MailerLite is one of the most affordable email marketing tools with a wide range of features for small to medium-sized businesses.
MailerLite comes with a free plan that supports 1000 subscribers and has features such as:
- An email automation builder
- Signup forms and landing pages
- 12,000 monthly emails
Other than that, MailerLite has an excellent landing page builder and a bunch of beautiful templates, aesthetic and modern signup forms and email templates, and a very smooth user experience. Despite being a great email marketing tool, especially for beginners, MailerLite may not be the most ideal tool for matured ecommerce businesses.
There are MailerLite alternatives that may be better options for you. This post discusses our top three picks.
Here’s an overview of each.
Best overall: Omnisend
Yes
$16
Robust automation
Gamification and signup forms
Unique discount codes
Modern templates
Ecommerce businesses of all sizes
Omnisend is the best email marketing solution for ecommerce businesses of all sizes. It’s a specialized ecommerce tool that will help boost your revenue on autopilot.
Just like MailerLite, Omnisend offers a free tool, but with more features.
What’s more, Omnisend’s features are more advanced than those of MailerLite, making it a great alternative for fast-growing businesses.
Other features that make Omnisend a great MailerLite alternative include:
- Unlike MailerLite, Omnisend allows you to combine your automated email campaigns with other marketing channels like SMS and push notifications.
- Omnisend offers seamless native integrations with popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, etc.
- Omnisend’s automation workflows and segmentation features are more advanced than those offered by MailerLite.
You also get 24/7 customer support on all the plans, including the free plan. MailerLite offers this support for the first 30 days on their free plan.
Omnisend pros and cons
- Omnisend serves 100,000+ ecommerce customers. It's a well-established solution in the market.
- They have a lot of ecommerce-tailored features.
- Omnisend offers one-click integration with platforms like Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix, etc.
- Pre-built automation, email, and signup form templates are both rules and copy ready.
- They provide beautiful and up-to-date designs.
- 24/7 customer support on all the plans, including the free plan.
- Lacks geo-location and a few other reports
- There is no A/B testing for forms
- There is no mobile push notification feature
Runner-up: Moosend
No
$9
Collaborative email editor
Advanced automation and segmentation
Great reporting
ecommerce beginners, non-profit organizations
Moosend is another MailerLite alternative to try if you’re looking for affordable email marketing software.
The tool offers more advanced automation and segmentation capabilities at a similar price as MailerLite.
However, Moosend’s workflow builder comes with 18 pre-built workflow templates to help you set up your automated email series easily—a great addition.
That being said, Moosend lacks a free plan, which could be a downside if you’re on a budget. You can, however, try the tool for 30 days and test out all its features for free before opting for a paid plan.
Moosend’s reporting is also more streamlined and advanced than that of MailerLite.
Moosend pros and cons
- Offers more advanced automation and segmentation capabilities at a similar price as MailerLite
- 70 email templates to help you create email campaigns
- Workflow builder comes with 18 pre-built workflow templates
- Moosend’s reporting is more streamlined and advanced than MailerLite's
- Lacks a free plan
- Some of the email templates are outdated
Best cheap alternative: Brevo
Yes
$25
Affordable pricing
Omnichannel marketing
Transactional emails
Bloggers, non-profit organizations, ecommerce beginners
Brevo is a MailerLite alternative that provides omnichannel marketing at an affordable price.
Besides email campaigns, you can:
- Create SMS campaigns
- Chat with your audience on WhatsApp and Instagram
- Use the live chat tool to reach customers through your website
Brevo encourages you to activate your chat widgets during signup, so you don’t miss out on prospects.
You can manage all these conversations from a universal inbox. MailerLite doesn’t provide any omnichannel marketing options. Instead, their SMS marketing tool is provided separately.
Additionally, Brevo’s pricing plans aren’t based on your email subscriber base but on the number of emails you send. This means that you can have a list of unlimited contacts on all the plans, including the free one.
This makes it cheaper than most tools, including MailerLite, especially for businesses that don’t have an established email sending routine.
