Email marketing Recommended

MailerLite

The cheapest serious email tool to start with as a solo operator.

If you have under 1,000 subscribers and you want a real platform without paying anything, MailerLite is the answer. The free plan is honest, the editor is the cleanest in the category, and you can upgrade to $10/mo once you outgrow the free limits. The ceiling is automation depth: when your flows need multi-condition logic or lead scoring, you graduate to ActiveCampaign or GetResponse.

4.3 / 5

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Starting price: Free / $10+
Free trial: Free plan
Category: Email marketing
Used by: 750K+ accounts

Reviewed by Sara Mitchell , Marketing Analyst · April 2026

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Scored breakdown

Tested over April 2026. Methodology →

Dimension Score Verdict

Features 4.0 Email, basic automation, paid newsletter, light website builder.

Usability 4.6 Easiest editor in the category. Solo operators ship in an afternoon.

Pricing 4.7 Free for 1,000 subs and 12,000 emails. Paid starts at $10/mo.

Deliverability 4.2 Strict signup approval pays off in inbox placement.

Automation depth 3.8 Linear flows, basic branching. Not multi-condition.

Support 4.0 Email support on free, chat plus priority on paid.

Who should use MailerLite?

Best for

Solo operators starting from zero subscribers who want a free plan that does not feel crippled
Newsletter writers and consultants under 1,000 subs who value a clean editor
Anyone moving off Substack or Beehiiv and wanting to keep a paid tier without giving up a take rate (MailerLite's paid newsletter is at lower fees than Substack)
Solopreneurs running a $0/mo marketing stack who need email plus a basic landing page in one tool

Skip if

You run an ecommerce store on Shopify and need product-feed-driven flows. Use Klaviyo or Omnisend.
You need multi-branch automation, lead scoring, or a real CRM. Use ActiveCampaign.
You want webinars, funnels, and email all bundled under one subscription. Use GetResponse.
You do not have a real domain or website yet. MailerLite often rejects accounts without one.

MailerLite pricing

Most popular

Free

$0/mo

Up to 1,000 subscribers

12,000 emails per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Basic automation (single trigger)
Signup forms and landing pages
Website builder (1 site)
MailerLite branding on emails

Solo operators under 1K subs validating a list

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Growing Business

$10/mo

500 subscribers, unlimited emails

Unlimited monthly sends
No MailerLite branding
Advanced automation (multi-trigger)
Auto resend campaigns
Sell digital products
Removal of branding

Newsletter creators ready to go pro on a tight budget

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Advanced

$20+/mo

All features unlocked

Custom HTML editor
Facebook integration
Smart sending and split testing
Promotion popups
Live chat priority support

Solo creators scaling toward 5K subs

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On top of plan price

Subscriber tier upgrades:Price climbs every 1,000 subscribers. A 5K-subscriber list on Growing Business runs about $39/mo as of May 2026.
Paid newsletter take rate:MailerLite's Sites + Subscriptions take rate is 0% on Advanced and 5% on Growing Business, plus Stripe processing.

Pros & cons at a glance

What works

Free plan is genuinely usable for the first 1,000 subscribers, not a teaser
Cleanest editor of the major email platforms, lowest learning curve
Built-in landing pages and a website builder included on free
Predictable, low pricing as the list grows up to 5K subs
Paid newsletter subscriptions at low platform fees

What doesn't

Strict signup approval rejects accounts without a real website or domain
Automation is single-branch only on free, multi-branch only on paid plans
No lead scoring, no real CRM, fewer integrations than ActiveCampaign
Reporting is basic compared to Klaviyo or HubSpot
Templates library skews simple, fewer dramatic designs

Frequently asked questions

Why does MailerLite reject some new accounts?: Free signups without a real domain or visible website often get flagged. The platform vets new accounts to keep the shared sending pool clean. Have a live site or social proof page ready before signing up.
Is the free plan actually free, or is it a trial?: It is permanently free for up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. No credit card required. There is no trial-then-charge gotcha.
Can MailerLite handle a paid newsletter business?: Yes. Sites + Subscriptions runs at 0% MailerLite take on Advanced ($20+/mo) plus Stripe processing fees. That is competitive with Beehiiv. Substack is 10%.
When should I upgrade from MailerLite to ActiveCampaign or GetResponse?: When you start drawing automation flows on paper that need multi-condition branching, lead scoring, or a CRM pipeline tied to email behavior. That usually happens around 5,000 to 10,000 subscribers, or when revenue per subscriber justifies the higher tool cost.
Is MailerLite better than Mailchimp for a solopreneur?: On price, yes. MailerLite stays cheaper at every list size up to 25,000 contacts and the editor is easier. Mailchimp wins on integration breadth and brand recognition, neither of which matters at solopreneur scale.

The bottom line

MailerLite is the right answer when your stage is $0 to maybe $30/mo and your job is one operator sending newsletters to under 5,000 subscribers. The free plan does what most paid plans elsewhere do, and the upgrade path stays cheap. The day you need real multi-branch automation, lead scoring, or a CRM, you graduate to ActiveCampaign or GetResponse and you do not look back. For a solo creator's first email tool in a $0/$50/$150 stack, this is the $0 slot.

4.3 / 5 our rating for MailerLite

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