Kit vs MailerLite: free to 10,000, or automation from tier one?

How are Kit and MailerLite really different?

• Free plan subscriber ceiling

  Kit

  10,000 subscribers included, at no cost

  MailerLite

  250 subscribers, then campaign and automation sending locks until you upgrade or trim the list

  A list in the low thousands costs nothing on Kit and forces a decision on MailerLite well before that.

• Entry paid price and what it buys

  Kit

  Creator: $39/month billed monthly, 2 seats, unlimited automations, at 1,000 subscribers

  MailerLite

  Comfort: $12/month billed monthly, 3 seats, 50 automations, at the 500-subscriber entry band

  MailerLite's entry tier is cheaper in dollars and starts at a smaller list, but Kit buys unlimited automation from the first paid dollar. MailerLite caps Comfort's automation count and only removes the cap on Power.

• Automation depth by tier

  Kit

  Unlimited visual automations and email sequences on both Creator and Pro

  MailerLite

  3 on Free, 50 on Comfort, unlimited from Power up

  MailerLite actually confirms automation on its free tier, something Kit doesn't state either way; Kit only guarantees unlimited automation once you're paying.

• Team seats by tier

  Kit

  1 on Free, 2 on Creator, unlimited on Pro

  MailerLite

  2 on Free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power and Enterprise

  MailerLite's Comfort tier alone covers a 3-person team. Kit needs its top tier, Pro, for the same headcount, and that is a big jump in price.

• Pricing as the list grows

  Kit

  Creator and Pro start at 1,000 subscribers and rise in steps with the list, up to 400,000 subscribers

  MailerLite

  Comfort and Power start at 500 subscribers and rise in steps with the list; MailerLite moves paid accounts up to the next band and bills the card on file

  Both tools price by list size, so check your own list size on each pricing page. At the sizes I price, MailerLite's paid plans are cheaper than Kit's.

• Trial and refund terms

  Kit

  14-day trial, no card required; refunds within the first 30 days of signup

  MailerLite

  14-day trial, no card required, reverting to the permanent Free plan afterward; refunds are discretionary within 30 days, not a guarantee

  Both trials are genuinely risk-free to start, and both vendors document a refund path after you've paid. Kit's covers any plan in its first 30 days, while MailerLite's is discretionary rather than automatic.

What will Kit or MailerLite cost for your setup?

The cheapest plan that covers each setup, add-ons included. Prices exclude VAT.

Kit vs MailerLite side by side

I compare email/CRM platforms on: Real cost per list size, both billing bases; Free-tier contact ceiling before you must pay anything; Team seats included, and the seat price past that; List segmentation depth; Automation workflow depth and any step/action limits; Deliverability and sending limits (emails per month, per day, or per rolling window); CRM and ecommerce integration depth; What happens past your plan's contact ceiling (overage pricing vs a forced upgrade).

Who should pick Kit, and who should pick MailerLite?

Kit

Desk research

• Best for solo marketers and small businesses
• Best for growing lists sending regularly

Kit is a creator-first email platform with a free tier up to 10,000 subscribers and automations on the paid plans. The paid tiers add advanced automation, engagement analytics and unlimited team members, and the bundle is the strength: email, digital product sales and paid subscriptions all come standard, not as add-ons, with Kit keeping 0.6% of each sale. It suits creators who want a complete toolkit in one place.

Best for: Email creators and small publishers who need email and product sales in one place, and are fine with a small platform fee on subscriber revenue.

Strengths

• A real free plan up to 10,000 subscribers, with 1 team member and no trial required.
• Kit keeps only 0.6% of each digital product or subscription sale, inside an all-in transaction fee that already covers card processing.
• Unlimited visual automations and paid subscriptions from the Creator plan ($39/month billed monthly at the entry list size).

Limits

• The free tier goes up to 10,000 subscribers, so paying only makes sense once you need automation, paid subscriptions or more seats rather than more room.
• Creator includes 2 team seats; unlimited seats only arrive at the Pro plan ($79/month billed monthly at the entry list size).
• Published prices run up to 400,000 subscribers; above that Kit asks you to request a custom plan.

