MailerLite vs Mailchimp compared: Which is the best?

Email marketing campaigns are central to many businesses' digital marketing strategies, helping them build customer relationships and drive sales. Leveraging email marketing tools is a smart way to automate your campaigns, optimize lead nurturing, and collect data to understand your audience and their preferences better. 

But to turbocharge your marketing efforts, choosing the email marketing platform that best suits your business and its needs is essential. In this article, we compare two popular solutions—MailerLite vs Mailchimp. By understanding their key features, use cases, and main differences, you can determine the best one for your situation. Let’s dive in!

MailerLite and Mailchimp are two prominent contenders in the world of email marketing platforms, each offering its own unique strengths to cater to specific user requirements.

MailerLite is known for its user-friendly interface and simplicity. It provides a streamlined platform for creating and sending email campaigns, making it an excellent choice for small businesses and beginners. In contrast, Mailchimp offers a comprehensive suite of features, including marketing automation, advanced analytics, and extensive integrations. It serves a broad spectrum of users, from startups to large enterprises, providing scalability as businesses grow.

Now, let's delve into the MailerLite vs. Mailchimp comparison to assist you in making an informed decision when choosing the right email marketing platform for your specific needs.

MailerLite and Mailchimp offer user-friendly digital marketing tools for crafting email campaigns, signup forms, landing pages, and websites. Mailchimp accommodates marketing professionals of all experience levels, while MailerLite’s features specifically cater to small businesses and beginners. There are also some key differences between the platforms that may guide your choice when deciding between the two. 

Let’s look at how MailerLite and Mailchimp approach email send allowances. MailerLite includes a generous 12,000 email sends on its free plan (suitable for up to 1,000 subscribers) and unlimited email sends on its paid plans. Compared to MailerLite, Mailchimp’s free plan offers up to 1,000 email sends, while its Essential plan offers 5,000, the Standard plan includes 6,000, and Premium plan extends to 150,000 sends, all based on 500 contacts. 

There are also subtle but potentially significant differences between their support options. Both solutions only offer 30 days of email support on their free plans. After this, users must rely on MailerLite and Mailchimp’s respective knowledge bases for support. MailerLite includes 24/7 email support with all its paid plans. Live chat is only available with its Advanced plan and MailerLite doesn’t offer phone support. On the other hand, Mailchimp’s paid plans include 24/7 email and chat support. It offers phone support with its top-tier plan. 

The platforms’ list management features differ. Mailerlite treats contacts appearing on multiple lists as single contacts. It also includes list automation features, such as removing subscribers from old lists when you move them to another. Mailchimp silos its contact lists. This means that if the same contact appears on two lists, they are treated as two separate contacts. This is a relevant consideration given Mailchimp’s pricing plans are calculated based on the number of contacts.

• User-friendly interface: MailerLite boasts an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for beginners and experienced users alike.
• Affordable pricing: It offers competitive pricing plans, including a free plan with basic features and affordable paid options, making it cost-effective for businesses of all sizes.
• Drag-and-drop editor: The platform provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop email editor, simplifying the process of creating visually appealing email campaigns without coding skills.
• Automation: MailerLite offers robust automation features, allowing businesses to set up automated email sequences, autoresponders, and workflow automation to nurture leads and engage subscribers.
• Support and education: MailerLite provides excellent customer support and a wealth of educational resources, including tutorials, webinars, and guides, to help users make the most of the platform.

• Limited advanced features: While suitable for most small and medium-sized businesses, MailerLite may lack some advanced features that larger enterprises require.
• Subscriber-based pricing: Pricing is based on the number of subscribers, which can lead to cost increases as your email list grows.
• Template customization: Customization options for email templates can be somewhat limited compared to more advanced email marketing platforms.
• A/B testing restrictions: A/B testing options are available but may not be as extensive as those offered by competitors.
• Advanced reporting: While it provides basic reporting, MailerLite's reporting and analytics capabilities may not be as advanced as some other email marketing platforms.

