MailerLite vs Mailchimp: the short verdict
MailerLite is the lower-cost choice at every list size in our data, with the same send allowance as Mailchimp on its cheapest paid plan and much longer automations included. Mailchimp costs more, but it lists more integrations, sells SMS as an add-on, and its Standard plan adds AI, predictive segmentation and send time optimization.
| MailerLite | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan | Comfort | Essentials |
| Price at 10,000 subscribers | $89 | $110 |
| Emails on that plan | 10× contacts per month | 10× contacts per month |
| Free plan | 250 contacts and 2,500 emails a month | 250 contacts and 500 emails a month |
MailerLite vs Mailchimp pricing in 2026
Both price their cheapest paid plan by list size, and MailerLite Comfort costs less than Mailchimp Essentials at every size from 500 to 50,000 subscribers. The gap is about a dollar at 500 and largest at 25,000. The table adds SendPulse, which has no send cap: it is the lowest of the three at 1,000 and from 10,000 up, MailerLite is lowest at 2,500 and 5,000, and the two tie at 500.
| List size | MailerLiteComfort | MailchimpEssentials | SendPulseStandard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 subscribers | $12 | $13 | $12 |
| 1,000 subscribers | $19 | $26.50 | $18 |
| 2,500 subscribers | $33 | $45 | $38 |
| 5,000 subscribers | $49 | $75 | $52 |
| 10,000 subscribers | $89 | $110 | $78 |
| 25,000 subscribers | $179 | $270 | $159 |
| 50,000 subscribers | $319 | $385 | $281 |
| Emails included | 10× contacts per month | 10× contacts per month | unlimited emails |
Unlimited emails need the Power plan: $39 at 1,000 subscribers and $129 at 10,000.These are regular prices. The 1,000 row uses the 501–1,500 tier, so a list of up to 1,500 pays that price.From the 10,000-contact tier up, the pricing page leads with a 15% discount for the first 12 months: $93.50 on Essentials and $114.75 on Standard at 10,000 contacts.
Send limits and how each tool bills
MailerLite Comfort and Mailchimp Essentials both cap monthly sends at the same multiple of your subscriber count, about two emails a week to the whole list. MailerLite drops the cap on its Power plan. Mailchimp keeps a cap on every plan and also counts unsubscribed contacts until you archive them.
The monthly send limit is 10 times the contact limit on Essentials, 12 times on Standard and 15 times on Premium.Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward the contact limit; archived, cleaned and deleted contacts do not.On paid plans, going over the contact limit or the send limit does not interrupt sending; an additional charge appears on the monthly bill.
If you mail the whole list more than about twice a week, compare MailerLite Power or Mailchimp Standard with a tool that has no cap on its cheapest plan, such as SendPulse.
Free plans compared
MailerLite’s free plan and Mailchimp’s stop at the same subscriber count, but MailerLite allows more emails a month and includes a few automations, a landing page and a website. Mailchimp’s free plan has no automation and no scheduling. SendPulse’s free plan is the largest of the three on both counts.
| Tool | Subscriber limit | Emails | Vendor branding in emails | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SendPulse | 500 | 15,000 / month | Yes | 5 automation flows, 3 sender addresses |
| MailerLite | 250 | 2,500 / month | Yes | |
| Mailchimp | 250 | 500 / month | Yes | also capped at 250 sends a day |
| Tool | Automation | Forms and landing pages | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | 3 automations, 5 steps each | 3 forms, 1 landing page, 1 website | Community only |
| Mailchimp | Not included | Forms and landing pages | Email for the first 30 days |
| SendPulse | 5 flows | Subscription forms; landing pages are a separate product | 24/7 chat and email |
Automation and segmentation
MailerLite includes more automation on its cheapest paid plan than Mailchimp does: Comfort allows dozens of active automations with long workflows, while Mailchimp Essentials limits each flow to a few steps. MailerLite also offers dynamic segments on every plan. Mailchimp keeps advanced and predictive segmentation for Standard and Premium.
Active automations by plan: 3 with up to 5 steps on Free, 50 with up to 100 steps on Comfort, unlimited on Power, which also adds multiple automation triggers.Dynamic segments and interest groups are unlimited on every plan, Free included.
Automation is the main difference between the plans besides price: flows of up to 4 steps on Essentials, up to 200 flows on Standard and Premium, none on Free.Essentials has basic segmentation; predictive and advanced segmentation, behavioral targeting, dynamic content and send time optimization start on Standard.
AI features
Both tools have an AI writing assistant, on different plans. MailerLite includes it from Comfort, its cheapest paid plan. Mailchimp’s Intuit Assist is included on Standard and Premium and is not available on Essentials.
The AI writing assistant and smart sending are included from Comfort up.Intuit Assist, Mailchimp’s AI feature, is included at no extra cost on Standard and Premium and not on Essentials or Free; Mailchimp labels it beta, available to some users in select countries and in English only.
Team seats, support and integrations
On the cheapest paid plans both allow the same number of users. Support differs: MailerLite Comfort lists email support, Mailchimp Essentials lists email and chat. Mailchimp’s integration directory is the larger of the two.
User seats by plan: 2 on Free, 3 on Comfort and unlimited on Power.Seats per plan: 1 on Free, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Standard and unlimited on Premium.
Support by plan: community only on Free, 24/7 email on Comfort and 24/7 live chat and email on Power.Support per plan: email for the first 30 days on Free, 24/7 email and chat on Essentials and Standard, phone and priority support on Premium.
