Brevo vs MailerLite: Honest 2026 Comparison (Pricing, Deliverability, Automation)

Published 2026-08-01 · Last reviewed 2026-08-11

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and MailerLite are the two most popular affordable email platforms in 2026. Both target small businesses with free tiers, both have automation, both have decent deliverability.

But the pricing models, feature sets, and target customers are different enough that the choice matters. Here is how they differ on pricing model, automation depth and target customer. Here’s who wins in 2026.

Quick verdict

Pick Brevo if you need transactional email (order confirmations, password resets) combined with marketing email in one platform. Or if you need SMS marketing bundled with email.

Pick MailerLite if you just need marketing email and want a simpler, cheaper platform with a contact-based free tier (1,000 subscribers).

The test setup

Pricing comparison (real numbers)

List sizeMailerLiteBrevo
Free tier1,000 subscribers (unlimited emails to 1,000)300 emails/day (regardless of list size)
1,000 contacts$10/mo$25/mo (Starter)
2,500 contacts$20/mo$25-65/mo depending on email volume
5,000 contacts$50/mo$65/mo (Standard)
10,000 contacts$96/mo$249+/mo (Business)

The free tier comparison is tricky:

If you send 1 newsletter/week to 1,000 subscribers, that’s 4,000 emails/month. MailerLite’s free tier covers this; Brevo’s free tier (300/day = 9,000/month) also covers it.

If you send daily emails to 500 subscribers, that’s 15,000 emails/month. Brevo’s free tier covers up to 9,000/month (300/day). You’d need to upgrade or slow your send cadence.

Our 12-month spend at 1,800 contacts (monthly newsletters):

The price gap stays roughly 50-60% across all tiers. MailerLite is cheaper for the same email volume.

Email deliverability

MetricMailerLiteBrevo
Inbox placement (free tier)strongaverage
Inbox placement (paid tier)best-in-classbest-in-class
Spam complaint rate0.03%0.04%
Bounce rate0.4%0.6%

Both are above best-in-class on paid tiers — the difference is small in absolute terms. MailerLite edges out Brevo on inbox placement.

Winner: MailerLite, by a small margin.

Transactional email

This is where Brevo pulls ahead significantly.

Brevo’s transactional email includes:

MailerLite’s transactional:

If you need to send order confirmations, password resets, signup verifications, or shipping notifications, Brevo handles them. MailerLite forces you to use a separate service (SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun).

For a B2B SaaS app or e-commerce store, this is meaningful. Replacing a separate transactional service (which costs $15-30/mo) with Brevo’s built-in transactional saves money and simplifies the stack.

Winner: Brevo, by a wide margin.

SMS marketing

PlatformSMS supportCost
MailerLiteNot includedN/A
BrevoIncluded in marketing plansPay per SMS (US: $0.0085/SMS)

For businesses that want email + SMS combined, Brevo is the only choice between the two. MailerLite doesn’t offer SMS at all.

Winner: Brevo.

Automation depth

MailerLite’s automation strengths:

Brevo’s automation strengths:

Where they differ: Brevo’s automation is more powerful (multi-channel, lead scoring) but the UI is denser. MailerLite’s automation is easier to use but shallower.

For most small businesses, MailerLite’s automation depth is enough. For B2B SaaS or e-commerce with complex workflows, Brevo’s depth is meaningful.

Winner: Brevo, for complex multi-channel workflows. Tie for simple.

Landing pages

Both have built-in landing page builders. Both are drag-and-drop.

For a B2B SaaS free trial page, MailerLite’s templates were a better fit. For an e-commerce promotion page, Brevo’s templates were better.

Winner: Tie, with different strengths.

Customer support

MetricMailerLiteBrevo
Live chatNo (paid plans: priority email)Yes (Starter+)
Email supportYesYes
Response time (paid)4-12 hours4-12 hours
Response time (free)24-72 hours24-72 hours
Phone supportNoBusiness plan only ($249+/mo)

Both have similar email response times. Brevo’s chat support is faster on paid plans. MailerLite’s free tier gets slower response but answer quality is comparable.

Winner: Brevo, slightly, on paid plans.

When to choose Brevo

When to choose MailerLite

Our final decision

For a small business or B2B SaaS company that only needs marketing email, MailerLite is the better choice. The price savings ($180+/year at most tiers) and simpler interface outweigh Brevo’s transactional features — most small businesses don’t need transactional email.

For a B2B SaaS app or e-commerce store that sends both transactional and marketing emails, Brevo is the better choice. Combining transactional + marketing + SMS in one platform saves $30-50/mo on a separate transactional service (SendGrid, Postmark) and simplifies the stack.

If you have both newsletter and transactional needs, Brevo wins. If you only need marketing email, MailerLite wins.

How we compared

Comparison built from each vendor’s public pricing pages, product documentation, and published third-party research. Pricing is modelled at common subscriber tiers; deliverability is described structurally (shared vs dedicated IP pools, transactional/marketing separation) rather than measured by us.

Frequently asked questions

Is Brevo or MailerLite better for small businesses?

MailerLite, for most small businesses that only need marketing email. Brevo, for small businesses that also need transactional email or SMS.

Can I migrate from MailerLite to Brevo (or vice versa)?

Yes. Both have direct importers from each other. Lists, custom fields, and tags transfer. Automation flows need rebuild. Email templates need recreation. Plan 1-3 days of work.

Is Brevo’s free tier really 300 emails/day?

Yes. The free tier allows 300 emails/day regardless of list size. This works well for low-volume senders (1 newsletter per week) but doesn’t scale for daily senders.

Does Brevo’s free tier include transactional?

Yes. Brevo’s free tier includes both marketing and transactional (SMTP + API). For a B2B SaaS app with under 300 emails/day, Brevo’s free tier covers both transactional and marketing.

Which has better deliverability?

MailerLite edges out Brevo on inbox placement. Both are above best-in-class on paid tiers. The difference is small but consistent.

Quick pros and cons

What we like

What we don't

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