Mailchimp vs MailerLite: Journey Depth or Built-In Selling Tools
Mailchimp ties its paid tiers to automation depth and team access. Essentials allows flows of up to four steps, Standard and Premium allow up to 200 flows in Customer Journey Builder, and seats grow from one on Free to unlimited on Premium. MailerLite reaches further past the inbox: a hosted website builder with a blog, landing pages, and Stripe checkout for ebooks, paid newsletters and bookable sessions. Its workflow editor reacts to purchases, dates and field updates, and on Power one workflow can start from several triggers. Both free tiers cap the list at 250 contacts.
Mailchimp
Best for: Small and growing businesses that want newsletters, automated sequences and audience segmentation from one email-first platform.
MailerLite
Best for: Creators, small businesses, and lean marketing teams that need straightforward email campaigns, automations, signup pages, and audience growth tools.
| At a glance | Mailchimp | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $13/mo (varies by contacts) | $10.80/mo (varies by subscribers; annual billing) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Market Signal | 81 / 100 | 65 / 100 |
| Built for | Freelancer, Small Business, Mid-Market | Solo, Small Business, Enterprise |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, API | Web, API, iOS |
| Founded | 2001 | Not listed |
Choose Mailchimp if...
you want branching customer journeys with more than 20 starting points, SMS added to a US paid plan, and a directory of 300-plus integrations.
Choose MailerLite if...
you plan to sell downloads, paid newsletter subscriptions or booked sessions from the same account that sends your campaigns and hosts your site.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Dimension | Mailchimp | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Automation flows | Comparable | Comparable |
| Digital product sales | Stronger here | |
| SMS | Stronger here | |
| Integrations | Stronger here | |
| Mobile apps | Stronger here | |
| Free and trial options | Comparable | Comparable |
We name a winner for each dimension and never one overall winner. The right pick depends on which of these matters most for your use case.
Plans and Pricing Side by Side
Mailchimp
From $13/mo (varies by contacts) · Free plan · Free trial
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Essentials | $13 | Not listed |
| Standard | $20 | Not listed |
| Premium | $350 | Not listed |
Checked October 12, 2026 on Mailchimp's pricing page.
MailerLite
From $10.80/mo (varies by subscribers; annual billing) · Free plan · Free trial
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Comfort | $12 | $10.80 |
| Power | $25 | $22.50 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
Checked October 12, 2026 on MailerLite's pricing page.
Annual columns show the monthly cost when billed yearly. Vendors change prices often, so confirm on their site before you buy.
Market Signal Compared
| Score (0 to 100) | Mailchimp | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Market Signal | 81 | 65 |
| Market strength | 90 | 70 |
| Momentum | 48 | 47 |
| Traffic strength | 90 | 73 |
| Search visibility | 90 | 62 |
| Authority | 91 | 71 |
| Brand and market presence | 89 | 81 |
| Data confidence | Medium | Medium |
Market Signal measures each product's online footprint and momentum from Ahrefs and Semrush data, scored against other tools in its category (Email Marketing (42 tracked)). It shows market presence, which is not the same as product quality. Data through September 2026. How the score works
Integrations and Support
Both connect with: Shopify, WordPress, Canva
| Mailchimp | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Integrations only one lists | Salesforce, Meta | WooCommerce, Stripe, Zapier, Make, Squarespace |
| Support | Live chat, Email, Help center, Phone | Email, Help center |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese | English, Spanish, Polish |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, GA | Not listed |
From each vendor's integrations and support pages. Lists show notable integrations, not every connector.
Other Tools to Consider
If neither Mailchimp nor MailerLite fits, these are the closest alternatives we list, ordered by Overall Score.
HubSpot
Customer platform pairing a free CRM with marketing, sales, service, content and data hubs.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing platform with a transactional messaging API and sales CRM.
ActiveCampaign
Email marketing automation with branching workflows, site tracking and optional CRM add-ons.
Constant Contact
Small-business email marketing with event ticketing, SMS and Shopify automations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do the two free plans differ?⌄
Mailchimp's Free plan covers up to 250 contacts, sends a maximum of 500 emails a month or 250 a day, includes one seat and offers email support for the first 30 days. MailerLite's Free plan also stops at 250 subscribers but allows 2,500 monthly emails, three automations, one website, one landing page and two user seats, with community support.
How does MailerLite handle digital product sales?⌄
Products are paid through Stripe, and MailerLite adds no commission of its own. You can host PDFs, ebooks and images directly, link to videos or templates, charge for newsletter subscriptions, or take bookings for coaching and consultations. The product allowance rises from one on Free to five on Comfort and becomes unlimited on Power.
Does Essentials cover Mailchimp's automation features?⌄
Only partly. The pricing page limits Essentials to automation flows of up to four steps and leaves out the generative AI features, while Standard and Premium allow up to 200 flows and include the AI tools at no extra charge. Essentials has three seats, Standard has five and Premium has unlimited users.
How many people can share one account?⌄
Mailchimp counts seats by plan: one on Free, three on Essentials, five on Standard and unlimited on Premium, which also adds phone and priority support. MailerLite gives two seats on Free, three on Comfort and unlimited seats on Power, where 24/7 live chat joins email support.
Written by SEM Solutions Editorial Team
Last updated October 13, 2026
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