MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Which One is Better for Your Business?

mailerlite vs mailchimp cover image with a hand picking a star out of five stars

As two of the more popular brands in the industry, it’s natural that email marketers would seek MailerLite vs Mailchimp reviews to find out which ESP would be better suited for them. But it’s confusing — there are so many similarities between the two!

MailerLite is a company that provides email marketing software and services for businesses and individuals. Founded in 2010 by Ignas Rubežius and acquired by Vercom S.A. in 2022, MailerLite has grown to become a popular platform for managing email marketing campaigns. You can also build landing pages, full websites, and send transactional emails with MailerLite.

Mailchimp is definitely the popular kid on the block — thanks to its massive marketing efforts and the features on its free plan, many email marketing newbies and small business owners see it as an obvious choice. Mailchimp’s offers are similar to MailerLite; you get automation, A/B testing, and integrations with other marketing platforms to help you run email campaigns. The company has also expanded into social media advertising, website building, and CRM integration.

In short, MailerLite and Mailchimp line up similar offers for marketers looking to run email campaigns and track performance. 

There’s only one way to zero in on your future ESP — a detailed breakdown of MailerLite vs Mailchimp features!



MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Which One is the Better Choice?

MailerLite Homepage
MailerLite Homepage

Since they look so similar on paper, you will have to dive into the details to discover which ESP is better suited for your needs. We’re going to break down this MailerLite vs Mailchimp comparison into relevant sections that will help you evaluate the two.

We shall compare these top 6 features of Mailerlite and Mailchimp:

  1. User interface and experience,
  2. Automation,
  3. Landing pages and popups,
  4. Deliverability,
  5. Analytics,
  6. Pricing.
Mailchimp Homepage
Mailchimp Homepage

1. User Interface and Experience

Many users underestimate the importance of an ESP’s user interface until an error causes them to mess up an email campaign or they struggle to figure out where a specific feature is hidden. 

MailerLite has opted for a simple UI with tabs that make it convenient to find the tools or information you’re looking for. Campaign management is intuitive and simple, as is list management. Setting up your account takes time as you need to verify your website and prove you aren’t a spammer. 

Managing your email lists on MailerLite is convenient and you get various options to segment your lists. You can also set up automation controls to modify lists as subscribers move through stages of your marketing funnel.

MailerLite’s template library is decent — you don’t get a lot of variety, but the designs are modern and mobile responsive. 

Mailchimp makes things a little more complicated. Online reviews clearly show that a significant chunk of Mailchimp users struggle with the UI. Setting up automation flows is challenging on Mailchimp, and it could take a few tries before you’re really comfortable. 

List management is another area where Mailchimp users face issues. Restrictions on lists make it difficult to move contacts around, and you need to be much more hands-on with your contacts, moving them around. This also means you pay more for the same contacts on different lists.

Mailchimp offers a huge library of templates to pick from but the designs are in need of a 2024 overhaul. You can always upload your own HTML template if you prefer.

Email editors on both ESPs are equally good and support drag-and-drop functionality.

Winner: The clear winner here is MailerLite, which gets a lot of love from its users for ease of use.

MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Differences at a Glance

Just how easy is it to navigate these platforms? This table breaks it down:

UIMailerLiteMailchimp
Ease of use⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Automation controls⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Email editor⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
List management⭐⭐⭐
Templates⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Usability

At Campaign Refinery, we know how important ease of use is for email marketers. Our UI is clutter-free, and we offer simple list management features as well as an email editor that even an email newbie could operate!


2. Automation

Automation is a necessity for email marketers to be good at what they do — so efficient, simple automation controls on an ESP are a must.

MailerLite doesn’t go crazy with its automation features, sticking to the basics. Continuing the theme of its UI, the controls are simple enough and you can create workflows based on triggers and actions. 

Mailchimp excels at automation and gives you a wide range of triggers to choose from. Its integration with various e-commerce services and apps also makes it convenient for users to track customers on different platforms. But note that you need to be on a paid plan to enjoy any of this, unlike MailerLite, which offers automation on its free plan.

Let’s get into the details: 

Automation features MailerLiteMailchimp
User interface⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Integration with third-party services⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Advanced triggers⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Side-by-side comparison of automation features in MailerLite and Mailchimp

Winner: Between the two, Mailchimp offers a lot more flexibility with its automation capabilities. The only issue here is that you can only access complex automation features when you pay for the premium plans.


3. Landing Pages and Popups

Whether you’re looking to build websites or basic landing pages, both Mailchimp and MailerLite help you do this. Both platforms also let you design signup forms and add popups to capture leads.

MailerLite offers templates to go with its drag-and-drop page builder, which lets you create custom landing pages. You can also integrate Stripe directly and connect to your online store or app from the landing page. There is also a feature to help you segment subscribers automatically and you also get tools like quizzes and surveys that you can add to each page. 

You get just as many options with signup forms and popup templates and MailerLite lets you design them as per the theme of your website. The testing feature lets you A/B test different versions of pages, forms, and popups.

