, 2,568 reviews) also carrying substantial samples.
- Verified, on-site pricing was weighted where confirmed: MailerLite's and Mailchimp's tiers each have independently verified, on-site pricing, while ActiveCampaign's current numbers are sourced from third-party pricing trackers since exact figures are no longer published on ActiveCampaign's own site.
- Free-tier availability was a factor: MailerLite, Mailchimp, and Brevo all offer a genuinely free tier, while ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact offer none, only a trial period before billing starts.
- Kit has no external rating recorded in our listing data, so it was ranked using its feature set and pricing structure alongside the other four alternatives' verified review signals.
Paid placement never alters editorial rank — read the full methodology.
MailerLite alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Best for | Standout | Biggest weakness | Learning curve | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLitereference | creators and small businesses that want an easy-to-use email marketing platform with a genuinely usable free tier before paying for more subscribers or automations | A permanently free plan for up to 250 subscribers that includes automation, landing pages, and a website builder, not just a stripped-down trial of the paid product. | Advanced deliverability and account-support features (dedicated IP, account audits, deliverability support) are reserved for the custom-quoted Enterprise tier, and the Free and Comfort plans' subscriber-based pricing means costs climb as a list grows, even for a small business that doesn't need Power's unlimited automations. | Low | Free tier · paid from $12/mo |
| Mailchimp | small businesses and e-commerce brands that want to run email and SMS campaigns with built-in automation and AI content tools without a separate marketing stack | A drag-and-drop email builder combined with e-commerce automation triggers (abandoned cart, order follow-up) and AI content tools, backed by 300+ third-party integrations. | Pricing scales with contact-list size and jumps sharply between tiers ($13 to $20 to $350/month), so growing lists get expensive fast, and reviewers describe the cost as disproportionate to list growth on the higher tiers; the Free plan's support is email-only and expires after 30 days. | Low | Free tier · paid from $13/mo |
| ActiveCampaign | growing businesses that need branching, behavior-triggered automations across email, SMS, and WhatsApp rather than a flat newsletter tool | Visual automation builder that triggers personalized email, SMS, and WhatsApp sequences off subscriber behavior, combined with built-in lead scoring across all channels. | Contact-based pricing climbs steeply as a list grows past the advertised starter tier, no exact numbers are published on ActiveCampaign's own site, and Capterra reviewers commonly cite an unintuitive page/form builder and recurring bugs requiring workarounds. | Moderate | From $15/mo |
| Brevo | small businesses and marketers with large but mostly-inactive contact lists who want to be billed by emails sent rather than penalized for contacts stored | Prices every plan by monthly email volume rather than contact-list size, so accounts with large stored contact lists don't pay the premium that contact-based competitors like Mailchimp charge for the same sending activity. | The Free plan caps out at just 300 emails/day (roughly 9,000/month), and features like marketing automation and landing pages require jumping past Starter to the Business tier, a bigger price step than some competitors' mid-tier plans. | Low | Free tier · paid from $9/mo |
| Constant Contact | small businesses and nonprofits under a few thousand contacts who want phone support and an all-in-one email, social, and landing-page tool | Phone support is included on every paid tier, including the entry-level Lite plan, which is uncommon among lower-priced email marketing competitors | No permanently free plan, and price climbs steeply with list size — reported as high as $425/month at 25,000 contacts — which pushes growing lists toward competitors like Mailchimp or MailerLite that offer either a free tier or gentler scaling. | Low | From $12/mo |
MailerLite
Constant Contact1.Mailchimp — best MailerLite alternative for small businesses and e-commerce brands that want to run email and SMS campaigns with built-in automation and AI content tools without a separate marketing stack
Mailchimp is the best MailerLite alternative for small businesses and e-commerce brands that want deep e-commerce automation triggers (abandoned cart, order follow-up) built directly into the platform, going beyond MailerLite's simpler automation set. Mailchimp's Free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, close to MailerLite's own Free plan (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month), and Essentials starts at $13/month, slightly above MailerLite's Comfort tier at $12/month. Mailchimp holds a 4.5/5 rating from 17,674 Capterra reviews, more than 7x MailerLite's own 2,322-review sample, and it integrates with more than 300 third-party tools including Shopify and WooCommerce for automated e-commerce triggers. AI-assisted content tools are included starting at the Standard tier. MailerLite is still the better choice for anyone who wants gentler pricing growth and longer free support: Mailchimp's pricing climbs steeply as contact-list size grows, jumping from $13 to $20 to $350/month across tiers, and Free-plan support ends after the first 30 days, while MailerLite's paid tiers start lower at $12/month and its Free plan includes real automation and a website builder, not just a stripped-down trial.
