Updated March 2026

MailerLite vs Brevo

MailerLite and Brevo are the two best-value email platforms in 2026, but their pricing models are fundamentally different — and that changes everything. MailerLite charges per subscriber with unlimited sends: $25/mo at 2,500, $73/mo at 10,000. Brevo charges per email sent with unlimited contacts: $18/mo for 10,000 emails regardless of list size. A creator with 2,000 subscribers sending 3x/week pays roughly the same on both (~$25-29/mo). A business with 20,000 contacts sending one monthly newsletter pays $105/mo on MailerLite vs ~$29/mo on Brevo — a massive gap driven entirely by pricing model. MailerLite wins on deliverability (89.8% vs 89.1% in EmailToolTester), ease of use (G2/Capterra 'Best Ease of Use' since 2023), and includes MailerCheck for built-in list verification. Brevo bundles CRM, SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email, and live chat — capabilities that would cost $50-100/mo in separate tools. Do the maths for your specific list size and send frequency before choosing.

Our pick: MailerLite (7.5/10 vs 7.3/10)

MailerLite wins 3 out of 6 categories. Brevo is better for: small businesses that need email, crm, sms, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume.

Try MailerLite

MailerLite

7.5/10

Brevo

7.3/10

3/5

Automation

3/5

5/5

Deliverability

4/5

5/5

Ease of Use

4/5

3/5

Templates & Design

3/5

2/5

Analytics

3/5

Customer Support

2/5

At a Glance

Feature	MailerLite	Brevo
Free Plan	Yes	Yes
Starting Price	$10/mo	$9/mo
Automation	3/5	3/5
Deliverability	5/5	4/5
Ease of Use	5/5	4/5
Templates & Design	3/5	3/5
Analytics	2/5	3/5
Customer Support	3/5	2/5
Overall	7.5/10	7.3/10

Pricing Comparison

MailerLite

Free Plan

Paid plans from $10/mo

View Pricing

Brevo

Free Plan

Paid plans from $9/mo

View Pricing

Pros & Cons

MailerLite

89.8% deliverability rate across 5 independent test rounds (EmailToolTester) — highest we found among all platforms tested

76% cheaper than Mailchimp at 2,500 subscribers ($25/mo vs ~$69/mo for equivalent features)

Won 'Best Email Marketing Tool for Ease of Use' every year from 2023-2026 across G2 and Capterra

Account approval/termination is a real problem — 60% of Capterra reviews mentioning it were negative. Users report accounts terminated without warning and no refund

Free plan was cut from 1,000 to 500 subscribers in September 2025, with no templates on free (must design from scratch)

Limited analytics — no heatmaps, no custom reports, no revenue attribution, no bot-click filtering. If data matters to you, this will frustrate you

Full MailerLite review →

Brevo

Pay-per-email pricing is unique and actually saves money — store unlimited contacts on every plan including free. A 50,000-contact list that only sends monthly newsletters costs a fraction of what Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign would charge

Most complete all-in-one at this price point: email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, transactional email, live chat, and landing pages. No competitor bundles this much under $20/month

Free plan includes unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, CRM, and basic automation — one of the most generous free tiers available

Account suspensions without explanation are a recurring Trustpilot theme — users report being blocked for as few as 1 unsubscribe out of 488 recipients, told to 'go elsewhere' with no specific reason

Customer support is the #1 complaint across every review platform. Copy-paste responses, 16+ day resolution times, and contradictory information from different agents. Free users get zero support; Starter gets email only

October 2025 plan restructure pushed features up to higher tiers — landing pages and A/B testing now require the Standard plan ($18/mo), previously available on cheaper plans

Full Brevo review →

The Bottom Line

Choose MailerLite if: Small businesses and creators on a budget who want simplicity. It wins 3 of 6 categories in our scoring.

Choose Brevo if: Small businesses that need email, CRM, SMS, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume. It offers better value for its specific use case.

Price comparison: Brevo starts at $9/mo (free plan available) vs MailerLite at $10/mo (free plan available).

Who Should Pick Which?

Pick MailerLite if…

You need a tool best for small businesses and creators on a budget who want simplicity
89.8% deliverability rate across 5 independent test rounds (EmailToolTester) — highest we found among all platforms tested
76% cheaper than Mailchimp at 2,500 subscribers ($25/mo vs ~$69/mo for equivalent features)

Try MailerLite

Pick Brevo if…

You need a tool best for small businesses that need email, crm, sms, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume
Pay-per-email pricing is unique and actually saves money — store unlimited contacts on every plan including free. A 50,000-contact list that only sends monthly newsletters costs a fraction of what Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign would charge
Most complete all-in-one at this price point: email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, transactional email, live chat, and landing pages. No competitor bundles this much under $20/month

Try Brevo

Related Comparisons

Mailchimp vs MailerLite

Mailchimp vs Brevo

ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite

ActiveCampaign vs Brevo

Looking for more options?

See our full ranking: Best Email Marketing for Small Business — 11 Tools Ranked, Real Pricing

Read Full Reviews

MailerLite

Brevo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MailerLite or Brevo better?

MailerLite scores higher overall (7.5/10 vs 7.3/10). MailerLite is best for small businesses and creators on a budget who want simplicity. Brevo is better if you need small businesses that need email, crm, sms, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume.

Which is cheaper, MailerLite or Brevo?

Brevo is cheaper, starting at $9/mo with a free plan. MailerLite starts at $10/mo (also has a free plan).

What is MailerLite best for?

MailerLite is best for small businesses and creators on a budget who want simplicity. It scores highest in deliverability, ease of use.

How we compared these tools

We research every tool using real user reviews from Reddit, G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot — then verify current pricing and cross-reference independent deliverability data. No paid placements, no sponsored rankings.

Read our full methodologyLast updated: March 2026

Transparency note: We earn affiliate commissions from some tools on this page. This never influences our scores. Our methodology