Kit vs MailerLite: which fits your newsletter and automation?

You can choose the wrong email platform before writing your first campaign. A generous subscriber allowance looks attractive, but the first welcome journey may need a paid feature. Kit and MailerLite make sense for different reasons. Start with the emails you intend to send, then compare the plan that can actually send them.

Kit is the platform previously called ConvertKit, so ConvertKit vs MailerLite is the same product comparison under the older name. This article uses the current vendor plans, checked on 6 October 2026. We have not tested either platform’s delivery rates or claimed that one editor is easier for everyone.

The free plan difference is large, but it is only one difference

Kit lists up to 10,000 subscribers on Free, together with unlimited broadcasts, forms and landing pages. MailerLite Free lists 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, two seats and three automations. MailerLite says sending is locked above its free active-subscriber limit.

That makes list size an immediate decision gate. If you already have 700 subscribers, MailerLite Free is not a continuing option for that list. Kit’s larger allowance is a reason to investigate it, but you still need to check the automation your account will support. A broadcast and an automated sequence are different jobs.

A newsletter example: 200 subscribers versus 700

Imagine a consultant with 200 subscribers who sends four newsletters a month. That is 800 campaign sends. If 40 new subscribers also receive a three-email welcome journey, add 120 sends: 920 total, before tests and other automated messages. This is a planning example, not an observed result.

The MailerLite free allowances leave room for that volume, provided the entire workflow fits its automation and feature limits. Now imagine the same consultant grows to 700 subscribers. Four newsletters alone mean 2,800 sends, and the list is already above the free subscriber cap. A paid quote is needed even if the original automation stays unchanged.

For Kit, subscriber capacity is less restrictive in these examples. The question becomes whether the required journey fits the free automation setup or needs Creator. Do not choose on the word “unlimited” without checking what it describes.

When creator features matter

Kit’s documented product-sales, subscription and audience-tagging features make it a candidate for creators who organize readers around content interests or purchases. Think of a writer selling a guide, or an educator building a course launch. Their most useful test is whether a buyer stops receiving the sales sequence and enters the correct customer segment.

MailerLite combines campaigns with landing pages, forms and automation. A small service business may value a compact signup-to-welcome workflow more than a large creator network. These are reasons to shortlist each product; they do not establish an overall quality ranking.

Compare Kit pricing and MailerLite cost at the same list size

Enter the same current and projected subscriber counts on both pricing pages. Select the tier that includes your required automations, seats, sending allowance and branding preferences. Save the annual total and renewal terms.

At 1,000 subscribers, Kit’s page displayed Creator at a rounded $33 monthly equivalent with a $390 annual invoice. The invoice is the better budget figure: multiplying a rounded display by twelve can give a different amount. MailerLite’s current paid plan names are Comfort, Power and Enterprise. Use its live subscriber selection rather than an older screenshot of a discontinued plan name.

If you sell products through either platform, include the relevant transaction charges separately. A low email subscription does not make selling free.

Test the same journey before moving your list

1. Build one signup form and one landing page for the same offer.
2. Create the welcome journey you actually intend to run.
3. Subscribe with test addresses and confirm the correct segment and timing.
4. Check the unsubscribe path and a duplicate signup.
5. Record any feature that requires an upgrade and get the corresponding quote.

Before migrating, export the consent and suppression information your current platform provides. Rebuild and check the workflow with a small safe sample before replacing a live form. Keep the old setup available until the new one is verified.

Where to go next

Use the Kit profile and MailerLite profile for plan context. Our email automation examples help design the journey, while ActiveCampaign vs Kit covers a different decision: more involved automation versus creator email workflows.