Softwr

Email Marketing · head to head

ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite

ActiveCampaign logo

ActiveCampaign

Email Marketing

CRM, marketing automation, and sales platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MailerLite logo

MailerLite

Email Marketing

Email marketing tools priced by subscriber count

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ActiveCampaign starter tier capped at 5 automation actions per automation; unlimited actions require Plus tier or higher; MailerLite free plan caps at 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails and 2 user seats

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ActiveCampaign and MailerLite actually diverge.

Attributes where ActiveCampaign and MailerLite differ
AttributeActiveCampaignMailerLite
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
PlatformsCloud-based SaaSWeb
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ActiveCampaign

  • Contact management
  • Sales pipeline
  • Marketing automation
  • Email marketing
  • Customer service
  • Reporting
  • Automation
  • Zapier

Only in MailerLite

Nothing recorded that ActiveCampaign does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ActiveCampaign

  • Businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, SMS, WhatsApp)not MailerLite
  • Marketing teams needing AI-driven lead scoring and automationnot MailerLite

MailerLite

No use cases recorded yet. See the MailerLite review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ActiveCampaign

  • Starter tier capped at 5 automation actions per automation; unlimited actions require Plus tier or higher
  • Active Intelligence (AI features) limited or excluded in Starter and Plus tiers; Advanced Intelligence only available in Pro and Enterprise
  • SSO and advanced CRM integrations only available in Pro and Enterprise tiers
  • Multiple users scaling limited: Starter allows 1 user, Plus allows 3, Enterprise allows 5 users

MailerLite

  • Free plan caps at 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails and 2 user seats
  • Comfort plan is limited to 3 user seats; unlimited seats require the Power plan
  • Pricing scales with subscriber count and email volume rather than a flat seat rate, and resets to the plan's subscriber ceiling each billing anniversary
  • Annual billing earns only a 10% discount versus monthly, smaller than many competitors' annual discounts

Pricing, plan by plan

ActiveCampaign

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ActiveCampaign review.

MailerLite

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MailerLite review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ActiveCampaign if

  • You need contact management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
  • You also want sales pipeline.
ActiveCampaign review

Choose MailerLite if

  • You want to start without paying.
MailerLite review

Questions people ask

Is ActiveCampaign or MailerLite better?
Neither clearly leads. ActiveCampaign starts at Free and MailerLite at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or MailerLite?
ActiveCampaign starts at Free and MailerLite at Free.
Does ActiveCampaign or MailerLite run on more platforms?
ActiveCampaign runs on Cloud-based SaaS. MailerLite runs on Web.
Can I use ActiveCampaign for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is ActiveCampaign best used for?
ActiveCampaign is most often used for businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, sms, whatsapp), marketing teams needing ai-driven lead scoring and automation. Of those, businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, sms, whatsapp) and marketing teams needing ai-driven lead scoring and automation are not what MailerLite is typically brought in for.
What can ActiveCampaign do that MailerLite cannot?
ActiveCampaign covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Marketing automation, Email marketing.
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Related pages

More on ActiveCampaign

More on MailerLite

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