ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite: Features, Pricing and Verdict
ActiveCampaign starts at $15 a month with deep automation. MailerLite starts free with 250 subscribers. Compare pricing, features and fit before you choose.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-07T15:04:07+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-07T15:04:07+00:00
ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite: Features, Pricing and Verdict
ActiveCampaign and MailerLite both send email campaigns. They serve different buyers. ActiveCampaign is built for automation-heavy marketing and sales teams. MailerLite is built for creators and small businesses that want a simple tool at a low price. The right choice depends on your list size, your automation needs, and your budget.
This comparison uses prices from both vendors' official pricing pages. Prices are in US dollars. Check the live pages before you buy, because vendors change prices without notice.
ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite at a glance
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None; 14-day free trial | Yes; up to 250 subscribers |
| Entry paid plan | Starter, from $15 a month | Comfort, from $12 a month |
| Pricing basis | Number of contacts | Number of active subscribers |
| Automation | Multi-step automation on every plan | Automations on every plan, with limits |
| Built-in CRM | Yes, with deal pipelines from Plus | No full CRM; basic subscriber tools |
| Websites and landing pages | Landing pages from Plus | Website and landing pages on Free |
| Best for | Automation-heavy teams | Creators and small businesses |
ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite pricing compared
ActiveCampaign sells four plans. Prices are quoted for 1,000 contacts on annual billing. Starter costs $15 a month. Plus costs $49 a month. Pro costs $79 a month. Enterprise costs $145 a month. Monthly billing costs more than annual billing. Prices rise as your contact count grows. At 10,000 contacts, Starter costs $149 a month and Plus costs $189 a month.
MailerLite sells four plans too. Free costs $0. It covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Comfort starts at $12 a month for up to 500 subscribers. Power starts at $25 a month for up to 500 subscribers. Annual billing saves 10 percent. That takes Comfort to $10.80 a month and Power to $22.50 a month at the entry tier.
The pricing models differ in one key way. ActiveCampaign charges by contacts and gates features by plan. MailerLite gives every paid plan the full feature set. You pay more only as your list and sending grow. That makes MailerLite cheaper for small lists. ActiveCampaign gets expensive fast as a list grows.
| List size | ActiveCampaign (annual) | MailerLite (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 500 subscribers | Starter from $15 a month | Comfort from $10.80 a month |
| 1,000 contacts | Starter $15; Plus $49 a month | Comfort $19 a month; Power $39 a month |
| 10,000 contacts | Starter $149; Plus $189 a month | Comfort $80.10; Power $116.10 a month |
MailerLite list prices above 500 subscribers come from its pricing calculator. ActiveCampaign figures come from its pricing page. Both vendors confirm that prices change, so treat these as a snapshot from November 2026.
Automation and CRM features
Automation is where ActiveCampaign pulls ahead. Every plan includes multi-step automation. Plus adds landing pages, site messages, and cross-channel marketing. Pro adds predictive sending, conditional content, advanced segmentation, and attribution. Enterprise adds single sign-on, custom reporting, and a dedicated account team.
ActiveCampaign also includes a CRM. Plus offers deal pipelines and lead scoring. That matters if your emails feed a sales process. You can track deals from first click to closed sale in one tool.
MailerLite automation is simpler. The Free plan includes automations with limits. Comfort allows 50 automations with up to 100 steps each. Power allows unlimited automations. MailerLite also includes an AI writing assistant, smart sending, and multivariate testing on Comfort. Power adds multiple automation triggers and partner discounts.
For most newsletters and welcome sequences, MailerLite automation is enough. For complex sales funnels with branching logic and lead scoring, ActiveCampaign is the stronger tool.
Ease of use and templates
MailerLite is the easier tool to learn. Its interface is clean. Its editors cover drag and drop, custom HTML, and simple text. The Free plan includes all three editors. New users can send a first campaign in an afternoon.
ActiveCampaign has a steeper learning curve. Its automation builder is powerful. It is also dense. New users often need a few days to feel comfortable. The payoff is control. You can build branching journeys that MailerLite cannot match.
Both tools offer templates. ActiveCampaign lists more than 250 email templates on Starter. MailerLite offers unlimited templates on Comfort. Both include signup forms. MailerLite also includes a website builder on its Free plan. ActiveCampaign focuses on email, automation, and CRM instead.
Sending limits and support
Sending limits matter once a list grows. ActiveCampaign Starter allows 10,000 email sends a month at 1,000 contacts. That is 10 times the contact count. Pro allows 12,000 sends. Enterprise allows 15,000 sends.
MailerLite Free allows 2,500 emails a month. Comfort allows 10 times the top of your subscriber tier. At the up-to-500 tier, that is 5,000 emails a month. Power allows unlimited monthly emails under a fair use policy.
Support differs too. ActiveCampaign offers email and chat support on Starter. MailerLite offers 24/7 email support on Comfort. Power adds 24/7 live chat. Enterprise buyers on both sides get dedicated help. MailerLite also gives every new account a 14-day trial of premium features.
Who should choose which tool
Choose MailerLite if you run a newsletter, a creator business, or a small shop. It is free to start. It stays cheap as you grow. It includes a website, landing pages, and digital products. You do not need a CRM or complex automation.
Choose ActiveCampaign if email drives your sales pipeline. Its automation, lead scoring, and CRM justify the higher price. It fits marketing teams that run multi-step journeys. It fits businesses that score leads and track revenue per campaign.
Watch the cost curve before you commit. A 10,000-contact list costs $149 a month on ActiveCampaign Starter. The same size list costs about $80 a month on MailerLite Comfort with annual billing. That gap widens as lists grow.
Switching between ActiveCampaign and MailerLite
Both tools offer migration help. MailerLite has a dedicated migration page. Its success team helps with large lists. ActiveCampaign offers onboarding support on higher plans. Enterprise includes a dedicated account rep and onboarding.
Moving lists is straightforward. Export your subscribers as a CSV file. Import it into the new tool. Clean the list first. Remove bounced and unengaged addresses. A smaller, cleaner list costs less on both platforms. It also protects your sending reputation.
Moving automations is harder. Automation logic does not transfer between tools. You must rebuild each workflow by hand. That is a real cost of switching. Count your automations before you move. A business with 50 automations faces days of rebuild work. A business with three welcome emails faces an afternoon.
Templates do not transfer either. Rebuild your main templates in the new editor. Test them before you switch your sending. Keep the old account live for a month. That gives you a fallback if something breaks.
Bottom line
MailerLite wins on price and simplicity. ActiveCampaign wins on automation depth and CRM. For most small senders, MailerLite is the better value. For teams that live inside automation and sales pipelines, ActiveCampaign earns its premium. Pick the tool that matches how you actually use email, not the one with the longest feature list.