Buyers look past MailerLite when the free tier's caps bite, when a renewal arrives at a new price, or when they need commerce, CRM or SMS depth that a newsletter tool does not carry. Most go to Brevo for a broader messaging suite, to Kit or beehiiv for creator businesses, and to Omnisend or Klaviyo for online stores.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Brevo
Send-volume pricing with transactional email and SMS built in · France
Sells more channels than MailerLite: email, SMS and WhatsApp, with SMS credit bought separately. The free plan allows 300 emails a day, and paid tiers are built around monthly email volume. Automation starts at the Standard tier. Seats and phone support sit higher up.
Switch from MailerLite if you want email plus SMS and WhatsApp and prefer pricing by send volume.
Pricing: Free plan with a daily sending cap, then paid plans priced mainly by monthly email volume; SMS and WhatsApp credits bought separately. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Brevo →
2. Kit
Email platform for creators and newsletter businesses · United States
Built for creators who sell. The free plan runs to 10,000 subscribers, and the Creator tier is billed per subscriber band with a 14-day trial. Free migrations are offered on the pricing page. The pricing page lists unlimited landing pages and forms.
Switch from MailerLite if you sell digital products or subscriptions to a creator audience and want migrations done for you.
Pricing: Free newsletter plan, then paid plans priced by subscriber count; automations and integrations on paid tiers. (free plan)
Full review: #3 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Kit →
3. Mailchimp
The familiar email platform, now part of Intuit · United States
The incumbent most lists come from. Plans are Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium, priced by contact band, and overages apply above the contact or send limit. Premium brings phone support and multivariate testing. Check the contact-band price at your list size.
Switch from MailerLite if you need multivariate testing, phone support or a vendor your agency already knows.
Pricing: Limited free plan, then Essentials, Standard and Premium priced by audience contacts; overages apply above the plan limit. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Mailchimp →
4. Omnisend
Ecommerce email and SMS for smaller online stores · Lithuania
Aimed at online stores. The vendor offers a free five-day migration of flows, lists and templates, lists over 305 integrations, and quotes SMS from $0.007 per message. Support is live chat at every tier. It is a poor fit for a pure newsletter writer.
Switch from MailerLite if you run a shop and want SMS, store integrations and a vendor-run migration.
Pricing: Free plan for small stores, then plans priced by contact count, with SMS credits included on higher tiers. (free plan)
Full review: #7 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Omnisend →
5. GetResponse
Email, webinars and funnels from one platform · Poland
Adds webinars, a course creator and premium newsletters on its Creator plan, which allows up to 500 students. Sales funnels and abandoned cart recovery start at Marketer. The entry plan permits one custom automation workflow. The pricing page shows a 14-day trial rather than a free plan.
Switch from MailerLite if you want webinars and a course product inside the email tool.
Pricing: Free plan up to 500 contacts, then plans priced by list size, with webinars and the course creator on the Creator tier and above. (free plan)
Full review: #8 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit GetResponse →
6. EmailOctopus
Low-cost newsletters without the extras · United Kingdom
A deliberately small tool. The Starter plan is free for 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, with EmailOctopus branding, one form and one landing page. Pro removes the branding and limits. It has a plainer feature set than MailerLite, and nonprofits get a 20% discount.
Switch from MailerLite if you want the lowest price at a modest list size and can live without heavy site tools.
Pricing: Generous free plan, then low-cost plans priced by subscriber count. (free plan)
Full review: #9 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit EmailOctopus →
7. Klaviyo
Ecommerce email and SMS built on store data · United States
Priced by active profiles instead of subscribers, with a free tier of 250 profiles and 500 email sends a month. Built around store data and the vendor's customer platform, with SMS and a customer hub on top. Cost scales with profile count.
Switch from MailerLite if your revenue comes from a store and you want campaigns driven by purchase data.
