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Email Marketing · head to head

MailerLite vs Sendy

MailerLite logo

MailerLite

Email Marketing

Email marketing tools priced by subscriber count

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sendy logo

Sendy

Email Marketing

Self-hosted newsletter app bought once for $69 that sends through your own Amazon SES account

From
$69/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MailerLite has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: MailerLite free plan caps at 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails and 2 user seats; Sendy free updates run only to the next major version, so the one-time purchase is really one purchase per major release and the long-term cost is not zero.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MailerLite and Sendy actually diverge.

Attributes where MailerLite and Sendy differ
AttributeMailerLiteSendy
Starting priceFree$69/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionOne-time purchase
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux

Identical on both: 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 MailerLite

Nothing recorded that Sendy does not also cover.

Only in Sendy

  • One-time licence
  • Amazon SES delivery
  • Multiple brands
  • Autoresponders
  • Segmentation
  • Bounce and complaint handling
  • Reporting
  • Client access

What people use each for

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

MailerLite

  • Email marketing automation for small to mid-sized businessesnot Sendy
  • Newsletter campaigns with subscriber managementnot Sendy

Sendy

  • A publisher with a large list sending frequently, where a hosted platform bills by subscriber count month after monthnot MailerLite
  • An agency managing newsletters for several clients who each get their own brand and login under one licencenot MailerLite
  • A business that must keep subscriber data on its own infrastructure for privacy or contractual reasonsnot MailerLite
  • A developer wiring signups from a custom application into a mailing list without paying platform API feesnot MailerLite

Where each one falls short

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

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

Sendy

  • Free updates run only to the next major version, so the one-time purchase is really one purchase per major release and the long-term cost is not zero.
  • Deliverability becomes entirely your problem: SES gives you a raw sending pipe and no warm-up guidance, reputation dashboards or deliverability consultants when a campaign starts landing in spam.
  • Amazon SES requires production access approval and will suspend accounts on high bounce or complaint rates, which can take a list offline mid-campaign with little warning.
  • The template editor and design tooling are basic next to Mailchimp or Klaviyo, so anything visually ambitious means hand-written HTML email.
  • You own the server: PHP upgrades, database backups and patching are yours, and an unmaintained Sendy install holding a subscriber list is a data breach waiting to happen.

Pricing, plan by plan

MailerLite

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 250 subscribers
    • 2,500 monthly emails
    • Email campaigns
  • Comfort$12/monthly
    • Monthly emails equal to 10x subscriber tier ceiling
    • Subscriber-dependent pricing tiers
    • Full feature set
  • Power$25/monthly
    • Unlimited monthly emails
    • Unlimited seats
    • Unlimited automations
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom pricing for 200K+ subscribers
    • Dedicated success manager
    • Priority support

Sendy

$69/one-time
  • Sendy licence$69/one-time
    • One-time purchase, no subscription
    • Free updates only up to the next major version
    • Unlimited lists, subscribers and campaigns
  • AI Assistant bundle$39/one-time
    • Optional add-on, listed at a discount from $49
    • AI writing assistance inside the campaign editor
  • Installation service$79/one-time
    • Optional one-off setup by the vendor
    • For buyers who do not want to configure hosting and SES themselves

Which should you pick?

Choose MailerLite if

  • You want to start without paying.
MailerLite review

Choose Sendy if

  • You need one-time licence.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want amazon ses delivery.
Sendy review

Questions people ask

Is MailerLite or Sendy better?
Neither clearly leads. MailerLite starts at Free and Sendy at $69/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MailerLite or Sendy?
MailerLite has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MailerLite and $69/one-time for Sendy.
Does MailerLite or Sendy run on more platforms?
MailerLite runs on Web. Sendy runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use MailerLite for free?
Yes. MailerLite has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sendy starts at $69/one-time.
What is MailerLite best used for?
MailerLite is most often used for email marketing automation for small to mid-sized businesses, newsletter campaigns with subscriber management. Of those, email marketing automation for small to mid-sized businesses and newsletter campaigns with subscriber management are not what Sendy is typically brought in for.
What can MailerLite do that Sendy cannot?
Sendy covers One-time licence, Amazon SES delivery, Multiple brands, Autoresponders.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MailerLite: Can I switch between annual and monthly billing?

MailerLite offers both monthly and annual billing options. Annual billing provides a 10% discount compared to monthly billing. Both USD and EUR currency options are available for payment.

Source
Sendy: What does it actually cost to send?

The licence is $69 once. Delivery is Amazon SES at roughly $1 per 10,000 emails, plus your own hosting, so a 50,000-contact weekly newsletter costs a few dollars a month to send.

MailerLite: What happens when I exceed the monthly email limit on my plan?

On the Comfort plan, monthly emails are determined by your subscriber tier ceiling. The Power plan includes unlimited monthly emails. For precise overage details, contact MailerLite support.

Source
Sendy: Are updates free forever?

No. Updates are free up to the next major version, for example within 7.x. Moving from 7.x to 8.x is a paid upgrade.

MailerLite: Is there a free plan and what are its limitations?

The Free plan supports up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, with access to email campaigns, 3 automations, website and landing page builder, and signup forms. No payment required to use the free plan.

Source
Sendy: Do I need to know how to set up a server?

Standard PHP and MySQL hosting is enough and the vendor compares it to installing WordPress, but the SES side needs AWS configuration. An $79 installation service is offered if you would rather not.

Sendy: What happens if Amazon suspends my SES account?

Your sending stops until you resolve it with AWS. There is no alternative delivery route built in, and this is the single biggest operational risk of the model.

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