Maybe you’ve been using Mailerlite as your email service provider (ESP) of choice for a while, but are realizing it’s missing features you want or isn’t fulfilling your needs. Or perhaps you’re new to the email marketing world and are looking for the perfect beginner-friendly software to help you get started.

Whatever the case, even though Mailerlite is a great email marketing platform, there are lots of excellent Mailerlite competitors out there that might be better suited to your specific use case. 

This article breaks down Mailerlite as an email marketing service and compares it with eight of its top alternatives, so let’s get started so you can make the best choice for your business.

Our top picks for Mailerlite competitors: 

  1. Flodesk
  2. GetResponse
  3. Sendinblue 
  4. Mailchimp
  5. EmailOctopus 
  6. Moosend
  7. Bloomreach 
  8. Listrak

Email marketing platform alternatives to Mailerlite compared

EMAIL MARKETING TOOL

TOP FEATURE

STARTING PRICE*

BEST FOR

  Mailerlite

Advanced email targeting features

  $10/mo for 1000 subscribers

Beginners

Flodesk

Full access to the library of responsive templates

  $38/mo for unlimited subscribers and email sends

  Small and beginner businesses 

GetResponse

Email segmentation tools

$19/mo for 1000 subscribers

Bloggers

Sendinblue

Advanced personalization features

  $25/mo for 20,000 monthly emails

  SMS marketing

Mailchimp

Behavior-based marketing automation

  $11/mo for 500 subscribers

  Insights and analytics

  EmailOctopus

Landing page builder

  $14/mo for 2,500 subscribers

  Basic email marketing

Moosend

Dynamic email marketing automation

  $32/mo for 3,000 subscribers

  Affordable email marketing

Bloomreach

AI content generation

  Custom price

  All-in-one marketing

Listrak

Abandonment messaging suite

  Custom price

Retailers

Get unlimited email sends & subscribers with Flodesk

We’ll never increase pricing because your email list is growing

A quick look at Mailerlite

While Mailerlite is a great email marketing service provider that’s affordable, beginner-friendly, and has a good range of features, it won’t suit every user’s needs and has some specific aspects that need improvement. 

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons and top features of Mailerlite so you can find the best competitor for your business.

Mailerlite features

  • Three different kinds of email editors: Including a drag-and-drop editor, rich-text, and custom HTML
  • Email newsletter template library: Easily create and format newsletters
  • Email marketing automations
  • Advanced email targeting features: Segmentation, personalization, and groups.
  • Campaign optimization features: Surveys & quizzes, detailed analytics, click maps, and A/B testing
  • Website, landing page builder, and sign-up form builder
  • Ecommerce functionalities: You can connect your account with an eCommerce platform like WooCommerce or Spotify

Pros & Cons

MAILERLITE

PROS 

  • Beginner-friendly

  • Affordable

  • Extensive template gallery

  • Clean and easy-to-use dashboard

  • Fast response time

CONS 

  • Limited automations

  • Free version is limited, particularly for sales

  • Big increase in price for more subscribers and features

  • Poor customer support 

  • Lack of segmentation options

POSITIVE REVIEW 

I am just setting up my business and wanted to start small, easy, and inexpensive - MailerLites exceeds all of these.

NEGATIVE REVIEW

Need more templates. Turns out you can only include up to 10 posts per email with RSS campaigns. This was not stated up front before signing up or at least not completely obvious before forking over money. They don't give refunds. Customer service doesn't seem like they understand their own product.

Mailerlite’s pricing plan

Mailerlite has a free plan that includes 12,000 monthly emails, one user, and up to 1,000 subscribers. After that, they’ve got three different tiers of paid plans to choose from:

  • Growing Business plan: $10/month
  • Advanced plan: $21/month
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing

It’s important to note that all Mailerlite’s paid plans are based on 1,000 subscribers and the cost increases as your email list grows.

