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Mailchimp and MailerLite are the two email tools small businesses compare most often, and the gap between them has narrowed. Both have free plans, drag-and-drop editors, automation and landing pages. The differences that matter now are price at your list size, how far each free plan really goes, and how much of a “marketing suite” you want.
Both changed their plans recently, and many comparisons still quote old limits. Everything below was checked on October 17, 2026.
Full disclosure: we make DoubleScale, a WordPress CRM with email marketing built in. It appears in side notes and its own section; Mailchimp and MailerLite details come from their own pricing pages.
Pick MailerLite if you want the better value: lower prices at most list sizes, a generous automation builder and websites, landing pages and paid newsletters included.
Pick Mailchimp if you want the most familiar brand, the richest template library and reporting, and integrations with almost everything.
Mailchimp vs MailerLite at a glance
| Mailchimp | MailerLite | DoubleScale | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 250 contacts, 500 emails/mo, 1 user | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo, 2 seats, 3 automations | Unlimited contacts, standard campaigns |
| Paid from | $13/mo Essentials (500 contacts) | $12/mo Comfort (500 subscribers) | $99/yr per site |
| Automation | Up to 4 steps on Essentials; branching on Standard | 50 automations on Comfort; unlimited on Power | Nested conditions and goals (Pro) |
| Landing pages and websites | Yes | Yes, plus a website builder | Uses your WordPress site |
| WordPress | MC4WP and form integrations | Official plugins (mixed ratings) | Runs inside WordPress |
Vendor pricing pages and WordPress.org, October 17, 2026.
Which free plan goes further?
Both now stop at 250 contacts. MailerLite’s free plan is more generous inside that limit: 2,500 emails a month instead of 500, two seats instead of one, three automations of up to five steps, plus a website, a landing page and three forms. Mailchimp’s free plan is mainly a way to try the product.
Our take: MailerLite has the edge.
What each costs as your list grows
Mailchimp Essentials costs $13 a month at 500 contacts, $45 at 2,500 and $110 at 10,000, with A/B testing and simple automations. Standard, with branching journeys, costs $20, $60 and $135.
MailerLite Comfort costs $12 a month at 500 subscribers, $33 at 2,500 and $89 at 10,000, with sends capped at ten times your tier, 50 automations and no MailerLite logo. Power costs $25, $49 and $129 with unlimited emails and more features. Yearly billing is 10% cheaper.
| Subscribers | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard | MailerLite Comfort | MailerLite Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $156/yr | $240/yr | $144/yr | $300/yr |
| 2,500 | $540/yr | $720/yr | $396/yr | $588/yr |
| 10,000 | $1,320/yr | $1,620/yr | $1,068/yr | $1,548/yr |
Monthly billing, prices checked October 17, 2026.
DoubleScale: $99 a year plus about $48 of Amazon SES sending for four campaigns a month.
Our take: MailerLite has the edge at every list size.
Automation and testing
MailerLite’s visual automation builder is one of its strengths, and Comfort already allows 50 automations. Mailchimp Essentials limits journeys to four steps; Standard opens up branching and up to 200 journeys. Both offer A/B testing on paid plans.
Our take: MailerLite has the edge for the money; Mailchimp Standard for the most advanced journeys.
Looking elsewhere?Moving on from Mailchimp? Our Mailchimp alternatives for small business covers the cheaper options.
Templates, design and reporting
Mailchimp has the larger template library, generative AI writing tools on higher plans and some of the most polished reports in the category. MailerLite’s editor is clean and fast, and it adds a website builder, pop-ups and paid newsletter subscriptions.
Our take: Mailchimp has the edge for templates and reporting.
Using them with WordPress
Both connect to WordPress through plugins and form integrations. Mailchimp’s most used WordPress plugin is MC4WP, built by a third party. MailerLite’s official sign-up forms plugin has 100,000+ installs but a 3.0★ rating from 40 reviews, and its WooCommerce integration is rated 2.8★ from 64.
Our take: Mailchimp has the edge for WordPress integrations.
Looking elsewhere?Considering MailerLite’s rivals? See how it compares in DoubleScale vs MailerLite.
Runs your entire business
A third option: DoubleScale
If your website already runs on WordPress and your list keeps growing, DoubleScale keeps subscribers in your own database and charges per site, not per subscriber.
Campaigns are free; Pro adds sequences, automations with nested conditions, SMS and WhatsApp, and the free plugin also includes proposals, invoices, bookings and a helpdesk.
Modular by design. Turn on only the modules you need from one Control Modules panel; everything else stays out of your way.
- Email campaigns
- Automations
- Sales pipelines
- Proposals & invoices
- Contracts
- Booking
- Helpdesk
- Forms
- Projects
- Tasks
Free on WordPress.org · Unlimited contacts · Pro from $99/yr per site
DoubleScale is the better pick if…
- Your list is past a few thousand subscribers.
- You want email and a CRM in one place inside WordPress.
- You are tired of sync plugins between WordPress and an email platform.
Stick with the big platforms if…
- You need a hosted platform that works without a WordPress site.
- You rely on A/B testing, built-in email sending or a large app marketplace.
- You want the biggest community and the longest track record.
Head-to-head: DoubleScale vs Mailchimp and DoubleScale vs MailerLite.
Disclosure: we make DoubleScale. The screens above are real, and every price for the other tools comes from their own pricing pages.
So, which should you choose?
| Your situation | Choose |
|---|---|
| Best value for a growing newsletter | MailerLite |
| Free plan with real automation | MailerLite Free |
| Richest templates and reports | Mailchimp |
| Advanced branching journeys | Mailchimp Standard |
| WordPress site, list past a few thousand | DoubleScale |
How we compared: every price was read on the vendor’s own pricing page on October 17, 2026 (USD). Both are priced on monthly billing here; MailerLite is 10% cheaper billed yearly. Prices change often, so check the vendor’s page before you buy.
Questions people ask
Is MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp?
Yes, at every list size we checked: at 10,000 subscribers MailerLite Comfort is $1,068 a year against $1,320 for Mailchimp Essentials.
Is MailerLite still free for 1,000 subscribers?
No. In 2026 MailerLite’s free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month.
Which has the better free plan?
MailerLite: the same 250-contact limit, but five times the monthly emails, two seats and three automations.
Is Mailchimp better for ecommerce?
Mailchimp has deeper ecommerce reporting and integrations; MailerLite covers the core flows such as abandoned cart through its integrations.
Is there an option without per-subscriber pricing?
If your site runs on WordPress, DoubleScale charges per site with unlimited contacts.
More head-to-head comparisons
- ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp
- Klaviyo vs Mailchimp
- Klaviyo vs Omnisend
- Omnisend vs Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
- Brevo vs Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite
Unlimited subscribers, campaigns and automations, plus a CRM.
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Mohamed Magdy, Founder & CEO, DoubleScale
Mohamed Magdy is the founder and CEO of DoubleScale, the all-in-one CRM for WordPress. He writes about CRM, email marketing and automation for WordPress businesses.
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