[UPDATED] MailerLite vs ConvertKit: Detailed Comparison

MailerLite vs ConvertKit can be a confusing comparison as the two have a lot of similar features. That’s exactly why we decided to compare the top features of both ESPs, so we can tell you which one would be better suited for your needs.
MailerLite is an ESP that caters to businesses of all sizes and comes with intuitive tools to create, automate, and analyze different types of email campaigns. The platform has been praised for its user-friendly interface and its drag-and-drop editor, which simplifies the process of designing visually appealing emails.
MailerLite also comes with automation and basic testing tools. The pricing plans are affordable, making it a popular choice among new email professionals. You can learn more about the platform from MailerLite reviews on our blog.
ConvertKit, or Kit, as it is known today, is an email marketing platform that targets creators, bloggers, and small business owners. Besides email marketing, it also lets you build landing pages and signup forms. Creators get email list management capabilities and tagging features.
ConvertKit email marketing features include automation and segmentation, allowing users to run both email drip campaigns and email nurture campaigns. For more information, check out our ConvertKit review.
Our goal is to give you the specifics on the features of both platforms — here’s a comparison of MailerLite vs ConvertKit done right.
MailerLite vs ConvertKit — Which One is Better for You?
MailerLite and ConvertKit feature many tools and features that help email marketers execute comprehensive email campaigns.
To pick the better option, we decided to review features we consider critical in email marketing.
So here are the categories we analyzed:
- Templates and email editor,
- Automation,
- Reporting and analytics,
- Deliverability,
- Page and form building,
- Pricing.



Templates and Email Editor

MailerLite and ConvertKit have much in common, so we decided to start this comparison by discussing the one area where both these ESPs have opposite approaches.
MailerLite’s template library contains modern designs and a variety of content building blocks. You get over 70 pre-designed MailerLite templates, all of them customizable. The platform has an efficient drag-and-drop email editor that you can use to create your own HTML emails using different media and custom layouts.

In the quest for better deliverability, ConvertKit recommends avoiding HTML email templates completely. The platform has chosen a side in the HTML vs plain text email argument and believes text-only emails perform better; that’s why the library only contains text-based ConvertKit templates.
The email editor, too, is pretty basic. You’d need a strong understanding of HTML and CSS styling to create email campaign templates for marketing from scratch. However, users can opt for third-party HTML templates and rewrite the code. These templates are made by freelancers and are listed on ConvertKit’s website.
The table breaks down the email creation capabilities of both platforms:
Feature | MailerLite | ConvertKit |
---|---|---|
HTML template library | ✅ | ❌ |
Drag and drop email editor | ✅ | ❌ |
Simplicity of UI | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Winner: If you plan to send media-rich, vibrant emails to your subscribers, MailerLite would be an obvious choice as ConvertKit email templates are text-only.
As the experts on email deliverability, we agree that text-based emails are best. That said, the Campaign Refinery template library contains beautiful HTML templates created with email design best practices in mind. Our clients can send rich emails when they want!
Automation

On the email marketing automation front, both MailerLite and ConvertKit feature simplified controls to set up automated campaigns. Users can easily move subscribers through email marketing funnels.
Both platforms let users send different types of emails such as:
Both ESPs take a visual approach to designing email workflows and offer intuitive steps to help users set up email sequences.

You can access a library of automation templates on ConvertKit, which MailerLite does not. This could be a dealbreaker for certain email professionals. Another area where ConvertKit has an advantage is its tag assignment system. This feature helps users implement an email segmentation strategy and categorize subscribers into different customer segments.
A summary of automation features from both ESPs:
Feature | MailerLite | ConvertKit |
---|---|---|
Visual automation builder | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Automation templates | ❌ | ✅ |
Tagging | ❌ | ✅ |
Variety of triggers/actions | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Winner: The round goes to ConvertKit because automation templates are very useful and MailerLite does not offer them.
With Campaign Refinery, you can easily assign and remove email tags using our Tag Manager. We also have a powerful yet simple Branch and Rule builder that lets you design the most complex automation flows with ease.
Reporting and Analytics

MailerLite continues its theme of keeping a simplistic UI, by giving its users an analytics screen that is straightforward and has a neat layout.
There is good use of visual hierarchy with the most critical email campaign metrics at the top. Users also get a good breakdown of the campaign’s email performance. MailerLite analytics lets you track the performance of your e-commerce stores as well as view device and client data.