8 Top Mailerlite competitors

The email marketing service industry is booming, so Mailerlite has a lot of competitors to contend with. Here’s a breakdown of eight of the email marketing tools we see as being most competitive with Mailerlite.

1. Flodesk – best for small and beginner businesses

Flodesk is an email marketing software that came to life in 2019 and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing ESPs on the market. Our platform is well-known for our stunning email designs that’ll stand out in any crowded inbox, our intuitive user experience, and our affordable flat-rate pricing.

We’re passionate about helping small businesses and entrepreneurs reach new levels of professional success with their email marketing strategy.

Top features

  • A huge template library: Stunning, impactful, responsive templates that’ll help you create the kind of content your subscribers will love to receive
  • Drag-and-drop email builder: User-friendly and intuitive
  • Powerful email marketing automations
  • Email list management tools: Such as Flodesk segments that let you easily send your subscribers relevant, personalized content.
  • Lead generation tools: Such as a landing page builder and a pop-up form builder—that’ll help you build your email list.
  • Reporting and analytics features
  • A direct integration with Shopify: Including the ability to connect with lots of other popular web apps via Zapier
  • Checkout flows and pages
  • Fantastic learning resources: Including Flodesk University, our blog, and our Flodesk Insiders Facebook Community.
Flodesk ecommerce email template examples

Flodesk Pricing

One of Flodesk’s top qualities is our affordable, reliable pricing system. Flodesk gives you a flat-rate plan you can rely on.

That’s right—for $38/month you get unlimited subscribers and access to all our features. 

We’ve also got a 30-day free trial you can sign up for with no strings attached.

When you purchase an annual plan with Flodesk, you’ll save on the cost of one month as well.

Flodesk vs Mailerlite

There are several reasons you might be eyeing Flodesk as a Mailerlite user. The most obvious one is pricing. If your audience has been growing (and we sure hope it has!), Mailerlite will become pricier. With Flodesk, you stay at your flat rate and benefit from the same features, no matter how many contacts you have and emails you send.

On top of that, Flodesk is much more design focused. Flodesk has a wealth of templates ready for you that are truly eye-catching and responsive. You can create landing pages, checkout pages, and signup forms to match, without having to upgrade your plan – it’s all in there.
Our intuitive builder makes it easy to create the content you have in mind or let yourself be inspired by our templates. Try it out for 30 days, on us. No credit card required!

Get unlimited email sends & subscribers with Flodesk

We’ll never increase pricing because your email list is growing

2. GetResponse – best for bloggers

GetResponse is an email marketing tool that’s been around for a long time—since 1998, to be exact—but they’re still going strong. They’re an all-in-one marketing software that goes a lot further than typical email marketing features and also has tools for everything from eCommerce to webinars to paid ads.

Top features

  • Professionally-designed email templates: Newsletters, autoresponders, automation emails, blog digest, and transactional
  • An easy-to-use drag-and-drop email builder
  • Advanced email segmentation tools: Create custom segments, dynamic content, and perfectly-timed delivery
  • The ability to create shoppable, eCommerce-focused emails.
  • Designed to run multi-channel campaigns: With a landing page creator, live web chat, and a webinar builder
  • In-depth analytics and A/B testing

GetResponse pricing

GetResponse has a forever free plan that includes up to 500 subscribers and unlimited newsletters. Once you’re ready to upgrade, they’ve got three levels of paid plans:

  • Email Marketing plan: $19/month
  • Marketing Automation plan: $59/month
  • Ecommerce Marketing plan: $119/month

Like Mailerlite, GetResponse’s paid plans cost more as you grow your email list—the above quotes are based on 1,000 subscribers.

3. SendinBlue – best for SMS marketing

Screenshot of Sendinblue email builder

Sendinblue was founded in 2012 and is currently one of the most popular email marketing services in the industry. They’re particularly well-loved due to their free plan, accessible pricing, and unique features like CRM tools.

