11 MailerLite Alternatives for Your Email Marketing Needs [2024 Comparison]

MailerLite has earned its reputation as a reliable email marketing tool, offering a wide array of features that are particularly useful when you’re just starting out.

However, as your business scales, MailerLite might lack advanced functionality in areas like complex automation or integrations. In this post, we’ll explore alternatives to MailerLite with robust features you can switch to without breaking the bank.

MailerLite features

MailerLite is a digital marketing platform that provides various tools for building websites, creating sign-up forms, and running email campaigns. Since our post is focused on email marketing, let’s review the platform’s key capabilities that allow users to create and manage email campaigns.

• Three email editors. You can use a drag-and-drop editor with various content elements, a rich-text editor for plain-text emails, and an HTML editor to code custom campaigns from scratch.
• Newsletter templates. The platform offers pre-made templates that cover popular topics and fields like events, holidays, eCommerce, etc.
• AI writing tool. You can utilize the built-in AI assistant to quickly generate subject lines and email copy.
• Paid newsletters. MailerLite lets you monetize your emails on a yearly or monthly fee subscription basis.
• Email automation. Using this platform, you can set up automated email flows with multiple triggers based on date, user actions, etc.
• Targeted campaigns. By utilizing segmentation, tagging, and personalization features, you can send relevant content based on various parameters.
• Analytics and reporting. You can determine email campaign performance by monitoring the reporting dashboard, click maps, opens by location, and A/B test results. In addition, MailerLite offers comparative, custom date range, list growth reports, and more.

As you can see, the platform delivers all the essentials to help users get started and tailor personalized email campaigns.

Communicate with your customers across different channels

With SendPulse, you can reach your target audience by sending various types of messages through a communication channel they prefer — email campaigns, web push notifications, SMS, live chats, and chatbots for WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, or Telegram.

MailerLite disadvantages

When determining whether a tool is suitable for you, it’s important to weigh all the pros and cons. Here’s a list of MailerLite’s disadvantages mentioned by users on G2:

• High cost. MailerLite pricing has gone up recently, making it particularly expensive to scale contact lists.
• Low email deliverability. A couple of MailerLite reviews contained information about high bounce rates, emails frequently ending up in spam folders, and lower open rates compared to other platforms.
• Technical issues. Several reviews highlight technical issues encountered at different stages of managing email campaigns, such as campaigns getting “stuck” or inaccurate email previews.
• Learning curve. Many users reported that MailerLite’s interface is not intuitive enough, especially with more advanced features like automated flows and segmentation.
• Complicated integrations. Businesses that use various software found it challenging to integrate MailerLite with tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRM systems.
• Poor customer support. Some MailerLite reviews mention that customer support addresses issues selectively and provides slow resolutions. Additionally, some users found it difficult to obtain a refund, even when eligible.

As you can see, despite its robust feature set, MailerLite has several drawbacks that may be critical for some companies and should be noted.

Best MailerLite alternatives

If you’re actively looking for platforms similar to MailerLite and want to compare your options, we’ve got you covered. In this section, you’ll find the best free and paid email marketing tools worth considering.

SendPulse

SendPulse is an all-in-one marketing platform designed to help businesses automate their communications with customers across multiple channels, including email, SMS, push notifications, social media, and messaging apps.

As a MailerLite alternative, it offers dozens of responsive templates for holidays, events, abandoned carts, and other occasions. You can also use an intuitive drag-and-drop builder to create your template from scratch, adding text, image, button, separator, video, social, and checkout elements and then editing the template background, width, text and link colors, font size, etc. To customize your template images, you can adjust their properties, add and format text, incorporate shapes, and use various filters. SendPulse also offers an HTML editor to fine-tune your email templates with HTML tags and CSS properties.

You can integrate payment buttons and pricing details in your emails, accommodating a variety of payment methods. Additionally, you can add event links from Google and other calendars to your campaigns, enabling recipients to save events like webinars or promotions to their personal calendars. The platform also lets you launch transactional and triggered emails and create complex automated flows.

Here are some key features of this alternative to MailerLite:

• drag-and-drop email builder;
• HTML email builder;
• responsive template gallery;
• mailing list segments and contact tags;
• custom variables;
• “Resend to unopened” option;
• built-in spam checker and email address verifier;
• AI email assistant;
• A/B tests;
• email categories;
• third-party integrations.

Pricing. SendPulse offers a free plan that includes up to 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month. For $8/month, billed annually, you can send unlimited emails to 500 contacts. You can also adjust the pricing plan based on your mailing list size.

Moosend

Moosend is another MailerLite alternative that lets you design professional newsletters, segment your audience, and automate various marketing tasks. With this platform, you can create emails based on customizable pre-made templates or start from scratch to experiment with different layouts, color combinations, and fonts until you have a comprehensive email design that accurately reflects your brand style.

The platform also supports transactional emails and offers AI-powered tools to generate compelling copy, optimize subject lines, and deliver personalized product recommendation emails.