Comparatively, ConvertKit opts for a stripped-down, bare-bones version to share email campaign reports with users. There is no overview; you can only view click-through rates, open rates, and email unsubscribe rates, but not complaint rates. So if your email marketing subscribers report your messages as email spam, there’s no way of finding out.
Breaking down the analytics and reporting features on MailerLite and ConvertKit:
Feature | MailerLite | ConvertKit |
---|---|---|
Simplicity of UI | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Layout | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
E-commerce statistics | ✅ | ❌ |
Performance overview | ✅ | ❌ |
Winner: MailerLite, for building a simple and detailed analytics dashboard.
Design was a key factor when creating the Campaign Refinery analytics dashboard — we wanted to give our users an interface that would display meaningful metrics combined with insightful visuals.
Deliverability
If your emails aren’t making it to the primary inbox, then it’s a drain on both your time and your resources. This is why deliverability is the #1 feature you should look for when choosing an ESP.
MailerLite seems committed to deliverability, as it has a screening process for its customers. This can seem like a nuisance for email marketers eager to get started, but the benefit is that spammers won’t join the platform and drag down their reputation.
Besides this, MailerLite also shares best practices and training material on improving inbox placement rates. You can get access to a verification tool called MailerCheck to manually test your email lists for invalid email IDs.
ConvertKit doesn’t screen its customers, but it does monitor its user base for spam email senders. It also shares documentation and technical support for domain authentication on its support pages. ConvertKit has an automation flow that doubles up as an email validation tool, but you have to run this manually.
According to EmailToolTester, there is a stark contrast in the deliverability rates of these two competitors; while MailerLite deliverability rates average around 95%, ConvertKit deliverability rates are near the 88% mark. This can be a deal breaker for many email marketers; if their emails aren’t making it to the primary inbox, then it’s a drain on both their time and resources.
A breakdown of MailerLite and ConvertKit’s deliverability features:
Feature | MailerLite | ConvertKit |
---|---|---|
Deliverability guides and training | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Deliverability rate | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Domain authentication | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Customer screening | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Winner: Choosing a winner for this section comes down to the numbers. This one goes to MailerLite for its deliverability rates.
Campaign Refinery has the best deliverability among all ESPs, and we didn’t want to leave anything to chance. This is why we have an application-based process for new clients, an automated list cleaner that removes all problematic email addresses from your email list, a mandate for all client email domains to be authenticated, and strict monitoring for spammy activities!
Page and Form Building

Designing landing pages helps marketers convert during a purchase, signup, or download. Landing pages help with email lead generation, capturing data such as email addresses or demographics through forms. This allows marketers to build their lead lists for future campaigns.

While you can build an entire website or blog with your MailerLite account, ConvertKit sticks to just landing pages. Both platforms offer fully customizable templates with access to image libraries for further tweaking. You get access to third-party integration for different services on both MailerLite and ConvertKit.
You can also design feature-rich forms on either of these platforms. Data collected from signups can be segmented automatically and the forms are mobile-responsive on MailerLite and ConvertKit.
Page building features of both platforms are largely similar:
Feature | MailerLite | ConvertKit |
---|---|---|
Landing page templates | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Signup form templates | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Double opt-in | ✅ | ✅ |
Automatic segmentation | ✅ | ✅ |
Mobile-formatting | ✅ | ✅ |
Winner: It’s a tie between these two for page building and signup forms — but if you want to build a website, go for MailerLite.
MailerLite vs ConvertKit Pricing: Which ESP Offers Better Value?
Both ESPs come with free plans, but as expected, there are limitations. Paid plans would be the way to go, especially if you have a large contact list. Like most ESPs, both MailerLite and ConvertKit charge you according to the size of your subscriber base.
We decided to compare the pricing for 1,000 contacts on each of the platforms.
How Affordable is MailerLite?

Details on MailerLite tiers:
MailerLite plan | Monthly price | Yearly price | Features |
---|---|---|---|
Free | $0 | $0 | ‣ 12,000 free emails per month ‣ 1 user account ‣ 1 website ‣ 10 landing pages ‣ Unlimited segmentation ‣ Free image library ‣ Automation ‣ API documentation |
Growing Business | $15 | $162($13.50 per month) | ‣ 1,000 subscribers ‣ Unlimited email sends ‣ 3 user accounts ‣ Unlimited websites, landing pages, popups, and signup forms ‣ Unlimited segmentation ‣ Free image library ‣ Automation ‣ API documentation |
Advanced | $30 | $324($27 per month) | ‣ 1,000 subscribers ‣ Unlimited email sends ‣ Unlimited user accounts ‣ 15% discount on Google Workspace ‣ Unlimited websites, landing pages, popups, and signup forms ‣ Unlimited segmentation ‣ Free image library ‣ AI writing assistant ‣ Automation ‣ Automation triggers ‣ API documentation |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom | ‣ Custom |
ConvertKit Pricing Plans
The platform is a bit more expensive than MailerLite and other ConvertKit competitors.

