MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Pricing, Free Plans and Which to Choose in 2026
MailerLite vs Mailchimp compared on free-plan limits, entry prices, contact-based costs at 500 to 15,000 contacts, and migration steps. Prices checked 7 October 2026.
By the editorial team. Prices checked 7 October 2026 against each vendor's public pricing page.
The short answer
For most small senders choosing between these two, MailerLite is the better default when the main goal is a low monthly bill and a free plan that covers real sending volume. Its Free plan allows up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and its paid Comfort plan starts at $12 a month billed monthly, or $10.80 a month billed annually, for the 500-subscriber starting tier. Mailchimp's free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 sends in a single day. At 500 contacts, its Essentials plan is $13 a month billed monthly, and its Standard plan starts at $20 a month.
Mailchimp is the stronger choice when you already work inside its ecosystem, when you want to test a paid plan for 14 days before committing (its pricing page lists a 14-day Standard trial), or when you care most about its brand and its library of connected tools. The rest of this page sets out the figures, the trade-offs at each list size and a practical route for moving an existing list.
How the two pricing models work
The two vendors price differently, and that difference matters more as your list grows than the entry price does.
MailerLite prices by subscriber tier. Your monthly email allowance depends on which subscriber tier you sit in. On the Comfort plan, the monthly allowance is ten times the subscriber-tier ceiling. At the 500-subscriber starting tier, that works out to 10 × 500 = 5,000 emails a month. The Power plan starts at $25 a month billed monthly, or $22.50 a month billed annually, and includes unlimited monthly emails at the same starting tier.
Mailchimp prices by contact count. Each contact band carries a monthly price and a monthly send allowance, so sending volume rises with the band. Standard starts at $20 a month for the default 500-contact selector, which includes up to 6,000 emails a month at that size. Above that, the bands step up: 2,501 to 5,000 contacts is $100 a month with up to 60,000 emails, 5,001 to 10,000 contacts is $135 a month with up to 120,000 emails, and 10,001 to 15,000 contacts is $230 a month with up to 180,000 emails.
In practice, a MailerLite bill is driven by how many subscribers you hold, while a Mailchimp bill is driven by which contact band you fall into. A list that sits just over a band edge can cost noticeably more on Mailchimp than a list just under it, so it is worth checking your exact count before you pick a band.
Comparison at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (plan and billing) | Free plan | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Small lists that grow steadily, and senders who want a low monthly cost | Comfort from $12/mo billed monthly, or $10.80/mo billed annually (500-subscriber tier) | Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month | Costs rise by subscriber tier, and prices above the listed tiers need a quote from the pricing page |
| Mailchimp | Teams already on its platform, and senders who want its wider set of connected tools | Essentials $13/mo billed monthly (500 contacts); Standard from $20/mo (500 contacts) | Up to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, with a 250-per-day maximum | The free plan's send cap is tight, and the price steps up with each contact band |
What each plan costs at realistic list sizes
The table below uses the contact or subscriber counts that most small senders reach at each stage. Where a vendor's public pricing page does not show a price for that size, the cell says so rather than estimating one.
| List size | MailerLite (plan, billing, monthly price) | Mailchimp (plan, billing, monthly price) |
|---|---|---|
| 250 subscribers or contacts | Free plan: $0, up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month | Free plan: $0, up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month |
| 500 subscribers or contacts | Comfort: $12/mo billed monthly, or $10.80/mo billed annually. Power: $25/mo billed monthly, or $22.50/mo billed annually | Essentials: $13/mo billed monthly. Standard: $20/mo, up to 6,000 emails a month |
| 5,000 subscribers or contacts | Pricing on request for this size on the MailerLite pricing page | Standard, 2,501 to 5,000 band: $100/mo, up to 60,000 emails a month |
| 10,000 subscribers or contacts | Pricing on request for this size on the MailerLite pricing page | Standard, 5,001 to 10,000 band: $135/mo, up to 120,000 emails a month |
| 15,000 subscribers or contacts | Pricing on request for this size on the MailerLite pricing page | Standard, 10,001 to 15,000 band: $230/mo, up to 180,000 emails a month |
Two readings of this table are worth keeping in mind. At 500 contacts, the gap is small: MailerLite Comfort is $12 a month billed monthly, against Mailchimp Essentials at $13 a month billed monthly. Over a year, the monthly Comfort rate comes to $12 × 12 = $144, and the annual rate comes to $10.80 × 12 = $129.60, so billing annually saves $14.40 a year on that plan. Mailchimp's Essentials prices above 500 contacts are not shown on its public pricing page at the time of checking, so a comparison at those sizes needs a quote from Mailchimp.
