Is MailerLite cheaper than Brevo?

No, not at the entry paid tier. MailerLite's Comfort plan is $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually. Brevo's Starter is $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually, cheaper on both billing bases. At 5,000 contacts the gap is wider: Brevo Starter is $9/month billed monthly and MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly. Brevo's free plan also stretches further, to 500 contacts against MailerLite's 250.

Does Brevo have a free plan?

Yes, permanent, not a trial: 500 contacts, no credit card required to sign up.

Does MailerLite have a free plan?

Yes, permanent: 250 contacts, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 automations.

Which has documented automation at the entry paid tier, MailerLite or Brevo?

MailerLite. Comfort confirms 50 automations at $12/month billed monthly. Brevo doesn't confirm automation on Starter at all; the only automation Brevo confirms sits on Standard, at $18/month billed monthly.

How many seats do I get on each plan?

MailerLite documents seats at every tier: 2 on Free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power. Brevo only has a confirmed seat count on Professional, 10 seats at $499/month billed monthly; Brevo doesn't publish one for Free, Starter or Standard.

Does either tool offer a real money-back guarantee?

MailerLite names a 30-day window to ask for a refund, though the grant itself is discretionary, not guaranteed. Brevo's pricing page doesn't publish a refund policy at all.

What will this cost me at 5,000 contacts?

Brevo Starter is $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually. MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly, or $44.10/month billed annually. Brevo is the cheaper one on both billing bases.

Which is the better pick for a small business just getting started?

It depends on your list size. At or under Brevo's free ceiling, Brevo is free where MailerLite is not, so check that number first. Past it, MailerLite is the safer default: its paid tiers document automation, seats and API access at every level, gaps Brevo doesn't confirm below Standard.

MailerLite vs Brevo: which free plan goes further?

Email marketing and CRM platforms · Verified 1 Oct 2026 · By Joonas Rotko

MailerLite

Desk research

From Comfort, billed annually

$10.80/mo

$12/mo billed monthly

Brevo

Desk research

From Starter, billed annually

$8.08/mo

$9/mo billed monthly

Quick answer

Brevo's free plan runs to 500 contacts, double MailerLite's 250-contact ceiling, so a small list can stay free longer on Brevo. Brevo is also the cheaper paid plan at 5,000 contacts. MailerLite pulls ahead on what it documents: Comfort ($12/month billed monthly) documents automation, seats and API access at every tier, gaps Brevo doesn't confirm below Standard ($18/month billed monthly).

Across the three setups below: Brevo in 2 of 3 scenarios.

Which one fits you?

Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier
Brevo
My pick
$0/mo billed annually
At 500 contacts, Brevo's free plan covers the whole list for nothing: its free plan runs to 500 contacts. MailerLite's free plan caps at 250, so the same list forces you onto Comfort at $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if you want documented automation or multiple seats at this list size. The only automation Brevo documents starts at Standard ($18/month billed monthly), while MailerLite's free plan already includes 3 automations and 2 seats without paying anything.
See Brevo plans
Growing list, sending regularly
Brevo
My pick
$8.08/mo billed annually
At 5,000 contacts Brevo Starter is $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually. MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly, or $44.10/month billed annually. Brevo is the cheaper plan on both billing bases by a wide margin.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
Skip it if you want documented automation, seats and API access. MailerLite Comfort documents all three, and Brevo doesn't confirm automation below Standard ($18/month billed monthly).
See Brevo plans
Small team managing one list together
MailerLite
My pick
$17.10/mo billed annually
Three people need logins. MailerLite Comfort includes 3 seats and is $19/month billed monthly at 1,000 contacts, or $17.10/month billed annually. Brevo doesn't publish a seat count for Free, Starter or Standard, so I can't price a 3-seat plan on it below Professional.
Why this pick, and when to skip it
This pick rests on seats. Brevo's cheaper plans don't state how many logins they include, and the first confirmed multi-seat tier is Professional at $499/month billed monthly.
Skip it if you can live with one login, in which case Brevo's free plan or Starter is cheaper.
See MailerLite plans

Neither fits? See the alternatives, or take the 2-minute recommendation.

How are MailerLite and Brevo really different?

