SFDIFY
The strongest MailerLite alternatives depend on what you want next. Brevo starts lower on price and adds SMS [1], Kit has a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers aimed at creators [2], and ActiveCampaign goes deeper on automation with plans that start at $15 a month billed yearly [3]. GetResponse adds webinars and courses [4], Campaign Monitor leans on design and agency tools [5], and Mailchimp offers a 14-day trial of its Standard plan [6].
MailerLite is a good product. Its Free plan includes "up to 250 subscribers, 2 user seats, and 2,500 monthly emails" along with campaigns, automations, a website, a landing page and signup forms [7]. Paid plans start with Comfort at $12 a month and Power at $25 a month [7], and MailerLite says "Pricing is based on usage, not feature access" [7]. You can try paid features free for 14 days with no credit card [7].
Why look for a MailerLite alternative? Usually it is a question of fit: a list that has grown past the free tier (on Free, sending is locked once you pass 250 active subscribers [7]), a need for webinars or courses, a sales team that wants CRM features next to email, or a creator business built around paid newsletters and sponsorships. Each platform below fits one of those needs, with trade-offs.
How we chose
We compared six well-known email marketing platforms that a MailerLite user is likely to consider: GetResponse, Campaign Monitor, Brevo, Kit, Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign. For each we read the official homepage and pricing page on 2026-11-08 and noted prices, free plans, trials, sending limits and highlighted features. This is a desk review of vendor pages, not hands-on testing, and prices change often, so check the pricing page before you buy. Two of the six (GetResponse and Campaign Monitor) pay us a referral fee; that did not change the order or what we wrote about them.
MailerLite alternatives at a glance
| Product | Best for | Starting price | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Budget email plus SMS | Free plan; Starter $9/month [1] | Free plan sends up to 300 emails per day [1] |
| Kit | Creators and newsletter writers | Free up to 10,000 subscribers [2] | Paid newsletters and sponsorships [8] |
| ActiveCampaign | Advanced automation and CRM add-ons | $15/month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts [3] | 950+ automation recipes [3] |
| GetResponse | Webinars, courses and ecommerce funnels | $19/month [4] | Unlimited monthly email sends on every plan [4] |
| Campaign Monitor | Design-led teams and agencies | Lite $13/month for up to 500 contacts [5] | 250+ integrations [5] |
| Mailchimp | Familiar all-rounder with many integrations | Free under 250 contacts; Standard from $20/month [6] | 300+ integrations [6] |
Brevo — the closest swap on price
Brevo is the natural first stop if you like MailerLite's simplicity but want more channels in one account. It describes itself as one platform for "email marketing, SMS" and other channels [9].
Verified features: The Starter plan includes a drag-and-drop editor, templates, an AI content generator, advanced segmentation and forms [1]. Standard adds marketing automation with "an unlimited number of automated, multi-step workflows", A/B testing and AI send time optimization [1].
Pricing: There is a free plan with no credit card needed; once your account is approved you can send "up to 300 emails per day" [1]. Starter is listed at $9 per month and Standard at $18 per month, with 10% off for yearly billing [1]. Starter starts "From 5,000 emails per month" [1].
Strengths: Low entry price, a free plan, and SMS and transactional email in one place.
Limitations: Automation workflows start on Standard, not Starter [1], so the cheapest plan is not a full MailerLite Comfort replacement. Removing the Brevo logo on Starter is a paid extra listed at $10.80 per month [1].
Best fit: Small businesses that want to keep costs close to MailerLite's while adding text messaging or transactional email.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) — built for creators
If your list is the business, Kit is designed around that. It highlights running a paid newsletter, selling digital products and setting up "welcome sequences, launches, and nurture campaigns" [8]. This is also the usual answer when people compare MailerLite vs ConvertKit.
Verified features: The Free plan includes unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited email broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and selling digital products and subscriptions [2]. The Creator plan adds "Unlimited Visual Automations", unlimited email sequences, RSS campaigns and 24/7 email and chat support [2]. Kit also lists newsletter sponsorships [8].