Mailchimp isn’t too far behind, letting you create feature-rich landing pages. You can link out to your e-commerce store or run ads for your social platforms. Mailchimp also lets you track visitors and test different variants of landing pages. The web reporting and analytics suite is on par with MailerLite, giving you insight into your visitors and subscribers. 

The website-building features on both platforms are similar — you can easily build sites without knowing a line of code and customize every aspect. You can also create an online e-commerce store on your site using either MailerLite or Mailchimp.

A quick look at the web development options on both platforms:

FeatureMailerLiteMailchimp
Landing page builder
Website builder
Popups
Signup forms
Visitor analytics
E-commerce store setup
Landing page, popup, and form-builder comparison between MailerLite and Mailchimp

Winner: It’s a clear tie between these two options. 


4. Deliverability and Analytics

This one is a dealbreaker — how consistently can your ESP can help your emails land in the inbox? Between these two, which platform avoids spam folders the most? As it turns out, both MailerLite and Mailchimp offer similar deliverability rates.

MailerLite features a feature where it detects inactive customers on your email list and removes them automatically. This helps your sender reputation as you get fewer complaints, and your engagement rates stay high. MailerLite focuses on the implementation of security protocols and consistently hits the high 90s in deliverability rates.

Mailchimp is no slacker when it comes to deliverability, matching MailerLite’s inboxing rates. One issue, however, is that emails sent via Mailchimp tend to reach the Promotions tab more than the primary inbox. Both MailerLite and Mailchimp have guides to help you set up security protocols like SPF and DKIM on your domain and verify them with the platforms.

The analytics suites from both platforms are detailed and offer insight into how your email campaigns are performing. Mailchimp offers a few more additional insights when compared to MailerLite, like ROI calculators and suggestions for optimization. 

MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Deliverability Features Compared

How good are the inboxing features available with each of these platforms? Let’s find out:

FeatureMailerLiteMailchimp
Deliverability rate⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
List cleaningAutomaticManual
Domain authentication support⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Analytics support⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Deliverability features on MailerLite and Mailchimp

Winner: It’s a tie between MailerLite and Mailchimp, as their deliverability rates are more or less the same.

At Campaign Refinery, the goal is to achieve peak deliverability rates. That’s right, we are hyper-focused on implementing practices and systems to ensure we consistently land in the inbox, and our clients love the engagement rates they get, which go as high as 600% in certain cases. Mailchimp and MailerLite got 4 stars for deliverability in the table above, but if you want to know what 5-star deliverability looks like, you’ll only find the answer on Campaign Refinery.


5. MailerLite vs Mailchimp Pricing: Let’s Talk Numbers

Another dealbreaker when choosing the right ESP is: how much is this going to cost you? Both platforms let you set up a free account and send emails for free, but there are limitations. 

The MailerLite free plan packs a mean punch, but you will need to upgrade your plans once your email operation becomes more complex. After all, you need better automation controls and triggers for larger campaigns. 

MailerLite Pricing
MailerLite Pricing

This table explains the added benefits of MailerLite paid plans:

MailerLite planMonthly priceYearly priceFeatures
Free$0$0‣ 12,000 free emails per month
‣ 1 user account1 website
‣ 10 landing pages
‣ Unlimited segmentation
‣ Free image library
‣ Automation
‣ API documentation 
Growing Business$10$108($9 per month)‣ 500 subscribers
‣ Unlimited email sends
‣ 3 user accounts
‣ Unlimited websites, landing pages, popups, and signup forms
‣ Unlimited segmentation
‣ Free image library
‣ Automation
‣ API documentation
Advanced$20$216($18 per month)‣ 500 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
EnterpriseCustomCustom‣ Custom
MailerLite’s paid plans

Mailchimp is pricier when compared to MailerLite, but let’s be fair here — it does offer a CRM and advanced features that MailerLite does not.

Mailchimp Pricing page
Mailchimp Pricing page

Let’s break down the pricing of different Mailchimp tiers:

Mailchimp planMonthly priceYearly priceFeature
Free$0$0‣ 500 contacts
‣ 1,000 email sends
‣ 1 user
‣ Basic segmentation
‣ Behavioral targeting
‣ Basic templates
‣ Mailchimp branding
‣ Website builder
‣ SEO tools
‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Essentials$9.22$55.32($4.61 per month)‣ 500 contacts
‣ 5,000 email sends
‣ 3 users
‣ Basic segmentation
‣ Behavioral targeting
‣ No Mailchimp branding
‣ A/B testing
‣ Website builder
‣ SEO tools
‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Standard$13.77$82.56($6.88 per month)‣ 500 contacts
‣ 6,000 email sends
‣ 5 users
‣ Advanced segmentation
‣ Multi-step automation
‣ No Mailchimp branding
‣ Behavioral targeting
‣ Campaign manager
‣ Retargeting Google ads
‣ Comparative reporting
‣ A/B testing
‣ Multivariate Testing
‣ Content Optimizer
‣ Dynamic Content
‣ Send Time Optimization
‣ Website builder
‣ SEO tools
‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Premium$275.49$1,653($137.75 per month)‣ Custom number of contacts
‣ 150,000 email sends
‣ Custom email sends
‣ Unlimited users
‣ Advanced segmentation
‣ Multi-step automation
‣ No Mailchimp branding
‣ Behavioral targeting
‣ Campaign manager
‣ Retargeting Google ads
‣ Comparative reporting
‣ A/B testing
‣ Multivariate Testing
‣ Content Optimizer
‣ Dynamic Content
‣ Send Time Optimization
‣ Website builder
‣ SEO tools
‣ Free Mailchimp domain
Overview of Mailchimp’s pricing