Free plan contact ceiling
MailerLite
250 contacts, then sending locks until you upgrade or trim the list
Brevo
500 contacts, free forever, no credit card needed
A 500-contact list sits inside Brevo's free ceiling but past MailerLite's, so the same list is free on one tool and a paid Comfort plan on the other.
Entry paid tier price and what it unlocks
MailerLite
Comfort: $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually; unlocks full API sending, 50 automations, 3 seats and logo removal
Brevo
Starter: $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually; Brevo confirms the price and the 10,000-contact band, not automation, seats or API access at this tier
MailerLite's entry tier costs more but every feature it unlocks is documented. Brevo's Starter is cheaper, but what it actually includes past price and contact count isn't confirmed on Brevo's own pricing page.
Automation workflows
MailerLite
3 automations on Free, rising to 50 on Comfort and unlimited on Power, all with the same automation builder
Brevo
Not confirmed on Free or Starter; the only automation Brevo documents is unlimited multi-step workflows on Standard ($18/month billed monthly, or $16.17/month billed annually)
MailerLite documents a real automation allowance starting on its free plan. Brevo's cheapest confirmed automation sits two tiers up, on Standard.
Seats
MailerLite
2 on Free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power and Enterprise
Brevo
Not itemized for Free, Starter or Standard; the only seat count Brevo documents is 10 seats on Professional at $499/month billed monthly
If a second login matters at a small list size, MailerLite's Comfort plan confirms it. Brevo's cheapest confirmed multi-seat tier is Professional, a huge jump in price.
Trial and free-plan structure
MailerLite
A permanent free plan plus a separate 14-day trial that unlocks premium features on top of it, no card required
Brevo
A permanent free plan, no credit card required; Brevo's own FAQ doesn't commit to a specific trial-day count for paid plans
Both let you start without a card. Only MailerLite documents an actual time-boxed trial of paid features layered on top of its free plan.

What will MailerLite or Brevo 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

MonthlyYearly, per month

MailerLite

$12

$10.80

Comfort

Above 200,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

Brevo

My pick

Free

Above 500 subscribers: Starter (+$8.08/mo, billed annually).

See Brevo plans

Usage, limits and billing

MailerLite

Uses 500 of 200,000 subscribers.
On monthly billing: $144 a year.
On annual billing: $129.60 a year.

Brevo

Uses 500 of 500 subscribers.
On monthly billing: $0 a year.
On annual billing: $0 a year.

Growing list, sending regularly

5,000 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 1 user

MonthlyYearly, per month

MailerLite

$49

$44.10

Comfort

Above 200,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

Brevo

My pick

$8.08

Starter

Above 10,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

See Brevo plans

Usage, limits and billing

MailerLite

Uses 5,000 of 200,000 subscribers.
On monthly billing: $588 a year.
On annual billing: $529.20 a year.

Brevo

Uses 5,000 of 10,000 subscribers.
On monthly billing: $108 a year.
On annual billing: $96.96 a year.

Small team managing one list together

1,000 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 3 users

MonthlyYearly, per month

MailerLite

My pick

$19

$17.10

Comfort

Above 200,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

Brevo

Fit unconfirmed

Starter is priced, but users limit isn't published

See MailerLite plans

Usage, limits and billing

MailerLite

Uses 1,000 of 200,000 subscribers.
On monthly billing: $228 a year.
On annual billing: $205.20 a year.

Brevo

The plan's price is published, but a limit this setup needs isn't, so the fit can't be confirmed.

How I calculated this

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.Brevo, monthly billing: Starter is priced, but users limit isn't published. Users limit isn't published.Brevo, annual billing: Starter is priced, but users limit isn't published. Users limit isn't published.

MailerLite vs Brevo 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 Brevo compared on the main buying criteria
Criterion	MailerLite	Brevo
Real cost per equivalent list size, both billing bases	Comfort: $12/month billed monthly, $10.80/month billed annually, at the entry band	Free up to 500 contacts, or Starter at $9/month billed monthly, $8.08/month billed annually, if you want Starter's confirmed feature set instead of Free's
Free-tier contact ceiling before you must pay anything	250 contacts	500 contacts
Team seats included, and the seat price past that	2 on Free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power; no per-seat add-on price published	Not itemized below Professional; 10 seats confirmed at $499/month billed monthly, no per-seat add-on price published either
Automation workflow depth	3 automations free, 50 on Comfort, unlimited on Power, same builder every tier	Not confirmed on Free or Starter; unlimited multi-step workflows confirmed from Standard ($18/month billed monthly)
Second paid tier price	Power: $25/month billed monthly, or $22.50/month billed annually	Standard: $18/month billed monthly, or $16.17/month billed annually

