MailerLite vs Mailchimp – Which One’s Better for you in 2026?

Last Updated: 06 Jan 2026

When I started comparing email marketing tools, two names kept coming up again and again — MailerLite and Mailchimp.
On one side, MailerLite felt lightweight, budget-friendly, and focused on giving creators and small businesses exactly what they need without overcomplicating things.
On the other side, Mailchimp looked like the established giant — packed with features, integrations, and a brand almost everyone recognizes.

But here’s the challenge: I didn’t want to lock myself into a tool that was either too basic for long-term growth or too expensive for the stage I’m in right now.

That’s why I decided to test both for myself.
I created campaigns, explored automation workflows, tried building landing pages, and compared how easy it was to actually get things done.

This isn’t just a surface-level comparison. It’s a hands-on look at what MailerLite and Mailchimp are really like when you use them to grow an email list and run a business.

So, let’s jump into MailerLite vs Mailchimp and see which one is the better fit for you.

We keep things simple — we only review tools we actually use.
At Mailotrix, we believe you can’t judge an email marketing tool by its features page. So we test every tool ourselves — running real campaigns, breaking automations, checking deliverability, and seeing how it performs in day-to-day use.

We also dig through real user reviews to understand what others are experiencing, compare it with our own results, and then share a straightforward, unbiased verdict you can trust.

If you want to see exactly how we test tools, read our full process here.

Short on Time? Here’s My Quick Verdict

I’ve tested both MailerLite and Mailchimp thoroughly — building campaigns, automations, signup forms, and running real-world tests. If you don’t want to read the full breakdown, here’s the straight-to-the-point summary:

MailerLite vs Mailchimp – Quick Comparison

| Overall | Simple, budget-friendly, beginner-ready | Advanced automation & CRM | Depends on needs |

👉 My Final Take:

• Choose MailerLite if you’re a beginner, creator, or small business owner who wants simplicity, ease of use, and affordability.

                                                                           Get Mailerlite for free

• Choose Mailchimp if you need advanced automation, reporting, and ecommerce features, and don’t mind paying extra for them.

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Overall Score: MailerLite 8 – Mailchimp 5

Email Editors

Mailchimp

I started with Mailchimp mainly because it’s the most popular email tool. Honestly, setting up my first email was not hard at all. But as I spent more time inside the editor, I noticed something — many useful options are a bit hard to find.

For example, adding your own HTML is hidden under the “Code Your Own” option, and now this feature is only available on paid plans. Free users can’t add custom HTML anymore, which is important to know before you start.

Mailchimp now offers 130+ modern templates in the new builder, and if you count older designs, there are 250+ templates overall. The designs look better than before, but there’s one catch. Mailchimp has two systems now — the New Builder and the Legacy Builder. If you start with one, you usually can’t move the same design to the other without starting again. I learned this the hard way.

Their AI has also improved a lot. The new Intuit Assist AI doesn’t just help with ideas anymore. It can write full emails, suggest subject lines, and even create images or social post content based on your goal. It’s helpful, but you still need to review and fix things to make it feel “human.”

One thing that personally slowed me down: Mailchimp keeps updating its design. Many times, I found myself searching for basic settings instead of focusing on writing the email. It works, but it doesn’t always feel smooth.

MailerLite

MailerLite felt simple from the very first email I created.

The email editor is clean and easy to understand. You can choose between drag-and-drop and plain text. Everything feels placed where you expect it to be.

What I really liked were the ready-made content blocks. Want to add blog posts, products, images, countdown timers, or even surveys? Just drag the block and you’re done. MailerLite now has 50+ smart blocks, and they feel more modern than Mailchimp’s basic blocks.

MailerLite also offers 160+ templates for paid users, covering many industries — not just online stores. And unlike before, you can now change templates or move saved sections between designs, which saves a lot of time.

Their AI has also grown. It’s not just a writing helper anymore. You can give it a single prompt, and it can create a full email campaign — layout + text. It also uses Smart Sending, which helps send emails at a better time automatically.

Overall, MailerLite made email creation feel fast and stress-free.

My Verdict

Mailchimp’s editor is powerful, but it feels a bit heavy and confusing at times.
MailerLite is faster, simpler, and easier for daily email work — especially if you don’t want to fight with settings.