In a nutshell, here’s what you can expect from Brevo:
Brevo pros and cons
- A generous free plan
- Great compatibility with marketing channels
- Website live chat tool
- Sufficient marketing automation features
- Friendly pricing plans and more
- Brevo's creatives (email templates, forms) aren't visually strong
- Very basic segmentation functionalities
Best MailerLite alternatives in a nutshell
Here’s a quick comparison table of MailerLite’s alternatives
Omnisend: features that stand out
For a full Omnisend review, please check this article.
Here are some of Omnisend’s unique features that make it the best MailerLite alternative:
- Unique ecommerce features: Unlike MailerLite, Omnisend lets you add unique coupon codes to your emails to personalize your promotions. Also, personalized product recommendations are available for use.
- Excellent integration with ecommerce platforms: Omnisend has a near-perfect rating (4.8 out of 5) on Shopify, from over 5K reviews. MailerLite’s rating on Shopify is 2.3 out of 5.Omnisend is a Shopify Plus certified app and a BigCommerce Elite Partner. It also has native integrations with WordPress, WooCommerce, Wix, and OpenCart.So if your business is hosted on one of these platforms, Omnisend should be your top choice.
- Gamified signup forms: Omnisend offers engaging Wheel of Fortune signup forms that you can use to reward your prospects for joining your list. MailerLite’s signup forms lack this exciting aspect.
- Omnichannel marketing: With Omnisend, you can combine your email automation workflows with SMS and push notifications. This helps you target your customers at every stage of their journey. MailerLite, however, doesn’t give this option.
- 24/7 customer support: Omnisend provides round-the-clock email and live chat support for customers on all plans, including the free plan. MailerLite’s free plan only offers email and chat support for the first 30 days, leaving much to be desired.
Building an email campaign on Omnisend
Building an email campaign with Omnisend is straightforward. The email editor provides a Quick Add section where you can easily access your regular content blocks.
There are also 25 attractive and modern-looking email templates you can customize for your campaigns. These include occasional templates for promotions such as Black Friday, New Year’s, etc.
Unlike MailerLite, Omnisend lets you add your brand logo, colors, and fonts during setup. This way, everything is adjusted to fit your brand when you build your email campaigns.
Marketing automation
Omnisend’s marketing automation functionality is more advanced than what MailerLite offers. The tool provides over 20 ready workflow templates you can use out of the box. The templates come with a logical flow and content you can include in your emails and text messages.
With MailerLite, you’ll get 15 simple automation workflows, but these only contain the rules, and you’d need to add the content yourself.
Forms and list management
You get over 80 signup forms and landing page templates you can customize or use as is when you opt for Omnisend.
As long as you’ve added your brand colors, font, and images to the brand asset, Omnisend will customize your forms and landing pages to fit your brand. This feature is not available on MailerLite.
Omnisend also offers better segmentation and personalization functionalities than MailerLite. The platform provides multiple conditions and filters you can use to create more targeted campaigns.
Omnisend pricing
Omnisend has a free plan that gives you access to most of its advanced features. This makes it suitable for fast-growing businesses. MailerLite’s free plan, on the contrary, has fewer features and is suitable for small businesses that are just getting started with email marketing.
Here’s a comparison of what you get with the two free plans.
Free plan features comparison
- 1,000 subscribers
- 12,000 monthly emails
- Email and chat support for the first 30 days
- Email automation builder
- Drag-and-drop editor, no templates
- One website
- 10 landing pages
- Signup forms and popups
- A/B testing
- Basic reporting
- 250 subscribers
- 500 monthly emails, 60 SMS, 500 web push
- 24/7 email and chat support
- Pre-built automation and workflows
- Professional-looking email templates
- Unlimited segmentation
- Unlimited landing pages and templates
- Signup forms and popups
- A/B testing
- Sales and performance reports
Why choose Omnisend instead of MailerLite?
Omnisend offers more advanced features at an affordable price point. If you’re an ecommerce store looking for better automation, ecommerce integration, and segmentation functionalities, then Omnisend is the best MailerLite alternative for you.
