If you’re comparing MailerLite vs Kit, you’re really comparing two different philosophies. MailerLite is the budget-friendly all-rounder. Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is the creator-first platform with built-in ways to sell to your audience. Both are good tools. The right one depends on your list size, your budget, and how you plan to make money from email.
This comparison is built from both companies’ official pricing and feature pages, checked on October 16, 2026. We ran a first hands-on check of MailerLite’s free plan on November 5, 2026 (see the section with our screenshots below). We have not tested Kit yet, so the Kit details remain sourced data and synthesis — not lab results. Where a figure couldn’t be confirmed on an official page, it’s marked †.
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TL;DR: Who Should Pick Which
| Reader type | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Free-plan seeker with under 10,000 subscribers | Kit | Free up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends; MailerLite’s free plan now caps at 250 subscribers |
| Budget paid plan, small business | MailerLite | $12/mo at 500 contacts vs Kit’s $39/mo at 1,000 |
| Newsletter or digital-product monetization | Kit | Native paid newsletters, digital product sales, tip jars |
| Landing pages and website building on a budget | MailerLite | Websites and landing pages included, even on the free plan |
| Sending volume matters more than features | MailerLite Power | Unlimited sends at $25/mo entry |
Bottom line: If you’re starting from zero, Kit’s free plan is the more generous on-ramp. The moment you pay, MailerLite is dramatically cheaper at every list size.
MailerLite vs Kit: Pricing and Free Plans
What changed recently (and why older reviews are stale)
Two big shifts make most pre-2026 comparisons unreliable:
- MailerLite cut its free plan. Effective June 2026, the free tier dropped from 500 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails to 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails. We confirmed the 250 / 2,500 limits inside a new MailerLite account on November 5, 2026; the June date comes from third-party trackers†. Paid plans were also renamed: Growing Business is now Comfort, Advanced is now Power.
- Kit raised paid prices. Over the past year or so, the Creator plan’s entry price moved from $29/mo† to $39/mo (the $39 price confirmed in our own Kit account on November 6, 2026) (Kit does not publish a changelog, so the exact date is unconfirmed), while the free plan ceiling rose to 10,000 subscribers (confirmed at help.kit.com, 2026-10-16). ConvertKit rebranded to Kit during this period.
Price-at-scale comparison (original data)
We checked both vendors’ pricing pages on October 16, 2026; figures marked † could not be read directly and come from third-party trackers. MailerLite prices below are the Comfort plan (its entry paid tier); Kit prices are the Creator plan. Annual figures are the effective monthly rate when billed yearly. USD, before tax.
| Contacts | MailerLite Comfort (monthly) | MailerLite Comfort (annual/mo) | Kit Creator (monthly) | Kit Creator (annual/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12 | $10.80 | $0 (free plan covers it) | $0 |
| 2,500 | $33 | $29.70 | $0 (free plan covers it) | $0 |
| 5,000 | $49 | $44.10 | $0 (free plan covers it) | $0 |
| 10,000 | $89 | $80.10 | $139† | $116† |
Two things jump out:
- Kit’s free plan covers you up to 10,000 subscribers if you only need broadcasts, forms, and landing pages. MailerLite’s free plan ends at 250 subscribers. For pure cost at small scale, nothing beats free.
- Once you need paid features (automation, sequences, no branding, live chat), MailerLite is far cheaper. Kit’s paid plans start at $39/mo for just 1,000 subscribers (help.kit.com, 2026-10-16). MailerLite charges $89/mo at 10,000 subscribers — roughly 36% less than Kit’s $139†.
MailerLite’s annual discount is 10% (mailerlite.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). Kit’s annual discount is roughly 16% (about two months free)†. Both bill only active subscribers, so unsubscribed contacts don’t inflate your bill on either platform.
See MailerLite’s current pricing →
How we compare (method box)
- Prices pulled from mailerlite.com/pricing and kit.com/pricing, accessed 2026-10-16.
- Kit’s official page shows per-tier prices on an interactive slider that we could not read directly, so figures above 1,000 subscribers come from third-party pricing trackers (EmailToolTester and JustPricing, accessed 2026-10-16) and are marked †. Trackers do not always agree, so confirm them on kit.com/pricing before you buy.
