Email marketing · 2026
Mailchimp·vs·MailerLite
Two solid choices in email marketing. Here's how they stack up on pricing, fit, and trade-offs — so you can decide in a minute.
Reviewed by Switchpoint Editors ·
Take on Mailchimp
The real Mailchimp tax isn't the sticker price — it's the contact-based model. Mailchimp counts duplicate addresses across audiences as separate billable contacts, and unsubscribed contacts keep counting against your tier until you manually archive them. We've seen SMB lists where 30–40% of the bill was dead weight. Switch to a send-based model (Brevo) or a creator-friendly cap (Kit's 10k free tier) and the math usually flips inside a quarter. Deliverability is the other quiet issue: post-Intuit, shared-IP reputation has slipped, and the fix Mailchimp recommends is a dedicated IP add-on. Modern alternatives ship strong defaults without the upsell.
Contender A
Mailchimp
Email marketing platform popular with small businesses.
- SMBs running newsletters and basic automations.
- Free up to 500 contacts. Essentials from $13/mo.
Best for
Pricing
Pros
- Familiar UI
- Wide template library
Trade-offs
- Double-charges duplicates
- Deliverability has slipped
Contender B
MailerLite
The closest like-for-like Mailchimp replacement, cheaper at every tier.
- Small businesses and creators who want Mailchimp's UX without Intuit's bill.
- Free up to 1,000 subscribers / 12k sends. Growing Business from $9/mo for 500 subs.
Best for
Pricing
Pros
- Clean editor and templates that beat Mailchimp's current UI
- Free plan includes automations Mailchimp gates behind paid tiers
- Strong deliverability reputation among SMB senders
Trade-offs
- Manual account approval can take 24–48 hours
- Still contact-based pricing — same trap as Mailchimp at scale
The matrix
Side-by-side
Best for
Mailchimp
SMBs running newsletters and basic automations.
MailerLite
Small businesses and creators who want Mailchimp's UX without Intuit's bill.
Pricing
Mailchimp
Free up to 500 contacts. Essentials from $13/mo.
MailerLite
Free up to 1,000 subscribers / 12k sends. Growing Business from $9/mo for 500 subs.
Top strength
Mailchimp
Familiar UI
MailerLite
Clean editor and templates that beat Mailchimp's current UI
Biggest trade-off
Mailchimp
Double-charges duplicates
MailerLite
Manual account approval can take 24–48 hours
The verdict
Which should you pick?
SMBs running newsletters and basic automations.
Small businesses and creators who want Mailchimp's UX without Intuit's bill.
People also compare
Related matchups
More on these tools
Embed this comparison
Use it on your blog
Drop this iframe into any post — credit links back automatically.
<iframe src="https://switchpointnow.com/embed/vs/mailchimp-vs-mailerlite" width="100%" height="280" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="Mailchimp vs MailerLite"></iframe>