Why choose MailerLite instead of Omnisend?
If you’re a startup business or solopreneur looking for a tool to send only emails, then MailerLite is an excellent choice. It’s affordable, has essential email marketing features, and is beginner-friendly.
Moosend: features that stand out
One of Moosend’s most outstanding features is its collaborative email campaign builder. It allows you to leave comments and respond to them.
This is a unique feature that’s not available on MailerLite.
Other outstanding features include:
- Geolocation reporting, heatmaps, and custom reports
- Advanced automation and segmentation capabilities for an affordable price
- Spam testing function
Moosend is a MailerLite alternative that offers select ecommerce-specific features like cart abandonment triggers. This makes it suitable for new ecommerce store owners.
Building email campaigns
You can build your email campaigns quickly with Moosend’s email editor. It’s straightforward and you can spot the menu items clearly, just like with MailerLite.
The tool also provides over 70 email templates that help you create your email campaigns. However, some of these are outdated.
MailerLite’s templates are modern-looking, but only available on the paid plans.
Marketing automation
If you’re looking for a MailerLite alternative that provides advanced automation workflows without breaking the bank, Moosend is the tool for you.
Moosend’s automation and segmentation functionalities are robust, unlike what you can find on MailerLite. It provides numerous segments as well as conditions and filters.
Forms and list management
Both platforms provide signup forms and landing pages and a bunch of templates for them.
We find MailerLite’s designs more beautiful and modern. However, Moosend offers more advanced segmentation. So it depends on your expectations and current business needs.
Moosend pricing
Moosend doesn’t have a free plan, unlike MailerLite. However, there’s a 30-day free trial which gives you access to most of its features.
Paid plans for both tools start at $9 per month.
MailerLite’s lower-tier paid plan offers fewer features than Moosend’s paid plan. Here’s a quick comparison.
Paid plan features comparison
- Unlimited emails
- 1,000 subscribers
- 24/7 email support
- Unlimited email templates
- Dynamic emails
- Auto-resend campaign
- Basic reporting
- Unsubscribe page builder
- Unlimited websites and blogs
- Unlimited emails
- 500 subscribers
- 24/7 live chat and email support
- Unlimited templates
- Robust segmentation
- Automation workflows
- Advanced reporting
- Transactional emails
- Spam testing
MailerLite offers more features on higher-tier plans. For instance, for multiple automation and triggers, users need to subscribe to MailerLite’s Advanced plan, which costs $16 per month.
This feature is available on Moosend’s Pro plan.
Why choose Moosend instead of MailerLite?
Moosend is a great MailerLite alternative for those looking for an affordable email marketing platform but want robust automation functions.
It’s also ideal for ecommerce marketing beginners since it provides some ecommerce features.
Why choose MailerLite instead of Moosend?
MailerLite is a great tool for small businesses and bloggers looking for an affordable, email marketing tool with a wide range of beautiful creatives.
Brevo: features that stand out
Some of Brevo’s features that make it stand out from the competition include:
- Brevo’s pricing: Brevo lets you have an unlimited email list and charges you based on the number of emails you send monthly.
- Transactional emails: It supports trigger transactional emails, like order confirmations, and this enables you to track your customer’s interactions.
- Best time feature: This uses past email campaign performance data to help you send emails at the optimal time automatically.
- Multiple marketing channels: Brevo enables you to reach your customers through email, SMS, push notifications, Facebook messaging, website live chat, and WhatsApp messaging.
Building email campaign
Brevo’s email campaign builder is intuitive and easy to use, just like MailerLite. Both tools provide aesthetically pleasing templates to get you started as well.
However, unlike MailerLite, you can access Brevo’s customizable email templates with the free plan.
Marketing automation
Although Brevo’s automation feature isn’t as advanced as it is in platforms like Omnisend, it’s better than what MailerLite offers.