Pricing: Free covers "up to 10,000 subscribers" [2]. Creator is listed at "$33 /mo $390 billed yearly" for 1,000 subscribers, and paid plans come with a 14-day free trial with no credit card required [2].
Strengths: The most generous free subscriber limit in this list and monetization tools built into the product.
Limitations: Automations and sequences are a paid-plan feature [2], and the Creator price is well above MailerLite's Comfort starting price of $12 a month [2] [7]. Teams running ecommerce or B2B sales may find it narrower than ActiveCampaign or Brevo.
Best fit: Newsletter writers, course creators and authors who want to earn directly from their list.
ActiveCampaign — deeper automation
ActiveCampaign is the step up when MailerLite's automations feel too simple. It says it can "Integrate and connect over 1,000 apps" [10], and its pricing page lists multi-step marketing automation and "950+ automation recipes" [3]. This is the comparison behind most MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign searches.
Verified features: The Pro plan adds predictive sending at each contact's best time, conditional content, advanced segmentation and attribution and conversion tracking [3]. An Enhanced CRM is offered as an add-on with pipelines and sales engagement [3].
Pricing: Starter starts at $15 a month, Plus at $49 and Pro at $79, each "Billed yearly for 1,000 contacts" [3]. Pro includes "12,000 email sends / month" and 3 user seats at that level [3].
Strengths: Rich automation logic, a large recipe library and a path to CRM features as sales needs grow.
Limitations: The pricing page lists no free plan (there is a free trial [10]), and the CRM features most sales teams want are add-ons rather than built in [3]. For a simple newsletter it is more tool than you need.
Best fit: Marketing teams with several customer journeys, and B2B companies that want email and sales follow-up connected. If your sales process does not fit an off-the-shelf CRM, our custom CRM development team can connect email data to a system built around your pipeline.
GetResponse — webinars, courses and funnels
GetResponse suits MailerLite users who want more than email in the same account. It positions itself as an "EMAIL MARKETING & AUTOMATION PLATFORM" [11]. This is the main question in MailerLite vs GetResponse comparisons: do you need webinars and courses?
Verified features: Every standard plan includes "Unlimited monthly email sends", AI content generators, a welcome email series, a landing page builder and signup forms [4]. Marketer adds unlimited automation workflows, abandoned cart recovery and sales funnels; Creator adds webinars, a website builder and a course creator [4].
Pricing: Monthly plans start at $19 for Starter, $59 for Marketer and $69 for Creator, with 18% off when paid yearly [4]. Pricing is "bracketed by list size, starting at $19 per month for unlimited messages to 1,000 subscribers" [4]. There is a 14-day free trial of premium features [4].
Strengths: Webinars, courses and ecommerce funnels in one platform, and unlimited sends on paid plans.
Limitations: Starter includes only "1 custom automation workflow" [4], so the automation upgrade over MailerLite really starts at $59 on Marketer. The Free account adds a GetResponse badge to every message [4].
Best fit: Coaches, educators and online stores that would otherwise pay for a separate webinar or course tool.
Campaign Monitor — design and agencies
Campaign Monitor is a good match if polished design and client management matter more than the lowest price. It highlights Marketing Studio for generating on-brand campaigns, an AI Email Booster, and a "visual journey designer" for automation [12].
Verified features: Lite includes custom coded templates, drip campaigns, unlimited signup forms, AI Writer, pre-built journeys and transactional emails [5]. Essentials adds "Unlimited email sends", unlimited automated emails and inbox preview; Premier adds send time optimization and phone support [5]. It lists "250+ integrations", including Salesforce and Google Analytics [5].
Pricing: For 0–500 contacts, Lite is $13 a month, Essentials $31 and Premier $171 on monthly billing [5]. Annual plans get a 10% discount [5]. A general free trial is offered [5].
Strengths: Strong design and journey tools, team template management on Premier, and agency features.