Here are some notable features of this MailerLite alternative:

• intuitive drag-and-drop builder;
• 90+ ready-made templates;
• email automation builder;
• transactional emails;
• personalization based on abandoned carts, weather, and other data;
• AI Writer for email copy and subject lines;
• 100+ integrations.

Pricing. Moosend provides a 30-day free trial, after which you’ll need to switch to a paid plan. The cheapest one costs $7/month, billed annually, and includes 500 subscribers and unlimited emails and automation workflows.

Sender

Sender is an email marketing platform that also provides tools for SMS and omnichannel campaigns. Within the email drag-and-drop builder, there are various blocks for different types of content. Each block has specific settings, so you can give your template a layout that fits your needs.

For example, eCommerce businesses can use the Product block to seamlessly import items from any online store. Once you add the product’s link to this block, information like name, image, description, price, currency, rating, etc., will be extracted right to your template. You can also incorporate the Timer block for limited-time offers in your emails.

Additionally, Sender allows you to code custom email templates using an HTML editor and offers automation capabilities to create tailored welcome, post-purchase, and abandoned cart flows.

Key capabilities of this MailerLite alternative include:

• drag-and-drop email builder;
• custom HTML editor;
• email template gallery;
• product picker, timer, feedback, video blocks;
• transactional emails;
• auto-resend to non-openers;
• SPAM check;
• pre-build automation flows;
• automation splits and triggers.

Pricing. Sender offers a free plan that includes up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month. If you send a higher email volume, you can scale by choosing one of the paid plans starting at $16/month for up to 30,000 monthly emails.

Elastic Email

Elastic Email is a cost-effective solution that combines email marketing, automation, and transactional email tools. It features a drag-and-drop template editor and an HTML builder, so users with different levels of technical expertise can compose unique templates. Besides, this MailerLite alternative offers more flexibility and interactivity for tech-savvy users, with the option to insert JavaScript markup into emails. The platform also supports personalization, allowing you to include recipients’ names, countries, and other custom fields.

Here are some features that this alternative to MailerLite provides:

• drag-and-drop email editor;
• custom HTML editor;
• personalization based on different criteria;
• advanced scheduling options;
• single and bulk email address verification;
• AI text generation tool;
• email automation;
• A/B testing;
• real-time delivery monitoring.

Pricing. Elastic Email has no free plan, but you can start a free trial. The cheapest paid plan costs $29/month and includes 2,500 contacts and 37,500 monthly emails. You can also purchase add-ons for dedicated support or private IPs.

ActiveTrail

ActiveTrail is an email marketing platform similar to MailerLite with integrated automation features to set up behavior- and condition-based flows and SMS and WhatsApp marketing software to amp up customer engagement.

This platform provides ready-made templates and a drag-and-drop builder where you can personalize your emails to resonate with each recipient, down to dynamically adjusting content, images, and subject lines based on individual preferences.

This alternative to MailerLite comes with the following features:

• drag-and-drop and HTML builders;
• regular, on-event, and triggered email campaigns;
• pre-made email templates;
• dynamic segmentation;
• dynamic and personalized content;
• AI predictive email delivery;
• bounce management;
• A/B testing.

Pricing. ActiveTrail doesn’t offer a free plan, but you can start a free trial for any paid plan. The cheapest plan costs $8/month, billed annually, and includes up to 500 contacts and unlimited emails. You can also adjust the number of contacts if you need to scale.

Mailercloud

Mailercloud is a versatile email marketing platform that lets both beginners and experienced users create and optimize email campaigns. It offers a drag-and-drop email builder with image, text, button, divider, social media icon, spacer, menu, and HTML blocks with different settings you can manage. Alternatively, you can jumpstart your campaign with pre-made templates or code unique templates in the HTML editor.

The platform is equipped with an efficient contact tag system. It allows you to easily categorize your contacts based on specific criteria, such as interests, demographics, recent campaign interactions, or any other information you have, and segment your audience for targeted campaigns.

Here are the key features of this MailerLite alternative:

• drag-and-drop email builder;
• responsive email templates;
• custom HTML editor;
• AI subject line generator;
• blacklist monitoring;
• segmentation based on status, contact rating, tags, gender, nationality, etc.
• email automation with multiple trigger points;
• A/B testing;
• autoresponders based on subscriber actions;
• email delivery based on time zones and timestamps.

Pricing. If you have less than 1,000 contacts, you can use Mailercloud’s free plan to send them up to 12,000 emails per month. The most affordable paid plan starts at $84/year or $10/month. It includes unlimited emails to up to 1,000 contacts.

Sendlane

Sendlane is an email marketing and automation platform that comes with a bunch of features similar to MailerLite. To create an email template, you can opt for the platform’s drag-and-drop builder with layout blocks to organize your content and elements that actually determine the type of content you add, such as static or dynamic images, YouTube or Vimeo video links, etc.

Sendlane’s cutting-edge feature is its machine learning-driven open predictability that considers the activity patterns and habits of every contact who received your past campaigns to define the optimal times for sending future emails. Beyond email marketing, this platform also provides tools for SMS marketing, creating forms, and collecting customer reviews.

