MailerLite vs Mailchimp: prices, free plans and seats

MailerLite vs Mailchimp: price at the same list size

MailerLite costs less than Mailchimp at 1,000 contacts on monthly billing. MailerLite Comfort, its first paid plan, is $19 a month at the 1,000-subscriber tier, while Mailchimp Essentials is $26.50 and Standard is $45 a month at 501 to 1,500 contacts, as read on October 6, 2026.

The comparison changes above 1,000. A subscriber tier is the size band MailerLite prices a plan for, and it rounds up: 1,200 subscribers land on the 2,500 tier, where Comfort is $33 a month billed monthly, more than Mailchimp Essentials at $26.50 and less than Standard at $45.

Three Mailchimp bands end where MailerLite tiers do. Billed monthly at 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 subscribers, Comfort is $33, $49 and $89 a month, against Mailchimp Essentials at $45, $75 and $110 and Standard at $60, $100 and $135 for the bands that end at 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts.

Free plans compared: 250 subscribers or contacts each

MailerLite's Free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 2 seats and 3 automations. Mailchimp's free plan is for lists under 250 contacts, with sending capped at 500 emails a month or 250 a day.

MailerLite cut its Free plan from 500 subscribers to 250 on June 16, 2026, so older comparisons that show 500 are out of date. For a free list that will pass 250 on either service, Kit (formerly ConvertKit) offers up to 10,000 subscribers on its Free plan.

Seats, support and trials

MailerLite gives 2 seats on Free, 3 on Comfort and unlimited seats on Power. Mailchimp gives 1 seat on Free, 3 on Essentials and 5 on Standard.

MailerLite support runs from community help on Free to 24/7 email on Comfort and 24/7 live chat and email on Power, and every new account gets live chat for its first 14 days. Mailchimp's free plan includes email support for the first 30 days only.

On the MailerLite side, a fresh account runs a 14-day premium trial without asking for a card. Mailchimp's trial also lasts 14 days, but it sends only 100 emails until a card is saved.

Moving a Mailchimp list to MailerLite

MailerLite's Mailchimp importer is free, and MailerLite built it and supports it. It moves subscribers, tags, custom fields and simple segments. Each Mailchimp list and tag becomes a group, a set of subscribers that you add and remove by hand or through an automation, or everyone goes into one group.

Behavioral, e-commerce and advanced segments do not move automatically, so a store that targets buyers by purchase history rebuilds those segments afterward. The import is also one-way: new Mailchimp data does not follow. The Mailchimp MailerLite integration guide covers the importer, tags and limits.

Who should stay with Mailchimp, and who should look at Kit

Stay with Mailchimp if your team already runs on it, since behavioral, e-commerce and advanced segments do not import automatically, or if you need Standard's 5 seats. MailerLite Power has unlimited seats at $39 a month billed monthly at 1,000 subscribers.

Pick MailerLite for a list of up to 1,000 at $19 a month billed monthly, or for one of up to 250 that fits the Free plan. Pick Kit for a free list of up to 10,000 subscribers. Mailchimp alternatives prices more options, and MailerLite pricing lists every tier.