Top features

  • A beginner-friendly drag-and-drop email builder
  • Advanced personalization features: To ensure you’re always sending subscribers content that resonates with them
  • Useful list segmentation capabilities: Send out emails based on geographic location and purchase history
  • Lead generation tools: Landing pages, sign-up forms, and Facebook Ads.
  • Pre-built or custom marketing automations: Build relationships and drive conversions
  • Intelligent sending features: A/B testing and optimized email delivery schedules
  • SMS marketing.
  • CRM (customer relationship management) features: Live chat and shared inboxes

Sendinblue pricing

Sendinblue is particularly well-known for its robust free plan, which includes unlimited subscribers and up to 300 email sends per day. 

After that, Sendinblue has three different kinds of paid plans. They’re also a bit different from other alternatives because their pricing is based on monthly email volume rather than subscriber count. Here’s how they work:

  • Lite plan: $25/month for 20,000 monthly emails
  • Premium plan: $65/month for 20,000 monthly emails
  • Enterprise plan: Custom pricing

4. Mailchimp – best for insights & analytics

Mailchimp landing page and email examples

Mailchimp was founded in 2001 and is one of the most well-known email marketing and automation platforms out there. In fact, if you’re connected with email marketing in any way, you’ve probably had a Mailchimp account before. While their paid plans can get expensive and they’re not the most user-friendly platform out there, some of their features are top-of-the-line and they’re always rolling out new tools in response to user needs.

Top features

  • Drag-and-drop emails from scratch or customize Mailchimp’s pre-built templates
  • Behavior-based marketing automation journeys
  • A brand new content optimizer tool: Helps you optimize your email campaigns
  • Marketing features: Landing pages, digital ads, and social media management
  • A/B testing
  • Detailed reports and analytics: Gives you insight into what’s working about your email campaigns and what isn’t
  • Tons of integrations: For everything from customer support to design tools
  • Ecommerce features: Build websites, launch online stores, schedule appointments, and set up custom domains

Mailchimp pricing

Lots of email marketing professionals end up looking for Mailchimp alternatives because of their confusing (and often expensive) pricing system. They’ve got a free plan that includes up to 2,000 subscribers and maxes out at 2,000 daily emails sends and 10,000 monthly email sends.

If you want to use Mailchimp’s more advanced features, you’ll need to upgrade to one of their three paid plans.

  • Essentials plan: $11/month
  • Standard plan: $17/month
  • Premium plan: $299/month

The above quotes are based on 500 subscribers—Mailchimp’s paid plans also increase in price as your email list grows. For example, their Essentials plan jumps up to $59/month if you have 5,000 contacts.

5. EmailOctopus – best for basic email marketing

Screenshot of EmailOctopus' website interface

EmailOctopus is an email marketing tool that keeps things simple and affordable. Their mission is to help anyone with an audience grow their email list and they provide all the most essential features, and nothing more.

Top features

  • Customize pre-designed email templates or create your own from scratch.
  • Lead generation tools: Including a landing page builder and a pop-up form builder
  • Useful automation features like welcome series and drip campaigns.
  • Subscriber segmentation and tagging capabilities
  • Reporting & analytics: Straightforward, yet detailed 
  • Ready-to-connect integrations: Including Shopify, Gravity Forms, and Squarespace.

EmailOctopus pricing

EmailOctopus’ pricing system is very straightforward—they’ve only got two options to choose from:

  • A free plan: With a limit of 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 email sends per month.
  • A paid Pro plan: Varies in price depending on how many subscribers you have. For instance, it costs $14/month for 2,500 subscribers and 25,000 email sends along with reports, analytics, and priority support.

6. Moosend – affordable email marketing

Moosend interface

Moosend is great for email marketers who want the best of both worlds—an email platform that’s easy enough for beginners to use yet but has enough features to satisfy those with more experience as well. That combined with their affordable pricing makes them a top Mailerlite competitor.