Brevo also supports integration with multiple marketing channels. In addition to emails, you can add:
- SMS
- Web notifications
- WhatsApp messaging
- Facebook chat
- Website live chat
MailerLite doesn’t support omnichannel marketing.
You can also send auto-triggered transactional emails, such as order confirmations and shipping updates, to customers on Brevo. MailerLite also offers this function but you have to buy an additional plan for it.
Forms and list management
Brevo offers multi-list subscription forms that let your customers choose which list they want to subscribe to. The tool also lets you blocklist some contacts if you don’t want them to receive your campaigns for some reason. This handy feature can help boost your open rates due to better campaign targeting.
However, most of Brevo’s signup forms and landing page templates are basic and MailerLite has more to offer in this category.
Both MailerLite and Brevo offer simple segmentation functionalities. This makes them unsuitable for ecommerce businesses with segmentation needs.
Brevo pricing
Brevo and MailerLite are both affordable tools. However, if you have a long contact list, you may prefer Brevo over MailerLite. That’s because it lets you have an unlimited contact list even on the free plan.
Here’s what you get with Brevo’s free plan vs MailerLite’s free plan.
Free plan features comparison
- 1,000 subscribers
- 12,000 monthly emails
- Email automation builder
- Drag-and-drop editor
- Websites
- 10 landing pages
- Signup forms and popups
- Email and chat support for the first 30 days
- Unlimited subscribers
- 300 daily emails
- Automation workflow builder
- Drag-and-drop editor
- Transactional emails
- SMS, push, and WhatsApp campaigns
- Customizable email templates
- Email support
Both Brevo and MailerLite are popular for their affordability. However, their pricing plans are based on different criteria. With MailerLite, you will pay for the database you upload and have unlimited monthly emails. While with Brevo, you can upload an unlimited number of contacts but you will pay for the number of email sends. So it all comes down to what your business needs.
Why choose Brevo instead of MailerLite?
Brevo makes for a great MailerLite alternative as it’s compatible with other marketing channels. So if you don’t need very advanced features but still want to try other marketing channels, Brevo is your best bet.
Why choose MailerLite instead of Brevo?
You can choose MailerLite over Brevo if you’re a small business looking for a cheap email marketing tool. MailerLite is the cheaper one among the two, which can be attractive if you’re tight on budget.
Also, if your business doesn’t need any advanced features yet, MailerLite would be a great place to start.
Alternatives to avoid
If you’re looking for alternatives to MailerLite, then you’re probably looking for a beginner-friendly tool that’s also affordable. This could mean that you’re a small business, solopreneur, or newbie email marketer.
The tools mentioned above all fit these criteria. That said, there are tools you may want to avoid as they’re probably not what you’re looking for.
One such tool is Klaviyo.
Klaviyo
Here’s why Klaviyo isn’t a suitable MailerLite alternative:
- Its features are too advanced: The vast majority of Klaviyo’s target market is matured ecommerce businesses. This means that they have a dedicated team to focus on advanced automation, personalization, and segmentation capabilities.
While this is excellent for established businesses, the steep learning curve involved in using this tool is not ideal for beginners.
- It’s expensive: Klaviyo’s pricing is not beginner-friendly. The free plan has limited features and only supports 250 contacts. The pricing starts at $20.
One of MailerLite’s biggest upsides is its affordable pricing. Therefore, Klaviyo wouldn’t be the ideal substitute, especially for small businesses.
MailerLite alternatives: Summary
While MailerLite is an excellent email marketing solution for beginners, it’s not the ideal platform for every ecommerce business.
If you’re a solopreneur or ecommerce business owner, you can consider Moosend because of its advanced automation features, or Brevo for its SMS and social media marketing capabilities.
However, if you own a growing ecommerce business, Omnisend would be the right platform for you due to its ecommerce-centric features and stellar customer service.
So, go ahead and consider your requirements and choose the right MailerLite alternative for your business.
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Our team strives to be accurate and unbiased in reviewing email tools. However, we recognize that mistakes can happen, and it’s essential for us to stay up to date. If you come across any errors or things that need to be reviewed again, please let us know.