• User-friendly interface: Mailchimp offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Comprehensive features: It provides a wide range of features, including email marketing, marketing automation, landing page creation, and social media marketing, making it a versatile all-in-one marketing platform.
• Extensive integrations: Mailchimp integrates seamlessly with numerous third-party apps and services, allowing users to connect and automate various aspects of their marketing efforts.
• Personalization and segmentation: The platform enables users to create highly personalized email campaigns and segment their audience effectively, leading to improved engagement and conversions.
• Strong analytics: Mailchimp offers robust reporting and analytics tools, helping users track campaign performance, audience behavior, and ROI.

• Pricing: Mailchimp's pricing can become expensive as the subscriber list grows, and some essential features are only available in higher-tier plans.
• Complexity for beginners: While user-friendly, Mailchimp's extensive feature set can be overwhelming for beginners, requiring time to learn and optimize.
• Limited automation in free plan: The free plan offers limited automation features, which may not be sufficient for businesses with advanced automation needs.
• Email deliverability: Some users have reported email deliverability issues, which can impact the effectiveness of email campaigns.
• Restrictions on affiliate marketing: Mailchimp's terms of service prohibit affiliate marketing, which may not be suitable for businesses in that niche.

When comparing MailerLite and Mailchimp, MailerLite distinguishes itself with its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes seeking a straightforward yet robust email marketing solution. MailerLite offers competitive pricing, including a free plan and affordable paid options, catering to startups and small businesses looking to establish their email marketing campaigns without a significant financial outlay.

While both MailerLite and Mailchimp excel in email marketing, the choice between the two hinges on your specific needs. MailerLite offers a cost-effective and user-friendly solution, ideal for businesses looking to streamline their email marketing efforts without breaking the bank.

Determining whether MailerLite is better than Mailchimp depends on your specific email marketing needs. MailerLite shines with its simplicity, user-friendly interface, and competitive pricing, making it an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses and beginners looking for a straightforward email marketing solution. Its intuitive email editor and automation features are well-suited for those seeking ease of use.

On the other hand, Mailchimp offers a more extensive feature set, including marketing automation, landing page creation, and advanced analytics, catering to a broader spectrum of users, including larger enterprises. If you require a comprehensive, all-in-one marketing platform with scalability, Mailchimp may be the better fit.

MailerLite is primarily best used for email marketing campaigns. It offers a user-friendly platform to design, send, and manage email campaigns effectively. Its simplicity makes it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses and beginners in email marketing. You can create engaging newsletters, automate email sequences, and analyze campaign performance. 

Additionally, MailerLite provides features like subscriber list management and segmentation, allowing you to target specific audiences. While it may not offer the advanced capabilities of some competitors, its cost-effective pricing and ease of use make it a practical choice for those looking to start or grow their email marketing efforts.

Whether MailerLite can replace Mailchimp depends on your specific email marketing requirements. MailerLite offers a simpler and more budget-friendly approach to email marketing, making it an attractive alternative for businesses and individuals seeking ease of use and cost-effectiveness. It excels in providing an intuitive platform for creating and sending email campaigns.

While MailerLite can be a viable alternative for basic email marketing needs, Mailchimp's comprehensive capabilities may be necessary for businesses with more complex email marketing strategies.

When evaluating the cost-effectiveness of MailerLite versus Mailchimp, MailerLite typically stands out as the more budget-friendly option. MailerLite’s competitive pricing plans include a free plan with essential features and affordable paid options, making it an attractive choice for businesses looking to manage their email marketing budgets effectively.

In contrast, Mailchimp's pricing can be relatively higher, and, despite advanced features, the cost may not align with the budget constraints of smaller businesses and individuals.

When evaluating email marketing software, it's crucial to explore whether there might be a better fit for your specific email marketing needs.

