MailerLite Pricing: Affordable for Small Businesses?

I’ve been testing email marketing platforms for years, and MailerLite honestly caught me by surprise. Their pricing strategy is pretty clever –- they’ve managed to cram some really powerful features into even their cheapest plans.

The free tier lets you manage up to 1,000 subscribers and send 12,000 emails monthly, which is genuinely one of the most generous free options I’ve come across.

What really stood out to me was finding AI tools (like those subject line generators that actually work) available across ALL plans –- yep, even the free one. Most competitors make you pay premium prices for that kind of stuff.

Then at just $9/month, you’re suddenly getting 24/7 email support, multi-user accounts, and even those approval workflows that streamline team operations. I’ve used platforms charging 3x that amount that don’t offer those basics!

If you’re running a growing team, startup, or just flying solo as a marketer, MailerLite strikes that sweet spot between functionality and not emptying your wallet. Let me break it down for you.

MailerLite Plans at a Glance

• Free Plan: $0 for 1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails/month (basic features + AI tools included)
• Starter Plan: $9/month for 1,000 contacts with unlimited emails, 24/7 email support, AI tools, and multi-user access
• Business Plan: $19/month covering 1,000 contacts, unlimited emails, dynamic content, Facebook integration, and those handy promotion pop-ups
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for 100,000+ contacts, unlimited emails, dedicated account manager, custom onboarding, and beefed-up security

MailerLite Monthly Pricing (Based on Contacts)

The Takeaways Worth Noting:

• The Growing Business Plan is perfect if you’re a small operation wanting unlimited emails, basic automation tools, and those AI features without breaking the bank.
• Once you start scaling up, the Advanced Plan throws in fancier stuff like promo pop-ups, Facebook integration, and more complex automation options.
• Got a massive list (100,000+ contacts)? The Enterprise Plan offers custom pricing and premium perks like dedicated account managers and priority support when things go sideways.
• All plans benefit from MailerLite’s surprisingly clean interface –- I found it way less cluttered than some of the bigger names out there.

Feature Comparison Across Plans

Free Plan: Way Better Than It Should Be

I was honestly shocked at how much MailerLite gives away for free. Their no-cost plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers and lets you send 12,000 emails monthly — that’s actually enough to run a real marketing campaign, not just test the waters.

You get access to their drag-and-drop builder (which is surprisingly intuitive), AI-powered subject line generators, and basic automation for simple stuff like welcome emails.

The free plan includes one user seat, a decent selection of templates (nothing mind-blowing, but functional), and basic reporting to track your campaigns. You can create signup forms, landing pages, and even do some basic audience segmentation. It’s not just a glorified trial — you can run meaningful campaigns without spending a dime.

Where it falls short:

• Stuck with just one user account
• No A/B testing at all
• Only basic automation (forget complex workflows)
• Limited segmentation capabilities
• Email support isn’t included (you’re on your own)

While the free plan is generous, you’ll hit walls pretty quick if your team grows or your campaigns get more sophisticated. It’s perfect for solo operators or super small teams, but you’ll eventually want more.

Growing Business Plan: Serious Bang for Nine Bucks

At just $9/month, the Growing Business Plan delivers ridiculously good value. It removes the email sending cap entirely, lets up to 3 people access the account, and unlocks more advanced automation, promotional pop-ups, and AI tools for every campaign.

You get unlimited audience management and full access to their template library, making it perfect for online stores, content creators, or consultants running regular campaigns.

The 24/7 email support is a massive upgrade — I had a question at 11pm and got a response within an hour. That kind of reliability matters when you’re sending time-sensitive campaigns. The workflows are significantly more powerful than the free version, and those pop-up forms actually convert pretty well for lead capture.

The downsides:

• A/B testing only works on subject lines, not content
• No click heatmaps or deep content performance tracking
• Multivariate testing isn’t available
• No live chat support when you need instant help
• Custom reporting is off the table

The Growing Business Plan hits a great balance between power and price, but you might outgrow it if you need sophisticated testing, detailed reporting, or immediate support. For most small teams though, it delivers everything essential without unnecessary extras.