Winner: Between the two ESPs, MailerLite is clearly the more pocket-friendly option.


6. MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Who’s the Winner?

Both MailerLite and Mailchimp let you run email marketing operations, build websites, and manage lists. Mailchimp has a couple of additional features but also costs more.

Let’s simplify this comparison with a breakdown of the features you get:

FeatureMailerLiteMailchimp
Deliverability⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
UI simplicity⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Autoresponders
Automatic list cleaning
Personalization with dynamic content
CRM
Social media analytics
Third-party integration⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Advanced automation⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Analytics⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Page builder
Time to pick a winner!

If the CRM feature is important to you, then Mailchimp is the better option. Mailchimp also provides better integration with e-commerce platforms and provides social media analytics, which MailerLite does not. But MailerLite charges less and also lets you send unlimited emails, even though it puts a cap on your contacts list.

At Campaign Refinery, we opted to keep our charges pocket-friendly and way more transparent. But that’s not all.


Campaign Refinery: Lean, Mean, Deliverability Machine

The email industry can be a chaotic place; there is always a new trend or tool that promises to revolutionize your performance metrics and conversion rates. But when you take away the noise, take away the tall promises, and cut out the spammy suggestions — what you need for elite-level email performance is an ESP that focuses on the basics, implements best practices, and offers tools that work flawlessly.

Campaign Refinery ticks all these boxes.

We knew right at the start that we wanted to cater to the most elite of email professionals. We wanted to work with people who knew how to run massive campaigns, achieve impossible goals, and want to avoid spam folders at all costs.

Choosing Campaign Refinery over MailerLite and Mailchimp Makes More Sense

We simplify email marketing.

Email marketers primarily want top-notch deliverability and clutter-free tools that help them achieve this.

Here are the best of Campaign Refinery’s offers:

  1. Vetting system for customers: We don’t offer free plans and we screen every customer we onboard and then continue to monitor them. Why? Because our deliverability rates are possible thanks to this diligence. We take utmost care to maintain the reputation we get from mailbox providers.
  2. Implementation of security protocols: We require all clients to implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC on their domains. This vastly improves the chances of inboxing.
  3. Automated list-cleaning: Yet another feature that protects your sender reputation. Our list cleaner removes invalid emails, spam traps, bots, burner addresses, and similar email IDs from your list, ensuring your reputation never gets affected negatively.
  4. Credits system: See how ESPs charge for the size of your contacts list? We think that’s unnecessary. At Campaign Refinery, you can upload thousands of contacts and not have to pay until you hit the send button or use the list-cleaning feature. Pay for what you use.
  5. Gamification: If you’re running a special campaign and want stunning engagement rates, try our Gamification feature. It will teach you tactics to get your subscribers involved and excited about your emails!
  6. Simple automation: Even the most complex automation flows are a breeze with our Branch & Rule builder. 
  7. Campaign library: Looking for inspiration? You can find it in our library of pre-built campaigns.

Is Campaign Refinery Affordable?

After inbox placement, pricing is Campaign Refinery’s next best feature!

All this deliverability goodness combined with robust tools, a doting customer care team, and unbelievable engagement rates — and what does it cost you?

On the basic plan, you’re looking at spending about 0.19 cents per email. But at this price, you also get all these amazing features and tools! Note that almost all our features are available on all paid plans. 

Campaign Refinery Pricing Chart
Campaign Refinery Pricing Chart

Let’s break down the different Campaign Refinery tiers:

Campaign Refinery PlanPriceCreditsFeatures
Business$99/mo50,000Unlimited contacts
Campaign library
Segmentation tools
Automatic list cleaning
Gamification
Evergreen Flash Sales
Advanced automation features
Growth$299/mo200,000Unlimited 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/mo1 millionUnlimited 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
Campaign Refinery: Pricing and features

Moving to Campaign Refinery: Is It Complicated?

Campaign Refinery is a great place to start your email operations, but if you’re migrating from a different platform, we do our best to ensure your process is stress-free. Our support team will guide you through every obstacle you face along the way and assist you with any technical issue you face.

Rest assured, you’re in good hands! 

If you’re ready to join an elite circle of email professionals, apply to join Campaign Refinery today!

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