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Most buyers should pick MailerLite.
Choose MailerLite for newsletters, landing pages, websites, and selling digital products. Its free plan includes 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails; Mailchimp’s includes 250 contacts and 500 emails. MailerLite Comfort starts at $10.80 per month billed annually, or $12 monthly. Mailchimp Essentials is listed at $13 per month for 12 months under a promotion, with a 14-day trial. Choose Mailchimp for SMS and behavioral data features.
01Side by side
| Mailchimp | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $13/month Essentials promo; 12-month term | $10.80/month annually; $12 monthly |
| Free plan | 250 contacts; 500 emails/month; one seat | 250 subscribers; 2,500 emails/month; two seats |
| Best for | Businesses needing email, SMS, and behavioral marketing | Creators, newsletters, landing pages, and digital products |
| Core strength | Email and SMS campaigns with behavioral data | Email, websites, forms, and digital product sales |
| Learning curve | Not published; offers campaigns and automations | Not published; offers campaigns and automations |
| Integrations/data | Real-time behavioral data; predictive segmentation on Premium | MCP server lets AI tools manage email marketing |
| Team/seat costs | Three seats on Essentials; unlimited on $350 Premium | Three seats on Comfort; unlimited on $22.50 annual Power |
| Support | 24/7 email and chat on Essentials | Email on Comfort; live chat and email on Power |
Mailchimp Choose Mailchimp if
- Choose Mailchimp if you need email and SMS marketing together.
- Choose Mailchimp if behavioral data informs your audience campaigns.
- Choose Mailchimp if you need listed 24/7 support on Essentials.
MailerLite Choose MailerLite if
- Choose MailerLite if you want more monthly emails on a free plan.
- Choose MailerLite if you sell digital products or paid newsletters.
- Choose MailerLite if unlimited seats matter on its Power plan.
02Pricing compared
MailerLite is cheaper at the entry level. Its free plan allows 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails; Mailchimp’s free plan allows 250 contacts and 500 emails per month, capped at 250 per day. Those audience measures are not identical, so compare them against your list size and sending needs.
MailerLite Comfort starts at $10.80 per month when billed annually, or $12 month to month, for 500 subscribers. Mailchimp Essentials is listed at $13 per month for 12 months under a promotion and includes a 14-day trial. MailerLite’s paid plans scale with subscriber count; Power starts at $22.50 per month annually or $25 monthly. Mailchimp Standard is listed at $20 per month under a 12-month promotion, while Premium is $350. SMS is an add-on for Mailchimp; its price is not published here.
03Features and depth
MailerLite packs more publishing and selling tools into the email platform. It includes landing pages, websites, signup forms and pop-ups, plus tools for selling digital products and paid newsletter subscriptions. Its AI features include a writing assistant and AI-powered A/B testing. The Power plan adds unlimited automations, forms, sites, digital products and user seats, with fair-use limits on monthly emails.
Mailchimp’s stronger distinction is email and SMS marketing in one platform, with behavioral audience data and marketing automations. Its homepage describes AI tools that flag opportunities such as winning back inactive customers. The pricing page lists predictive segmentation and A/B and multivariate testing on Premium, not across every plan. Standard includes generative AI features. SMS is an add-on on Essentials, Standard and Premium, rather than part of the free plan.
For newsletters, landing pages and digital products, MailerLite covers more of the publishing workflow. For SMS and behavioral targeting, Mailchimp has the clearer fit. Neither set of features makes one a universal winner.
04Ease of use and learning curve
MailerLite’s drag-and-drop editor, forms, landing pages and website tools put common list-building tasks in one product. Its free plan is limited to 250 subscribers, three automations and knowledge-base support, so growing teams may need to move to a paid tier for more capacity and support. The review summary rates its ease of use well, but flags risk for senders with messy or unverified lists.
Mailchimp offers more plan and audience limits to track: Free has one audience and one seat, while Essentials has three of each. Support also changes by tier: Free email support lasts 30 days, Essentials includes 24/7 email and chat support. Our review summary describes it as workable for starters, while noting ecommerce users often consider other platforms.
Questions people ask
Is Mailchimp the best for email marketing?
There is no single best choice in our comparison. Mailchimp fits businesses that want email and SMS marketing, behavioral data and automation. MailerLite is a stronger match for newsletters, landing pages, websites and digital products, with a larger monthly email allowance on its free plan.
What is similar to MailerLite?
Mailchimp overlaps with MailerLite on email campaigns, automations and audience tools. It also offers SMS as an add-on and behavioral data features. MailerLite includes websites, landing pages and digital product sales tools, so it is not a one-for-one match if you use those features.
What are the top three email marketing tools?
The published information compares Mailchimp and MailerLite only, so it is not enough to name or rank a third tool. Between these two, MailerLite has the lower listed entry price, while Mailchimp offers SMS add-ons and behavioral audience features. The right choice depends on your required features and list size.
Which is cheaper, MailerLite or Constant Contact?
We can’t establish that from the published pricing information because it includes MailerLite and Mailchimp prices, but no Constant Contact plans or rates. MailerLite Comfort starts at $10.80 per month with annual billing, or $12 month to month, for 500 subscribers.