Compared to MailerLite: more than 7x the Capterra review volume (17,674 vs 2,322), deep e-commerce automation triggers (Shopify, WooCommerce) built in, 300+ third-party integrations
Wins:4.5/5 rating from 17,674 Capterra reviews, more than 7x MailerLite's 2,322-review sample · Deep e-commerce automation triggers (abandoned cart, order follow-up) via Shopify and WooCommerce integrations · 300+ third-party integrations, a broader ecosystem than MailerLite's 100+
Loses:Pricing climbs steeply as contact-list size grows, jumping from $13 to $20 to $350/month across tiers, versus MailerLite's gentler $12 to $25/month structure · Free-plan support ends after the first 30 days, while MailerLite's Free plan includes ongoing automation and a website builder · Advanced automation flows and predictive segmentation are gated behind the Standard and Premium tiers
Pros
- Free tier is genuinely usable for small lists up to 250 contacts.
- Drag-and-drop builder and template library make campaign creation fast for beginners.
- Deep e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce) enable automated triggers like abandoned-cart emails.
- AI content and automation tools are included starting at the Standard tier.
Cons
- Pricing climbs steeply as contact count grows, with users calling the cost disproportionate at scale.
- Advanced automation flows and predictive segmentation are gated behind Standard and Premium tiers.
- Free plan email support ends after the first 30 days.
- Premium tier jumps to $350/month, a large gap from Standard's $20/month.
Pricing: Free tier · paid from $13/mo — $13/month (Mailchimp Essentials) vs MailerLite's $12/month (Comfort) (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
2.ActiveCampaign — best MailerLite alternative for growing businesses that need branching, behavior-triggered automations across email, SMS, and WhatsApp rather than a flat newsletter tool
ActiveCampaign is the best MailerLite alternative for growing businesses that need branching, behavior-triggered automations across email, SMS, and WhatsApp rather than MailerLite's more limited 50-automation cap on its Comfort tier. ActiveCampaign's Starter tier runs roughly $15/month at 1,000 contacts billed annually (sourced from third-party pricing trackers, since exact figures are no longer published on ActiveCampaign's own site), close to MailerLite's Comfort tier at $12/month; both scale price with contact or subscriber count. ActiveCampaign holds a 4.6/5 rating from 2,568 Capterra reviews, slightly above MailerLite's 4.7/5 from 2,322 reviews but with a larger sample. Built-in lead scoring and a lightweight CRM reduce the need for a separate sales-tracking tool, and 1,000+ native integrations connect it to common e-commerce, CRM, and analytics platforms. MailerLite is still the better choice for anyone who wants a genuinely free tier or simpler onboarding: ActiveCampaign has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, its Starter and Plus tiers cap accounts at 1 user, and Capterra reviewers report the page and form builder as unintuitive with recurring bugs requiring workarounds.
Compared to MailerLite: branching, behavior-triggered automation across email, SMS, and WhatsApp, built-in lead scoring and a lightweight CRM, 1,000+ native integrations to e-commerce and CRM platforms
Wins:Branching, behavior-triggered automation across email, SMS, and WhatsApp, beyond MailerLite's 50-automation cap on the Comfort tier · Built-in lead scoring and a lightweight CRM reduce the need for a separate sales-tracking tool · 1,000+ native integrations connect it to common e-commerce, CRM, and analytics platforms
Loses:No free plan; only a 14-day trial, while MailerLite offers a permanently free tier for up to 250 subscribers · Starter and Plus tiers cap accounts at 1 user, forcing an upgrade for any team collaboration · Capterra reviewers report the page and form builder as unintuitive and hard to customize, with recurring bugs requiring workarounds
Pros
- Automation builder supports complex, multi-channel branching logic across email, SMS, and WhatsApp in one workflow.
