ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite Comparison 2026
ActiveCampaign is deep branching automation with a CRM underneath it, from $15 a month, though Starter's five-action cap means Plus at $49 is the real starting price. MailerLite runs campaigns and automations at a fraction of that cost, free to 250 subscribers and then from $12 a month, with the editor kept plain rather than layered with logic. The choice is depth of branching against the bill at ten thousand subscribers: MailerLite stays cheap as the list grows, ActiveCampaign stays capable as the automation gets complicated.
Email automation with a CRM underneath it
Email marketing that stays cheap as lists grow
At a glance
- MailerLite starts cheaper, at $12.
- Only MailerLite has a free tier.
- ActiveCampaign bills annually only, so there is no month to try it for.
Side by side
ActiveCampaign | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $15 | From $12 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | Annual only | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API |
ActiveCampaign
Email automation with a CRM underneath it
ActiveCampaign is what people move to when the sequences outgrow a newsletter tool, and its conditional logic goes deeper than anything at this price. The CRM underneath means a sponsor conversation and a subscriber record are the same object. It takes a weekend to learn, and the cheapest plan caps automations at five actions, which is not enough to try the thing it is good at.
Our note
Budget for Plus rather than Starter. The five-action cap on the cheapest plan blocks exactly the branching logic that justifies choosing ActiveCampaign over a newsletter tool, and discovering that after migrating a list is a bad afternoon.
MailerLite
Email marketing that stays cheap as lists grow
MailerLite sends campaigns, runs automations and hosts the signup forms feeding them, and prices all of it under the tools it competes with. The editor is plain in a way that suits people who write more than they design. The free plan stops at 250 subscribers, which is a fraction of what beehiiv and Kit give away, so the comparison is really about what you pay at ten thousand.
Why people weigh these two
- MailerLite instead of ActiveCampaign
- MailerLite keeps a free tier and stays cheaper as the list grows, for somebody who wants automation without ActiveCampaign's learning curve.
- ActiveCampaign instead of MailerLite
- ActiveCampaign bundles a CRM in with the automation, aimed at someone tracking a sales pipeline alongside the list rather than sending a plain newsletter. It has no free tier, from $15 a month.
Which one should you pick
Choose ActiveCampaign for a course or coaching sequence that has to branch on real conditions: behaviour, tags, a deal stage, several levels deep. Budget for Plus at $49 a month, because Starter's five-action cap blocks the exact feature that justifies paying more than MailerLite.
Choose MailerLite if the bill at ten thousand subscribers matters more than how deep the branching goes. Free covers 250 subscribers, Comfort starts at $12 a month, and automations sit on that cheapest paid plan rather than three tiers up. The free plan is too small to run on for long, so treat it as a two-week trial rather than a home.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper as a list grows?
- MailerLite, by a wide margin. It stays priced under ActiveCampaign at every list size, starting free to 250 subscribers and then from $12 a month, against ActiveCampaign's $15 Starter that most buyers outgrow into the $49 Plus plan.
- Does MailerLite have the same branching automation as ActiveCampaign?
- No. MailerLite's automations cover welcome sequences and triggered emails well but do not branch as many levels deep as ActiveCampaign, which conditions on behaviour, tags, custom fields or a deal stage at once.
- Is MailerLite's free plan enough to run a newsletter on?
- Only briefly. It stops at 250 subscribers, a fraction of what other free newsletter tools allow, so it works better as a fortnight to test deliverability than as a permanent home for a growing list.
- Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan like MailerLite's?
- No. ActiveCampaign starts at $15 a month for 1,000 contacts with no free tier, while MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers before Comfort begins at $12 a month.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.