Two pricing models
MailerLite says pricing is based on usage: the number of active subscribers and how much you send. In practice you pick a subscriber tier; Comfort then allows 10 times the top of that tier in emails each month, and Power allows unlimited emails under a fair use policy. Paid accounts move up a tier automatically when the list outgrows it. [1]
Brevo sells plans by monthly email volume. Its machine-readable pricing reference, which Brevo links from its pricing page and which was generated on September 29, 2026, lists Starter at $9 a month and Standard at $18 a month, each including the first 5,000 emails, with stepped prices for higher volumes. It also lists contact caps on the lowest volume tiers, so Brevo is not purely a send-volume model for small senders. [2] [3]
| MailerLite | Brevo | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Active subscribers (tier) [1] | Emails per month, plus base plan [3] |
| Free plan | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month [1] | 300 emails a day once approved [2] |
| Entry paid price | Comfort $12/mo at 500 subscribers [1] | Starter $9/mo with 5,000 emails [3] |
| Contact limits | Your subscriber tier [1] | 500 at 5,000 emails; 1,500 at 10,000; 2,500 at 15,000; 500,000 from 20,000 (Starter, Standard) [3] |
| Annual discount | 10% [1] | 10% [3] |
Worked example 1: large list, low frequency
A 20,000-subscriber list that gets two emails a month sends 40,000 emails. On MailerLite you pay for the 20,000-subscriber tier no matter how little you send. On Brevo you pay the base plan plus the 30,001 to 40,000 email step. Brevo's figures are base price plus the recurring email credit step from its pricing reference; this is our arithmetic, and Brevo's checkout is the final word. [1] [3]
Worked example 2: small list, high frequency
A 1,000-subscriber list emailed three times a week sends about 13,000 emails a month. MailerLite Comfort at the 1,000 tier allows 10,000 emails, so this sender needs Power at $39 a month, or must cut back to about two emails a week to stay on Comfort at $19. On Brevo, the 10,001 to 15,000 email step covers it, and that tier's 2,500-contact cap fits the list. [1] [3]
| Plan | Monthly | Fits 13,000 emails and 1,000 contacts? |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite Comfort, 1,000 tier | $19 | No: 10,000-email cap [1] |
| MailerLite Power, 1,000 tier | $39 | Yes, unlimited under fair use [1] |
| Brevo Starter, 15,000 emails | $25 ($9 + $16) | Yes, up to 2,500 contacts [3] |
| Brevo Standard, 15,000 emails | $49 ($18 + $31) | Yes, up to 2,500 contacts [3] |
Worked example 3: very small list
A 400-person list emailed weekly sends about 1,730 emails a month. MailerLite Free stops at 250 subscribers, so the answer there is Comfort at the 500 tier for $12 a month. Brevo Free allows 300 emails a day, which is not enough to send one campaign to 400 people in a single day; Brevo Starter at $9 covers 5,000 emails and 500 contacts. [1] [2] [3]
Transactional email and SMS
Brevo says all its plans include transactional email features: REST APIs, SMTP, outbound webhooks and log retention. Its plans list email and SMS, with SMS credit sold separately, and credits are charged at purchase. [2]
MailerLite points transactional email, SMS and inbound routing to MailerSend, which has its own sign-up. MailerSend's pricing page lists a Free plan of 500 emails a month and says paid pricing starts at $7 a month for 5,000 emails on the Hobby plan; SMS API appears as a Starter-plan feature. If you need password resets or receipts from the same account as your newsletter, that is a point for Brevo. [4]
Who fits each, and who should skip
- Choose Brevo if you have a large list you email once or twice a month, or you want transactional email and SMS in one account. [2] [3]
- Choose MailerLite if you send often to a modest list on Power, want websites and landing pages bundled, or prefer a single subscriber-based number that does not change with send count. [1]
- Skip Brevo Starter if more than one person needs marketing access: Starter has 1 marketing seat, Standard 1 to 3, Professional 10. [3]
- Skip MailerLite Comfort if you send more than 10 emails per subscriber a month. [1]
Questions before you decide
Does Brevo really have unlimited contacts?
Not on every tier. Brevo's machine-readable pricing caps Starter and Standard at 500 contacts with 5,000 emails, 1,500 with 10,000 and 2,500 with 15,000; from 20,000 emails a month the cap is 500,000.
Which is cheaper for a small list?
It depends on frequency. At 400 subscribers emailed weekly, Brevo Starter at $9 a month undercuts MailerLite Comfort at $12. Brevo Free's 300-emails-a-day limit is too low to send one campaign to 400 people in a day.
Can I send transactional email from MailerLite?
MailerLite points transactional email to MailerSend, a separate product with its own sign-up, which lists a free tier of 500 emails a month. Brevo says all its plans include transactional email by API and SMTP.
Is annual billing cheaper on both?
Yes. MailerLite takes 10% off for yearly billing, and Brevo's pricing reference lists a 10% yearly discount on Starter, Standard and Professional.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- MailerLite pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Brevo pricing plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Brevo pricing (machine-readable reference linked from the pricing page) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerSend pricing on MailerLite Accessed 30 Oct 2026
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