MailerLite vs beehiiv: email marketing, or a newsletter business?
Email marketing and CRM platforms · Verified · By Joonas Rotko
MailerLite
Desk research
From Comfort, billed annually
$10.80/mo
$12/mo billed monthly
beehiiv
Desk research
From Scale, billed annually
$43.08/mo
$49/mo billed monthly
vs
Quick answer
These two don't really compete for the same job. MailerLite is general email marketing, priced by subscriber count, with the same automation builder on every paid tier starting at $12/month billed monthly. beehiiv is a publishing platform: free up to 2,500 subscribers, then built around a hosted site, paid subscriptions and an ad network once you move to Scale ($49/month billed monthly). If you're sending marketing campaigns for a business, MailerLite is cheaper at almost every list size. If you're building a newsletter you plan to charge readers for, beehiiv is the one built for that, and MailerLite can't do it at any price.
Across the three setups below: MailerLite in 2 of 3 scenarios.
Which one fits you?
Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier
beehiiv
My pick
$0/mobilled annually
At 500 subscribers, beehiiv's Launch plan is free, well inside its 2,500-subscriber cap. MailerLite's own free plan caps at 250 subscribers, so 500 pushes you onto the paid Comfort plan at $12/month billed monthly.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if you need real automation at this size. beehiiv's Launch plan has no automation at all (Not available); MailerLite's Comfort plan bundles 50 automations for the same $12/month billed monthly you'd pay to get past MailerLite's own free cap.
At 5,000 subscribers MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly, or $44.10/month billed annually. beehiiv Scale is $89/month billed monthly, or $78.33/month billed annually, at the same list size.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if paid subscriptions, an ad network or a hosted publication are part of the job. MailerLite doesn't offer any of those at any list size or price; beehiiv's Scale plan includes all three.
At 1,000 subscribers and 3 seats MailerLite Comfort is $19/month billed monthly, or $17.10/month billed annually, with 3 seats included. beehiiv Scale also covers 3 seats for this brief, but costs $49/month billed monthly, or $43.08/month billed annually, for the same list size.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if your team needs beehiiv's publishing and monetization tools rather than general marketing-email automation. Scale is the entry point for those regardless of the seat-price gap.
General email marketing and automation: campaigns, a visual automation builder, landing pages, priced by subscriber count
beehiiv
A publishing platform: a hosted newsletter site, paid subscriptions, an ad network, and referral growth tools
Picking the wrong one for the actual job costs you more than the price difference. MailerLite has no path to charging readers directly; beehiiv's automation and landing-page tools are thinner than a dedicated marketing-automation platform's.
Free plan ceiling and what it can do
MailerLite
250 subscribers, but includes 3 automations and 1 landing page
beehiiv
2,500 subscribers, ten times the ceiling, but no automation (Not available) and no paid subscriptions (Not available)
beehiiv's free tier covers a much bigger list before you pay anything, but you're paying for reach, not features, since its free plan can't automate a welcome sequence at all.
Reader monetization and platform fee
MailerLite
Not offered at any tier or price. MailerLite has no paid-subscription or publication model.
beehiiv
Paid subscriptions from Scale up, at a 0% platform fee on subscription revenue, plus standard payment processing
If charging readers directly is the goal, beehiiv is the only one of the two that can do it, and it takes no cut beyond payment processing at that rate.
Entry paid price at the same list size
MailerLite
Comfort: $19/month billed monthly at 1,000 subscribers
beehiiv
Scale: $49/month billed monthly at 1,000 subscribers
Even setting the feature gap aside, MailerLite's entry paid tier costs noticeably less than beehiiv's at the same list size, because beehiiv's price also carries publishing and monetization tools MailerLite doesn't build at all.
Trial and refund terms, and how well they're sourced
MailerLite
A 14-day trial (no card) and a 30-day discretionary refund window, both confirmed first-party on MailerLite's own pages
beehiiv
A 30-day trial with no card required is reported consistently by third-party sources, not confirmed first-party on beehiiv's own pricing page
MailerLite's trial and refund terms are stated directly by the vendor. beehiiv's trial length is the kind of detail worth double-checking at signup, since beehiiv itself doesn't publish it.
