MailerLite vs Mailchimp
These two cover much the same ground for much the same sender, and the difference is what each plan includes against ecosystem. MailerLite's free plan adds automations, a website and a landing page, with Comfort from $12 a month. Mailchimp lists 300+ integrations and chat support on paid plans. Budget-minded lists go to MailerLite; connection-heavy stacks stay with Mailchimp.
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Choose MailerLite ifyour list is growing, you need campaigns, automations, forms and landing pages on a low plan, and email support is enough for you.
Choose Mailchimp ifyou rely on a particular integration with other software, want chat support on the entry paid plan, and accept a bill that counts contacts who never open.
MailerLite and Mailchimp side by side
| MailerLite | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Our email marketing rank | #2 of 12 | #9 of 12 |
| Established in | Lithuania | United States |
| Pricing | Free to 250 subscribers; paid per subscriber, published | Free tier to 250 contacts; paid plans per contact per month, published |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Comfort from $12 per month, billed monthly, priced by subscriber tier | Essentials from €11.51 per month for the first 12 months, priced by contact tier |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A growing list that needs the fundamentals at a low entry price | A non-specialist who needs to send a decent newsletter tomorrow |
| Not for | A team that needs multi-branch lifecycle automation | A store where every euro of send cost has to earn its keep |
Both are reviewed in full in our email marketing ranking: MailerLite and Mailchimp.
Where they differ
MailerLite 2 · Mailchimp 2 · open 0- 01
Price for a growing list
Both free plans stop at 250 contacts, but MailerLite allows 2,500 emails a month against Mailchimp's 500. MailerLite's Comfort plan starts at $12 a month billed monthly; Mailchimp lists Essentials from €11.51 a month for the first 12 months. The paid prices are in different currencies, yet MailerLite's free allowance is clearly larger and its Power plan has unlimited monthly emails.
Edge: MailerLite
- 02
What comes in the box
MailerLite's free plan includes three automations, one website, one landing page and two seats; Comfort raises that to 50 automations and ten sites and pages. Mailchimp's free plan has one seat and no automation flows, and Essentials limits a flow to four steps. Judged on what a user on a low plan actually receives, MailerLite is the more complete package.
Edge: MailerLite
- 03
Integrations with other software
Mailchimp lists 300+ integrations on every plan. MailerLite lists 100+, among them Shopify, WooCommerce and Stripe, and a Zapier connection that reaches thousands more apps. Both cover the common shop platforms, so the gap matters mainly for niche tools. When one specific connection is essential, Mailchimp's longer list makes it the lower-risk pick.
Edge: Mailchimp
- 04
Support on the entry plans
Mailchimp's Essentials plan comes with 24/7 email and chat support, and phone support is reserved for Premium. MailerLite's Comfort plan comes with email support, with live chat on Power, from $25 a month, and during the 14-day trial of paid features. Mailchimp's free plan gets email support for 30 days only. At the cheapest paid tier, Mailchimp offers more channels.
Edge: Mailchimp
When neither fits
If the plan involves lifecycle automation with many conditional branches, MailerLite's builder runs out and Mailchimp is not the specialist either; ActiveCampaign is built for it. For a large list mailed only occasionally, Brevo's send-volume pricing beats both per-subscriber models.
MailerLite or Mailchimp: questions
4 answersIs MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp?
MailerLite's Comfort plan starts at $12 a month billed monthly and Mailchimp lists Essentials from €11.51 a month for the first 12 months, so the entry prices are close and in different currencies. MailerLite's free plan allows 2,500 monthly emails against Mailchimp's 500.
Why would someone choose Mailchimp over MailerLite?
For the ecosystem and support channels. Mailchimp lists 300+ integrations against MailerLite's 100+, includes 24/7 chat on its Essentials plan and offers phone support on Premium. It is also the easiest tool to hand to a non-marketer.
Can MailerLite handle automation as well as Mailchimp?
On low plans it offers more. MailerLite's free plan has three automations and Comfort 50, with unlimited automations and multiple triggers on Power. Mailchimp's free plan has no flows, Essentials caps a flow at four steps and Standard allows up to 200 flows.
How many subscribers do the free plans allow?
Both stop at 250. MailerLite's free plan covers up to 250 active subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails and two seats; sending locks once the subscriber limit is passed. Mailchimp's covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month with one seat, and pauses sending beyond the limit.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- MailerLite pricing page: plan prices, free plan limits, automations, seats, landing pages and support per plan.
- MailerLite integrations page: Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe and Zapier integrations.
- Mailchimp pricing page: Mailchimp prices, free plan limits, flow limits, support channels and 300+ integrations.