Some notable alternatives to MailerLite in the email marketing space include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Brevo (ex. Sendinblue), and GetResponse.

The choice of email marketing software depends on your organization's unique email marketing objectives, list size, and automation requirements. While MailerLite offers simplicity and cost-effectiveness, other tools may offer more advanced features, integrations, or industry-specific solutions that better align with your email marketing strategy.

When comparing Mailchimp and MailerLite, Mailchimp stands out with its comprehensive approach to email marketing, making it a compelling choice for individuals and businesses seeking a feature-rich, all-in-one email marketing solution. Mailchimp offers a variety of pricing plans, including a free plan and reasonably priced paid options, catering to a broad spectrum of users, from startups to larger enterprises, making it accessible to those looking to enhance their email marketing efforts without significant cost.

While both Mailchimp and MailerLite excel in email marketing, the choice between the two hinges on your specific email marketing requirements. Mailchimp offers a comprehensive and versatile solution for users looking to centralize and optimize their email marketing campaigns and strategies.

Whether Mailchimp is better than MailerLite depends on your specific email marketing needs and preferences. Mailchimp offers a more extensive feature set, including marketing automation, advanced analytics, and landing page creation, making it a robust choice for businesses with complex email marketing strategies and larger subscriber lists. Its versatility can be a game-changer for those looking to centralize and optimize their email marketing efforts.

On the other hand, MailerLite excels in simplicity, user-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness, making it an attractive option for small to medium-sized businesses and beginners. It provides essential email marketing features without overwhelming users with complexity.

Mailchimp is best known for its email marketing capabilities. It offers a comprehensive platform for creating, sending, and managing email campaigns. Businesses can design visually appealing newsletters, segment their subscriber lists, and automate email sequences to engage with their audience effectively. Mailchimp also provides detailed analytics to track campaign performance, including open rates and click-through rates. 

Beyond email marketing, it offers features like landing page creation and marketing automation to support various digital marketing efforts. While Mailchimp can handle a range of marketing tasks, it's particularly valuable for organizations seeking a user-friendly solution for their email marketing campaigns and customer engagement.

Whether Mailchimp can replace MailerLite depends on your specific email marketing needs. Mailchimp offers a more extensive feature set, including marketing automation, advanced analytics, and landing page creation, making it a robust choice for businesses with complex email marketing strategies and larger subscriber lists. Its versatility can be a game-changer for those looking to centralize and optimize their email marketing efforts.

On the other hand, MailerLite excels in simplicity, user-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness, making it an attractive option for small to medium-sized businesses and beginners. It provides essential email marketing features without overwhelming users with complexity. The choice between Mailchimp and MailerLite ultimately depends on your specific needs, with Mailchimp's versatility catering to complex strategies and MailerLite excelling in user-friendly simplicity.

When comparing the cost-effectiveness of Mailchimp and MailerLite, MailerLite typically comes out as the more budget-friendly option. Mailchimp’s pricing can prove more expensive, especially as your subscriber list grows. The platform’s extensive feature set, including marketing automation and advanced features, however, may make for a valuable investment for businesses and startups that rely on robust tools to optimize their marketing campaigns. 

MailerLite, however, offers more competitive pricing plans, proving a more affordable option for smaller businesses with limited budgets. The software’s free plan even gives access to essential marketing features to see if the platform is a right fit.

When assessing email marketing software options, it's crucial to explore whether there might be a better fit for your specific email marketing needs.

Some notable alternatives to Mailchimp in the email marketing space include MailerLite, Constant Contact, Brevo (ex. Sendinblue), and HubSpot.

The choice of email marketing software depends on your organization's unique email marketing objectives, list size, and automation requirements. While Mailchimp offers a comprehensive feature set, other tools may offer more cost-effective solutions, better deliverability rates, or specialized features tailored to your industry.

