MailerLite pricing in one table
| Plan | Starting position | Best fit | Constraint to model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Learning and validating a small list | 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails per 30 days |
| Comfort | From $12 per month | Regular newsletters and normal automations | Sending allowance and subscriber tier |
| Power | From $25 per month | Frequent senders, teams and larger workflow portfolios | Higher price must replace a real operational constraint |
| Enterprise | Custom | Lists above 200,000 and organisations needing dedicated support | Sales-led scope and contract |
The price is determined by more than list size
MailerLite combines subscriber tiers, sending allowances and plan-level capacity. Two accounts with the same number of contacts can therefore need different plans. A weekly newsletter with several automated messages consumes more sends than a monthly update, while a team with multiple funnels can hit automation or user limits before it hits a sending ceiling.
Use active subscribers rather than the total number of rows in an old database when preparing the first estimate. Then verify how MailerLite classifies unsubscribed, bounced and unconfirmed contacts. The official billing page remains the final authority because rules and tier prices can change.
- Expected active subscribers at months 1, 6 and 12.
- Broadcasts per month multiplied by average recipients.
- Automated emails per new subscriber.
- Number of operators and permission requirements.
- Forms, pages, products and workflows that must remain active.
Free is a validation plan, not a long runway
Free includes up to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails every 30 days. It also provides two users, three automations, three forms, one website, one landing page and one digital product or booking. That is enough to build and validate one complete newsletter path.
The important issue is what happens at the limit. MailerLite states that a Free account above its allowance cannot send, import subscribers or create, activate or edit several assets until usage is reduced or the account upgrades. Forms can continue receiving signups in some circumstances, so a launch can produce a queue of people waiting for the promised welcome email.
A project expecting meaningful promotion should decide its upgrade threshold before launch. Around 200 active subscribers is a useful internal warning level, not an official product limit.
Comfort is the likely default for a working newsletter
Comfort starts at $12 per month and is positioned for regular newsletters and automations. It adds three users, email support, unlimited templates, branding removal, the preference centre, Smart Sending and larger allowances for automations, forms, pages and products.
The practical reason to choose Comfort is continuity. A business can remove the platform logo, run a normal portfolio of forms and workflows, give access to a small team and avoid designing operations around the Free ceiling. It should still forecast sends because Comfort is not the unlimited-sending plan.
Do not upgrade for a feature that sounds impressive but has no current job. Name the campaign, workflow or team responsibility that requires the paid capability.
Power should solve a measurable constraint
Power starts at $25 per month. The plan is aimed at frequent senders and teams that need unlimited monthly emails, unlimited users, larger asset capacity, live chat support and more capable automations. Multiple triggers allow several entry events to feed one workflow.
Unlimited does not mean that every business should buy it. Power is justified when the current plan forces duplicate workflows, blocks another operator, creates sending anxiety or prevents a funnel from operating correctly. If the real requirement is a sales pipeline or customer-service workspace, a more expensive MailerLite plan may still not solve the architectural problem.
Model three realistic cost scenarios
| Scenario | Monthly activity | Likely starting point |
|---|---|---|
| New creator | 150 active subscribers, 4 broadcasts, 3 welcome emails per new signup | Free can validate the workflow, with an upgrade plan ready |
| Small consultancy | 900 active contacts, 2 broadcasts, 5-email lead sequence | Comfort is the likely baseline |
| Publishing team | Several thousand subscribers, weekly campaigns, multiple funnels and operators | Compare Power with alternatives using the exact tier calculator |
Annual billing, upgrades and taxes
Comfort and Power can be purchased monthly or annually. Annual billing can reduce the headline rate, but it also commits the account to a twelve-month structure. If subscriber or sending usage rises above the selected annual allowance, MailerLite documents a prorated charge for the higher level.
Include applicable VAT or sales tax in the budget. Also include connected services such as a domain, website, checkout, design tools or CRM. A platform that appears cheaper but requires two additional subscriptions can produce the larger total cost.
Before paying annually, complete the end-to-end trial and export a backup. A discount should not become a reason to accept a poor workflow.
What the 14-day trial changes
A new account receives a 14-day premium trial without entering payment details. The trial keeps the 250-subscriber and 2,500-send limits but exposes selected capabilities from paid plans, including several advanced functions.
An automation can appear to work during the trial and stop after it ends if it depends on a paid capability such as multiple triggers. Record which plan owns every important feature before building production logic around it. Upgrading during the trial ends the trial and starts the paid billing cycle.
Pricing mistakes to avoid
- Comparing only the lowest advertised price.
- Ignoring automation sends when forecasting monthly volume.
- Building a launch that depends on remaining below 250 subscribers.
- Assuming every trial feature belongs to Comfort.
- Using an annual discount before validating the workflow.
- Forgetting taxes, connected tools and team time.
- Deleting and re-uploading contacts to circumvent plan limits, which MailerLite prohibits.
Frequently asked pricing questions
Does MailerLite charge for unsubscribed contacts? Billing is based on active subscribers under the current rules, but always verify the account calculator before purchasing.
Will MailerLite upgrade the account automatically? Subscriber or send growth can trigger tier changes under paid billing rules. Feature-use limits can instead block creation or editing until usage is reduced or the plan changes.
Is annual billing always better? Only when the workflow is already validated and the cash commitment is acceptable. Monthly billing preserves flexibility during evaluation.
Which plan should a beginner choose? Start with Free for a controlled test. Choose Comfort before a real launch when the list can grow quickly or branding and support matter.
Final pricing recommendation
Use Free to prove that the signup, consent, welcome, newsletter and unsubscribe journey works. Choose Comfort when the newsletter becomes a recurring operating process. Choose Power when its unlimited capacity or workflow controls remove a named constraint.
Recalculate at least quarterly using active subscribers, sends and required capabilities. The right plan is the least expensive one that operates the intended system reliably, not the plan with the longest feature list.