Mailchimp vs MailerLite: 2026 Budget Email Marketing Comparison
Mailchimp vs MailerLite head-to-head for small businesses. Updated 2026 pricing, free plan limits, real user complaints, and feature-by-feature breakdown.
EmailTool™ Score
How we scoreComposite score based on features, pricing, deliverability, and reported friction severity.
Cost Calculator
Estimated monthly cost based on your contact list size.
Mailchimp
$46/mo
MailerLite
$35/mo
MailerLite saves you ~$11/mo at 5,000 contacts.
Estimates based on published starting prices with proportional contact scaling. Actual pricing varies by plan tier and billing cycle. Check vendor sites for exact quotes.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Mailchimp | MailerLite | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan Contacts | 250 contacts | 500 subscribers | ML |
| Free Plan Email Sends | 500/month | 12,000/month | ML |
| Free Plan Automation | Removed entirely in 2025 | Included on free plan | ML |
| Email Builder Quality | Polished with 100+ templates | Clean drag-and-drop, fewer templates | MC |
| Website Builder | Basic website builder | Full website builder with blog | ML |
| A/B Testing | Subject, content, send time (paid) | Subject line free; content on Advanced | MC |
| Integrations | 300+ native integrations | ~140 native, Zapier for rest | MC |
| Reporting & Analytics | Detailed with industry benchmarks | Standard metrics, click maps on paid | MC |
| Price at 5K Contacts | $75/mo (Essentials) | $39/mo (Growing Business) | ML |
| Price at 10K Contacts | $100/mo (Standard) | $73/mo (Growing Business) | ML |
| Landing Pages | Built-in on all plans | 10 on free, unlimited on paid | |
| Customer Support | Email support removed from free after 30 days | Email support on all plans (24/7 on paid) | ML |
Real Friction Points
Manually researched issues reported by actual users. Not AI-generated.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp's free plan was gutted to 250 contacts and 500 sends/month in January 2026, with automation completely removed. Reddit users report open rates dropping once lists hit 20K contacts due to shared server deliverability issues. Pricing scales aggressively — 5,000 contacts costs $75/month on Essentials, and Mailchimp bills for unsubscribed contacts and duplicates across audiences.
MailerLite
MailerLite halved its free plan from 1,000 to 500 subscribers in September 2025, frustrating longtime free users. Trustpilot and Reddit reviewers report sudden account terminations for alleged ToS violations without warning or explanation. Customer support is frequently described as 'shockingly poor' and unresponsive, and the transition from MailerLite Classic caused significant price increases and a worse subscriber counting model.
The Verdict
MailerLite is the clear budget winner — it offers 2x the free contacts, 24x the free email sends, and includes automation on the free plan that Mailchimp removed entirely. Mailchimp only wins on email builder polish, analytics depth, and integration count. For small businesses watching their spend, MailerLite delivers far more value per dollar.
Affiliate disclosure: Links below may earn us a commission. This does not affect our EmailTool scores or friction points. Full policy.