✅ Score: Mailchimp 0️⃣ – MailerLite 1️⃣

Designs and Templates

Design is one of the first things I check when I test any email tool.
My simple rule is this: templates should look modern, work well on mobile, and be easy to edit — even if you’re not a designer.

Mailchimp Designs

Mailchimp has a huge template library. In 2026, they now offer 250+ professionally designed templates, plus 100+ event-based layouts for things like sales, holidays, launches, and announcements.

The templates are mobile-friendly, well organized by category, and easy to edit. I also liked that you can save a design and reuse it later — very helpful if you send similar emails often.

But here’s what I noticed after testing the free plan.

Mailchimp does not really give you “ready-made designs” for free anymore. Free users get access to a few basic and featured layouts, but most of them are just empty frames. You still have to design everything yourself. Almost all the fully designed, good-looking templates are locked behind the Essentials plan (around $13/month).

Also important to know:
You cannot upload your own HTML design on the free plan anymore. The custom HTML editor is now only available on the Standard plan (around $20/month).

So yes, Mailchimp has great designs — but most of the good ones are paid.

MailerLite Designs

MailerLite has fewer templates than Mailchimp, but the quality really surprised me.

They now offer 100+ modern templates for paid users, and honestly, many of them look cleaner and more fresh than Mailchimp’s older designs.

If I wanted to add a blog post section or product showcase, I could do it in just one click.

One thing I really liked is how MailerLite focuses on content blocks. If I wanted to add a blog post section, product showcase, image gallery, or countdown timer, I could do it in one click. This made designing emails feel fast and stress-free.

Now, a clear downside:
On the free plan, you cannot access the template gallery. You have to start from scratch.

However — and this is important — free users can still use the drag-and-drop editor with all content blocks. So while you don’t get ready-made templates, you’re not completely stuck.

Also, small correction from before:
MailerLite does not allow custom HTML on the free plan. The HTML editor is only available on the Advanced plan (around $20/month).

My Verdict

Mailchimp clearly wins when it comes to number of templates, but most of the good designs are paid.

MailerLite offers fewer templates, but they look more modern and are easier to customize — even when starting from scratch.

Both tools are good in their own way, so for design alone, I’d call this round a tie.

✅ Score: Mailchimp 1️⃣ – MailerLite 2️⃣

Email Automation

When I tested Mailchimp, I was honestly impressed by how powerful its automation system is.
Things like abandoned cart emails, link clicks, page visits, and subscriber actions — it’s all there.

Mailchimp’s Email Automation

Mailchimp also gives you 70+ ready-made automation templates, so you don’t always have to start from zero.

But here’s the real problem.

Mailchimp officially shut down its Classic Automation Builder.
And with that change, free plan users lost access to almost all automation features.

To be fully accurate:
Mailchimp still allows one single “Final Welcome Email” through its form builder.
But real automation — welcome sequences, nurturing flows, multi-email journeys — is now 100% paid.

So if you want even a basic welcome sequence, you must upgrade. No shortcuts.

Once you’re on a paid plan, the new automation editor is extremely powerful — but also overwhelming.
There are tons of triggers, branches, and conditions. If you’re a beginner, it’s very easy to feel lost clicking around, trying to figure out what connects to what.

Mailchimp’s automation is brilliant — but it’s clearly built for advanced users, not beginners, and definitely not for free users anymore.

With MailerLite, automation has always felt simpler — and the recent updates made it even better.

MailerLite rolled out a major redesign of its automation builder.
And honestly, it was long overdue.

The new drag-and-drop builder feels clean, visual, and much faster to use.
Setting up workflows for signups, link clicks, or profile changes now takes just a few minutes. Everything feels more logical and easier to follow.

Mailerlite Automation builder

It is a tie. while Mailerlite easier to use, faster to set up, and even the free plan lets you automate.
Mailchimp is great for advanced users, but for beginners and small businesses, MailerLite feels way more practical.

✅ Score: Mailchimp 2️⃣ – MailerLite 3️⃣

List Management

Mailchimp

Mailchimp uses something called Audiences, which sounds simple — but it can become a problem fast.

Here’s the biggest issue:
Mailchimp still treats each Audience as a separate list.

