Quick answer
SendPulse - SendPulse wins for most builders who want the strongest free tier, while MailerLite is the better pick if you want a simpler path to unlimited sending and websites at a low flat price.
How the free tiers compare
These two free tiers solve different problems. MailerLite is more of a compact email-and-website starter kit: fewer subscribers on the free plan, but a cleaner jump to flat-priced paid plans with unlimited emails, websites, and landing pages. SendPulse gives you more headroom inside the free tier itself, especially on email volume, plus built-in CRM and chatbot tools, so it feels broader before you pay. The tradeoff is pricing complexity. MailerLite’s paid plans are straightforward monthly flat rates. SendPulse’s plans are tiered by contact or email volume and billed on a 6-month cycle, so costs vary more as your list or send volume grows. For small teams testing email marketing, SendPulse is usually the stronger free starting point. For teams expecting to outgrow limits and want predictable pricing, MailerLite is easier to plan around.
MailerLite vs SendPulse free tier, side by side
| MailerLiteFTV 49 | SendPulseFTV 51 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free subscribersMailerLite is subscriber-capped on the free plan. SendPulse's free plan is described by email volume and features, not a subscriber cap in the provided data. | Up to 500 | Not stated in the free-tier details provided |
| Monthly emails on free tierSendPulse gives the larger free email allowance. | 12,000 | 15,000 |
| User seats on free tierMailerLite explicitly includes 1 seat. | 1 | Not stated in the free-tier details provided |
| Landing pages / websites on free tierSendPulse's free-tier description mentions a website builder, but no free quota count was provided. | 10 landing pages, 1 website | Website builder included |
| Digital products or bookings on free tierMailerLite explicitly includes one digital product or booking. | 1 | Not stated in the free-tier details provided |
| Automation on free tierSendPulse's free automation limits are more specific. | Email automation builder | Up to 5 automated flows, up to 50 elements per flow, 1 event trigger |
| Support on free tierMailerLite limits this support window to 14 days on the free plan. SendPulse's free support is stated without a time limit in the provided data. | 24/7 email and chat support for up to 14 days | 24/7 live chat and email support |
| Credit card required on free tierBoth products explicitly say no credit card is required. | No | No |
After you outgrow the free tier
MailerLite moves into simple flat monthly pricing: the first paid tier is $10/month and the next is $20/month, with unlimited emails and pages once you pay. SendPulse uses tiered pricing, billed every 6 months, and the price changes with subscriber or email volume. Its first paid email plan starts at $9.60/month for up to 500 subscribers, while larger volumes are priced separately. For typical small-team usage, MailerLite is easier to forecast; SendPulse can be cheaper at the entry point but gets more complex as you scale.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | MailerLite | SendPulse |
|---|---|---|
| 500 subscribers, light newsletter sendingSendPulse's first paid email plan is billed every 6 months and includes up to 500 subscribers. | $10/mo | $9.60/mo |
| 10,000 emails/moMailerLite's paid plans include unlimited monthly emails at $10/month; SendPulse lists a $48 plan for up to 10,000 emails. | $10/mo | $48/mo |
| More than 500 subscribers, under 10,000 emails/moMailerLite's Growing Business plan keeps unlimited emails, but SendPulse's cost depends on the tier tied to subscribers or email volume. Exact price beyond the provided tiers is not stated. | $10/mo | Varies by tier / contact volume |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick MailerLite when…
- You want a free plan for a small newsletter or a simple lead magnet funnel and can live within 500 subscribers.
- You care more about a clean upgrade path to unlimited emails, landing pages, and websites at a fixed monthly price.
- You only need one or a few seats and do not need built-in CRM or chatbot tools.
- You want to sell one digital product or booking from the same account without paying right away.
Pick SendPulse when…
- You want the bigger free email allowance and basic automation before paying.
- You want built-in CRM, chatbots, and multichannel forms in the same free account.
- You are testing email marketing with support included and want more room to experiment before upgrading.
- You expect to use automation flows, templates, and analytics on the free plan without immediately hitting a very small subscriber cap.
Bottom line
For the most common builder use case, SendPulse is the better free-tier choice if you want to stretch further before paying, because it gives you more email volume and a broader feature mix right away. MailerLite wins if your priority is a simpler product with a low flat-cost upgrade path and unlimited sending once you move past the free cap. If you expect a small list and want predictability, pick MailerLite. If you want more free runway, pick SendPulse.
Read the full listings: MailerLite and SendPulse. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.