Kit vs MailerLite in 2026: which email platform should a creator pick?
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you sign up for Kit through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change our recommendation. The MailerLite link is a plain reference.
Short verdict
- Kit (ConvertKit) — pick if you're a creator building a large list and want a genuously big free tier (10,000 subscribers), unlimited sending, and a creator network. It gets expensive as your list grows, and automations/sequences now sit behind the paid plans.
- MailerLite — pick if you want the cheapest paid entry plus a website + landing-page builder in the same account. Its free tier is tiny (250 subscribers), and sending caps apply until the top tier.
They look alike in a demo, but they're priced and shaped for different people. The free tier is where the real fork happens.
What each one actually is now
Kit (formerly ConvertKit). A creator-focused email platform: audience building, segmentation, digital products and subscriptions, a "Creator Network" for cross-promotion, and automations. No sending limits on any plan. Note: the free plan no longer includes visual automations or email sequences — those now require Creator or Creator Pro.
MailerLite. A broader email + website builder: campaigns, automations, a hosted website, landing pages, forms, and an AI feature set ("HeyLite"). It caps sending and feature counts by plan, and its free tier is small (250 subscribers).
Pricing (verified from vendor pages, late 2026)
| Kit | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo |
| Entry paid (small list) | Creator from $39/mo (1,000 subs) | Comfort from $12/mo (500 subs) |
| 5,000 subs | Creator $89/mo | Comfort $49/mo · Power $69/mo |
| 10,000 subs | Creator $139/mo | Comfort $89/mo · Power $129/mo |
| Top self-serve | Creator Pro (scales to 100K+) | Power (unlimited sending, fair use) |
| Sending limits | Unlimited on all plans | Free 2,500/mo · Comfort 10× tier · Power unlimited |
| Trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
A few honest notes on the numbers:
- The free tiers are not comparable. Kit's free plan is 10,000 subscribers; MailerLite's is 250. If your list is going to be big, Kit's free tier alone can save you the most money.
- At small paid sizes MailerLite is cheaper ($12/mo vs $39/mo entry). Kit only starts to look value-priced once you're past a few thousand subscribers, where its per-list price is competitive and sending is unlimited.
- MailerLite renamed its paid tiers on June 16, 2026: the old "Growing Business" is now "Comfort" and "Advanced" is now "Power." Many older roundups still use the old names — ignore those.
- Kit's pricing is per-subscriber and scales up fast (Creator is $199/mo at 25,000). MailerLite also scales, but its mid tiers are flatter.
Who should pick which
- Creator / newsletter / course-seller building a big audience → Kit. The 10,000-subscriber free tier, unlimited sending, digital products, and creator network are built for exactly this. Start with Kit →
- Solopreneur who also wants a website + cheap paid entry → MailerLite. The $12/mo Comfort tier plus a website builder is a tight bundle. Try MailerLite →
- Small list, budget first → MailerLite until you outgrow the 250-subscriber free cap, then compare at your actual size.
Honest caveats
- Built from published pricing and feature lists, not hands-on testing of both. Treat deliverability and workflow-quality claims as vendor-stated.
- Both price by active subscribers; the exact figure depends on your list size and billing (monthly vs roughly 10–17% off annual). Re-check each pricing page at your subscriber count before you buy.
- Kit's affiliate terms (for the link above) may reference plan tiers that differ from the current ones — confirm which plans are commission-eligible before you apply.
Sources (checked 2026-11-14)
- Kit pricing — kit.com/pricing · Kit Free plan — help.kit.com
- MailerLite pricing — mailerlite.com/pricing · plan & billing — mailerlite.com/help/plan-and-billing
- MailerLite plan rename (June 16, 2026) — mailerlite.com/llms.txt