Above 500, the comparison depends on the list size you are planning for. Mailchimp publishes a price at 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 contacts, but MailerLite's public page does not give a figure at those sizes, so this page does not compare them directly.
MailerLite: where it fits and where it falls short
What it does well for small senders
MailerLite's strongest point is the free plan. Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month is a practical allowance for a newsletter that is just starting, a small online shop with a modest list, or a consultant who mails clients once or twice a week. Because the free plan's send allowance is 2,500 a month, a sender with 250 subscribers who mails each of them ten times a month stays inside it. That is a larger monthly send volume than Mailchimp's free plan allows, which caps sends at 500 a month.
The paid ladder is also simple to read. Comfort is the lower-cost paid plan, and Power adds unlimited monthly emails at the same 500-subscriber starting tier for $25 a month billed monthly or $22.50 a month billed annually. For a sender who expects to send heavily relative to list size, the Power plan's unlimited monthly emails removes the need to track send volume against an allowance.
Where it falls short
MailerLite's price rises by subscriber tier, and its public page does not show a figure for every size. If your list is likely to pass 500 subscribers in the next year, ask for a quote at your target size before you build a budget around the Comfort or Power price. The starting tier is clearly priced; the larger tiers are less visible.
New accounts may go through an approval step, and some industries are restricted. Read the acceptable-use terms before you move a list that depends on a particular type of mailing, and allow time for any review before a campaign date.
Pricing and plan details: MailerLite pricing page.
Mailchimp: where it fits and where it falls short
What it does well
Mailchimp is the more established platform, and it is the stronger choice when your mailing sits inside a wider set of tools. Its Standard plan carries a 14-day trial on its pricing page, which lets you test a paid plan against your own list before you commit. Essentials at 500 contacts is billed monthly at $13, which is a useful option if you want to pay month to month and do not need the Standard plan's larger send allowance.
For teams that already run their store, forms or sales tools on Mailchimp's connected apps, moving away to save a few dollars can cost more in lost time than it saves. In that situation the trade-off favours staying, and the price comparison above should be read as the cost of the platform rather than the whole decision.
Where it falls short
The free plan is the tightest of the two. Up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 sends in a single day, leaves little room for a list that is growing. A sender with 250 contacts who mails each contact twice a month uses the whole free allowance, and any extra send has to wait.
The price moves in steps. A list that grows from 5,000 to 5,001 contacts moves from the $100 band to the $135 band, and the send allowance rises with it. Plan around the band you will be in for the next year, not the one you are in today, and avoid building a budget that depends on a list sitting just under a band edge.
Essentials prices above 500 contacts are not shown on the public page at the time of checking. For a larger Essentials list, request a quote before you compare it with MailerLite.
Pricing and plan details: Mailchimp pricing page.
Decision table: which tool for which need
The table below matches the most common needs to the tool that fits them, with the reason based on the figures above.
| If you need | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A free plan for a list under 250 with frequent sends | MailerLite | Its free plan allows 2,500 emails a month, against Mailchimp's 500 sends a month |
| The lowest paid price at 500 contacts | MailerLite | Comfort is $12 a month billed monthly, or $10.80 billed annually, against Essentials at $13 billed monthly |
| A paid plan you can trial for two weeks | Mailchimp | Its pricing page lists a 14-day Standard trial |
| Unlimited monthly emails on a paid plan | MailerLite | Power includes unlimited monthly emails at the 500-subscriber starting tier, from $25 a month billed monthly |
| A tool your team already uses across connected apps | Mailchimp | Switching has a time cost that a price gap at 500 contacts may not cover |
| A list likely to exceed 10,000 contacts within a year | Get quotes from both | Mailchimp publishes prices in that range, but MailerLite's public page does not show a figure there |
How to choose between them
Start with your list size and your send frequency, not with the brand. Count the subscribers or contacts you hold today, then estimate the number you expect in twelve months. Next, count how many emails you send in a typical month: a weekly newsletter to 250 people is 1,000 sends a month, which fits MailerLite's free plan and sits above Mailchimp's 500-send free cap.
Then decide how you want to pay. If you want the lowest monthly figure at 500 contacts, MailerLite's Comfort plan is the sharper price. If you want to pay month to month and expect to trial the paid product first, Mailchimp's Essentials billing and 14-day Standard trial are the relevant options.
