beehiiv vs MailerLite
We give beehiiv a 2.4 GPA and MailerLite a 2.6, out of 4.0. beehiiv grades higher on the free plan. MailerLite grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
beehiiv
Newsletter platform with paid subscriptions, ads, website and podcast
MailerLite
Email newsletters, automations, sites and paid subscriptions
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAbeehiivFair | 2.6GPAMailerLiteGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DLite is $49 a month for 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing, or $59 monthly. That's in the dearest tenth of email tools, nearly four times the middle. Taking the beehiiv branding off needs Pro at $95. | 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 | BUp to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, a website, a podcast and a welcome email, free for good. One writer could live on that for a while. The wall is money: no paid subscriptions, no ad network and no custom automations. | 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 | BA block editor, paid tiers and paywalls, an ad network, recommendations, a website, a podcast and digital products, plus automations from Lite. It covers the newsletter job end to end. Lite caps you at 10 live automations, though; Pro lifts the cap. | 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 App Store rating on record. It's a web app where you build the newsletter, the site and the automations yourself, so there's some setting up before your first send. | 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 Stripe, Zapier, Make, Shopify and Luma connections and an API. No desktop or phone app is listed. | 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 | newsletters you plan to make money from | 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: beehiiv and MailerLite. How we grade
Price against what you get
beehiiv starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7 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 $37 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 3 score higher than beehiiv 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
- beehiiv starts at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly). MailerLite starts at $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly.
- Only MailerLite lists an iOS app.
At a glance
| beehiiv | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly) | $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, 1 seat, 1 publication, a website, a podcast and 30 days of analytics. No paid subscriptions or automations. | 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 | Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of paid features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | beehiiv | MailerLite |
| Price read from | beehiiv.com | mailerlite.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
beehiiv
- Writers building a newsletter they plan to charge for
- Publishers who want to earn from ads in their newsletter
- Creators who want newsletter, website and podcast in one place
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
beehiiv
- The Free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers and has no paid subscriptions, ad network or custom automations.
- Removing beehiiv branding, dynamic content, webinars and the Send API all need Pro.
- Lite tops out at 100,000 subscribers and Pro at 250,000; larger lists go to Enterprise through sales.
- beehiiv takes no cut of paid subscriptions, but Stripe charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
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
beehiiv
- Newsletter editor
- A custom block editor with templates and unlimited sends on every plan. Lite adds A/B tests, polls, custom HTML and publishing to segments.
- Paid subscriptions and ads
- From Lite: paid tiers, metered paywalls, coupons and the beehiiv ad network. beehiiv takes 0% of subscription revenue; Stripe's fees still apply.
- Website, podcast and community
- Every plan hosts a website, a podcast feed and a member community. Custom pages, shows and private podcast feeds grow with the plan.
- Digital products
- Sell downloads and other one-time products from every plan; Lite raises the product limit to 3 and Pro removes it and adds webinars and coaching.
- Growth tools
- A recommendation network on all plans, plus a referral program, surveys and paid recommendations from Lite.
- Automations
- Welcome emails on Free. Lite allows 10 live automations triggered by sign-ups, tags, segments or purchases; Pro has no limit and adds click triggers.
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
beehiiv
Free$0
Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, 1 seat, 1 publication, website and podcast, beehiiv branding.
Lite$49
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly)
Paid subscriptions, ad network, 10 automations, 2 seats, 3 publications, up to 100,000 subscribers. $119 a month at 10,000 subscribers, billed yearly.
Pro$95
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($109 monthly)
No beehiiv branding, unlimited automations, webinars, dynamic content, Send API, 10 seats, up to 250,000 subscribers. $199 a month at 10,000, billed yearly.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom subscriber volume, SSO and SAML, dedicated IPs, concierge onboarding and a customer success manager, through sales.
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
beehiiv
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
beehiiv's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 20%: at 1,000 subscribers Lite is $49 a month billed yearly against $59 monthly.
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.