- Built-in lead scoring and lightweight CRM reduce the need for a separate sales-tracking tool for small teams.
- Deliverability and reporting are frequently praised by reviewers as more detailed than basic email tools.
- 1,000+ native integrations connect it to common ecommerce, CRM, and analytics platforms.
Cons
- No free plan; only a 14-day trial, and pricing rises quickly as contact count grows past the entry tier.
- Starter and Plus tiers cap accounts at 1 user, forcing an upgrade for any team collaboration.
- Capterra reviewers report the page and form builder as unintuitive and hard to customize.
- Users report encountering bugs and inconsistent features that require repeated troubleshooting.
Pricing: From $15/mo — About $15/month (ActiveCampaign Starter, ~1,000 contacts, third-party sourced) vs MailerLite's $12/month (Comfort)
3.Brevo — best MailerLite alternative for small businesses and marketers with large but mostly-inactive contact lists who want to be billed by emails sent rather than penalized for contacts stored
Brevo is the best MailerLite alternative for marketers with large but mostly-inactive contact lists who want every plan to include unlimited stored contacts, priced by monthly email volume instead. Brevo's Free plan sends up to 300 emails/day with unlimited contacts, a different structure than MailerLite's Free plan, which caps at 250 subscribers regardless of send volume; Brevo's Starter tier runs from roughly $9/month for 5,000 emails, close to MailerLite's Comfort tier at $12/month. Brevo holds a 4.6/5 rating from 3,512 Capterra reviews, more than MailerLite's own 2,322-review sample. Every paid Brevo plan includes unlimited stored contacts, SMS, live chat, and a lightweight CRM bundled alongside email, and Enterprise pricing starts around $499/month for high-volume senders needing dedicated support. MailerLite is still the better choice for anyone who wants automation and a website builder included from the entry paid tier: Brevo's marketing automation and landing pages require jumping to the $18/month Business tier, a bigger step than MailerLite's Comfort tier, which already includes 50 automations and a website builder at $12/month.
Compared to MailerLite: every plan includes unlimited stored contacts billed by email volume instead of subscriber count, bundled SMS and live chat, larger Capterra review sample (3,512 vs 2,322)
Wins:Every paid plan includes unlimited stored contacts, billed by email volume rather than subscriber count the way MailerLite is · Bundles SMS, live chat, and a lightweight CRM alongside email in one platform · 3,512 Capterra reviews at 4.6/5, a larger sample than MailerLite's 2,322 reviews
Loses:Marketing automation and landing pages require the $18/month Business tier, a bigger step than MailerLite's $12/month Comfort tier, which already includes both · Free plan's 300 emails/day cap (roughly 9,000/month) is more restrictive for a large but active list than MailerLite's 2,500 emails/month at 250 subscribers · Some users report unclear account policy and compliance enforcement that can affect sending reliability
Pros
- Every paid plan includes unlimited stored contacts, since pricing is based on email volume instead.
- Free plan requires no credit card and includes core email marketing functionality.
- Bundles SMS, live chat, and a lightweight CRM alongside email in one platform.
- Transactional email and SMS APIs are available on the same account as marketing campaigns.
Cons
- Free plan's 300 emails/day cap is restrictive for anything beyond very small lists.
- Marketing automation and landing pages require the Business tier, a larger jump than Starter alone provides.
- Some users report unclear account policy and compliance enforcement that can affect sending reliability.
- Higher-volume Starter pricing (up to ~$69/month for 100,000 emails) scales quickly compared to flat-rate competitors.