- We used each platform’s entry paid plan (MailerLite Comfort, Kit Creator). Higher tiers (MailerLite Power, Kit Creator Pro) cost more.
- Figures are list prices before tax, nonprofit discounts (MailerLite offers 30% off for nonprofits), or promotions.
- Prices change. Check the official pages before you buy.
If you’re leaving Mailchimp over pricing, see our comparison of 7 cheaper Mailchimp alternatives.
Features That Matter for Beginners
Automation
This is where the free plans diverge sharply. Kit’s free plan limits automations and sequences, and trackers disagree on the exact limits†, so check the live page before you rely on them. Paid Kit plans include unlimited visual automations (kit.com/pricing, 2026-10-16).
MailerLite’s free plan includes up to 3 automations, and Comfort includes 50 — generous for the price (mailerlite.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). For a beginner who wants a welcome sequence plus a lead-magnet delivery flow without paying, MailerLite’s free tier is more capable despite the smaller subscriber cap.
Forms and landing pages
Both platforms include unlimited forms and landing pages — Kit on every plan including free (kit.com/pricing, 2026-10-16), MailerLite with caps on lower tiers (1 landing page and 1 website on free, 10 on Comfort). MailerLite also includes a full website builder, which Kit doesn’t match; Kit instead offers a hosted “newsletter feed” page.
Deliverability reputation
We don’t run deliverability tests, so we won’t quote numbers. What we can say from official pages: Kit gates its deliverability reporting (per-provider open/click breakdowns) behind Creator Pro (kit.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). MailerLite advertises smart sending and deliverability support on higher tiers, with a dedicated IP available as an Enterprise add-on (mailerlite.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). Both enforce anti-spam list monitoring, which protects shared IP reputation for everyone.
What we saw in our own MailerLite account (November 5 and 6, 2026)
We opened a new free MailerLite account and built a small lead-magnet welcome workflow. This is a first check, not a full review. Here is what we found:
- Free plan limits confirmed: the Plan and Billing page shows the Free plan at up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, for $0.
- A 14-day trial starts automatically: new accounts get trial access to paid features without entering a card. Limits shown during the trial (for example, the automation count) are trial limits, so we do not treat them as free-plan limits.
- Some automation templates are paid: “Simple welcome email” is available, while templates such as “Advanced welcome email” and “Webinar invitation” are marked Premium.
- Building a welcome sequence was quick: a trigger (subscriber joins a group), a first email from a template and a two-day delay took us about six minutes, with no code.
- Not tested yet: sending, deliverability and MailerLite’s account approval review. We will report them once our account has been reviewed.
- A test email reached the Gmail inbox (November 6): we sent a test from a template to our own Gmail address. It arrived in the inbox, not spam, three seconds after sending, and passed SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- Gmail senders get rewritten: because our sender address was a Gmail address, MailerLite replaced the From address with one on its own sending domain (send.mailerlite.eu). To keep your own address, authenticate a sending domain you own; the “Add domain” option was available in our account.
- More paid extras: RSS and auto-resend campaigns are marked Premium, and removing MailerLite branding is a Premium feature. Regular and A/B split campaigns were available.
- What this does not prove: a test email to the account owner is not a deliverability test for a real list, and our account has not yet sent a real campaign, so we have not seen MailerLite’s account approval review.
Ease of Use: MailerLite vs Kit
Neither tool will overwhelm a beginner, but they’re organized differently.
MailerLite uses the traditional model: groups (segments) plus a drag-and-drop email editor with templates. If you’ve used any email tool before, it feels familiar within minutes. Kit uses a tag-based subscriber model and a deliberately plain, text-first email editor — no heavy drag-and-drop design. Creators who write newsletters tend to love this; small businesses that want polished, image-heavy promotional emails may find it limiting.
Honest trade-off: MailerLite’s editor is more flexible for design. Kit’s is faster for writing. Neither requires training.
Monetization Tools
This is Kit’s clearest advantage. On every plan — including free — Kit lets you sell digital products, run paid newsletter subscriptions, offer recurring memberships, and add tip jars, with a 3.5% + $0.30 transaction fee (kit.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). Creator Pro adds a newsletter referral system (via a bundled SparkLoop plan) and a paid recommendations network.