There are three ConvertKit plans in total and they look like this:
ConvertKit plan | Monthly price | Yearly price | Features |
---|---|---|---|
Free | $0 | $0 | ‣ 1,000 subscribers ‣ 1 account user ‣ Unlimited landing pages ‣ Unlimited forms ‣ Unlimited broadcasts ‣ Tagging and segmentation |
Creator | $29 | $290($25 per month) | ‣ 1,000 subscribers ‣ Unlimited landing pages ‣ Unlimited forms ‣ Unlimited broadcasts ‣ Tagging and segmentation + ‣ 2 account users ‣ Autoresponders ‣ Visual automation controls ‣ Third-party integration support ‣ Live ChatEmail support |
Creator Pro | $59 | $590($50 per month) | ‣ 1,000 subscribers ‣ Unlimited landing pages ‣ Unlimited forms ‣ Unlimited broadcasts ‣ Tagging and segmentation ‣ Autoresponders ‣ Visual automation controls ‣ Third-party integration support ‣ Live ChatEmail support + ‣ Unlimited account users ‣ Referral program on their network ‣ Advanced performance metrics |
MailerLite and ConvertKit Pricing Analysis
If price is a factor, it’s clearly budget-friendly to send emails via MailerLite. Additionally, ConvertKit gets significantly more expensive as your contacts list grows.
Winner: MailerLite wins the round as its pricing is a bit more affordable than ConvertKit.
MailerLite vs ConvertKit: Who Wins?
Both platforms have a loyal user base that praises them; both are popular with email marketers who sign up for specific features.
MailerLite is popular for its simple UI, its pricing, and its templates. Comparatively, ConvertKit users join for its Creator Network and its automation and list segmentation features.
Let’s compare the two side by side:
Feature | MailerLite | ConvertKit |
---|---|---|
Deliverability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
User interface | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Template library | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐ |
Automation features | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Autoresponders | ✅ | ✅ |
List cleaning | ✅ | ✅ |
Third-party integration | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Analytics | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Page and form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
Here are relevant comparisons you should read before you decide which ESP to go for:
To sum up the comparison: MailerLite offers certain advantages over ConvertKit. Its deliverability is superior, its template library is better, and the price point is lower.
But if you want a golden combination of deliverability, low pricing, and templates, the top alternative to ConvertKit and MailerLite is Campaign Refinery.
Campaign Refinery: The Best Choice Between Competition
If you’re comparing MailerLite and ConvertKit, we know what you’re looking for. You want an email marketing platform you can depend on, that can scale along with your business, that fits in your budget, and gets you excellent engagement and deliverability rates.
Well, you’re in the right place!
Our customers love Campaign Refinery; the testimonials speak for themselves:
“We struggled for years to make email work for our sales team. Campaign Refinery powered our email from $0 to $3.6m in the first 12 months.”
– Cale Owen, GymLaunch
“An amazing platform! I love that I’m basically guaranteed to inbox. In fact, not inboxing is a thing of the past.”
– Stefan Ciancio, Webinarkit
Why Pick Campaign Refinery Over MailerLite or ConvertKit?

Campaign Refinery has the best of both platforms and our clients have clearly achieved stellar results by teaming up with us.
Here’s why we’re better than the two ESPs we compared today:
- Unlimited contacts: We don’t think email senders should pay for having a large list. With Campaign Refinery, you only pay for the emails you send.
- Deliverability: Achieving consistent inbox placement is no joke. The reason we’re so good at it is because of all the best practices and rules we have in place, plus the secret pixie dust we add to all outgoing emails. Our emails love the inbox and vice versa!
- Domain authentication: All our clients must have SPF, DKIM, and DMARC implemented on their domains before the first email goes out. It’s a task, but the benefits to your email sender reputation are amazing.
- Automated list-cleaning: Don’t dig through your contacts list by yourself; let our automatic list cleaner take care of it. It sniffs out invalid emails, spam traps, bots, seed accounts, and more, efficiently.
- Gamification: All marketers seek email engagement; our email gamification system helps unlock it. With click rates of 72.76% and a 0% complaint rate, it just works.
- Automation: You get access to pre-built automation templates, but building a sequence from scratch is just as simple. Combined with our tag-based system, you’re looking at complete control over your email campaigns.
If you’re worried all this email goodness is expensive, you’re in for a surprise!

How Affordable is Campaign Refinery?
For the value we offer, teaming up with Campaign Refinery is a steal!
Our credit-based payment system is as transparent as it gets. You don’t have to pay more because you have a large subscriber base; you pay with credit for each email send.
Here’s a breakdown of Campaign Refinery pricing:
Campaign Refinery Plan | Price | Credits | Features |
---|---|---|---|
Business | $99/mo | 50,000 | ‣ Unlimited contacts ‣ Campaign library ‣ Segmentation tools ‣ Automatic list cleaning ‣ Gamification ‣ Evergreen Flash Sales ‣ Advanced automation features |
Growth | $299/mo | 200,000 | ‣ Unlimited contacts ‣ Campaign library ‣ Segmentation tools ‣ Automatic list cleaning ‣ Gamification ‣ Evergreen Flash Sales ‣ Advanced automation features + ‣ Disable Campaign Refinery branding ‣ Higher volume of API access |
Enterprise | >$1k/mo | 1 million | ‣ Unlimited contacts ‣ Campaign library ‣ Segmentation tools ‣ Automatic list cleaning ‣ Gamification ‣ Evergreen Flash Sales ‣ Advanced automation features ‣ Disable Campaign Refinery branding + ‣ Dedicated Success Manager ‣ Custom API volumes |
Moving to Campaign Refinery: How Complicated Is It?
Our customer care team will make your migration as smooth as possible, but depending on the scale of your operation, it can take time. Still, we assure you we will make the process as smooth as possible.
Once you’ve cleared our screening process, the Campaign Refinery support team is available to guide you through the setup and migration until you’re up and running!
Discover elite email performance today — apply to be a Campaign Refinery customer here!