Mailercloud vs MailerLite (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MailerLite grades higher than Mailercloud: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mailercloud grades higher on the free plan. MailerLite grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mailercloud
Email marketing platform priced by contacts with unlimited sends
MailerLite
Email newsletters, automations, sites and paid subscriptions
Which one is for you
Pick Mailercloud if
- Fits if you have a list under 1,000 contacts and send a lot of email
- Works for small shops on Shopify or WooCommerce
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 1,000 contacts and 1 advanced automation
- Pricey if your list grows: $50 a month at 10,000 contacts
- Skip it if you want a dedicated IP or single sign-on, which are Enterprise features
- Watch out: the Email API for transactional mail starts at $7 a month and is billed separately
- Watch out: unlimited sending on paid plans falls under a fair use policy
Pick MailerLite if
- Fits if you want a newsletter, a few automations and a basic website without juggling three tools
- Works for selling a paid newsletter or an ebook through Stripe
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free and your list is heading past 250 people, as campaigns lock past it
- Not for you if you also need receipts and password-reset emails, which come from a separate product
- Pricey if your list grows in bursts, as subscribers count up through each billing cycle and move you up a tier automatically
- Watch out: Comfort caps emails at 10 times your tier, and live chat support starts on Power at $25
- Watch out: the free plan can't send through the API and has community support only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailercloudFair | 2.6GPAMailerLiteGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$10 a month for 1,000 contacts is the cheap end of the category, but the price steps up with contacts to $50 at 10,000. Unlimited sending is subject to a fair use policy. | 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. At 10,000 subscribers it's $89 a month, and yearly billing takes 10% off. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with 1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails a month, no card needed, though it allows only 1 advanced automation. | CFree for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with automations, one website and three forms. That's a 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 | CBuilder, automation, segmentation, A/B testing and AI subject lines. Dedicated IPs, SSO and an account manager are Enterprise features, and the Email API for transactional sending is billed apart from the marketing 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 | CA web app with no rating on record. You build lists, templates and automations yourself. | 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 Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento connections. | 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 | small lists on a free plan with room to 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: Mailercloud and MailerLite. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mailercloud starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 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 $2 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Mailercloud 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
- Mailercloud also covers a/B testing.
- MailerLite also covers paid newsletters.
At a glance
| Mailercloud | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly | $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly |
| Free plan | 1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails a month, with the drag-and-drop builder and basic automation. No credit card needed. | 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 | None listed | 14-day free trial of paid features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Mailercloud | MailerLite |
| Price read from | mailercloud.com | mailerlite.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mailercloud
- Pricing steps up by contacts stored, and the contact slider runs from 1,000 to 500,000 before a custom quote.
- Unlimited sending on paid plans is subject to a fair use policy.
- Dedicated IPs, SSO and a dedicated account manager are Enterprise features.
- The Email API for transactional sending starts at $7 a month and is billed separately from the marketing platform.
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
Mailercloud
- Drag-and-drop builder and templates
- A template gallery, a drag-and-drop builder and a custom HTML editor, with AMP email support on Premium.
- Automation
- Basic workflows on Free; Premium adds advanced workflows, with 25 advanced automations on Premium and unlimited on Enterprise.
- Segmentation and contact rating
- Contacts can be segmented, monitored and rated, and a form builder collects signups.
- A/B testing and AI subject lines
- Premium includes A/B testing and an AI subject line generator.
- Reports and inbox tools
- Advanced reports, an inbox tracker, blacklist monitoring and delivery by time zone are listed among the features.
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
Mailercloud
Free$0
1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails a month, with basic automation (1 advanced automation) and email support.
Premium$10
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly
Unlimited emails (fair use), 25 advanced automations, A/B testing, AI subject lines, priority chat. The page's table lists $50 at 10,000 contacts.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Premium plus dedicated IPs, a dedicated account manager, SLA, SSO and custom integrations, priced to sending volume.
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
Mailercloud
- Annual discount
25% off with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves 25% compared with paying month to month, charged once for the year.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailercloud or MailerLite?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mailercloud is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $12 a month for MailerLite. Mailercloud starts at $10 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly, and MailerLite starts at $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Mailercloud or MailerLite?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Mailercloud and MailerLite have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mailercloud and MailerLite run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only MailerLite lists an iOS app. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.