Which should you pick?
| If you are | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A creator selling courses, coaching or a paid newsletter | Kit | Its digital store, subscriptions and recommendation network are built for selling to your own audience. |
| A small business or freelancer who wants email plus a simple website and landing pages | MailerLite | Websites, landing pages, forms and automations are included on paid plans, starting from a lower listed price. |
| Someone with a large list who sends rarely and wants to pay nothing | Kit | Kit lists a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers, while MailerLite’s free plan stops at 250. |
| Someone who wants unlimited automations as cheaply as possible | MailerLite | Comfort lists 50 automations and Power is unlimited, with prices listed from $12 and $25 a month. |
Kit and MailerLite are often shortlisted together. Both are friendlier than the big marketing suites, both have a free plan, and both have loyal users. They are built for different people, though, and the differences show up quickly once you look at plans.
This comparison uses each company’s pricing and features pages, read on 12 October 2026. We have not run campaigns in both tools, so the page is labelled as researched. Read how we test for what that means. Full write-ups are in our Kit review and MailerLite review.
Side by side
| Kit | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Creators selling to their audience | Small businesses, freelancers, creators, stores |
| Free plan | Up to 10,000 subscribers | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month |
| Free plan automations | Limited; unlimited on Creator | 3 automations |
| First paid plan | Creator, $33 a month at 1,000 subscribers | Comfort, listed as starting at $12 a month |
| Higher plan | Pro, $66 listed (promotional $50 first year) | Power, listed as starting at $25 a month |
| Selling products | Built-in digital store, subscriptions, paid newsletters | Paid newsletters and digital products listed; ecommerce integrations |
| Websites and landing pages | Landing pages and a micro-site | Website builder and landing pages |
| Growth tools | Recommendation network, sponsorship matching | Signup forms and pop-ups |
| AI features | MCP access on paid plans | AI writing assistant, email generator, landing page builder, MCP server |
| Yearly billing | Annual Creator listed at $390 | Listed as saving 10% |
Where Kit wins
List size on the free plan. Kit lists a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, forms and landing pages. If you are validating an audience and do not need sequences yet, that is a lot of room for nothing.
Selling to your audience. Kit’s digital store, subscriptions and paid newsletters sit inside the same account as your email. Its features page lists commerce fees of 0.6% plus card processing fees. The recommendation network, where creators promote each other, is also a Kit specialty.
Creator-shaped workflow. Tagging, sequences, and automations that react to purchases, link clicks and form fills are the centre of the product, not an add-on.
Where MailerLite wins
Starting price for paid features. Comfort is listed as starting at $12 a month and includes 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, and an AI writing assistant. Power, from $25 a month, makes seats, automations and landing pages unlimited.
A website builder in the box. MailerLite includes a website builder, so a freelancer can run a small site, forms and email from one login.
A wider range of AI helpers. MailerLite lists an AI writing assistant, an AI email generator, an AI landing page builder, AI-powered A/B testing and Smart Sending.
Where each one falls short
Kit’s automations are limited until you pay, and the Pro plan’s price shown on the page includes a first-year discount. Its audience is creators, so a shop wanting abandoned-cart flows may feel under-served.
MailerLite’s free plan is small, and its pricing page is easy to misread: the headline says every paid plan has the full feature set, while the comparison table shows Comfort missing some Power features. Check the table before you buy. Its free-plan API and MCP access does not include sending.
How to choose
Ask three questions.
- Do you sell to your own audience? If courses, coaching, digital products or a paid newsletter are the business, start with Kit.
- Is your list big now but quiet? Kit’s free allowance is far larger. If you will mail a small list often, MailerLite’s paid plan starts lower.
- Do you need a website too? If yes, MailerLite saves you a separate tool.
If you are still undecided, open a free account on both, import ten test addresses, and build the same welcome email in each. The one that feels less like a fight is usually the right one.
Both prices and plans change often, so confirm everything on the vendors’ pricing pages before you pay. For a wider field, see our list of the best email marketing software for small business.
Kit: check current pricingMailerLite: check current pricing
Common questions
Is Kit or MailerLite cheaper?
At small list sizes MailerLite’s listed starting prices ($12 a month for Comfort, $25 for Power) are lower than Kit’s Creator plan, which is listed at $33 a month for 1,000 subscribers. Kit’s free plan, though, allows far more subscribers. Which costs less depends on your list size and whether you need paid features.
Which is easier for beginners?
Both use visual editors and templates. MailerLite’s pitch is simplicity for small businesses, while Kit is organised around creators’ workflows such as sequences and product sales. Try the free plan of each with a small test list and see which feels natural.
Can I switch from one to the other later?
Subscribers can be exported and imported as a CSV, but automations, forms and templates usually have to be rebuilt by hand. Kit lists a free migration service for creators on paid plans.