So if the same person is added to:

• your “Newsletter” audience

• and your “Customers” audience

Mailchimp counts them twice — and you pay twice for the same email address.

Yes, this is still true in 2026.

Even worse, there’s an unsubscribe problem many people don’t notice at first.

If someone is in two Audiences and unsubscribes from one, they stay subscribed to the other.
This often leads to:

• angry replies

• spam complaints

• trust issues

It’s a real compliance risk, especially if you’re not managing lists very carefully.

To clarify something important:

• Groups in Mailchimp are meant for subscriber choices
  (for example: “Weekly updates” or “Monthly updates” checkboxes)

• Tags are meant for your internal use
  (like labeling someone as “VIP” or “Customer”)

They sound similar, but they serve very different purposes.

One important update:
On the free plan, Mailchimp now allows only one Audience.
You can’t even create a second list unless you upgrade — which does prevent accidental double billing, but also limits flexibility for beginners.

MailerLite handles subscribers in a much cleaner way.

No matter how many groups someone joins, they are counted only once.
One email address = one subscriber = one billable contact.

This alone is a huge reason why many creators switch to MailerLite.

MailerLite uses:

• Groups for organization (manual or form-based)

• Segments for smart filtering (automatic rules)

In 2026, Segments became even more powerful.

You can now segment people based on email behavior, like:

• subscribers who haven’t opened emails in 3 or 6 months

• people who clicked but didn’t buy

• inactive subscribers for list cleaning

This makes list hygiene much faster and easier than in Mailchimp.

One important thing to note:
MailerLite’s free plan is now capped at 500 subscribers (reduced from 1,000 in late 2025).

So while list management is still easier and safer, the free growth limit is lower than before.

My Verdict

MailerLite clearly wins this round.
It keeps list management simple, flexible, and budget-friendly — while Mailchimp can get messy and expensive fast.

✅ Score: Mailchimp 2️⃣ – MailerLite 4️⃣

Registration Forms

Mailchimp

Building forms in Mailchimp gave me mixed feelings.

Building forms in Mailchimp gave me mixed feelings.

On paper, Mailchimp offers a lot — embedded forms, pop-ups, and landing pages. But when I actually tried setting them up, the experience felt messy.

Mailchimp currently has three different form builders, and honestly, that’s part of the problem.

• The New Form Builder (which Mailchimp is pushing now) is modern and mobile-friendly

• The Classic Form Builder still exists — and it looks like it hasn’t changed in years

• The Pop-up builder uses drag-and-drop and feels okay

The confusing part?
If you don’t use the New Form Builder, your forms may not display properly on mobile. And Mailchimp doesn’t make this very clear.

So yes — you can build forms, but you often have to stop and think:
“Am I using the right builder for this?”

In 2026, when most signups happen on phones, that extra friction really matters.

MailerLite

MailerLite made form building feel much smoother.

I was able to create both pop-ups and embedded forms in just a few minutes, without guessing which tool to use.

MailerLite’s Sign-up form creation

One thing I really liked:

Every form is directly connected to a subscriber group, so new signups are automatically organized. No extra setup later.

MailerLite has also expanded its pop-up templates a lot.

you get 50+ ready-made pop-up templates, including:

• simple email signups

• countdown teasers

• spin-to-win wheels (great for e-commerce)

They look modern, clean, and are easy to customize.

One thing to know, though:
While you can create regular pop-ups on the free plan, promotion pop-ups (like coupon or sale pop-ups that don’t just collect emails) are now limited to the Advanced plan.

Embedded forms are still a bit simple design-wise — not bad, just not flashy.

My Verdict

MailerLite wins for ease and clarity.

Mailchimp offers more form types, but the multiple builders and mobile confusion make it harder than it should be.

If you want to build forms quickly, have them look good on mobile, and avoid setup mistakes — MailerLite feels far more beginner-friendly.

✅ Score: Mailchimp 2️⃣ – MailerLite 4️⃣

Reporting

MailerLite

MailerLite covers all the important basics really well:

• opens and clicks

• unsubscribes

• devices

• real-time purchase tracking (if you connect Shopify or WooCommerce)

In 2026, this got much better.
Now, when I send a sales email, I can see exactly how much money that email made almost instantly. Earlier, there used to be a delay — that’s gone now.

