Updated March 2026

MailerLite vs beehiiv

MailerLite and beehiiv target overlapping but different audiences. MailerLite is an email marketing platform that happens to work well for newsletters — strong deliverability (94.41%), visual automation builder, landing pages, and a website builder. beehiiv is a newsletter platform that happens to send email — content-first editor, built-in monetization (ad network, paid subscriptions), referral program, and SEO-friendly web archive. If your newsletter is a channel supporting a broader business, MailerLite gives you more marketing tools. If your newsletter IS the business and you want to monetize it directly, beehiiv is built for exactly that.

Our pick: MailerLite (7.5/10 vs 7/10)

MailerLite wins 3 out of 6 categories. beehiiv is better for: newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion.

Try MailerLite

MailerLite

7.5/10

beehiiv

7/10

3/5

Automation

2/5

5/5

Deliverability

3/5

5/5

Ease of Use

4/5

3/5

Templates & Design

3/5

2/5

Analytics

3/5

Customer Support

3/5

At a Glance

Feature	MailerLite	beehiiv
Free Plan	Yes	Yes
Starting Price	$10/mo	$43/mo
Automation	3/5	2/5
Deliverability	5/5	3/5
Ease of Use	5/5	4/5
Templates & Design	3/5	3/5
Analytics	2/5	3/5
Customer Support	3/5	3/5
Overall	7.5/10	7/10

Pricing Comparison

MailerLite

Free Plan

Paid plans from $10/mo

View Pricing

beehiiv

Free Plan

Paid plans from $43/mo

View Pricing

Pros & Cons

MailerLite

94.41% 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 →

beehiiv

Outstanding monetisation tools: built-in ad network, Boosts (paid cross-promotions), paid subscriptions with 0% take rate, and referral program. No other newsletter platform offers this full combination

Free plan includes up to 2,500 subscribers — generous for newsletter creators just starting out

November 2025 Winter Release was massive: AI website builder, digital products, podcast hosting, website analytics. Covered by TechCrunch as a significant platform evolution

Automation is the #1 weakness — basic compared to Kit, ActiveCampaign, or even MailerLite. No tags or lists system. This is the biggest reason creators leave beehiiv

No independent deliverability data exists — beehiiv is excluded from EmailToolTester benchmarks. Their self-reported 98.9% delivery rate cannot be externally verified, which is a red flag for a review site

Trustpilot rating of 4.2/5 but 23% of reviews are one-star — a bimodal love-it-or-hate-it distribution. Billing complaints include being charged after deactivation and difficulty finding the cancellation button

Full beehiiv 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 beehiiv if: Newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion. It offers better value for its specific use case.

Price comparison: MailerLite starts at $10/mo (free plan available) vs beehiiv at $43/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
94.41% 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 beehiiv if…

You need a tool best for newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion
Outstanding monetisation tools: built-in ad network, Boosts (paid cross-promotions), paid subscriptions with 0% take rate, and referral program. No other newsletter platform offers this full combination
Free plan includes up to 2,500 subscribers — generous for newsletter creators just starting out

Try beehiiv

Related Comparisons

Mailchimp vs MailerLite

Mailchimp vs beehiiv

ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite

ActiveCampaign vs beehiiv

Looking for more options?

See our full ranking: Best Free Email Marketing Tools

Read Full Reviews

MailerLite

beehiiv

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MailerLite or beehiiv better?

MailerLite scores higher overall (7.5/10 vs 7/10). MailerLite is best for small businesses and creators on a budget who want simplicity. beehiiv is better if you need newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion.

Which is cheaper, MailerLite or beehiiv?

MailerLite is cheaper, starting at $10/mo with a free plan. beehiiv starts at $43/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