MailerLite supports selling digital products too (1 product on free, 5 on Comfort, unlimited on Power), which covers basic use cases, but it has no paid-newsletter system, no referral network, and no creator cross-promotion features.
If your revenue model is “grow a newsletter, then charge for it or sell downloads,” Kit is built for exactly that. If you sell through a separate store and just need email, MailerLite does the job for less.
Try Kit free: up to 10,000 subscribers →
Support
- MailerLite: 24/7 email support on paid plans; 24/7 live chat on Power (mailerlite.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). Free-plan users get self-serve resources after the 14-day premium trial ends.
- Kit: Email support on free; 24/7 email and chat on Creator; priority support on Pro (kit.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). Kit also offers free done-for-you migration on paid plans — a real perk if you’re switching platforms.
Neither offers phone support at these tiers. Both maintain solid knowledge bases.
MailerLite vs Kit: Verdict by Reader Type
Just starting, no budget: Start on Kit’s free plan. Up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends is the most generous free tier in this category. The catch is minimal automation — if a welcome sequence matters from day one, MailerLite’s free plan (250 subscribers, 3 automations) is the better tiny-list option.
Small business on a budget (paid): MailerLite Comfort. At every paid tier it’s 30–60% cheaper than Kit, and you get automation, templates, and a website builder included.
Creator monetizing a newsletter or digital products: Kit. The built-in commerce, paid subscriptions, and referral tools would cost real money and duct tape to replicate elsewhere.
Larger list, cost-sensitive (10,000+): MailerLite, unless Kit’s monetization tools directly earn you more than the price gap.
Coach with a lead magnet and discovery calls: see our comparison of the best email marketing for coaches, which prices six tools at 500, 2,500 and 5,000 subscribers.
Author with a reader list or a book launch: our guide to the best email marketing for authors compares six tools for reader magnets, ARC teams and launch-week emails, with prices up to 10,000 readers.
FAQ
Is Kit the same as ConvertKit?
Yes. ConvertKit rebranded to Kit in 2024–2025. Same company, same platform, new name and domain (kit.com).
Which has the better free plan, MailerLite or Kit?
For list size, Kit wins by a wide margin: 10,000 subscribers vs MailerLite’s 250. For features, MailerLite’s free plan includes more automation (3 workflows) and a website builder. Pick based on whether subscriber headroom or automation matters more to you right now.
Is MailerLite cheaper than Kit?
On paid plans, yes — substantially. At 10,000 subscribers, MailerLite Comfort is $89/mo vs Kit Creator’s $139/mo† (official pages and cross-checks, 2026-10-16). But Kit is cheaper if you stay on its free plan, which MailerLite can’t match for list size.
Do either charge for unsubscribed contacts?
No. Both MailerLite and Kit bill based on active subscribers only, per their official pricing pages (accessed 2026-10-16).
Can I sell products or paid subscriptions on both?
Kit supports digital products, paid newsletters, memberships, and tip jars on all plans (3.5% + $0.30 fee). MailerLite supports digital product sales with plan-based caps but has no paid-newsletter feature.
Which is easier to switch to?
Kit offers free concierge migration on paid plans (kit.com/pricing, 2026-10-16). MailerLite has importers and a 14-day premium trial with no credit card required, so you can test before moving.
† Price or detail reported by third-party trackers or not published as static text on the vendor’s page (many vendors show prices on an interactive slider). Confirm on the vendor’s live page before you buy.
Sources and method
Hands-on check: our own free MailerLite account, checked on November 5, 2026 (plan limits, automation templates and the workflow builder) and November 6, 2026 (a test send with SPF, DKIM and DMARC results). Our own Kit account, November 6, 2026 (Creator billing page).
Prices and plan limits on this page were checked on the dates shown below. Our hands-on MailerLite results (November 5 and 6, 2026) are in the section with screenshots above. For Kit we have so far confirmed only the Creator price ($39/month or $390/year at 1,000 subscribers, November 6, 2026); we will add Kit’s free-plan limits after our trial ends and the account moves to the free plan.
- mailerlite.com (accessed 2026-10-16)
- kit.com (accessed 2026-10-16)
- help.kit.com (accessed 2026-10-16)
- help.kit.com (accessed 2026-10-16)
- emailtooltester.com (accessed 2026-10-16)
- justpricing.com (accessed 2026-10-16)