The dashboard is clean and easy to understand. I can quickly check:

• which campaigns performed best

• which forms brought the most signups

• how each email inside an automation is doing

MailerLite also added a very useful feature: “Clean up inactive.”
Right from the dashboard, it shows people who haven’t opened any email in 6+ months — and I can remove them with one click. Huge time-saver for keeping the list healthy.

That said, reporting still feels a bit simple. You don’t get deep details like social media stats or advanced email-client breakdowns.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp clearly goes deeper with data.

Along with opens and clicks, you get tools like Send Time Optimization, which helps pick the best time to send emails.

But Mailchimp’s big win in 2026 is Predictive Segments.

It now tells you things like:

• people who are likely to buy

• people who are likely to unsubscribe

This is based on past behavior, and it’s surprisingly accurate. MailerLite doesn’t offer this yet.

Mailchimp also lets you:

• compare multiple campaigns side by side

• track full customer journeys

• see revenue reports in more detail

• connect Google Analytics for deeper tracking

If you enjoy digging into numbers, Mailchimp definitely gives you more to explore.

Verdicts

✅ Score: Mailchimp 3️⃣ – MailerLite 4️⃣

Deliverability

Deliverability only matters when it fails.
If your emails don’t land in the inbox, nothing else matters.

MailerLite

MailerLite clearly takes deliverability very seriously — and you feel it right from the start.

Before you can even send your first campaign, MailerLite manually reviews every new account. This approval process usually takes up to 24 hours. It can feel slow, but there’s a reason for it.

By keeping spammers off their servers, MailerLite protects everyone else. That’s one big reason why MailerLite consistently shows very high deliverability rates (around 95%–98% in recent tests).

On the feature side, you get:

• SPF and DKIM authentication

• bounce and spam complaint control

• clear setup steps to protect your sender reputation

MailerLite also added a built-in Email Verifier. Before sending, you can check if email addresses are valid and clean your list. This alone can make a big difference in inbox placement.

If you need more control, MailerLite also offers a Dedicated IP, but it’s available only on the Advanced plan as a paid add-on.

It doesn’t overwhelm you with complex dashboards — instead, it focuses on keeping things clean and safe by default.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp also handles deliverability well, but in a different way.

It covers all the basics:

• email authentication

• bounce tracking

• optional Dedicated IP for large senders

Mailchimp claims an average 94%-93% delivery rate, which means emails successfully leave their servers and reach a mailbox (not always the main inbox).

Mailchimp also introduced a Deliverability Health dashboard. It’s hidden under
Analytics → Reports → Email Health, but once you find it, it shows a score that compares your performance to others in your industry.

For list cleaning, Mailchimp doesn’t offer a manual bulk email checker like MailerLite. Instead, it uses Omnivore, an AI system that scans your list while uploading and blocks risky ensured addresses automatically.

It works — but you don’t get the same level of visibility or control as MailerLite’s verifier.

Score: Mailchimp 3️⃣ – MailerLite 5️⃣

Integrations and Extras

One thing I always check is how well a platform connects with other tools. After all, your email marketing rarely works in isolation.

Mailchimp impressed me here — it integrates with hundreds of apps. Whatever tool I needed, chances were I could connect it without trouble.

MailerLite also did very well. It might not have as many integrations as Mailchimp, but it covers all the essentials and more, and I had no trouble linking the tools I use regularly.

Verdict

Mailchimp wins on numbers, MailerLite wins on simplicity. Both get the job done — no clear winner here.

✅ Winner: Tie (Mailchimp 4️⃣ – MailerLite 6️⃣)

Customer Support

Getting help quickly is important, and here’s how these two platforms stack up.

With MailerLite, I found support easy to access. All accounts get email ticket support and a solid knowledge base full of articles and videos.

During the free trial, I could also use live chat — the icon is right at the bottom corner, which made it super convenient. I liked the small “Need help?” button on the main menu too; it made searching for solutions really quick.

Mailchimp support is fine if you’re on a paid plan. You get 24/7 email, live chat with a real agent, and the Mailchimp Assistant bot. I tried the bot, and honestly,

it mostly just points you to the knowledge base. On the free plan, email support lasts only 30 days, and after that, you’re on your own.