All details, including automation and AI workflows

All compared details for MailerLite and Brevo
Criterion	MailerLite	Brevo
Trial terms	14 days, no card required, layered on top of the permanent free plan	No card required to sign up; no specific trial-day count is stated in Brevo's own FAQ, only that the free plan itself is how you try it
What happens past your plan's contact ceiling	Paid plans auto-upgrade to the next subscriber tier and bill the card on file; Free accounts get sending locked at 250 contacts until you upgrade or trim the list	Not published for this pair
Enterprise / top-tier pricing	Custom, gated to large subscriber counts, contact sales	Custom pricing; Brevo's Enterprise tier has no verified published price
Full price ladder	Free: $0/month billed monthly. Comfort: $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually. Power: $25/month billed monthly, or $22.50/month billed annually. Enterprise: Custom.	Free: $0/month billed monthly. Starter: $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually. Standard: $18/month billed monthly, or $16.17/month billed annually. Professional: $499/month billed monthly, or $449.08/month billed annually. Enterprise: custom, no published number I can verify.
Free plan sending caps	2,500 emails a month at up to 250 contacts	Not published for this pair
Landing pages by tier	1 on Free, 10 on Comfort, unlimited on Power	Not published for this pair
AI landing page builder	Once on Free, unrestricted from Comfort	Not published for this pair
White labeling	Removing the MailerLite logo unlocks on Comfort and stays through Power	Not published for this pair
API access	Free: Limited (no sending). Comfort and Power: full sending.	Not published for this pair
Extra seat pricing	No published per-seat add-on price; seats are a fixed count per tier, not an incremental purchase	No published per-seat add-on price either; the only seat count confirmed at any tier is Professional's 10
Overage handling past your contact ceiling	Paid plans auto-upgrade to the next subscriber tier and bill the card on file; Free accounts get sending locked at 250 contacts until you upgrade or trim the list	Not published for this pair

Who should pick MailerLite, and who should pick Brevo?

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 review MailerLite pricing MailerLite alternatives

Brevo

Desk research

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

Brevo starts free with 500 contacts and no credit card, then moves to paid plans starting at $9/month billed monthly. It's built for small businesses and teams who want automations, multi-channel campaigns, and sales tools in one platform, but the Professional plan at $499/month billed monthly jumps sharply in price and targets mid-market teams.

Best for: Small businesses that want email, SMS, and automation bundled together, plus the flexibility to add sales features when they grow. Works well for solopreneurs starting free, then scaling to Starter or Standard.

Strengths

A real free plan with 500 contacts, no card required.
Automations, A/B testing, and contact scoring by Standard ($18/month billed monthly), not hidden behind enterprise pricing.
10 team seats included on Professional.

Limits

Free plan caps at 500 contacts; Starter is contact-tiered, with published prices up to 10,000 contacts.
No published money-back guarantee visible on the pricing page.
Professional at $499/month billed monthly is a steep jump from Standard ($18/month billed monthly); mid-market features are bundled, not à la carte.

Skip it if you're a pure email-only shop (Mailchimp or MailerLite are simpler), or your budget caps out below $18/month billed monthly. If you need white-label reports or heavy custom integrations, Enterprise is the only option and pricing starts at $2,499/month billed monthly.

Brevo review Brevo pricing Brevo alternatives

My pick: MailerLite overall.

See MailerLite plans See Brevo plans

Neither MailerLite nor Brevo? Try these

ActiveCampaign
From $15/mo billed annually
Pick it if you want CRM and sales-pipeline tools bundled with email from day one; neither MailerLite nor Brevo attempts that at their entry tiers.
ActiveCampaign review ActiveCampaign alternatives
Klaviyo
From $20/mo billed monthly
Pick it if ecommerce-specific segmentation and revenue attribution matter more than a low entry price; it leans harder into online-store data than either MailerLite or Brevo.
Klaviyo review Klaviyo alternatives
Moosend
From $7/mo billed annually
Pick it if you want a lower-cost entry point than both MailerLite and Brevo and don't need the largest integration library.
Moosend review Moosend alternatives

Switching between MailerLite and Brevo

Neither vendor documents a specific migration tool, import fee, or list-transfer guarantee, so this stays qualitative: expect to re-import contacts and rebuild automations and templates by hand in either direction, since no free concierge migration is documented for MailerLite or Brevo. MailerLite's 14-day trial needs no card, so you can test a rebuild there without a billing risk. Brevo's free plan works the same way for testing purposes, since it's the product's own way to try it rather than a separate trial, also with no card required.