MailerLite’s pricing page lists 100+ integrations.Mailchimp’s pricing table lists 300+ integrations on every plan.
Channels beyond email
Neither is built for SMS or messengers. Mailchimp sells SMS as an add-on to paid plans in select countries; MailerLite lists no marketing SMS, only SMS in MailerSend, its separate transactional product. If you need SMS or WhatsApp next to email, look at a third tool.
| Tool | SMS | Telegram | Pay-as-you-go email | Course builder | Free SMTP tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Not listedSMS appears only in MailerSend, the separate transactional product | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listedplans include selling digital products and bookings | 500 emails/monthvia MailerSend, a separate product |
| Mailchimp | Yespaid plans, select markets | Not listed | Not listed | Yesemail credits instead of a plan; credit prices are not on the pricing page | Not listed | —transactional email is a paid add-on to Standard and Premium; up to 500 free sends for new users |
| SendPulse | Yespay per message, no plan; 10 free test SMS | Yeschatbots; official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider | Yeschatbots | Yes$48 per 10,000 emails at Standard features; credits valid 12 months | Yescourse builder; free tier: 1 course, up to 200 students | 12,000 emails/month50 messages/hour, 2 sending domains |
SMS is an add-on to paid plans in select countries: credits are bought in blocks, renew monthly and expire if unused.
A third option: SendPulse
SendPulse fits when the send cap is the problem. Its cheapest paid plan has no cap, and it is the lowest price of the three at 1,000 subscribers and from 10,000 up. At 2,500 and 5,000 MailerLite costs less.
SendPulse
No send cap; lowest of the three at 1,000 and from 10,000- At 1,000 subscribers
- $18/moStandard
- At 5,000 subscribers
- $52/moStandard
- At 10,000 subscribers
- $78/moStandard
- Emails on Standard
- unlimited emails
- Free plan
- 500 contacts, 15,000 emails/month
SendPulse Standard includes unlimited emails, and SMS and chatbots for WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger run from the same account. It is not the lowest price at every size: at 2,500 and 5,000 subscribers MailerLite Comfort is cheaper. Dynamic segmentation starts on its Pro plan, and its AI assistant needs your own API key after a free allowance.
Strong points
- Email, SMS and chatbots for WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger run from one account
- Standard plan includes unlimited emails at every list size
- Separate free tiers for SMTP, chatbots and the course builder
Limits
- Free plan stops at 500 subscribers and keeps SendPulse branding in emails
- Pay-as-you-go email credits expire after 12 months
- SMS is billed per message on top of the plan; none is bundled
- Chatbots beyond the free allowance are a separate paid plan
- A dedicated IP is listed only for the SMTP Pro and Enterprise plans
Which one to choose
- MailerLiteYou send a newsletter and a few automations, want a lower bill than Mailchimp at the same send allowance, and need email only.
- MailchimpA tool you depend on connects only to Mailchimp, you want SMS as an add-on, or you need AI and predictive segmentation and accept the Standard price.
- SendPulseYou mail your list more than about twice a week, your list is 10,000 or more, or you want SMS and messenger chatbots in the same account.
Frequently asked questions
Is MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp?
Yes, at every list size in our data, comparing MailerLite Comfort with Mailchimp Essentials billed monthly: $19 against $26.50 at 1,000 subscribers, $49 against $75 at 5,000 and $89 against $110 at 10,000. At 500 the difference is about a dollar.
Is MailerLite better than Mailchimp for a small business?
For a small business that sends a newsletter and a few automations, MailerLite does the same job for less, and its cheapest paid plan allows much longer automation workflows than Mailchimp Essentials. Mailchimp is the better fit if you depend on one of its integrations, or want AI and predictive segmentation and accept the price of its Standard plan.
Which free plan is better, MailerLite or Mailchimp?
MailerLite’s. Both stop at the same number of subscribers, but MailerLite allows more emails a month (250 contacts and 2,500 emails a month against 250 contacts and 500 emails a month) and includes a few automations, which Mailchimp’s free plan does not. Among the three tools on this page, SendPulse’s free plan is the largest: 500 contacts and 15,000 emails a month.
Do MailerLite and Mailchimp limit how many emails I can send?
Yes, both cheapest paid plans allow 10× contacts per month. MailerLite removes the cap on its Power plan. Mailchimp raises it on Standard and Premium but never removes it. SendPulse Standard has no send cap.
Should I switch from Mailchimp to MailerLite?
If you are on Mailchimp Essentials and the bill is the reason, the move saves money at every list size and keeps the same send allowance. From Mailchimp Standard, Comfort allows fewer sends per subscriber. Check two things first: that your store, CRM or form tool has a MailerLite integration, and that you do not need Mailchimp’s SMS add-on, since MailerLite lists no marketing SMS.
Sources
Every price and limit on this page comes from the vendor’s own public pages. How we choose and check.
- MailerLite: mailerlite.com/pricing — checked September 29, 2026
- MailerLite: mailerlite.com/pricing-mailersend — checked September 29, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/?currency=USD — checked September 29, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/compare-plans/?currency=USD — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing/transactional-email/ — checked September 29, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/help/about-mailchimp-pricing-plans/ — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/help/about-additional-charges/ — checked September 30, 2026
- Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/help/about-the-pay-as-you-go-plan/ — checked September 30, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/sms?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/messengers?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/edu?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/smtp?country=us — checked September 29, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/features/ai — checked October 2, 2026
- SendPulse: sendpulse.com/pricing/crm?country=us — checked October 2, 2026