MailerLite (Growing Business) review 2027

What problem does MailerLite solve?

MailerLite is email marketing software for small businesses and creators, and it solves the two problems that decide whether email works at all: whether the message lands in the inbox, and whether the bill stays small enough to keep sending. In our test it delivered 97% inbox placement, the best figure here, and it did that at $39 at 5,000 contacts with automation and unlimited emails. The tagline frames the same trade: the best inbox placement in our test, a clean editor, real automation and landing pages — at a third of Mailchimp's price.

The benefits follow from that. Landing pages, forms and a site builder are included, so a small business can collect addresses without buying another tool. The editor was one our beginner used without a tutorial. Automation runs multi-trigger workflows, which covers the welcome, cart-abandon and re-engagement flows we built. It is the best email marketing software overall in a category where we tested seven products.

How did we score MailerLite?

Five criteria, each with its own maximum, produced the 9 out of 10.

• Deliverability — 24 of 25. We measured inbox placement of our four campaigns across 40 seed addresses at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and iCloud, and judged authentication setup help.
• Editor & automation — 21 of 25. Email editor quality, templates, and how far the automation builder went with our welcome, cart-abandon and re-engagement flows.
• Segmentation & data — 13 of 15. Segments, tags, custom fields, ecommerce data and reporting depth.
• Ease of use — 14 of 15. Time for a first campaign, and how much the interface fought back.
• Value — 18 of 20. Monthly price at 5,000 contacts with automation, and the free tier.

Deliverability and ease of use carried the score. Segmentation is where the points came off, and that is the same place the verdict points stores elsewhere.

What does MailerLite do best?

The measured inbox placement of 97% is the strongest result in this test, and it is not a lab figure — it comes from four campaigns sent to 40 seed addresses across four mailbox providers. Price is the second strength: $39 at 5,000 contacts with automation and unlimited emails, against $79, $79 and $100 from three rivals below.

The third is scope for the money. Landing pages, forms and a site builder are included, and the automation builder handled multi-trigger workflows in our hands. The editor passed a real test: our beginner used it without a tutorial, which is why ease of use scored 14 of 15.

What is inside the plan?

The spec sheet is short and specific.

• Price at 5,000 contacts: 39 USD/mo
• Free plan: Yes, 1,000 subscribers
• Automation: Yes, multi-trigger workflows
• eCommerce: Shopify and WooCommerce
• Landing pages / forms: Yes, sites too
• SMS: No
• Inbox placement (our test): 97%
• Best for: Small businesses and creators

Read the SMS row before you commit. If text messaging is part of your plan, this is not the product for it.

How does it compare with the other tested platforms?

Brevo scored 8.3 and costs $25 at 5,000 contacts, priced by emails sent rather than contacts, with SMS and WhatsApp and 94% inbox placement. It is cheaper on paper and adds channels MailerLite does not, but it placed less mail in our test.

Kit scored 8.3 at $79 with 96% inbox placement, a visual automation builder and native sales of digital products and subscriptions. It suits writers and podcasters; MailerLite costs less and placed more mail.

ActiveCampaign scored 8.1 at $79 with 93% inbox placement and the most powerful automation builder here, plus a CRM. Its depth is real, and it is the reason our segmentation score stopped at 13 of 15.

Klaviyo scored 8.3 at $100 with 96% inbox placement and native Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Magento data. Stores wanting deep purchase data should still look at Klaviyo, as our verdict says.

Where does MailerLite fall short?

Segmentation depth is the named loss. Segments are simpler than Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign, so a business that segments on purchase history, browse behaviour or lead score will feel the ceiling. The approval process for new accounts takes a day, which matters if you are migrating on a deadline. And there is no SMS, so a text channel has to live somewhere else.

Is MailerLite good value?

At $39 at 5,000 contacts with automation and unlimited emails, it is the lowest price among the platforms we compared at that list size: Brevo at $25 is lower but priced by emails sent, while Kit and ActiveCampaign sit at $79 and Klaviyo at $100. Value scored 18 of 20, and the free plan covers 1,000 subscribers before you pay anything.

Who should buy MailerLite?

Most small businesses and newsletters. It is best for small businesses and creators, and it stays right for anyone whose email is a straightforward relationship with a list rather than a purchase-data machine. If you run an online store that needs deep purchase data, look at Klaviyo. If your email is a sales process with lead scoring and a CRM, look at ActiveCampaign. For everyone else, the inbox placement and the price decide it.