What would change my pick?

Brevo publishing seat counts and automation availability on Free and Starter would remove the biggest data gap behind MailerLite's feature-documentation edge.
MailerLite raising its free-plan ceiling above 250 contacts would close Brevo's clearest advantage in this pair.
A stated free-trial day count from Brevo, instead of pointing to its free plan as the trial, would close the one clear trial-terms gap against MailerLite's documented 14 days.

MailerLite vs Brevo: questions people ask

Is MailerLite cheaper than Brevo?: No, not at the entry paid tier. MailerLite's Comfort plan is $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually. Brevo's Starter is $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually, cheaper on both billing bases. At 5,000 contacts the gap is wider: Brevo Starter is $9/month billed monthly and MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly. Brevo's free plan also stretches further, to 500 contacts against MailerLite's 250.
Does Brevo have a free plan?: Yes, permanent, not a trial: 500 contacts, no credit card required to sign up.
Does MailerLite have a free plan?: Yes, permanent: 250 contacts, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 automations.
Which has documented automation at the entry paid tier, MailerLite or Brevo?: MailerLite. Comfort confirms 50 automations at $12/month billed monthly. Brevo doesn't confirm automation on Starter at all; the only automation Brevo confirms sits on Standard, at $18/month billed monthly.
How many seats do I get on each plan?: MailerLite documents seats at every tier: 2 on Free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power. Brevo only has a confirmed seat count on Professional, 10 seats at $499/month billed monthly; Brevo doesn't publish one for Free, Starter or Standard.
Does either tool offer a real money-back guarantee?: MailerLite names a 30-day window to ask for a refund, though the grant itself is discretionary, not guaranteed. Brevo's pricing page doesn't publish a refund policy at all.
What will this cost me at 5,000 contacts?: Brevo Starter is $9/month billed monthly, or $8.08/month billed annually. MailerLite Comfort is $49/month billed monthly, or $44.10/month billed annually. Brevo is the cheaper one on both billing bases.
Which is the better pick for a small business just getting started?: It depends on your list size. At or under Brevo's free ceiling, Brevo is free where MailerLite is not, so check that number first. Past it, MailerLite is the safer default: its paid tiers document automation, seats and API access at every level, gaps Brevo doesn't confirm below Standard.

How I verified this

Every price and limit here comes from the vendors' own pages, last checked 1 Oct 2026. MailerLite: desk research. Brevo: desk research.

Sources and changelog

34 facts from 6 source pages, oldest checked 30 Sep 2026.

MailerLite plans and pricing (checked 1 Oct 2026)
MailerLite terms of service (checked 1 Oct 2026)
Brevo plans and pricing (checked 30 Sep 2026)

1 Oct 2026: Updated for new pricing. Brevo is the pick at 500 contacts (free plan) and at 5,000 contacts (Starter is far cheaper than MailerLite Comfort). MailerLite is the pick for the 3-person team at 1,000 contacts, because Brevo doesn't publish seat counts below Professional. The overall pick stays MailerLite on documented features, with Brevo cheaper on price.

Spot something out of date?Vendors and readers, send me the correct fact.

Software sites change almost every week, and I want every claim on this page to be factually correct. If you are a vendor or a reader, send me the correct fact and a link to the official page. I will check it and update the page. The opinions and rankings stay mine.

MailerLite vs Brevo: which free plan goes further?

Quick answer

Which one fits you?

How are MailerLite and Brevo really different?

Free plan contact ceiling

Entry paid tier price and what it unlocks

Automation workflows

Seats

Trial and free-plan structure

What will MailerLite or Brevo cost for your setup?

Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier

Growing list, sending regularly

Small team managing one list together

MailerLite vs Brevo side by side

Who should pick MailerLite, and who should pick Brevo?

MailerLite

Brevo

Neither MailerLite nor Brevo? Try these

Switching between MailerLite and Brevo

What would change my pick?

MailerLite vs Brevo: questions people ask

Is MailerLite cheaper than Brevo?

Does Brevo have a free plan?

Does MailerLite have a free plan?

Which has documented automation at the entry paid tier, MailerLite or Brevo?

How many seats do I get on each plan?

Does either tool offer a real money-back guarantee?

What will this cost me at 5,000 contacts?

Which is the better pick for a small business just getting started?

How I verified this

Compare MailerLite or Brevo with another tool

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