Limitations: Lite caps sending at "5x subscriber emails/month" [5], and unlimited sends start at Essentials, at $31 a month on monthly billing, while MailerLite's Power plan with unlimited monthly emails starts at $25 [5] [7].
Best fit: Agencies and brand-focused marketing teams that send polished campaigns to mid-sized lists.
Mailchimp — the familiar all-rounder
Mailchimp is where many MailerLite users started, and some go back for its integrations and reporting. It points to "300+ Integrations" [13]. We cover it in more depth in our Mailchimp alternatives guide.
Verified features: Standard and Premium include marketing automation with "Up to 200 flows", while Essentials is limited to "Up to 4 flow steps" [6]. Generative AI features are a no-cost add-on on Standard and Premium [6].
Pricing: Standard is free for 14 days and then "starts at $20/month" [6]. The Free plan is for businesses with "fewer than 250 contacts" and has a send limit of "Max of 500/mo or 250/day" [6].
Strengths: A large integration directory and automation flows on the Standard plan.
Limitations: The Free plan is smaller than MailerLite's on sends and does not include removing Mailchimp branding [6]. Overages apply if you exceed contact or send limits [6].
Best fit: Teams that already depend on Mailchimp integrations.
How to choose a MailerLite alternative
Start with the reason you are leaving, then match it to a tool:
- Cost at a small list size: Brevo's Starter plan is the lowest listed paid entry point here [1], and Kit's free plan covers the largest list [2].
- Better automation: ActiveCampaign if automation is the core of your marketing; GetResponse Marketer if you also want funnels.
- Webinars and courses: GetResponse Creator bundles both [4].
- Creator monetization: Kit, for paid newsletters and sponsorships [8].
- Design and agencies: Campaign Monitor.
- Integrations your team already uses: Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign.
Price your real list size, not the entry tier: every vendor here scales by contacts or subscribers. If you are still deciding what email marketing tools for small business actually need to do, our email marketing automation platforms guide covers the basics.
FAQ
What is the best MailerLite alternative for a small budget?
Brevo has a free plan that sends up to 300 emails per day and a Starter plan listed at $9 per month [1]. Kit is free for up to 10,000 subscribers, though automations need a paid plan [2].
MailerLite vs ConvertKit (Kit): which is better for creators?
Kit is built around creator income, with paid newsletters, digital product sales and sponsorships [8], and its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers [2]. MailerLite's free plan covers 250 subscribers, but its paid Comfort plan starts at $12 a month [7].
MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign: when is it worth switching?
Switch when you need more advanced automation. ActiveCampaign lists 950+ automation recipes, and its Pro plan adds predictive sending and conditional content [3]. Its Starter plan starts at $15 a month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts [3].
MailerLite vs GetResponse: what does GetResponse add?
GetResponse's Creator plan adds webinars, a website builder and a course creator [4], and its plans include unlimited monthly email sends [4]. Monthly pricing starts at $19 for 1,000 subscribers [4].
What is the best email marketing platform overall?
There is no single winner, so compare plans at your real list size. MailerLite prices by subscribers and sending volume [7].
Our recommendation
If you want the most similar experience at a low price, try Brevo first. Creators should start with Kit, and teams that have outgrown MailerLite's automation should compare ActiveCampaign with GetResponse Marketer. Move one segment first, check deliverability, then migrate the rest. If you need help wiring email into a custom go-to-market stack, see our GTM engineering services.
Sources
- Brevo pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- Kit pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- ActiveCampaign pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- GetResponse pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- Campaign Monitor pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- Mailchimp marketing pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- MailerLite pricing — checked 2026-11-08
- Kit homepage — checked 2026-11-08
- Brevo homepage — checked 2026-11-08
- ActiveCampaign homepage — checked 2026-11-08
- GetResponse homepage — checked 2026-11-08
- Campaign Monitor homepage — checked 2026-11-08
- Mailchimp homepage — checked 2026-11-08
