Guide

MailerLite Free plan alternatives

On 16 June 2026, MailerLite reduced the Free plan to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. If you are over those caps, sending and new imports pause until you upgrade or shrink the list. You are not automatically charged.

More guides: Under 2,500 · MailerLite free alternatives · Beehiiv vs Substack vs Kit · Deliverability · Beehiiv → Kit · MailerLite → Kit

What MailerLite says changed

The official FAQ is clear: the subscriber limit dropped from 500 to 250, and the monthly send limit dropped from 12,000 to 2,500. MailerLite also added features to Free (including more templates, blogs, and a second seat) and set feature-use limits such as 3 automations, 3 forms, 1 landing page, 1 website (up to 5 pages), and 1 digital product. If you stay under all of those limits, you can keep using Free.

If you want to stay on MailerLite and you are over the Free caps, Comfort is the first paid plan. The official pricing FAQ and pricing.md (re-read 14 November 2026) say Comfort starts at $12/month and includes 10× the ceiling of your subscriber tier in monthly emails. Dollar tiers in our calculator (for example $19/month at 1,000 subscribers and $33/month at 2,500) match that official table.

If you want another free plan

Beehiiv Free — 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, official page 14 November 2026. You give up MailerLite-style digital products and Comfort automations unless you later pay for Lite.
Kit Free — up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited sends (official pricing-page plan data, 14 November 2026). A strong list-size fit. Check whether you need Creator automations or branding removal.
EmailOctopus Free — 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails/month. Good for lighter send cadences; tight if you email more than about four times a month at the cap.
GetResponse Free — only 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters a month, so it only helps lists that are barely over MailerLite’s 250 cap and still under 500.
Substack — $0 platform fee if you are comfortable with Substack’s reading app and 10% take if you later charge.

If you just need a cheap paid plan

Compare MailerLite Comfort with EmailOctopus Pro, GetResponse Starter, Brevo Starter (priced by emails), and Buttondown’s usage-based paid tiers. Run the same list and send volume through the calculator rather than picking from a headline price. Then follow a migration guide if you decide to leave: MailerLite to Kit is documented from official import articles.

Clean the list before you jump. MailerLite’s FAQ points at its inactive-subscriber cleanup tools. Removing people who no longer want the mail can matter more than changing vendors — and you should only email people you have permission to email.

Source: Free plan update FAQ; MailerLite pricing; other free-plan caps as cited in js/data.js.