For a small list, MailerLite’s free plan lasts longer. Both stop at a small list (Mailchimp’s at 250 contacts, MailerLite’s at 250 contacts), but MailerLite’s allows 2,500 emails a month against Mailchimp’s 500 emails a month, gives you 2 users instead of 1 user, and includes a few short automations, where Mailchimp’s free plan has none. When you pay, the first step at 500 contacts is $12 a month on MailerLite Comfort and $13 a month on Mailchimp Essentials; at 1,000 contacts it’s $19 a month and $26.50 a month.
The caps side by side
Here is everything each free plan includes and what ends it, as each vendor states it.
Mailchimp
- What the free plan includes
- Users: 1
- Contacts: 250
- Emails per month: 500
- Emails per day: 250
- Audiences: 1
- What ends it
- Contact 251 places a hold on sending until you upgrade or reduce contacts; more than 500 sends in a month or 250 in a day also stop sending.
Checked
MailerLite
- What the free plan includes
- Users: 2
- Contacts: 250
- Emails per month: 2,500
- Website and landing page: 1 each
- Automations: 3 active automations, up to 5 steps each
- What ends it
- Subscriber 251, more than 2,500 emails in a month, or a third user seat.
Checked
And the paid plans, each figure the whole monthly bill for the list size, not a price per contact:
| Plan (US name) | Monthly | Yearly, per month | Promotional price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | From $13 | Not listed | $93.50 for the first 12 months (monthly) |
| Standard | From $20 | Not listed | $114.75 for the first 12 months (monthly) |
| Premium | From $350 | Not listed | $297.50 for the first 12 months (monthly) |
Essentials: Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts for the first 12 months; the price shown is the 5,001-10,000 band. Lower bands have no discount.
Standard: Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts for the first 12 months; the price shown is the 5,001-10,000 band. Lower bands have no discount.
Premium: Save 15% on 10,000+ contacts for the first 12 months.
| Up to | Monthly | Yearly, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $13 | Not listed |
| 1,500 | $26.50 | Not listed |
| 2,500 | $45 | Not listed |
| 5,000 | $75 | Not listed |
| 10,000 | $110 | Not listed |
| Up to | Monthly | Yearly, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $20 | Not listed |
| 1,500 | $45 | Not listed |
| 2,500 | $60 | Not listed |
| 5,000 | $100 | Not listed |
| 10,000 | $135 | Not listed |
| Up to | Monthly | Yearly, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | $350 | Not listed |
| Plan (US name) | Monthly | Yearly, per month | Promotional price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort | From $12 | From $10.80 | None |
| Power | From $25 | From $22.50 | None |
| Up to | Monthly | Yearly, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12 | $10.80 |
| 1,000 | $19 | $17.10 |
| 2,500 | $33 | $29.70 |
| 5,000 | $49 | $44.10 |
| 8,000 | $69 | $62.10 |
| 10,000 | $89 | $80.10 |
| Up to | Monthly | Yearly, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $25 | $22.50 |
| 1,000 | $39 | $35.10 |
| 2,500 | $49 | $44.10 |
| 5,000 | $69 | $62.10 |
| 8,000 | $99 | $89.10 |
| 10,000 | $129 | $116.10 |
The two vendors cut their price bands at different points. Mailchimp’s first paid band runs up to 500 contacts and the next to 1,500; MailerLite’s run to 500, then 1,000, then 2,500. Price your own list size on both, not the band names.
Which free plan ends first for your list?
A newsletter once or twice a month, under the free cap. Both fit. Two sends to a full list use all of Mailchimp’s 500 emails a month, so there’s no room for a test or a resend; MailerLite’s leaves plenty. Mailchimp’s free plan also has no scheduling, so you press send yourself.
A weekly email, under the free cap. Only MailerLite’s fits. Five sends to even 150 people is 750, already past Mailchimp’s 500 emails a month.
Two of you need to log in. MailerLite’s free plan has 2 users; Mailchimp’s has 1 user.
You want a welcome email that sends itself. MailerLite’s free plan includes 3 active automations, up to 5 steps each. Mailchimp’s has no automation flows until Essentials. Its signup forms also have an optional final welcome email, separate from automation flows and off by default; Mailchimp’s pages don’t say whether the free plan can send it, so check your signup form settings.
Your list passes the free cap. Both end. Mailchimp puts sending on hold, and MailerLite locks sending, campaigns and automations included, until you upgrade or trim the list. Remember that Mailchimp’s count includes people who unsubscribed unless you archive them.
What the first paid step costs
On MailerLite, the step is Comfort. It’s $12 a month up to 500 subscribers, $19 a month up to 1,000, and $33 a month up to 2,500. It removes MailerLite’s logo, gives you 3 users, and allows 50 automations, with monthly sending of 10 times the subscriber tier (5,000 at 500 subscribers, 100,000 at 10,000).
On Mailchimp, the step is Essentials. It’s $13 a month up to 500 contacts, $26.50 a month up to 1,500, and $45 a month up to 2,500. It removes Mailchimp’s branding, adds scheduling, gives you 3 users, and allows automation flows of up to 4 steps per flow, enough for a welcome email or a short series. Its monthly sending is 10 times the contact limit.
Read both figures at your own size, and remember the counting difference: on Mailchimp, the people who unsubscribed count toward your band until you archive them, so a list that looks like 520 may really be a 450-person list in the lower band once it’s tidied.
A worked example
Say you run a one-person hair salon with about 230 clients on your list. You send a short email every Monday with the week’s open appointments, and you’d like new clients to get a welcome email with your booking link.
A weekly email to 230 people is up to 1,150 sends in a month with five Mondays. That’s well past Mailchimp’s free 500 emails a month and well inside MailerLite’s 2,500 emails a month. The welcome email is one of MailerLite’s free automations. So MailerLite’s free plan covers all of it, with its logo on your emails; on Mailchimp you’d be paying for Essentials from the first month, at $13 a month.
Watch the list. When it passes MailerLite’s free cap, sending locks until you upgrade, and Comfort up to 500 is $12 a month. Before you import, keep only clients who agreed to hear from you; a booking alone isn’t a sign-up.
Our view
For a small list, MailerLite’s free plan lasts longer in almost every case: same list cap, far more sending, a second login, and a welcome email on its own. Mailchimp’s free plan earns its place for a list under the cap that hears from you once or twice a month, especially if you already know the tool. What choosing MailerLite gives up is a well-known name your next hire may already use. What choosing Mailchimp gives up is room: at a weekly rhythm, a second person, or a welcome series built as an automation flow, you’re paying. If you’re already on Mailchimp and wondering whether to move, when leaving Mailchimp pays weighs it.
Your next step
Write down three numbers this week: your list size (people who agreed to hear from you, unsubscribes left out), how many emails you send each month, and how many people need to log in. If you send weekly, want a welcome email, or need two logins, start MailerLite’s free plan; MailerLite pricing shows what Comfort costs when you grow. If you send once or twice a month to a list under the cap and like Mailchimp, start Mailchimp’s free plan; Mailchimp pricing covers Essentials. When a free email marketing plan is enough compares every free plan in this guide.