MailerLite Alternatives: Brevo, Mailchimp, Kit and ActiveCampaign

MailerLite is a strong all-rounder, but it isn’t the right tool for everyone. This page compares it with four widely used alternatives: Mailchimp, Kit (formerly ConvertKit), Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and ActiveCampaign. The goal is to help you pick the right one for your situation, even if that isn’t MailerLite.

The short answer

• Stay with MailerLite if you want an approachable tool with automation, forms and landing pages included at a low entry price.
• Choose Kit if you’re a creator who wants a large free list and will grow into paid automation later.
• Choose Mailchimp if you want a broad marketing suite and are comfortable with its contact-based pricing.
• Choose Brevo if you have a big list you email infrequently, because it charges mainly by email volume.
• Choose ActiveCampaign if automation depth and CRM features matter more than price.

How the pricing models differ

The biggest practical difference between these tools is what you pay for. Two platforms can look similar on features and cost very different amounts for your list.

Pricing models and free plans compared

Criteria	MailerLite	Mailchimp	Kit	Brevo	ActiveCampaign
Priced by	Active subscribers	Contacts	Subscribers	Emails sent (mainly)	Contacts
Free plan	250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo	250 contacts, 500 sends/mo	Up to 10,000 subscribers	300 emails/day	None — 14-day trial
Automation on free plan	3 active automations (up to 5 steps each)	Check plan details	Not included	Check plan details	n/a
Paid plans	Comfort, Power, Enterprise	Essentials, Standard, Premium	Creator, Pro	Starter, Standard, Professional, Enterprise	Starter, Plus, Pro, Enterprise
Paid from	$12/mo	See official page	See official page	See official page	See official page

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the best-known names in email marketing and has grown into a broad marketing platform. Its plans are Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium, priced by the number of contacts.

• Free plan: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends a month, a daily limit of 250 sends and one user seat.
• Sending limits on paid plans: 10× your contact limit per month on Essentials, 12× on Standard and 15× on Premium.
• Higher tiers: generative AI features start on Standard. Multivariate testing is on Premium.
• Trials: 14-day trials on Essentials and Standard.

Compared with MailerLite: Mailchimp’s free plan is about the same size for contacts but allows far fewer sends. Choose Mailchimp if you specifically want its wider suite or its integrations. If you mainly want newsletters, automation and landing pages, MailerLite is usually simpler. For a detailed side-by-side, read MailerLite vs Mailchimp.

Kit (formerly ConvertKit)

Kit is built for creators: writers, podcasters, coaches and educators who sell to an audience.

• Free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited forms, landing pages and broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and selling digital products and subscriptions.
• Not on the free plan: visual automations and sequences. Those need a paid plan.
• Paid plans: Creator and Pro, priced by subscriber count.

Compared with MailerLite: Kit’s free plan is vastly larger, which makes it attractive while you build an audience. MailerLite includes some automation even on Free, a website builder, and a lower entry price for paid automation. Pick Kit if you’re a creator focused on growing a big list. Pick MailerLite if you’re a business that wants automation early.

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo positions itself as a multichannel platform, with email alongside other channels such as SMS. Its distinctive feature is the pricing model.

• Free plan: 300 emails a day.
• Paid plans: Starter, Standard, Professional and Enterprise, priced mainly by how many emails you send rather than how many contacts you store.

Compared with MailerLite: If you have a large list but send only occasionally, a volume-based price can be considerably cheaper. If you email a modest list often, subscriber-based pricing like MailerLite’s may work out better. Brevo’s terms change from time to time, so confirm the current free-plan details on its site.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign focuses on advanced marketing automation and customer relationship management.

• No free plan. There is a free 14-day trial.
• Plans: Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise, priced by contacts.
• Strengths: multi-step automation, predictive sending and conditional content on Pro, and enterprise features such as SSO.

Compared with MailerLite: ActiveCampaign is the more powerful automation tool and costs more. If your business depends on complex, behavior-driven journeys or you need sales and marketing in one system, it is worth the price. For a newsletter and a few welcome and follow-up sequences, it is more than most small businesses need.

Which should you choose?

First newsletter, small business

MailerLite (Free or Comfort)

Creator growing a large free list

Kit

Large list, infrequent sends

Brevo (check its volume pricing)

Complex automation and CRM

ActiveCampaign

Broad marketing suite

Mailchimp

Selling digital products

MailerLite or Kit

Leaning towards MailerLite?

Try it on the Free plan before committing. You can build a form, a landing page and a welcome automation without paying.

Try MailerLite free(opens MailerLite in a new tab)

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