What will MailerLite or beehiiv cost for your setup?
The cheapest plan that covers each setup, add-ons included. Prices exclude VAT.
Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier
500 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 1 user
ToolMonthlyYearly, per month
MailerLite
$12
$10.80
Comfort
Above 200,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.
For each tool I price every current plan plus the add-ons a setup needs, from the vendor's published prices only, and take the cheapest. Monthly and annual billing are priced separately. When a limit or price isn't published, the tool shows as not fitting instead of a guess.
Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier: A list of about 500 contacts, just past the free tiers most vendors offer. One login. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.
Growing list, sending regularly: A list of 5,000 contacts, sending regularly. One login. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.
Small team managing one list together: Three people logging in to the same 1,000-contact list. Seats, not list size, are the deciding limit. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.
MailerLite vs beehiiv 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).
MailerLite and beehiiv compared on the main buying criteria
Criterion
MailerLite
beehiiv
Real cost at 1,000 subscribers, both billing bases
Comfort: $19/month billed monthly, or $17.10/month billed annually.
Scale: $49/month billed monthly, or $43.08/month billed annually. That comes to $517/year for the year.
Free-tier ceiling
250 subscribers
2,500 subscribers
Team seats included
2 on Free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power
1 on Launch, 3 on Scale, unlimited on Max
Automation workflow depth
3 automations free, 50 on Comfort, unlimited on Power, same builder on every tier
None on Launch (Not available); a full automation builder unlocks from Scale up
Paid subscriptions and monetization
Not offered on any tier
Not on Launch (Not available); included from Scale up at a 0% platform fee
All details, including automation and AI workflows
All compared details for MailerLite and beehiiv
Criterion
MailerLite
beehiiv
Trial terms
14 days, no card required, confirmed first-party
Reported as 30 days, no card, but not confirmed first-party on beehiiv's own pricing page
Refund terms
30-day discretionary window, not a standard money-back guarantee
Not detailed on beehiiv's pricing page
Custom domain and branding removal
Branding removal from Comfort up; custom domain available on paid tiers
Custom domain included on every plan, including the free Launch plan
Full price ladder
Free (no cost), up to 250 subscribers. Comfort: $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually at the entry subscriber band. Power: $25/month billed monthly, or $22.50/month billed annually at the entry band. Enterprise: custom, gated to the top subscriber band.
Launch: free, up to 2,500 subscribers. Scale: $49/month billed monthly, or $43.08/month billed annually, at the entry subscriber band, and $89/month billed monthly, or $78.33/month billed annually, at 5,000 subscribers. Max: $109/month billed monthly, or $95.92/month billed annually, at the entry band. Both rise in steps up to 100,000 subscribers. Enterprise: custom, for 100,000+ subscribers.
How pricing scales
Subscriber-count tiered: the same slider band sets the price on every paid tier, and every tier keeps its full feature set as the list grows, only the price changes
Subscriber-count tiered on Scale and Max: price rises with list size in published steps from 1,000 up to 100,000 subscribers, and 100,000 and more goes to Contact Sales. The feature set stays the same within a plan as the list grows.
Publications per account
Not applicable; MailerLite is a single-account marketing tool, not a multi-publication platform
3 on Launch and Scale, 10 on Max, custom on Enterprise
Landing pages by tier
1 on Free, 10 on Comfort, unlimited on Power
Not broken out as a standalone allowance on beehiiv's pricing page; a hosted site is included on every plan instead
AI features
AI landing page builder: once on Free, unrestricted from Comfort ($12/month billed monthly) up
AI-assisted content tools are available; specific tier gating isn't published on beehiiv's pricing page
Integrations (WordPress, Zapier)
Both bundled in MailerLite's general integrations allowance on every tier, including Free
Not published by name on beehiiv's pricing page
API access
Free: limited, no sending. Comfort and Power: full sending.
Not detailed
White label / branding removal
Comfort and above only, not Free
Not detailed
Who should pick MailerLite, and who should pick beehiiv?
