Mailercloud vs Sender (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Sender: it is second in our ranking of email marketing and newsletter tools, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.4.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Sender grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use 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
Sender
Email and SMS marketing with a free plan for 2,500 subscribers
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 Sender if
- Fits if your list is under 2,500 and you want automation without paying
- Works for Shopify or WooCommerce shops that want cart emails and pop-ups
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if Sender's logo on your free emails, forms and pages would bother you
- Pricey if you count on the discounts, as the 30% yearly and 24-month Black Friday offers are promotions with no end date given
- Tight if you're on Standard and want texts inside workflows, which needs Professional
- Watch out: SMS credits on Standard are bought separately and priced by destination country
- Too light for a team on the free plan, which has 1 seat; Standard has 3 and Professional 10
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailercloudFair | 2.8GPASenderGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BStandard is $9 a month for 500 subscribers, inside the cheaper quarter of email tools, and $69 a month at 10,000. Yearly billing lists the same, but a Black Friday sale takes 30% off a year, $75.60 instead of $108, and first-time users get 40% off 24 months of Standard. |
| 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. | BFree Forever covers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with automation, pop-ups, forms, 10 landing pages and transactional email. One person could live on that. It's 1 seat, and everything carries Sender's branding. |
| 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. | BDrag-and-drop and HTML editors, workflows with splits on every plan, over 40 pop-up and form templates, landing pages, SMS from Standard, transactional email over SMTP and an API, and shop segments. That's the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CA web app with no rating on record. You build lists, templates and automations yourself. | CNo App Store rating on record and no phone app. It's a web app where you import a list, build templates and set up workflows yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento connections. | BWeb only, with Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Jumpseller and Zapier, and an API. No desktop or phone app keeps it at a B. |
| Best for | small lists on a free plan with room to send | a free plan with automation for small shops |
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 Sender. 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. Sender starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7.
Sender scores higher and starts $1 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Mailercloud for less, and none scores higher than Sender 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.
- Sender also covers business texting.
At a glance
| Mailercloud | Sender | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly | $9 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. | Free Forever plan: up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, 1 seat, automation, pop-ups, forms, 10 landing pages and transactional email, with Sender branding. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day trial of Professional features when you open a free account |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Mailercloud | UAB Sender.lt |
| Price read from | mailercloud.com | sender.net |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 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.
Sender
- The yearly and 24-month discounts are promotions shown on the pricing page; the yearly list price is the same as twelve monthly payments.
- Free plan emails, forms and landing pages carry Sender branding.
- SMS credits are bought separately on Standard and priced by destination country.
- Pay-as-you-go credits are sold instead of a plan, from $29 for 5,000 emails with no Sender logo.
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.
Sender
- Email builder
- Drag-and-drop, HTML and plain-text editors with over 100 templates, product and abandoned-cart blocks, and a countdown timer on Professional.
- Automation workflows
- Pre-built and custom workflows with splits and custom triggers on every plan, Free included. SMS steps in workflows need Professional.
- Pop-ups, forms and landing pages
- Over 40 pop-up and form templates with exit-intent and spin-to-win options. Free allows 10 landing pages; paid plans have no cap and allow a custom domain.
- SMS campaigns
- Text campaigns from Standard, paid with credits priced by destination country. Professional includes free credits equal to its monthly fee.
- Transactional email
- Order and account emails over SMTP and an API on every plan, with event webhooks and email logs kept 1 to 30 days by plan.
- Segments and reports
- Behavioral and ecommerce segments, click heatmaps and audience growth reports; sales reports start at Standard.
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.
Sender
Free Forever$0
2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month, 1 seat and 10 landing pages, with Sender branding on emails, forms and pages.
Standard$9
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly
Emails up to 12 times the list, 3 seats, no branding, SMS and A/B tests. $108 billed yearly before discounts. $69 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
Professional$15
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly
24 times the list in emails, 10 seats, $6 of free SMS a month, advanced automation and reports. $180 billed yearly before discounts. $127 a month at 10,000.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited emails and users, a success manager, phone support, SSO, activity logs and a service level agreement.
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.
Sender
- Annual discount
30% off with yearly billing
Sender's pricing page gives 30% off yearly billing, labelled for all users during its Black Friday sale: Standard at 500 subscribers is $75.60 for the year instead of $108.
- Other savings
Black Friday: up to 60% off a 24-month plan
First-time users who pay for 24 months get 40% off Standard and 60% off Professional: at 500 subscribers, $129.60 instead of $216 and $144 instead of $360. No end date is given.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailercloud or Sender?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Sender is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $10 a month for Mailercloud. Mailercloud starts at $10 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly, and Sender starts at $9 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Mailercloud or Sender?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Mailercloud and Sender have a free plan.
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.