Top features

  • Advanced personalization features: Send emails based on customer behaviors like previous purchases and abandoned carts
  • Dynamic email marketing automation sequences: Including CRM workflows
  • A/B testing
  • List management and segmentation capabilities: Manage your list and send out relevant content
  • Lead generation tools: The ability to build landing pages and subscription forms
  • A library of 40+ responsive email templates
  • A large selection of integrations: Across categories like CMS, CRM, eCommerce, lead generation, and list validation
  • Powerful reporting and analytics: Track metrics like social shares, unsubscribers, and click

Moosend pricing

Moosend doesn’t have a free plan available, but they do have a 30-day free trial. After that, they’ve got two different paid options to choose from:

  • Pro plan: Pricing is based on subscriber count and whether you want to pay monthly or annually. For example, a monthly plan for 2,001 to 3,000 subscribers costs $32/month

Custom plan: Pricing upon request

7. Bloomreach – best for all-in-one marketing

bloomreach templates

If you’re looking for a Mailerlite alternative because you’re ready to level up your overall marketing efforts and want every tool in one place, Bloomreach might be for you. Bloomreach is an all-in-one marketing platform that comes with advanced email marketing features. 

Top features

  • AI content generation: Built-in AI that can cover for you when your inspiration dries up
  • Data exploration and custom reporting: Level up your analytics and optimize your email marketing to the fullest
  • Personalization: Easily integrate dynamic content and personalized product recommendations in your emails
  • Easily design emails and flows: Apart from the must-have drag-and-drop editor, it also offers a journey builder
  • Delivery optimization: Bloomreach claims to achieve 99% inbox placement rates
  • Create customer profiles: Thanks to the built-in customer data engine that analyzes every interaction and action

Bloomreach Pricing

Bloomreach is definitely an upgrade from Mailerlite in features. Since it’s more advanced and a complete program, it doesn’t offer standard pricing. Reach out to Bloomreach for a custom quote.

8. Listrak – best for retailers

listrak

If you want to integrate your email marketing efforts with other channels you’re using to reach your customers, Listrak is an interesting option. It works as a cross-channel customer engagement platform. It has many of the features Mailerlite offers, but adds more channels to the list, including social. This means you can offer a more unified experience, wherever your customers are.

Top features

  • Retail-focused platform: Listrak advertises itself as a platform specifically for retailers, with the features to show for it
  • Predictive analytics: Their email marketing tool dives into your data to help you be proactive in your campaigns and communication
  • Advanced retail segmentation: Listrak looks at the details in consumer actions and interactions to enable personalized emails
  • Responsive email designer: Classic drag-and-drop builder with plenty of templates to choose from
  • Abandonment messaging suite: Take action on abandoned carts and deliver personalized messages to re-engage customers
  • AI-driven campaigns: Set a customized template one time and let AI create the rest with intelligence-driven predictive content 
  • Automated testing

Listrak Pricing

Listrak only offers custom solutions, which means custom pricing. Reach out to them for a demo and quote.

Choosing the best Mailerlite alternative for you

Finding the perfect email marketing platform for your needs can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are just so many different options out there, and no two email marketing services are exactly alike—they all have their own pros and cons and are designed with different professionals and use cases in mind.

Having said that, Flodesk is one of the best alternatives to Mailerlite out there if you’re looking for a solution that has:

  • An affordable flat rate plan that won’t increase in price as your subscriber list grows ($38/month gives you unlimited contacts and access to all our features)
  • The most beautiful email campaigns on the market due to our unique, modern templates and signature Flodesk style
  • A passion for helping small businesses and entrepreneurs reach new levels of success with their email marketing strategy

…then Flodesk could be the perfect software for you. Why not try out our free 30-day trial (no strings attached) and see what all the hype is about for yourself?

Get unlimited email sends & subscribers with Flodesk

We’ll never increase pricing because your email list is growing