Finally, look at what else sits on your side of the decision. If your forms, storefront or sales tools are already connected to Mailchimp, the cost of moving can outweigh a small monthly saving. If nothing is connected yet, the choice is mostly about price and send volume, and the tables above should settle it.
Setup and migration checklist
Moving an existing list is safer when you treat it as a short project rather than an export and import. The steps below apply whichever direction you move in.
| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Count and classify | Record the current subscriber or contact count, and split the list into active, inactive and unsubscribed groups | Your price band depends on the count, and unsubscribed or bounced addresses should not be imported |
| 2. Confirm consent | Keep a record of how each address opted in, and bring over only addresses with a clear opt-in | Sending to people who did not agree to receive email puts the whole list at risk |
| 3. Map fields | Match names, tags, segments and custom fields to their equivalents on the new platform | Personalisation and segmentation break quietly when fields are not mapped |
| 4. Rebuild the core automations | Recreate the welcome sequence and the two or three flows that earn the most, rather than every automation | A small set of working flows is easier to test than a full copy of the old account |
| 5. Send a test to a small segment | Send one campaign to a known internal group and check rendering, links and unsubscribe handling | Catches formatting and tracking errors before they reach the full list |
| 6. Switch sending domains | Set up authentication records for the new platform and keep the old one active until the switch is complete | Mail authentication affects deliverability, and a gap in sending can cost you engagement |
| 7. Cancel after the last send | Run the old account until the final campaign on it has gone out, then cancel the paid plan | Avoids paying for two platforms and keeps a fallback during the first weeks |
When moving to MailerLite, check its free-plan limit against your list size before you start, since the subscriber ceiling of 250 is the first threshold you will cross. When moving to Mailchimp, confirm which contact band your count falls into, because a list that sits just over a band edge changes the monthly price at once.
Pricing summary for this comparison
Every figure on this page comes from the public pricing pages of the two vendors, checked on 7 October 2026. Plan names, billing views and list sizes are stated next to each price. Where a vendor did not show a price for a size, this page says so rather than filling the gap with an estimate. Prices can change, so confirm the current figure on the pricing page before you sign up or change plans.
MailerLite: mailerlite.com/pricing. Mailchimp: mailchimp.com/pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Is MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp?
At 500 contacts it is slightly cheaper on a monthly basis: MailerLite Comfort is $12 a month billed monthly, against Mailchimp Essentials at $13 a month billed monthly. The gap is small, and Mailchimp's Standard plan starts higher at $20 a month. Above 500 contacts, Mailchimp publishes prices in its bands, and MailerLite's public page does not show figures at the same sizes, so a direct comparison at 5,000 or more contacts needs a quote from MailerLite.
Which free plan allows more sending?
MailerLite's free plan allows up to 2,500 emails a month for up to 250 subscribers. Mailchimp's free plan allows up to 500 sends a month for up to 250 contacts, with no more than 250 sends in a single day. For a list under 250 that sends often, MailerLite's free plan gives more room.
Does Mailchimp offer a trial?
Yes. Mailchimp's pricing page lists a 14-day Standard trial, and it also shows a free-month offer on its Premium plan. Check the pricing page for the terms that apply when you sign up.
What does MailerLite's Power plan include that Comfort does not?
The main difference is the monthly email allowance. Comfort's allowance is ten times the subscriber-tier ceiling, which is 5,000 emails a month at the 500-subscriber starting tier. Power includes unlimited monthly emails at the same starting tier. Power costs $25 a month billed monthly, or $22.50 a month billed annually.
Which tool is better for a small online shop?
It depends on what the shop already uses. If its storefront and other tools are connected to Mailchimp, the cost of moving can outweigh the price difference at 500 contacts. If the shop is starting from nothing, MailerLite's free plan and lower Comfort price make it a sensible first choice, and the send allowance on the free plan covers a typical small list.
How do I move my list without losing subscribers?
Export only active and opted-in addresses, map your fields before importing, and send a test campaign to an internal group. Keep the old account running until your final campaign on it has gone out, and set up sending authentication on the new platform before you switch volume across. The migration checklist above lists these steps in order.
Will the prices on this page stay the same?
Not necessarily. The figures here were checked on 7 October 2026. Vendors change their plans and prices, and the pricing pages are the authoritative source. Use the figures on this page to shape your comparison, then confirm the current price for your exact list size before you choose.
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