Side by side
| MailerLite | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Free for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 2 seats. If active subscribers go over 250, sending is locked until you upgrade or remove subscribers. | Yes. Free for up to 250 contacts with a maximum of 500 sends a month or 250 a day, 1 seat and 1 audience. Mailchimp branding stays on and generative AI is not included. |
| Starting price | Comfort starts at $12 a month. It can be billed yearly, which saves 10%, or monthly. | Not published. |
| How it charges | By subscriber count and sending volume. You pay for the number of subscribers you have and the volume you send. | By contact tier. Paid plans bill monthly or annually at the rate for your tier, and overages are billed automatically when limits are passed. Pay-as-you-go email credits are an alternative for infrequent senders. |
| Works with | ChatGPT and Claude through MailerLite MCP, Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe, Mailchimp, Zapier, WordPress and Canva. There are 150+ integrations. | Shopify, WooCommerce, Canva, Zapier, Square, Stripe, Salesforce, WordPress and QuickBooks, among 300+ integrations. |
| AI features | An AI email generator, plus an AI writing assistant and subject line generator on Comfort. The free plan has MCP access for tools like Claude and ChatGPT, limited and excluding sending. | Generative AI features are on the Standard and Premium plans, not on Free or Essentials. Intuit Intelligence is in beta with limited availability and can make mistakes. |
Prices and plans change. We checked these figures on October 10, 2026, so confirm them before you buy.
What MailerLite is
MailerLite is an email marketing platform for email marketers and businesses that want advanced email tools without complicated software. More than 1 million businesses use it.
A newsletter operator can use it to send campaigns, build forms and pop-ups, run automations, make landing pages and websites, and take paid newsletter subscriptions.
A/B testing is on all plans, including the free plan.
What Mailchimp is
Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform with automations, analytics and AI tools. Example users include restaurants, non-profits, ecommerce, small businesses and professional services.
A newsletter operator can use it for email campaigns, templates, popup forms, audience tools and reporting. SMS is an add-on in select countries and needs approval.
It connects with 300+ apps.
Which one fits
On paper the free plans look alike: each stops at 250, counted as subscribers on MailerLite and contacts on Mailchimp. MailerLite's free plan allows 2,500 emails a month and two seats. Mailchimp's allows 500 sends a month and one seat.
MailerLite's first paid plan, Comfort, starts at $12 a month. Mailchimp prices by contact tier and bills overages automatically when you pass a limit, so check your tier before you compare. For a small list that sends often, MailerLite's free plan gives more sends.
Is MailerLite free?
Yes, up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 2 seats, 3 automations and 1 website. Sending locks if active subscribers go above 250.
How does MailerLite count subscribers for billing?
Active subscribers are counted cumulatively within each billing cycle, and the count resets monthly on your billing anniversary. On paid accounts, going over a limit moves you to the next tier and your card is charged.
Does Mailchimp have a free plan?
Yes. It allows up to 250 contacts, 500 sends a month or 250 a day, 1 seat and 1 audience. Sending pauses if a limit is exceeded.
Is there a free trial of paid plans?
Yes. There is a 14-day free trial that needs valid payment information at sign-up. Canceling during the trial incurs no charge.