Compare / MailerLite vs Mailchimp
MailerLite vs Mailchimp
Both are well-known email platforms with free plans, but the free tiers are not close. Mailchimp is the bigger brand; MailerLite gives you far more room and more features before asking for money.
This is a full breakdown: list limits, automations, the editor, and what happens to the price as your list grows, so you can pick the one you will not regret in six months.
The short version
Start on MailerLite. You get more subscribers, more than ten times the monthly sends, and real automations on the free plan. Only choose Mailchimp's free tier if you are already locked into its ecosystem.
| MailerLite | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Free subscribers | 500 subscribers | 250 contacts |
| Free monthly sends | 12,000 emails/mo | 1,000 sends/mo, 500/day |
| Automations on free | Full automation builder | Single-step only |
| Landing pages & sites | Included free | Basic only |
| Branding in emails | MailerLite logo on free | Mailchimp logo on free |
| First paid tier | From ~$9/mo | From ~$13/mo |
What each free tier actually does
The detail that decides it: what you can really do on each free plan, and where it stops.
MailerLite free plan
500 subscribers, 12,000 emails a month
On MailerLite's free plan you can run a real 400-person newsletter, send a weekly issue, and add a welcome automation that fires when someone subscribes, all without paying. You can build the signup form, host the landing page behind it, and even publish a small website. You hit the wall at 500 subscribers, or earlier if you want to remove the MailerLite logo from the footer.
What you can do
- Email up to 500 subscribers, 12,000 sends a month
- Build multi-step automations (welcome series, etc.) on the free plan
- Create landing pages, signup forms, and a basic website
- Use the drag-and-drop editor with a clean template set
What you can't
- Go past 500 subscribers without upgrading
- Remove the MailerLite branding from emails
- Use the newsletter HTML editor or auto-resend to non-openers
- Get live chat support after the first 30 days
Mailchimp free plan
250 contacts, ~1,000 sends a month
Mailchimp's free plan holds 250 contacts and about 1,000 sends a month with a 500-a-day cap. In practice that means one weekly email to a 250-person list uses roughly a quarter of your monthly sends, so it works for a tiny list you email occasionally. Automations are single-step only, so you can send one welcome email but not a real onboarding sequence.
What you can do
- Store 250 contacts and send ~1,000 emails a month
- Use a single-step automation (one welcome email)
- Pick from basic templates in the editor
- Run one audience with basic signup forms
What you can't
- Build multi-step customer journeys on free
- A/B test, schedule sends, or remove Mailchimp branding
- Grow past 250 contacts without paying
- Get support beyond the first 30 days
List size and sending limits
This is the gap that matters most. MailerLite's free plan holds 500 subscribers and lets you send 12,000 emails a month, so a 500-person list can get a newsletter roughly twice a week with room to spare. Mailchimp's free plan holds 250 contacts and about 1,000 sends a month, so the same 250-person list emailed weekly burns through the entire monthly allowance. In practice MailerLite gives a new list far more runway before either limit forces an upgrade.
Automations
MailerLite includes its full multi-step automation builder on the free plan. You can build a real welcome series, trigger emails on a signup or a link click, and branch the flow, all without paying. Mailchimp restricts free accounts to single-step automations, which means one welcome email but not a sequence. If automated onboarding matters to you at all, this alone settles it.
Editor, templates and landing pages
MailerLite's drag-and-drop editor is the cleaner of the two, and the free plan also includes landing pages, signup forms, and even a basic website builder, so you can run an entire funnel in one place. Mailchimp's editor is more powerful but busier, and its free landing pages and templates are more limited. For most people getting started, MailerLite feels faster to work in.
Pricing as you grow
Free does not last forever, so the upgrade path matters. MailerLite's paid plans start around $9/mo for 500 subscribers and scale gently, roughly $18/mo at 2,500 and around $39/mo at 10,000. Mailchimp gets expensive faster: its Essentials plan starts around $13/mo for 500 contacts and climbs steeply, often costing noticeably more than MailerLite at the same list size, partly because it bills on total contacts rather than active subscribers. Over a year the difference is real money.
Deliverability and support
Both land in the inbox reliably; neither has a deliverability problem that should sway your choice. On support, both offer email and chat help for the first 30 days on free, after which Mailchimp drops free users to the knowledge base while MailerLite keeps 24/7 email support on most paid tiers. It is a minor edge to MailerLite, not a dealbreaker either way.
Who should pick which
Pick MailerLite if
- You are starting a new list and want the most free runway
- You want automated welcome sequences without paying
- You value a clean editor and free landing pages or a website
- You care about a gentle, predictable price as you scale
Pick Mailchimp if
- You are already inside the Mailchimp ecosystem
- You need a specific integration only Mailchimp offers
- You run a tiny list you email rarely and want the familiar brand
The verdict
For almost anyone starting a new list, MailerLite is the better free plan and it is not close: more subscribers, more than ten times the monthly sends, a real automation builder Mailchimp keeps for paid plans, and a cheaper path as you grow.
The only reason to start on Mailchimp is if you are already inside its ecosystem or specifically need an integration only it has. Otherwise start on MailerLite, and you will go much further before you ever see a paywall.
FAQ
Is MailerLite or Mailchimp better for free?
MailerLite. It gives 500 subscribers, 12,000 monthly sends, and full automations, versus Mailchimp's 250 contacts, ~1,000 sends, and single-step automations only.
Is MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp as you scale?
Generally yes. MailerLite's paid plans start around $9/mo and scale gently, while Mailchimp's bill on total contacts and climb faster, often costing more at the same list size.
Can I build an automated welcome sequence for free?
On MailerLite, yes, its free plan includes the multi-step automation builder. On Mailchimp's free plan you only get single-step automations, so one welcome email but not a sequence.
Can I move from Mailchimp to MailerLite?
Yes. Export your contacts from Mailchimp as a CSV and import them into MailerLite, then rebuild your campaigns and automations.