Our verdict
MailerLite works for a paid newsletter if you are comfortable doing part of the setup in Stripe and treating a subscriber group as the access list. There is no MailerLite revenue share listed, so your costs are the plan plus Stripe's fees. What you do not get, based on the help pages, is a built-in paywalled web archive: access means being in the group that receives paid campaigns. [1] [2] [6]
If your paid product is mainly emails, that is enough. If readers expect a members-only website with paywalled posts, a newsletter platform with paywalls built in is a closer fit.
What you need before you start
Plan: Comfort or Power. MailerLite plans now run Free, Comfort, Power and Enterprise; for up to 500 subscribers billed monthly, Comfort is $12 a month and Power is $25 a month, and paying yearly saves 10 percent. Comfort is capped at 50 active automations, 10 forms and 5 digital products; Power is unlimited. [1] [6] [5]
Stripe: an account connected under Integrations, Stripe, Use, Connect Stripe. Products are created in Stripe, not MailerLite, and names, descriptions and images can only be edited there. Only Flat Rate and Package Pricing models work. Recurring products take cards only; one-time products can also take methods such as iDEAL and SEPA. Prices must be at least $0.50. [1] [2]
| Item | Where it lives | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | MailerLite billing | Comfort or Power to sell subscriptions |
| Stripe connection | MailerLite Integrations | Integrations, Stripe, Use, Connect Stripe |
| Subscription product and price | Stripe dashboard | Flat Rate or Package Pricing; cards only |
| Paid group | MailerLite Subscribers, Groups | Becomes the access list |
| Customer portal | Stripe settings | Lets readers cancel and update cards |
Setup: purchase adds to the paid group
After connecting Stripe, review Account management and choose a checkout configuration under Payment method configuration. Create the recurring product in Stripe, for example a monthly and an annual price. Then add the Stripe product to a MailerLite landing page or site with a Recurring purchase block. [1] [2]
Set Action after checkout to Add to group and choose a group such as Paid members. The other options are Remove from group, Update custom field and None. A recurring purchase sends the Subscription started email; one-time purchases send the Digital product email instead. Recurring products must also have an Action after cancel. [1]
- Create the Paid members group before you build the checkout so you can select it.
- Add a Joins a group automation on Paid members for a short paid welcome; MailerLite's group trigger fires when a subscriber enters the group. [9]
- Decide on re-entry: by default a subscriber completes a Joins a group workflow once; if you tick Allow subscribers re-enter automation, a returning member can re-trigger it, but at most once every 24 hours, and only after being removed from the group first. [9]
The cancellation flow
Set Action after cancel to Remove from group, Paid members. MailerLite sends the Subscription canceled email when a buyer cancels or a payment fails. Customers must be able to cancel in Stripe's customer portal; if you set cancellation to happen at the end of the billing period, the email and the cancel action wait until the subscription actually ends, which is what you want, since the reader has paid through that date. [1]
Stripe's customer portal lets customers update payment methods, view invoices, and cancel either immediately or at the end of the current period. You can add a cancellation page that collects reasons and offers a coupon. Portal sessions are temporary and the portal cannot be shown in an iframe, so link to it from your emails or a page instead. [8]
- In Stripe, enable the customer portal and choose end-of-period cancellation.
- In MailerLite, set Action after cancel to Remove from group, Paid members.
- Optionally add Update custom field (for example paid_status = cancelled) to segment former members later.
- Put the portal link in every paid email footer so cancelling never requires a support email.
Sending paid issues
Send paid issues as regular campaigns to the Paid members group, and free issues or teasers to your other groups. If you also want to sell a one-time back-issue bundle, note that MailerLite's native digital products are one-time downloads only, and Stripe products can be added to campaigns only if they also exist as digital products in MailerLite. Comfort allows 5 active digital products. [3] [1] [5]
Digital products also unlock e-commerce triggers: Abandoned checkout, Buys any product, Buys specific product and Purchase frequency. Buyers must tick the marketing opt-in at checkout for those to fire. [4] [3]
Worked example: 150 members at $6 a month
Stripe's standard US rate is 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per successful domestic card charge. On a $6 renewal that is $0.174 plus $0.30, about $0.47, leaving about $5.53. Across 150 members, $900 gross becomes $828.90 after $71.10 in Stripe fees. Comfort starts at $12 a month; your actual plan price depends on list size. Stripe adds 1.5 percent for international cards and 1 percent for currency conversion, and its pricing page lists a 0.7 percent Billing fee on recurring volume under its pay-as-you-go plan, so check the fee breakdown on your first renewals. If that applies, it adds $6.30 here. [7] [6]
| Price | Stripe fee per charge (US card) | Net per charge | 150 members, monthly net |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4 monthly | $0.42 | $3.58 | $537.60 |
| $6 monthly | $0.47 | $5.53 | $828.90 |
| $60 annual | $2.04 | $57.96 | $8,694 per year (about $724.50 a month) |
Who it fits, and who should skip
- Fits: newsletters already on MailerLite Comfort or Power that want paid emails without another platform.
- Fits: senders who already use Stripe and are comfortable managing products there.
- Skip: Free plan users; recurring subscriptions require Comfort or Power.
- Skip: publishers who need paywalled web posts; the cited help pages describe group-based email access, not a web paywall.
Questions before you decide
Which MailerLite plan do I need for a paid newsletter?
MailerLite's Stripe help article says only accounts on the Comfort or Power plan can sell digital products, recurring subscriptions and paid newsletters with Stripe. Per the pricing page, Comfort starts at $12 a month and Power at $25 a month for up to 500 subscribers billed monthly.
Does MailerLite charge a fee on paid subscriptions?
Neither MailerLite's pricing page nor its Stripe integration page lists a MailerLite transaction fee. The integration page states Stripe charges 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per successful card charge, and Stripe adds fees for international cards and currency conversion.
What is the minimum price for a MailerLite Stripe product?
MailerLite says the minimum is $0.50; a lower price causes a 1011 error at checkout. Only Flat Rate and Package Pricing models in Stripe work with the integration, and recurring products accept card payments only.
When does MailerLite remove a cancelled subscriber from the paid group?
The action after cancel runs when the subscription is cancelled. If you let customers cancel at the end of the billing period in Stripe, the subscription canceled email is not sent until the subscription actually ends.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- MailerLite Help: How to sell Stripe products in MailerLite Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite: Stripe integration Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: Create a digital product in MailerLite Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: E-commerce automation triggers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: Plan and billing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite: Pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Stripe: Pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Stripe Docs: Provide a customer portal to your customers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to set up automation triggers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.