Mailchimp vs MailerLite: Which Is Better for a Small Business?

Short answer: for most small businesses on a budget, MailerLite gives more for the money. Its free plan sends five times as many emails as Mailchimp’s, includes automations and two user logins, and its paid plans cost less at every list size I compared. Mailchimp is the stronger pick when you need many integrations, SMS and transactional email in one account, or branching automation from a well-known name, and it has offered big first-year discounts. Both free plans stop at 250 contacts, so the real decision is about what you pay, and what you get, after that.

Disclosure: SoftReviewLab is an affiliate of MailerLite but not of Mailchimp, so we may earn a commission if you sign up for MailerLite through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. This comparison is research-based: both sides come from each vendor’s pricing pages and help center, my reviews of each tool and customer reviews. See our affiliate disclosure.

The Free Plans, Side by Side

Free plans are where most people start comparing these two, and they are less alike than the shared 250-contact limit suggests:

The sending allowance matters most. With 250 contacts, Mailchimp’s 500 emails a month cover two newsletters, while MailerLite’s 2,500 leave room for weekly sends plus a welcome sequence, and its free plan runs three automations of up to five steps each. Mailchimp’s free plan also cannot schedule campaigns or run A/B tests, and it keeps Mailchimp branding in your emails.

One counting rule changes the picture on Mailchimp. Unsubscribed contacts still count toward the 250 limit until you archive them, so a free account can fill up with people who no longer get your emails. Mailchimp explains the fix in its help article on archiving and unarchiving contacts. MailerLite counts active subscribers only.

What You Pay as Your List Grows

Past 250 contacts, both tools price by list size. These are the month-to-month prices on each vendor’s pricing page in October 2026:

MailerLite also takes 10 percent off for paying a year at once. Mailchimp has discounted the first year instead: in October 2026 it offered new customers 50 percent off for 12 months, which can make it cheaper than MailerLite in year one. Compare the regular prices above, because they apply from month 13.

The plans are not perfect matches. MailerLite Comfort and Mailchimp Essentials are the entry plans, but Comfort includes far more automation, as the next section shows. MailerLite Power and Mailchimp Standard are the plans for growing teams, and Power includes unlimited sends and logins.

Automation on the Plans People Actually Buy

This is where the gap is widest for the price. MailerLite Comfort runs up to 50 automations with up to 100 steps each, with triggers such as joining a group, completing a form, clicking a link, an abandoned cart or a specific purchase, and workflows can branch on whether someone opened or clicked. Mailchimp Essentials limits an automation flow to four steps with no branching. Branching, along with predictive segmentation and multivariate testing, starts on Mailchimp Standard.

In practice, a three-email welcome series with a branch for people who did not open needs Mailchimp Standard but fits in MailerLite Comfort. At 2,500 contacts that is $60 a month against $33. If you are planning your first sequence, my guide on how to set up a welcome email series shows what one looks like.

Logins, Sending Limits and Everyday Use

User logins follow the plan on both. Mailchimp includes 1 on Free, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Standard and unlimited on Premium. MailerLite includes 2 on Free, 3 on Comfort and unlimited on Power, so a team of four or more pays less for logins with MailerLite.

Sending limits are similar on the entry plans: ten times your contact tier on both Mailchimp Essentials and MailerLite Comfort, so 25,000 emails a month at 2,500 contacts. Mailchimp Standard raises that to twelve times, while MailerLite Power has no monthly limit under a fair use policy.

Both have drag-and-drop editors, forms and landing pages on every plan. MailerLite adds a simple website builder and sells digital products through Stripe without taking a commission. Mailchimp adds SMS and transactional email in the same account; with MailerLite, transactional email is a separate product called MailerSend.

Integrations: Where Mailchimp Is Stronger

Mailchimp connects to more than 300 apps, and every plan, including Free, can use them. MailerLite connects to more than 100, which covers what most small businesses need: Shopify, with two-way sync since August 2026, WooCommerce, WordPress, Stripe and Zapier. If your business runs on less common software, check Mailchimp’s list first; if you only need a shop, a website and payments, MailerLite’s list is enough.

