RGE Studio vs MailerLite
We give RGE Studio a 2.0 GPA and MailerLite a 2.6, out of 4.0. MailerLite grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RGE Studio
Drag-and-drop email and landing page designer, formerly Beefree
MailerLite
Email newsletters, automations, sites and paid subscriptions
How we grade them
| 2.0GPARGE StudioFair | 2.6GPAMailerLiteGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its own alternatives, since it designs emails rather than sending them. Professional is $25 a month billed yearly ($30 monthly) for 2 users, with extras at $15. That's around Klaviyo's $20 and twice Mailchimp's $13, and you still pay one of them to send. | C$12 a month for 500 subscribers, just under the middle of what email tools charge, and that already gets you 50 automations, 10 forms and 10 sites. It stays reasonable as you grow, at $89 a month for 10,000 subscribers, and yearly billing takes 10% off. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free Starter plan has no end date, but it stops at 10 designs and 6 exports a month and keeps only the last 2 versions of each. Fine for the odd project, not a weekly newsletter for long. There's also a 15-day Business trial. | CFree for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with automations, one website and three forms. A fair start, but 250 people is a cap you'll hit, and then campaigns and automations lock until you pay. There's a 14-day trial of paid features too, no card needed. |
| Features | DNext to its alternatives it does one slice of the job, and does it well: drag-and-drop emails, dark mode preview, synced rows, approvals and pre-send checks. But it doesn't send. Lists, sending and automation all stay in a separate email platform. | BThree email editors, a visual automation builder, websites, landing pages and forms, plus paid newsletters, digital products and bookings through Stripe. That's the whole job. Receipts and other transactional emails live in a separate product, MailerSend. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Over 1,600 templates help, but it's a web app where the work is building the email itself, then setting up brand styles and the connection to your sending platform. | B4.67 from about 1,100 App Store ratings for its companion app, just under the 4.7 an A needs. The real work still happens in the web app, building emails and automations. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with one-click export to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot, Marketo, Braze, Mailchimp and Klaviyo, plus Canva, or plain HTML. No desktop or phone app, so a B at most. | BWeb and an iPhone app, with Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe, Claude and ChatGPT, an API and an MCP server. No desktop app, so it can't go higher than a B. |
| Best for | designing on-brand emails your platform will send | a newsletter with a simple website on the side |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: RGE Studio and MailerLite. How we grade
Price against what you get
RGE Studio starts at $25 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MailerLite starts at $12 a month and scores 3.0.
MailerLite scores higher and starts $13 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 20 score higher than RGE Studio for less, and 1 scores higher than MailerLite for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- RGE Studio starts at $25 per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly). MailerLite starts at $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly.
- Only MailerLite lists an iOS app.
- RGE Studio also covers templates and no-code.
- MailerLite also covers marketing automation, forms, email campaigns and paid newsletters.
At a glance
| RGE Studio | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $25 per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly) | $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Starter plan: up to 10 designs, 6 exports a month, the landing page builder, a custom subdomain, 2 reusable blocks and the last 2 versions of each design. | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, automations, 1 website, 1 landing page and 3 forms. No sending through the API. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial of the Business plan | 14-day free trial of paid features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | BEE Content Design, Inc. | MailerLite |
| Price read from | reallygoodemails.com | mailerlite.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
RGE Studio
- Marketing teams that design emails outside their sending platform
- Brands and agencies that need approvals and locked brand styles across many designers
- Teams moving between email platforms that want designs they can take along
MailerLite
- Creators and small businesses sending a regular newsletter
- People who want a simple website and email list in one tool
- Writers charging for a newsletter through Stripe
Worth knowing
RGE Studio
- It is an email designer, narrower than the email marketing tools around it: lists, sending and automation stay in a separate email platform or CRM.
- The free Starter plan stops at 10 designs and 6 exports a month and keeps only the last 2 versions of a design.
- Paid plans include 2 users; more cost $15 a month on Professional and $35 on Business, and extra Business workspaces cost $45 a month.
