MailerLite review: pricing, limits, and who it’s for
The cheapest serious option, with an approval process that bites.
The verdict
8.1/10StrongHow this score is built
- 1.Prices verified July 2026 against official pricing and docs pages, in USD, monthly billing unless stated. Where vendors only publish adjacent tiers, the 5,000-subscriber figure is interpolated and marked with a tilde.
- 2.We price the plan a solopreneur would really need, not the crippled entry tier: if branding removal or automation requires an upgrade, we say so.
- 3.Weaknesses are compiled from user reviews and community complaints, not vendor comparison pages.
- 4.Most tools here run affiliate programs paying between 25% and 60% recurring. We are not currently in any of them, and two entries make the point on their own: Kit, ranked second, is linked with a plain link we earn nothing on, and Mailchimp, whose program is the weakest in the category, is on the page purely because you asked about it. Where a link does earn us something, the button says so.
- 8.0 and up
- Strong. Wins its category on the criteria below, with a known trade-off.
- 7.0 and up
- Solid. Right answer for a specific reader, wrong one for others.
- 6.0 and up
- Adequate. Works, and something on this page does the same job better.
- under 6.0
- Weak. We would not buy it at this price.
MailerLite would be our pick on price alone: it undercuts everyone while keeping real automation and a pleasant editor. The reason it sits second is its enforcement culture. Accounts get approved manually, and affiliate links or imported lists can get you suspended mid-campaign. Know which kind of sender you are before choosing it.
Who this is for
It is the best price-to-quality ratio for content newsletters and simple product updates.
Price and free plan
- Price
- ~$15/mo
Growing Business: about $15/mo at 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing (less on annual). Around $29 to $39/mo at 5,000. Entry pricing from about $10/mo.
- Free plan
- 500 subs, automation incl.
Yes: 500 subscribers (cut from 1,000 in Sept 2025), automation included, but templates are locked to paid plans and MailerLite branding stays.
What holds up, and what does not
What holds up
- Cheapest cost per subscriber of any serious tool on this page
- Automation is available even on the free plan, which nobody else here offers
- Clean, modern interface with the gentlest learning curve of the group
Where it falls short
- Strict account approval, and documented sudden suspensions, notably for affiliate links and imported lists
- Support is slow on lower tiers
- Free plan ships without templates, so you build every email from scratch
Who should not buy MailerLite
Do not buy MailerLite if
- You are an affiliate marketer. This is not a footnote: MailerLite suspends accounts for affiliate-heavy sending, sometimes without warning. If your emails contain affiliate links, pick GetResponse or AWeber.
If that is you, buy GetResponse instead. It is ranked #1 on this page.
MailerLite at a glance
| Free plan | Flagged: reading in your favour. 500 subs, automation incl. |
|---|---|
| Price at 1,000 subs | Flagged: reading in your favour. ~$15/mo |
| Price at 5,000 subs | Flagged: reading in your favour. ~$29-39/mo |
| Automation | Flagged: reading in your favour. Full, even on free |
| Removes branding | Paid plans only |
| Support | Flagged: this reading costs you money. Slow on lower tiers |
| The catch | Flagged: this reading costs you money. Suspends affiliate senders |
Check the price
Straight answers
What will email marketing really cost me in year one?
Assume you grow from 0 to 2,000 subscribers. On Kit's free Newsletter plan that is $0, provided one welcome email is all the automation you need. On GetResponse Starter it is roughly $19 to $29 a month once you pass the free tier. On MailerLite, roughly $15 to $25. On Mailchimp Essentials, expect $26 to $45, because billing counts contacts including unsubscribed ones unless you archive them manually. So year one is either nothing or $200 to $350, and the fork is whether you need real automation.
Where MailerLite sits in the ranking
MailerLite is ranked #3 of 6 in our email marketing comparison. See every price and limit side by side before you decide.
Best Email Marketing Tool for Solopreneurs (2026)
Compare it against
- #1 in email marketingGetResponse reviewThe most complete toolkit per dollar for a one-person business.
- #2 in email marketingKit reviewThe most generous free plan in email, bolted to the most expensive upgrade.
- #4 in email marketingAWeber reviewBoring, reliable deliverability from a company older than Gmail.
Get the full comparison sheet
One spreadsheet with every price, limit and dealbreaker we track, updated when vendors change their plans. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.