From my experience, MailerLite feels more accessible, especially if you’re just starting out or on a free trial. Paid support on both is okay, but MailerLite seemed faster and easier to reach.

✅ Winner: MailerLite (Mailchimp 4️⃣ – MailerLite 7️⃣)

Prices

Finally, let’s talk about pricing — one of the biggest factors for small businesses and creators.

Mailchimp made a major update that affects every free-plan user.

Before this update, you could store more contacts and send more emails each month.
But now, Mailchimp has reduced the free plan limits even further.

Here’s the new rule:

• You can have up to 500 contacts total.

• You can send up to 1,000 emails per month.

That means if you add 500 subscribers, you can only send roughly 2 emails per subscriber each month before hitting your limit.

And the most important part?
Mailchimp still counts unsubscribed and unconfirmed contacts toward your 500-contact limit.
So even people who didn’t verify their email or unsubscribed still take up space in your free quota — which makes the limit feel even smaller.

MailerLite used to feel like the clear budget-friendly option — mainly because the Free plan gave you room to grow.

Paid plans let you send unlimited emails without worrying about inactive contacts counting toward your quota. That alone makes MailerLite a big winner for small businesses or anyone trying to grow their list affordably.

✅ Winner: MailerLite (Mailchimp 4️⃣ – MailerLite 8️⃣)

My Personal Experience: MailerLite vs Mailchimp

When I first started with MailerLite, I was able to send my first email in about 30 minutes. I didn’t watch any tutorials. The drag-and-drop editor felt smooth and calm. I could change buttons, colors, and sections instantly without hunting through menus. The dashboard was clean and simple — lists, forms, and automations were exactly where I expected them to be.

There is one catch. MailerLite is strict with approvals. My domain verification took up to 24 hours, and their compliance team manually reviews new accounts. It can feel slow during setup, but once you’re approved, everything works reliably. Design-wise, I had plenty of freedom — modern templates, surveys, countdown timers — and emails looked great in Gmail without extra effort.

Mailchimp felt more powerful, but also more complicated. Setting up my first email took longer because some options were hidden, and Mailchimp keeps changing its layout. I often found myself searching for basic settings instead of just writing the email. The editor works fine, but it doesn’t feel as smooth or beginner-friendly as MailerLite.

Automation and reports in Mailchimp are very strong — but only after you upgrade. On the free plan, there’s almost no automation. Once I moved to paid features, the tools were powerful, but also overwhelming. There are many triggers, paths, and settings, and it’s easy to feel lost if you’re new.

Bottom line:
MailerLite feels fast, simple, and beginner-friendly.
Mailchimp feels advanced and data-heavy, but slower to learn and more expensive as you grow.

Both tools work well — but if you want to start quickly and keep things simple, MailerLite felt easier. If you want deep data and advanced control (and don’t mind the learning curve), Mailchimp has more muscle.

✅ Mailchimp vs MailerLite — Which One Should You Choose?

After testing both Mailchimp and MailerLite in real campaigns, automations, and landing pages — here’s my honest takeaway:

👉 Mailchimp is the more powerful, data-driven platform overall.
It offers deeper analytics, more advanced automation workflows, and better integration options. If you care about tracking ROI, segmenting audiences precisely, and scaling your campaigns with data — Mailchimp wins. It’s made for marketers who want total control and insights at every step. (You can also explore more Mailchimp alternatives)

You should check this tutorial for using Mailchimp 

That said, MailerLite shines in simplicity and affordability.
Its clean interface, drag-and-drop editor, and easy-to-set-up automations make it perfect for creators, freelancers, and small businesses. You get almost everything you need — without the overwhelm or steep pricing. (You can also explore more Mailerlite alternatives)

Here’s the truth from real-world use:
If you want advanced analytics, deep segmentation, and enterprise-level automation, → go with Mailchimp.
If you prefer simplicity, affordability, and a smoother learning curve, → choose MailerLite.

But if you’re serious about long-term growth, scaling with data insights, and having room to experiment —
👉 Start with Mailchimp. It gives you the flexibility and firepower to grow without hitting limits too soon.

Overall Score: MailerLite 8 – Mailchimp 5 ✅

If you’re looking for simplicity, affordability, and practical features that actually help you get results, MailerLite is the tool I’d personally recommend.