Skip it if you need more than 1 team seat on Free.

Kit reviewKit pricingKit alternatives

MailerLite

Desk research

• Best for small teams sharing one account

MailerLite prices by subscriber count, not by locking features behind tiers, so a $12/month billed monthly plan gets the same automation builder and landing pages as the top tier, just fewer of each. The free plan is a real permanent plan, not a trial, capped at 250 subscribers.

Best for: A small business or solo marketer who wants full features at a low subscriber count and doesn't want to pay for a bigger list than they have yet.

Strengths

• A genuine free plan at 250 subscribers, not a time-limited trial.
• A 14-day trial of paid features with no card required.
• Automation and landing pages scale by count, not by locking the builder away from cheaper tiers.

Limits

• Removing the MailerLite logo needs Comfort or above.
• API and MCP access on Free is limited and can't send.
• Refunds are discretionary, not a guaranteed money-back window; MailerLite's terms only commit to a refund if it cancels your service on you first.

Skip it if you need white label or logo removal on the free plan, or unrestricted API sending without upgrading past Free.

MailerLite reviewMailerLite pricingMailerLite alternatives

Neither Kit nor MailerLite? Try these

• 

  Mailchimp

  From $27/mo billed monthly

  Pick it if you want an email tool most collaborators already recognize, even though its free plan tops out earlier than either Kit's or MailerLite's.

  Mailchimp reviewMailchimp alternatives

• 

  Brevo

  From $8.08/mo billed annually

  Pick it if you want SMS and transactional email bundled with marketing email under one account, rather than as a bolt-on.

  Brevo reviewBrevo alternatives

• 

  beehiiv

  From $43.08/mo billed annually

  Pick it if you want a publishing-first platform built around growth tools (an ad network, referral programs) rather than Kit's or MailerLite's campaign-and-automation focus.

  Outside this category: Newsletter-publishing platform, not a general email-marketing/CRM tool: no campaign-based marketing automation the way Kit and MailerLite both have.

  beehiiv reviewbeehiiv alternatives

Kit vs MailerLite: questions people ask

Is Kit free?

Yes, up to 10,000 subscribers, no time limit. Past that you need Creator ($39/mo) or Pro ($79/mo), both starting at 1,000 subscribers.

Is MailerLite free?

Yes, up to 250 subscribers, permanently, with 2,500 emails a month included. Past that you're on Comfort, starting at $12/month billed monthly.

Which is cheaper, Kit or MailerLite?

For a small or mid-sized list, Kit: its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers at no cost, while MailerLite's free plan caps at 250 subscribers and Comfort is $49/month billed monthly at 5,000. For a 3-person team at 1,000 subscribers MailerLite is cheaper. Comfort is $19/month billed monthly and Kit Pro is $79/month billed monthly.

Does MailerLite's free plan include automation?

Yes, 3 automations, confirmed on the pricing page. Kit doesn't break out automation by tier for Free, only for Creator and Pro, both confirmed at unlimited automations.

How does pricing scale as my list grows?

Both vendors raise the price with subscriber count rather than by feature. Kit's paid tiers start at 1,000 subscribers and rise in steps from there. MailerLite's start at 500 subscribers, and it moves your account up and bills the card on file as your list crosses each band.

Can I sell paid subscriptions or products through either tool?

Yes on Kit, built in from Free up. Kit keeps 0.6% of each sale, inside an all-in transaction fee that already covers card processing. MailerLite doesn't have a documented paid-subscription or digital-product feature; it's built for campaign sending and automation, not creator monetization.

What will this cost me at 5,000 subscribers, or for a 3-person team on a 1,000-subscriber list?

At 5,000 subscribers, Kit's Free plan still covers you at no cost, since it goes up to 10,000 subscribers. MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly. For a 3-person team on a 1,000-subscriber list, Kit Pro is $79/month billed monthly with unlimited seats. MailerLite Comfort includes the seats too, at $19/month billed monthly.