Building and expanding your email subscriber list is a fundamental aspect of successful email marketing, and both MailerLite and Mailchimp offer tools to facilitate this process. Nonetheless, MailerLite's customizable forms have received acclaim for their user-friendliness and effectiveness. Users appreciate the simplicity of creating and customizing forms that seamlessly integrate with their websites or landing pages. 

You can easily design pop-up forms, embedded forms, or landing page sign-up forms tailored to your branding. This straightforward approach makes it convenient for businesses to capture essential subscriber information and grow their email lists with ease, ultimately enhancing their email marketing efforts.

Both Mailchimp and MailerLite excel in facilitating team collaboration through their multi-user account features. These functionalities allow teams to efficiently work together on managing email campaigns. For instance, both platforms enable users to assign roles, share templates, and seamlessly collaborate, ensuring a streamlined workflow. 

Whether it's designating specific team members to handle content creation or sharing email templates for consistent branding, these tools enhance efficiency and productivity in email marketing efforts. This level of teamwork support ensures that both platforms cater to the needs of businesses and organizations seeking effective and collaborative email marketing solutions.

When assessing integration capabilities, Mailchimp holds a slight advantage over MailerLite. While MailerLite boasts robust integrations, Mailchimp offers a broader spectrum of connectivity options. With an extensive library of over 300 integrations, including well-known customer relationship management (CRM) systems, content management platforms, and marketing platforms like WooCommerce, Salesforce, WordPress, and Shopify, Mailchimp provides versatile compatibility across various platforms. 

This diversity is particularly advantageous for businesses aiming to consolidate their tools and apps into a seamless ecosystem. However, it's worth noting that MailerLite covers all the essential connections essential for effective email marketing efficiently and with user-friendliness in mind.

MailerLite's drag-and-drop editor is a standout feature that streamlines email marketing, providing users with a hassle-free campaign customization experience. While both MailerLite and Mailchimp offer design tools for crafting visually appealing emails, many users have noted that MailerLite's user interface is exceptionally intuitive, making it an ideal choice for novices. 

This ease of use doesn't come at the expense of design sophistication. In fact, MailerLite empowers users to create visually stunning campaigns that effectively convey their brand identity. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting, MailerLite's accessible interface ensures that your brand consistently shines in every email campaign you create.

In terms of user-friendliness, MailerLite excels in comparison to Mailchimp. Its intuitive design and straightforward functionality make it a top pick for beginners and those less tech-savvy. Mailchimp, on the other hand, can initially appear complex, posing a learning curve for newcomers. MailerLite's drag-and-drop editor, streamlined navigation, and readily accessible tools offer a hassle-free email marketing experience. 

Additionally, its clean and uncluttered dashboard presents all features clearly, enhancing task efficiency. For instance, the intuitive interface allows users to effortlessly design visually appealing newsletters and automate email sequences, making email marketing accessible and efficient for all skill levels.

When it comes to email marketing automation, both MailerLite and Mailchimp have their strengths. Mailchimp, however, stands out with its advanced level of customization. It empowers you to create highly personalized messages based on your customers' profiles and their interactions with your brand. For instance, you can send tailored product recommendations to customers who have shown interest in specific products. 

While MailerLite also offers automation capabilities, it may not match Mailchimp's versatility in crafting highly targeted messages. While both tools are effective for automating email campaigns, Mailchimp's depth of customization sets it apart for businesses aiming to deliver hyper-personalized content.

Mailchimp's content optimizer stands out as a valuable tool, offering actionable insights derived from successful campaigns to enhance your marketing strategy. This feature provides specific recommendations, such as optimal send times and subject line suggestions, based on data-driven insights. For example, it might suggest sending emails on Tuesdays for better open rates or optimizing subject lines for increased engagement. 

While MailerLite offers real-time analytics to track campaign performance, it doesn't offer the same level of guidance as Mailchimp's optimizer. This actionable feedback can be a game-changer in refining your email marketing strategy, ultimately leading to more successful campaigns and improved results.