Advanced Plan: Where Things Get Serious

Starting at $19/month, the Advanced Plan is where MailerLite really flexes. You get everything from the Growing Business tier plus Facebook integration (which works surprisingly well), dynamic content blocks for personalization, click maps to see exactly where people engage, and much more sophisticated automation workflows.

The unlimited user seats are perfect for marketing teams or agencies that need collaboration features. The segmentation gets much more granular, you get 24/7 live chat support (which I’ve found responds within minutes), and you can test both subject lines AND content to optimize performance.

Email delivery is noticeably faster, and you can request a dedicated IP if deliverability is crucial for your business.

What’s missing:

• No multivariate testing for power users
• Lacks AI-based segmentation and predictive insights
• Custom reporting isn’t included
• No dedicated account manager for strategy help
• SMS marketing costs extra

While the Advanced Plan is comprehensive, it’s not quite enterprise-level. If you need predictive analytics or truly personalized support, you’ll need to step up to Enterprise. But honestly, for most mid-sized businesses, this tier hits the perfect balance of features and affordability.

Pay-As-You-Go Plan (Cost per Email)

Understanding the Pay-As-You-Go Option

If you’re not into monthly commitments, MailerLite’s credit system is worth considering. It’s perfect for marketers who send campaigns sporadically or want tight control over costs. The math is simple: 1 credit = 1 email to 1 subscriber. These credits work for regular campaigns, automated sequences, and RSS emails.

The best part? Credits never expire — which is a lifesaver for seasonal businesses or consultants with clients who send irregularly. Despite not having a recurring plan, you still get access to core features like the drag-and-drop editor, basic automation, signup forms, and reporting tools.

Just know that some of the premium perks like 24/7 support, advanced automation, and AI tools only come with the subscription plans. This pay-as-you-go approach works best for businesses with sporadic sending patterns, event-based campaigns, or agencies juggling multiple smaller lists.

Transactional Email Pricing

Understanding MailerLite’s Transactional Email System

In MailerLite’s world, a “block” means 25,000 transactional emails – those system-triggered messages like order confirmations, password resets, and shipping notifications that absolutely need to arrive quickly and reliably.

The pricing follows a volume-based model – the more blocks you buy, the cheaper each one gets. Starting at $30 per block, prices can drop to as low as $20 per block for high-volume senders. This tiered approach helps businesses scale their transactional communication more efficiently as they grow.

If deliverability is critical (and let’s face it, for transactional emails it usually is), you can get a dedicated IP for around $50/month. This is particularly valuable for brands sending large volumes or handling sensitive information.

One thing to note – transactional email is only available as an add-on for Advanced and Enterprise plan users. Free and Growing Business tiers can’t access this feature. Also worth mentioning: unused email blocks don’t roll over to the next month, so you’ll want to monitor your sending volumes carefully to avoid overpaying.

SMS Pricing

Monthly Credit Subscription Structure

Additional SMS Info Worth Knowing

• How Credits Work: Each standard text message (under 160 characters) costs 1 credit. The actual price varies depending on which country you’re sending to and how it’s delivered.
• MMS Support: Currently, MailerLite doesn’t support MMS messaging at all – everything is text-only, so forget about sending images or videos.
• Unused Credits: SMS credits typically don’t roll over to the next month unless your specific billing agreement says otherwise (worth checking with their support team).
• Plan Eligibility: SMS marketing is only available if you’re on a paid plan – specifically Advanced or Enterprise. Free and Growing Business users are out of luck here.
• Country Coverage: While SMS features work in over 80 countries, the pricing, compliance requirements, and sender ID rules vary dramatically. Some countries require you to pre-register or verify your sender ID before you can send a single message.
• Compliance Rules: You absolutely must comply with local telecom regulations. Countries like India and the UK have strict rules requiring pre-registration of sender IDs and explicit opt-in consent from recipients. Breaking these rules can get your account suspended real quick.

About author

Emily Austin

Author

Sender

Emily is a content manager who has dipped her toes in almost all fields of marketing, including email marketing, PR, social media, and ecommerce. She loves perfecting digital content, ensuring everything is polished and ready to go live.