Getting Set Up: Domain Rules

MailerLite is strict about how you send. After its 14-day trial you must authenticate your own domain to keep sending campaigns, and a free Gmail address comes with limits. Setting this up means adding a few DNS records with your domain provider, which MailerLite can do for you or list for manual setup. Gmail’s sender rules apply whichever tool you use, so send from an address on your own domain from the start.

Support and What Customers Say

On paid plans, Mailchimp includes 24/7 email and chat support, with phone support only on Premium. MailerLite Comfort includes 24/7 email support, with live chat on Power or on lists of 50,000 or more.

Customer ratings lean clearly one way. MailerLite holds 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra from more than 2,300 reviews, with customer service its highest-rated area. Mailchimp holds 4.3 on G2 from almost 13,000 reviews, where people praise ease of use and integrations, but 2.5 on Trustpilot from 1,531 reviews, most of them one-star. Refund rules are strict at MailerLite: no refund for an unused plan or a forgotten cancellation, so start on the free plan before paying for a year.

Moving From Mailchimp to MailerLite

Many small businesses compare these two because they are already on Mailchimp and watching the bill grow. MailerLite lists Mailchimp among its main integrations for bringing an existing list across. Before you move, archive unsubscribed and long-inactive contacts in Mailchimp so you do not carry them over, export your list, and plan to rebuild automations by hand, because they do not transfer between the two tools. Set up and authenticate your domain in MailerLite before your first send.

Which Should You Pick?

Pick MailerLite if price matters, you want automations and more than one login without paying for a higher plan, or you want forms, landing pages and a small website in the same account. Pick Mailchimp if you depend on integrations MailerLite lacks, want SMS and transactional email in one place, or can use its first-year discount while you decide. If automation is the main job and budget comes second, neither is the strongest option, and my comparison of ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp covers that choice.

Mailchimp vs MailerLite: My Verdict

MailerLite is the better value for most small businesses. Its free plan is more useful, its entry plan includes automation that Mailchimp reserves for Standard, and it costs less at every list size I compared. Mailchimp still wins on integrations and on having SMS and transactional email under one roof, and its first-year discount can make it the cheaper start.

If MailerLite sounds right, you can open a free account on MailerLite’s site. For the full detail on each, read my MailerLite review and my Mailchimp review, or my guide on how to choose email marketing software.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MailerLite better than Mailchimp?

For most small businesses on a budget, yes. MailerLite’s free plan sends more emails, its entry plan includes automations with up to 100 steps, and it costs less at every list size compared here. Mailchimp is better if you need its 300+ integrations, or SMS and transactional email in the same account.

Is MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp?

Yes, at regular prices. At 2,500 contacts on monthly billing, MailerLite Comfort is $33 against $45 for Mailchimp Essentials, and at 10,000 contacts it is $89 against $110. Mailchimp’s first-year discount, 50 percent when checked in October 2026, can make Mailchimp cheaper in the first year only.

Which free plan is better, Mailchimp or MailerLite?

MailerLite’s. Both stop at 250 contacts, but MailerLite allows 2,500 emails a month, two user logins and three automations, while Mailchimp allows 500 emails a month with a daily cap of 250, one login and no campaign scheduling.

Can I move my list from Mailchimp to MailerLite?

Yes. MailerLite lists Mailchimp among its integrations for bringing an existing list across. Archive unsubscribed and inactive contacts in Mailchimp first, then move your list and rebuild your automations, which do not transfer between the two tools.

Sources and References

Every price and limit on this page was checked in October 2026. Prices and offers change, so confirm them on each vendor’s site before you buy.

• MailerLite pricing page and help center
• Mailchimp marketing pricing page, plan comparison and help center
• My MailerLite and Mailchimp reviews, October 2026
• Capterra, G2 and Trustpilot review pages for both tools
• How SoftReviewLab reviews and scores software