Pricing: Free plan for small stores, then plans priced by active profiles, with SMS billed separately by credit. (free plan)
Full review: #5 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Klaviyo →
8. ActiveCampaign
Email campaigns wrapped around a deep automation engine · United States
A marketing automation and CRM platform more than a newsletter tool. Starter limits each automation to five actions and one user, while Plus, Pro and Enterprise add users, segmentation and conditional content. Prices are quoted by contact band after a form, so budget takes a call.
Switch from MailerLite if you outgrew basic automations and want CRM-style segmentation and attribution.
Pricing: Published plans billed by contact band, with a low-cost Starter tier and the stronger automation and reporting reserved for Plus and above. (free trial)
Full review: #13 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit ActiveCampaign →
9. AWeber
Veteran autoresponder with round-the-clock support · United States
A long-running list tool with a Lite plan for creators and a Plus plan with unlimited automations, lists and users. Both offer a 14-day trial, and Lite is limited to one email list and three automations. A paid done-for-you service builds your templates and workflows in seven days.
Switch from MailerLite if you would rather pay for a built setup and 24/7 support than assemble one.
Pricing: Plans priced by subscriber count, with trial access before paying. (free trial)
Full review: #11 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit AWeber →
10. beehiiv
Newsletter publishing with growth and ad tools · United States
A newsletter publishing platform. The free plan carries unlimited sends, landing pages and a recommendation network, while the Lite tier adds paid subscriptions at a 0% take rate. Plans are priced for 1,000 subscribers as a base. It suits publishers more than shops or local firms.
Switch from MailerLite if you publish a newsletter and want paid subscriptions and ad monetization built in.
Pricing: Free plan up to a subscriber cap, then plans priced by subscriber count with monetization features on higher tiers. (free plan)
Full review: #10 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit beehiiv →
11. Campaign Monitor
Design-led email with agency client management · United States
Sold on a Lite tier that allows five times the subscriber count in monthly emails, with unlimited sends one tier up. Inbox preview and an AI writing studio sit on the higher plan. The pricing page also lists a free plan. Users are unlimited.
Switch from MailerLite if you work with a team and want unlimited users and inbox preview.
Pricing: Plans priced by contact count, with client billing options for agencies. (free trial)
Full review: #12 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Campaign Monitor →
12. Constant Contact
Email with phone support for local businesses and nonprofits · United States
We could not read this vendor's pricing page, which sits behind a bot check, so we state no prices or limits. Its knowledge base offers a free sign-up. Check current plan caps, contact tiers and trial terms on the vendor's own site before comparing.
Switch from MailerLite if you want an established US vendor and have verified its plan caps yourself.
Pricing: Tiered plans priced by contact count; no permanent free plan, trial available. (free trial)
Full review: #6 of 13 in our ranking ·
Visit Constant Contact →
Questions and answers
Can I export my subscribers from MailerLite?
Yes, as CSV or CSV for Excel, and only account administrators see the option. The export carries the columns shown in the list at that moment, so add custom fields and group names with Set columns before you export.
Does MailerLite refund the unused part of a plan?
No, the terms give a refund only if MailerLite terminates service without cause before the end of a paid year. Unused or partly used monthly and yearly plans and plans bought by mistake are not refunded.
Will my MailerLite price change at renewal?
It can, because every plan renews at the price applicable at renewal time. MailerLite may revise prices with at least 14 calendar days' notice by email and on its site, and a discount does not carry into later periods.
What happens if I exceed my subscriber limit?
A paid account is upgraded to the next tier automatically and the card on file is charged, with notification first. A free account stops sending and adding subscribers by some methods until you upgrade, though forms and landing pages keep collecting.
Who is the contracting company for MailerLite?
The privacy policy names MailerLite Limited, an Irish company in Dublin, for customers with an EEA, UK or Swiss billing address, and MailerLite, Inc., a Delaware corporation, for the rest. The table on this page shows the headquarters country from our category file.
Can I cancel without losing my data right away?
You can cancel any time on the Plan and Billing page, and the terms say Legacy (Classic) free accounts that were not upgraded before February 2024 were permanently deleted with no recovery. Export your lists before you cancel or downgrade.