- Beefree renamed this builder RGE Studio and moved it to the Really Good Emails site; Beefree SDK, for embedding the builder in other software, is sold separately.
MailerLite
- The Free plan stops at 250 subscribers; above that, campaigns and automations are locked until you upgrade.
- Subscribers count cumulatively through each billing cycle, and passing your tier moves you up and charges the card automatically.
- Comfort caps monthly emails at 10 times the top of your subscriber tier; Power has no monthly cap, subject to fair use.
- Transactional email is not part of these plans; MailerLite points to its separate MailerSend product.
Key features
RGE Studio
- Drag-and-drop email builder
- Build with rows and content blocks, adjust a mobile layout separately, preview dark mode, and add custom HTML, merge tags and display conditions.
- Templates and landing pages
- Start from more than 1,600 email and landing page templates, turn a page into an email and back in one click, and host pages on a custom subdomain.
- Brand controls and synced rows
- Set brand colors and fonts once, lock rows such as legal footers, and use synced rows that update in every design when edited.
- Reviews and approvals
- Comment on a design, run it through an approval workflow and lock it once approved; Enterprise adds multi-step approvals.
- Export to your sending platform
- Push designs in one click to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Account Engagement, HubSpot, Marketo, Braze, Mailchimp or Klaviyo, or copy the HTML or download a ZIP.
- AI assistant and Smart Check
- AI drafts copy and alt text and checks typos and translations; Smart Check flags missing links, missing alt text, low contrast and oversized files before export.
MailerLite
- Three email editors
- Drag-and-drop, custom HTML and a simple text editor on every plan. Paid plans add the AI writing assistant, multivariate testing and dynamic content.
- Automation builder
- A visual workflow builder with templates, e-commerce triggers, RSS campaigns and auto-resend. Comfort allows 50 active automations; Power has no cap.
- Websites, landing pages and forms
- Build sites with a blog, landing pages, embedded forms and pop-ups. Free allows one site and three forms; an iPad app collects sign-ups offline.
- Paid newsletters and digital products
- Sell one-time or recurring newsletter subscriptions, digital downloads and bookings, with payments taken through Stripe.
- Reports
- Click maps, list growth and comparative reports, e-commerce sales tracking, individual subscriber profiles and custom report exports.
- MCP server and API
- Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools can manage campaigns through MailerLite's MCP server. Full API and MCP access, including sending, needs a paid plan.
Plans
RGE Studio
Starter$0
For occasional projects: up to 10 designs, 6 exports a month and up to 3 custom templates, with users but no roles.
Professional$25
per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)
Unlimited designs, exports, folders and reusable blocks, user roles and the AI writing assistant. Extra users $15 a month.
Business$134
per month for up to 2 users, billed yearly ($160 billed monthly)
Adds 2 workspaces, approval workflows, a QA assistant and advanced brand controls. Extra users $35 a month, workspaces $45.
EnterpriseCustom
Multi-step approvals, advanced user restrictions, Okta SSO, a customer success manager and custom connectors.
MailerLite
Free$0
250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 1 website, 1 landing page and 3 forms. Community support only.
Comfort$12
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly
Emails up to 10 times the tier (5,000 here), 3 seats, 50 automations, 10 forms and sites. Price rises with the list: $89 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
Power$25
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly
Unlimited emails, seats, automations, forms and sites, plus 24/7 live chat. Price rises with the list: $129 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
EnterpriseCustom
For more than 200,000 subscribers: custom sending volume, a success manager, account audits and a dedicated IP as an add-on.
Ways to pay less
RGE Studio
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
The pricing page labels yearly billing 2 months free: Professional is $25 a month billed yearly against $30 monthly, and Business $134 against $160.
MailerLite
- Annual discount
Save 10% with yearly billing
MailerLite's pricing page takes 10% off paid plans billed yearly: Comfort at 500 subscribers is $10.80 a month instead of $12.
- Nonprofit
30% off paid plans for nonprofits
Nonprofits get 30% off paid plans after sending support a document showing their status, such as an IRS tax exemption certificate.
