MailerLite has long been a favourite among many marketers and newsletter authors thanks to its generous free plan (which was reduced in September 2025), affordable pricing and ease of use. However, with all the new changes, it surely no longer has a generous free plan or affordable pricing (especially if you are a high-volume sender).
Now in 2026, MailerLite has decided to update their pricing again, and it will soon affect all existing as well as new customers. So here's a quick update on what's changing.
What's changed in MailerLite's 2026 pricing update
Here’s a quick summary of what’s changing:
- The free plan subscriber limit has dropped from 500 to 250 active subscribers.
- The free plan sending limit has fallen from 12,000 to 2,500 emails a month.
- Paid plan prices have gone up across every subscriber tier (~10-30% hike).
The free plan is now very limited, with almost no real-world use possible, and the paid plan has become even more costly, which makes upgrades even pricier.
MailerLite free plan update
The biggest change is to the free plan, and it's a significant one. Both the subscriber limit and the sending limit have been reduced at the same time.
Subscriber limit | Monthly email limit | |
|---|---|---|
Original free plan (ended in September 2025) | 1,000 | 12,000 |
Previous free plan | 500 | 12,000 |
New free plan (current) | 250 | 2,500 |
The subscriber limit has halved, from 500 to 250. In practice, 250 subscribers is a very low limit. Even a small newsletter can hit that within a few weeks of starting out. In addition to the subscriber limit, the monthly email send limit has also been reduced by almost 80% (from 12,000 to 2,500 emails a month).
For most people, the free plan is no longer a viable solution and can be mostly seen as a sandbox which can be used to test MailerLite as a platform before making a buying decision.
MailerLite paid pricing update
The free plan isn't the only thing that's changed. MailerLite has also raised prices on its paid Comfort and Power plans at every subscriber level.
Note: If you are a legacy user, the plan names were Growing Business (now Comfort) and Advanced (now Power), so keep this in mind as the name changes have made their pricing even more confusing. To simplify, we’ll use the new plan names in the table for easy understanding.
Here's how the old and new monthly prices compare.
Subscribers | Plan | Old price | New price |
|---|---|---|---|
500 | Comfort | $10 | $12 |
500 | Power | $20 | $25 |
1,000 | Comfort | $15 | $19 |
1,000 | Power | $30 | $39 |
5,000 | Comfort | $39 | $49 |
5,000 | Power | $59 | $69 |
The increases between new and old plans are roughly 1o% and 30%, depending on the plan. The Power plan for 1,000 subscribers, for example, has jumped from $30 to $39 a month. That's an extra $108 a year for the same list size.
Img of MailerLite's new pricing plan.
Img of MailerLite's old pricing plan.
These rises stack on top of the free plan cuts. So whether you're a free user being nudged to upgrade, or already paying, you're likely to feel the change.
MailerLite alternative with generous free plan
If you’ve been affected by MailerLite’s recent pricing update, your options are to either upgrade to their paid plan (pay more if you’re a paid user) or switch to another email marketing platform.
For most MailerLite user’s EmailOctopus is the best possible platform to migrate as it continues to offer a generous free plan and the paid plans are affordable too. You can have up to 2,500 subscribers and send 10,000 emails per month without any cost.
Here’s a quick comparison table
Plan | EmailOctopus | MailerLite (new) |
|---|---|---|
Free plan – subscribers | 2,500 | 250 |
Free plan – monthly emails | 10,000 | 2,500 |
5,000 subscribers (paid) | $31.50/mo | From $49/mo |
10,000 subscribers (paid) | $44.50/mo | From $89/mo |
Why people choose EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus is a budget-friendly email marketing tool that helps you achieve your marketing goals without spending a lot. Its main focus is to make email marketing simple and affordable.
With EmailOctopus, you can design attractive, mobile-friendly emails, organise your contact lists, and track how well your campaigns are doing. You can also connect EmailOctopus to other popular apps, making it a flexible option.
In short, EmailOctopus is a good choice for businesses that want to run email campaigns easily. It’s user-friendly and has plenty of features, making it suitable for businesses of any size.
Key features of EmailOctopus:
- Drag-and-drop email editor
- Email automation
- Landing page builder
- Signup forms
- Helpful customer support
Pricing: EmailOctopus has a free plan that lets you send 10,000 emails to up to 2,500 subscribers. The Pro plan for 2,500 subscribers costs $20/month and includes extra features. You can see the full breakdown on our pricing page.
Conclusion
MailerLite has raised its prices several times in the past few years, and it may do so again.
Now you need to decide if you want to stay with MailerLite or switch to another provider like EmailOctopus, where you can save money and get great support with every plan while retaining all the essential features.