Pricing: Free tier · paid from $9/mo — $9/month (Brevo Starter, from 5,000 emails) vs MailerLite's $12/month (Comfort)
4.Constant Contact — best MailerLite alternative for small businesses and nonprofits under a few thousand contacts who want phone support and an all-in-one email, social, and landing-page tool
Constant Contact is the best MailerLite alternative for small businesses and nonprofits that want phone support included on every paid tier, including the entry-level Lite plan, an uncommon inclusion at this price point that MailerLite's listing doesn't describe. Constant Contact's Lite tier starts at $12/month at the 500-contact base rate, essentially matching MailerLite's Comfort tier at $12/month, and Standard and Premium add A/B testing, segmentation, and advanced automation as list size grows. Constant Contact holds a 4.3/5 rating from 2,942 Capterra reviews, a larger sample than MailerLite's 2,322 reviews, though at a lower score (4.3 vs 4.7). Prepaying 12 months upfront cuts prices by up to 15% across every tier. MailerLite is still the better choice for anyone who wants to start for free: Constant Contact has no permanently free plan, only a short trial before billing starts, and price climbs steeply with list size, reported as high as $425/month at 25,000 contacts, well above MailerLite's more gradual scaling.
Compared to MailerLite: phone support included on every paid tier including entry-level Lite, larger Capterra review sample (2,942 vs 2,322) at a lower score (4.3 vs 4.7), 12-month prepay discount up to 15%
Wins:Phone support included on every paid tier, including entry-level Lite, not gated to a top plan · 2,942 Capterra reviews, a larger sample than MailerLite's 2,322 reviews, though at a lower 4.3 vs 4.7 score · 12-month prepay discount cuts effective monthly price by up to 15% across every tier
Loses:No permanently free plan; only a short trial before billing starts, versus MailerLite's genuinely free tier for up to 250 subscribers · Price scales steeply with contact list size, reported as high as $425/month at 25,000 contacts · Basic Lite tier lacks A/B testing and segmentation, which MailerLite includes even on its Free plan's automation features
Pros
- Phone support included on every paid tier, not gated to the top plan.
- Combines email, social posting, landing pages, and automation in one product.
- 12-month prepay discount cuts effective monthly price by up to 15%.
- 4.3/5 rating from nearly 3,000 Capterra reviews reflects a large, established user base.
Cons
- No permanently free plan; only a short trial before billing starts.
- Price scales steeply with contact list size, reported as high as $425/month at 25,000 contacts.
- Trustpilot reviews skew lower than Capterra, with recurring complaints about cancellation friction and auto-renewal billing.
- Basic Lite tier lacks A/B testing and segmentation, which are standard even on entry tiers at some competitors.
Pricing: From $12/mo — $12/month (Constant Contact Lite, 500-contact base) vs MailerLite's $12/month (Comfort)
Which one is right for you?
- You need deep e-commerce automation triggers like abandoned-cart emails.Mailchimp
- You want branching, behavior-triggered automation across email, SMS, and WhatsApp.ActiveCampaign
- You have a large but mostly-inactive contact list and want to pay by email volume, not contacts.Brevo
- You want phone support included on every paid tier, even the cheapest one.Constant Contact
- You want the largest independent review sample among these alternatives.Mailchimp
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to MailerLite?
- Yes. Mailchimp and Brevo both offer a genuinely free tier, similar to MailerLite's own free plan for up to 250 subscribers. ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact have no free plan, only a trial period before billing starts.
What is the closest alternative to MailerLite for creator monetization?
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is the closest match, with built-in support for selling paid newsletter subscriptions and digital products directly to subscribers, though its Creator tier starts at $25/month, more than double MailerLite's $12/month Comfort tier.
Can Mailchimp replace MailerLite?
- Mailchimp can replace MailerLite for businesses that want deep e-commerce automation triggers and 300+ integrations, backed by a 4.5/5 rating from 17,674 Capterra reviews, but its pricing climbs more steeply with list size, reaching $350/month at the Premium tier.
Which MailerLite alternative charges by email volume instead of contact count?
- Brevo prices every plan by monthly emails sent rather than contacts stored, so accounts with large but mostly-inactive lists don't pay the premium that contact-based competitors like Mailchimp or MailerLite charge for the same sending activity.
Which MailerLite alternative includes phone support on its cheapest plan?
- Constant Contact includes phone support on every paid tier, including its entry-level Lite plan at $12/month, an inclusion uncommon among lower-priced email marketing competitors.