Here are the top features of this MailerLite alternative:

• drag-and-drop builder;
• customizable templates;
• dynamic content;
• machine learning open predictability;
• multivariable segmentation;
• multivariate testing;
• real-time analytics.

Pricing. Sendlane doesn’t have a free plan, but you can request a demo to see how the platform functions or give it a test drive for 60 days. The cheapest paid plan for email marketing starts at $500/month when billed annually. It includes unlimited contacts and 500,000 monthly email send credits.

SmartrMail

SmartrMail is a feature-loaded email marketing tool aimed at helping eCommerce businesses grow and sell more. Its email builder lets you add some unique elements like handpicked or AI-recommended products, coupon codes, and last-purchased items. When you start using the platform, you can set up brand kits to keep your design consistent across all campaigns — the styles you set will be applied to your templates by default.

SmartrMail also supports a variety of automated flows critical to the success of eCommerce businesses. These include abandoned cart and back-in-stock notifications, review requests, announcements for new arrivals and bestsellers, reorder reminders, and more.

This MailerLite alternative offers the following core features:

• customizable newsletter templates;
• pre-made automation templates;
• AI generated text blocks;
• HTML email builder;
• segmentation based on purchase history, location, Facebook sync, etc.;
• reports on email engagement and sales;
• A/B testing;
• Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and other integrations.

Pricing. SmartrMail has a free plan that you can use if you have 250 or fewer contacts. It allows you to send 5 emails per contact and set up unlimited automated flows. The most affordable paid plan starts at $9.80/month when billed annually and includes 250 contacts with 12 emails per contact.

CleverReach

CleverReach is an intuitive email solution that allows businesses to launch and manage targeted email campaigns. It features a drag-and-drop builder and offers various customizable email templates. If you’re looking to quickly optimize your email content, CleverReach offers an AI-driven content generator that gives intelligent suggestions.

With this MailerLite alternative, you can launch single-track or multi-level automated flows and deliver tailored content based on contact tags and preset triggers. Plus, it’s possible to create sign-up forms and set up transactional emails.

Here are some features offered by this alternative to MailerLite:

• newsletter editor;
• free email templates;
• AI content generator;
• dynamic content;
• email converter for third-party newsletter templates;
• segmentation with up to 45 data fields;
• email automation;
• email spam, accessibility, and client tests;
• A/B testing;
• reports on open and click rates, bounces, and more.

Pricing. CleverReach offers a free plan that includes 1,000 monthly emails and 250 recipients. For $16.5/month, you can send unlimited emails to 500 recipients and use email automation features.

SendX

SendX is a feature-packed marketing software focused on email marketing and automation. As an alternative to MailerLite, it offers a large degree of design flexibility, allowing you to create emails from scratch in a WYSIWYG builder or customize existing templates.

Additional features include tagging and segmentation based on contact behavior or custom attributes. SendX supports automated flows, A/B testing, and performance tracking through reporting and heat mapping tools. It also includes tools for creating forms and landing pages to help you grow your mailing list.

Here are some features offered by this MailerLite alternative:

• WYSIWYG email editor;
• 50+ responsive email templates;
• broadcast and drip campaigns;
• tagging and segmentation based on any attributes;
• advanced auto-flows and autoresponders;
• access to royalty-free stock photos;
• “resend emails to non-openers” option;
• geo-optimized smart sending.

Pricing. SendX has no free plan, but you can start a free trial. The cheapest paid plan starts at $7.5/month, billed annually, and includes 1,000 subscribers and unlimited emails. All features are available across all pricing tiers.

EmailOctopus

EmailOctopus is an easy-to-use email solution with essential features for creating and launching email campaigns. Similar to MailerLite, it offers pre-designed templates and a drag-and-drop editor. You also have the option to import HTML templates for greater creative control.

EmailOctopus allows you to set up automated flows and send tailored messages based on user location, age, gender, or preferences. Additionally, it provides detailed insights and reports on email performance, including opens, click-through rates, and subscriber engagement.

Here are some features this alternative to MailerLite offers:

• drag-and drop and HTML email editors;
• 30+ responsive email templates;
• advanced auto-flows triggered by user actions;
• multiple-step flows;
• user segmentation based on location, age, gender, and preferences;
• personalization with merge tags;
• real-time campaign and flow reports.

Pricing. EmailOctopus offers a free plan with 2,500 subscribers, 10,000 monthly emails, and only 1 user seat. For more flexibility, you can opt for a paid plan starting at $9/month for 500 subscribers and 10,000 emails.

The bottom line

With our list of MailerLite alternatives, you’re bound to find a platform that ticks all the right boxes. Here’s a comparison table to help you quickly compare these tools side by side.

If you’re on a budget but still want to find an easy-to-use platform that can execute complex marketing tasks, consider SendPulse. Besides, you’ll have access to many other essential automation and sales tools under one roof. Sign up for a free account to test its capabilities today!