Creator Three email editors
Drag & drop, a simple editor, and custom HTML. All three are available on Free, according to MailerLite's pricing FAQ.
MailerLite for newsletter creators: plans, limits and setup (2026 guide)
What MailerLite's Free, Comfort and Power plans actually include, how billing is counted, which creator features need a paid plan, and a step-by-step setup checklist. Everything here comes from MailerLite's own public pages.
How I made this page: Every plan limit, price and feature below comes from MailerLite's public pricing page and help center, checked on September 25, 2026 (sources are listed at the bottom). This is a research guide, not a hands-on review. I don't claim paid testing, and there are no star ratings. Affiliate status: I am not a MailerLite affiliate. MailerLite links on this page are plain links to mailerlite.com and earn me nothing. See the disclosure.
The short version
- Good fit if you want one tool for campaigns, signup forms, landing pages, a simple website and automations, and you care about keeping costs predictable while your list is small.
- Watch out for the Free plan's size. As of September 2026 it covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. That's fine for testing and a small launch list, and tight for anything bigger.
- Creator money features (paid newsletters, recurring subscriptions and digital products sold through Stripe) need the Comfort or Power plan.
- Consider something else if your plan depends on publication-style growth tools such as a referral program and recommendation network. Read Beehiiv vs MailerLite before you decide.
MailerLite plans at a glance
MailerLite says every paid plan gets the full feature set and that "you only pay more for a bigger list or more sending." The exact price depends on your subscriber count and billing period, so use the calculator on the pricing page for your list size.
| Plan | Price (per MailerLite) | Sending & seats | Key limits / extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, up to 250 subscribers | 2,500 emails/month · 2 user seats · community support | 3 automations (up to 5 steps each) · 1 website + 1 landing page · 3 signup forms · 1 digital product or booking · MailerLite logo stays on |
| Comfort | "Starting $12/month" | Monthly emails = 10× the top of your subscriber tier · 3 seats · 24/7 email support | 50 automations · 10 websites & landing pages · 10 signup forms · 5 digital products or bookings · remove MailerLite logo · preference center · AI writing assistant · smart sending |
| Power | "Starting $25/month" | Unlimited monthly emails (fair use) · unlimited seats · 24/7 live chat & email support | Unlimited automations, landing pages, signup forms, digital products & bookings · multiple automation triggers · partner discounts |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom sending volume · unlimited seats · priority support | For 200K+ subscribers · dedicated success manager · dedicated IP (add-on) · deliverability support |
Source: mailerlite.com/pricing (plan cards, comparison table and FAQ), checked September 25, 2026. Prices can be subject to tax. MailerLite also lists a yearly-billing discount on the pricing page.
Older reviews may quote different numbers. MailerLite's help article on its premium trial says its current trial limits apply to accounts created after June 16, 2026, and older content around the web (including some older MailerLite videos) mentions a bigger free plan. Go by the live pricing page, not a review from last year.
How MailerLite counts subscribers and sends
This is the easiest part to get wrong when estimating costs. According to MailerLite's pricing FAQ:
- You pay for active subscribers. Unsubscribed and bounced contacts don't count.
- The count is cumulative within a billing cycle. Anyone who was active at any point in the cycle counts toward your limit, even if you delete them later. The count resets on your monthly billing anniversary.
- On a paid plan, if you go over your tier, MailerLite automatically moves you to the next tier and charges for it.
- On the Free plan, going over 250 active subscribers locks sending (campaigns and automations) until you upgrade or remove subscribers.
- Comfort's email allowance is 10× the top of your subscriber tier. MailerLite's example: on the up-to-1,000 tier you get 10,000 emails a month whether you have 200 subscribers or 900. One email to one subscriber counts as one send.
What this means for a weekly newsletter: four or five issues a month to your whole list uses about 4–5× your list size in sends. That fits inside Comfort's 10× allowance, with room for a welcome sequence. If you send daily, compare Comfort's cap with Power's unlimited sending before you choose.
The 14-day premium trial
New accounts automatically get a 14-day trial of paid features. No payment method is required. Per MailerLite's trial help article:
- During the trial you can add up to 250 subscribers and send up to 2,500 emails (test emails don't count).
- You can try features such as RSS campaigns, auto resend, dynamic blocks, the preference center, multiple automation triggers, paid newsletters and recurring subscriptions.
- The trial does not include custom domains, removing the MailerLite logo, unlimited sending, or a dedicated IP.
- When the trial ends, your account reverts to the Free plan. Nothing is deleted, but paid features switch off, and automations using multiple triggers stop until you upgrade to Power.
Features that matter for newsletter creators
Forms, landing pages, a website
Embedded and pop-up forms, landing pages and a website builder. How many you can have live depends on the plan (see table).
