Which one has the bigger free plan?

Kit, by a wide margin: free to 10,000 subscribers against MailerLite's 250. MailerLite's paid tiers start cheaper, though, from $12 a month, and are built to stay cheap as a list keeps growing.

Which one is cheaper at ten thousand subscribers?

MailerLite is positioned specifically to win that comparison, pricing itself under the tools it competes with as a list scales. Kit's price also rises with subscriber count on its own slider, but its strength is positioned as automation rather than the lowest bill at volume.

Does MailerLite charge a fee for selling digital products the way Kit does?

Its listing does not describe an equivalent selling fee. Kit charges 3.5 percent plus 30 cents on a digital product or paid subscription sold through the platform, on top of the plan price.

Which one is better for complex automation?

Kit is, with visual automations and conditional content described as genuinely good. MailerLite offers automations too, from its cheapest paid plan at $12 a month, but its editor is plainer and suits people who write more than they design.

Kit vs MailerLite Comparison 2026

Kit's free plan runs to 10,000 subscribers with automation built in from the start. MailerLite's free plan stops at just 250, a fraction of Kit's ceiling, but its paid tiers start cheaper, from $12 a month against Kit's roughly $29, and stay cheaper as a list grows into the thousands. The axis is where you are: Kit's free tier is the better deal for a smaller list still finding its shape, and MailerLite's own positioning is winning on the bill once you are paying regardless.

Kit

Email marketing built around automation

MailerLite

Email marketing that stays cheap as lists grow

At a glance

MailerLite starts cheaper, at $12.
Both have a genuinely free tier.

Side by side

	Kit	MailerLite
Starting price (they differ)	From $29	From $12
Pricing model	Free plan, paid tiers	Free plan, paid tiers
Free tier	Yes	Yes
Billing	Monthly or annual	Monthly or annual
Free trial	14 days	14 days
API

Kit

Email marketing built around automation

Kit is the one to pick when the sequences matter more than the newsletter. Visual automations, tagging and conditional content are genuinely good, and the creator network sends real signups. The editor is plainer than its competitors.

Our note

Kit against beehiiv is the real decision here, and it turns on which half of the job matters more. Kit is better at what happens after somebody subscribes, beehiiv at getting them to subscribe at all.

Only on this side

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More Kit alternatives Visit Kit

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 Kit: MailerLite starts at $12 a month, well below Kit's $29, and stays cheap as a list keeps growing.
Kit instead of MailerLite: Kit from $29 with a free tier centres automation for creators, more opinionated than a general low-cost sender.

Which one should you pick

Choose Kit if the list is still under a few thousand subscribers and the free plan's automation is enough to test whether branching sequences and tags are worth the eventual upgrade. Selling a digital product or paid newsletter costs 3.5 percent plus 30 cents on top of the plan, a fee MailerLite's listing does not describe.

Choose MailerLite if the newsletter is not itself the product and the bill at ten thousand subscribers matters more than the editor or the automation depth. The free plan is too small to run on for long, just 250 subscribers, so treat the 14-day trial as the real test period before paying $12 a month for Comfort.

Common questions

Which one has the bigger free plan?: Kit, by a wide margin: free to 10,000 subscribers against MailerLite's 250. MailerLite's paid tiers start cheaper, though, from $12 a month, and are built to stay cheap as a list keeps growing.
Which one is cheaper at ten thousand subscribers?: MailerLite is positioned specifically to win that comparison, pricing itself under the tools it competes with as a list scales. Kit's price also rises with subscriber count on its own slider, but its strength is positioned as automation rather than the lowest bill at volume.
Does MailerLite charge a fee for selling digital products the way Kit does?: Its listing does not describe an equivalent selling fee. Kit charges 3.5 percent plus 30 cents on a digital product or paid subscription sold through the platform, on top of the plan price.
Which one is better for complex automation?: Kit is, with visual automations and conditional content described as genuinely good. MailerLite offers automations too, from its cheapest paid plan at $12 a month, but its editor is plainer and suits people who write more than they design.

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.