MailerLite
Desk research
Best for growing lists sending regularly
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.
beehiiv starts free up to 2,500 subscribers, then moves to paid plans with real automations, paid subscriptions and a 0% platform cut on any subscription revenue you charge. It suits a creator who wants automations and paid subscriptions without running their own site, once the free tier's cap is outgrown.
Best for: Creators who want growth and monetization tooling beyond a plain newsletter, and don't mind a paid plan once they outgrow the free tier.
Strengths
A real free plan up to 2,500 subscribers.
0% platform fee on paid subscriptions.
Automations and paid subscriptions from Scale ($49/month billed monthly).
Limits
Launch caps out at 2,500 subscribers and 1 team seat.
Paid subscriptions and automations need Scale or above; nothing beyond the free tier is free.
Pricing scales with list size past the entry tier: what a growing list costs at 20,000+ subscribers isn't a flat rate.
Skip it if you're comfortable on Substack's simpler free-forever model and don't need automations.
Pick it if you want a self-hosted or managed publishing platform with membership and paid subscriptions, another close match for beehiiv's job rather than MailerLite's.
These aren't really swap-in replacements for each other, since they're built for different jobs, so there's little to migrate directly in either direction. If you're moving a marketing list off beehiiv and onto MailerLite, expect to re-import contacts and rebuild automations by hand, since neither vendor documents a free concierge migration. MailerLite's 14-day trial needs no card, so you can test a rebuild there without a billing risk; beehiiv's reported trial terms also need no card, but that isn't confirmed first-party on beehiiv's own pricing page.
What would change my pick?
MailerLite adding a native paid-subscription or publication feature would close the structural gap driving this whole comparison; today the two tools simply aren't solving the same problem.
beehiiv publishing its trial length and refund terms first-party would remove the only unverified claims on its side of this page.
A price change on either side. The scenario picks recalculate on their own.
MailerLite vs beehiiv: questions people ask
Is MailerLite cheaper than beehiiv?
At a list past beehiiv's free ceiling, yes. At 1,000 subscribers, MailerLite's Comfort plan is $19/month billed monthly against beehiiv Scale's $49/month billed monthly. Under beehiiv's own 2,500-subscriber free cap, beehiiv is cheaper because it's free and MailerLite isn't.
Is beehiiv a good alternative to MailerLite?
Only if the job is publishing and reader monetization, not general marketing email. beehiiv has no marketing-automation depth to match MailerLite's builder, and MailerLite has no paid-subscription model to match beehiiv's. They solve different problems.
Does beehiiv's free plan include automation?
No. beehiiv's Launch plan has no automation at all (Not available). MailerLite's free plan includes 3 automations and a landing page, which beehiiv's free plan doesn't match.
Does MailerLite take a cut of my newsletter revenue like beehiiv does?
MailerLite doesn't run a paid-subscription model at all, so there's no revenue share to state on its side. beehiiv charges a 0% platform fee on paid subscriptions from Scale up, plus standard payment processing.
Which plan do I need for beehiiv's ad network or paid subscriptions?
Scale ($49/month billed monthly) or above. Launch, beehiiv's free plan, includes neither.
How many team seats do I get on each plan?
MailerLite includes 2 seats on Free and 3 on Comfort. beehiiv includes 1 seat on Launch and 3 on Scale; a 3-person team needs Scale on beehiiv's side no matter the list size.
What will this cost me at 5,000 subscribers?
MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly at that size, or $44.10/month billed annually on annual billing. beehiiv Scale is $89/month billed monthly, or $78.33/month billed annually.
How I verified this
Every price and limit here comes from the vendors' own pages, last checked . MailerLite: desk research. beehiiv: desk research.
: beehiiv pricing now covers lists up to 100,000 subscribers on both billing bases. The picks stay the same: beehiiv for the small list, MailerLite at 5,000 subscribers and for the 3-seat team at 1,000 subscribers.
: Updated for new MailerLite prices. Scenario a (500 subscribers) picks beehiiv on its free plan. Scenarios b (5,000 subscribers) and c (1,000 subscribers, 3 seats) pick MailerLite, which is cheaper than beehiiv Scale on both monthly and annual billing.
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MailerLite
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