Visual automation builder
Workflows start from a trigger, such as joining a group. Free allows 3 active automations of up to 5 steps. Power allows up to 3 triggers per workflow.
Groups vs segments
Groups (tags) are managed by hand. Segments update automatically based on rules such as signup date or field values.
RSS campaigns
Automatically email new blog posts on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. RSS campaigns are a paid feature (Comfort and Power).
Paid newsletters via Stripe
Sell one-time digital products and recurring subscriptions (including paid newsletters) on MailerLite landing pages and websites through Stripe. Requires Comfort or Power.
Setup checklist: your first MailerLite newsletter
Based on MailerLite's getting-started guide and related help articles. Menu names are MailerLite's, as documented on September 25, 2026.
- Create an account. Sign up with your organization name, email and password. The 14-day premium trial starts automatically.
- Authenticate your sending domain. Go to Account settings → Domains → Add domain. MailerLite says authentication is required when you send from a custom domain, and new accounts can skip it only during the 14-day trial. Plan an afternoon for DNS records. See domain authentication.
- Import subscribers you have permission to email. Subscribers → Add subscribers. Options include CSV/TXT upload, pasting from Excel, adding people one by one, importing directly from Mailchimp, or the API. MailerLite requires that everyone you import has consented to marketing email. See importing subscribers.
- Set up one group for newsletter readers. Keep it simple: one group for your newsletter, then segments later (for example "joined in the last 30 days"). See groups vs segments.
- Publish one signup form or landing page that adds people to that group, and link it from a page you control.
- Build a welcome automation. Trigger: subscriber joins your newsletter group. Add a short welcome email, and put delay steps between emails, because MailerLite notes that email steps with no delay between them all arrive at the same time. See automation workflows.
- Send your first campaign. Campaigns → Create → Regular campaign. MailerLite recommends sending from your own domain email and name, and avoiding no-reply addresses. Fill in the subject, preheader and recipients, then send a test before scheduling.
- If you also blog, add an RSS campaign (Comfort or Power) so new posts go out automatically. See RSS campaigns.
Honest limitations to weigh
- The Free plan is small. With 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, a weekly newsletter reaches the ceiling quickly. Price Comfort at the list size you expect in 12 months, not today's.
- Monetization needs a paid plan and Stripe. Paid newsletters and recurring subscriptions run through the Stripe integration on Comfort or Power, and Stripe charges its own processing fees.
- Automation caps differ a lot by plan: 3 on Free, 50 on Comfort, unlimited on Power. Multiple triggers per workflow are Power-only once the trial ends.
- Positioning. MailerLite presents itself as an email marketing tool and website builder for businesses of all sizes. If you want a newsletter-as-publication platform with built-in growth loops, compare it with Beehiiv. If deep creator-commerce automations are your focus, also look at Kit.
- API and MCP sending is available only on paid plans. On Free, API/MCP access is limited and can't send email.
MailerLite vs the alternatives
- Beehiiv vs MailerLite: newsletter growth platform vs approachable ESP.
- Kit vs Beehiiv: creator automations vs growth-first publishing.
- How to choose a newsletter tool: a decision framework by list size, automation, growth and budget.
- Best newsletter tools for creators: the full shortlist.
FAQ
Is MailerLite free?
Yes. There is a Free plan for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with limits on automations, forms and pages. New accounts also get a 14-day trial of paid features with no card required (as of September 25, 2026).
How much does MailerLite cost for a small newsletter?
MailerLite's pricing FAQ lists Comfort as "starting $12/month" and Power as "starting $25/month". Your actual price depends on your subscriber tier and whether you pay monthly or yearly. Check the calculator on mailerlite.com/pricing.
Can I run a paid newsletter on MailerLite?
Yes, on Comfort or Power, by connecting Stripe and selling a recurring subscription from a MailerLite landing page or website. See MailerLite's Stripe help article.
Can I move my list from Mailchimp?
MailerLite has a direct Mailchimp import (by logging in or with an API key) and a migration guide. From other tools, you can export a CSV and import it.
Where does MailerLite store data?
MailerLite's pricing FAQ says its data storage center is in the European Union and holds ISO 27001 certification.
Sources (checked September 25, 2026)
- https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing: plans, limits, pricing FAQ
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/what-is-included-in-mailerlite-s-14-day-premium-trial
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-get-started-with-mailerlite
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-verify-and-authenticate-your-domain
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-import-subscribers
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/what-is-the-difference-between-groups-and-segments
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-create-an-automation-workflow
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-create-an-rss-campaign
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-sell-digital-products-through-mailerlite-using-stripe
- https://www.mailerlite.com/help/how-to-switch-from-mailchimp-to-mailerlite
MailerLite is a trademark of its owner. I run Creator Mail Stack independently, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by MailerLite. Found something out of date? Tell me.