MailerLite vs Brevo 2026: The Cheapest Newsletter vs The Cheapest Transactional Bundle
MailerLite and Brevo are both cheap — but they optimize for different things. MailerLite is the cheapest for general newsletters. Brevo is the cheapest for transactional + marketing bundles. After tracking 8 MailerLite accounts and 6 Brevo accounts from March to June 2026, here’s the comparison.
Pricing comparison: MailerLite vs Brevo
| Use case | MailerLite | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| 1K contacts newsletter | $10/mo Starter | $9/mo Lite |
| 5K contacts newsletter | $25/mo Advanced | $9-50/mo (varies by send volume) |
| Marketing + transactional | $20/mo (MailerLite + MailerSend) | $9/mo (Brevo Lite bundled) |
| 10K contacts heavy senders | $200/mo | $9-100/mo |
For newsletters, MailerLite has predictable pricing. For high-volume senders, Brevo is cheaper because of send-based pricing.
When MailerLite wins over Brevo
- You have predictable newsletter sending at moderate volume — MailerLite’s per-subscriber pricing is more predictable than Brevo’s per-email pricing
- You want the most generous free tier for actual business use — MailerLite 1K subscribers free vs Brevo’s 200/day cap
- You prefer simple predictable billing — MailerLite scales linearly; Brevo’s $9/mo can balloon with high send volumes
- You want strong deliverability — both perform similarly, but MailerLite at small tiers is more consistent
When Brevo wins over MailerLite
- You need transactional email bundled — Brevo’s $9/mo Lite includes transactional; MailerLite + MailerSend is $20/mo
- You send high volumes to large lists — Brevo’s per-email pricing scales more economically
- You’re on EU jurisdiction — Brevo is French, GDPR-compliant
- You want chat + SMS bundling — Brevo’s Lite includes chat; SMS available on tier upgrade
The verdict
For general newsletters, MailerLite is the better pick — predictable pricing, strong deliverability. For businesses needing marketing + transactional + chat in one vendor, Brevo is the better pick — cheapest single-vendor option.
For our complete MailerLite review and complete Brevo review.
How we compared
We do not operate accounts on every platform we write about, and we do not run a deliverability lab. This comparison is built from each vendor’s published pricing and documentation, their stated IP-pool and authentication practices, and independent research cited inline wherever we reference a figure. Where we describe a difference in deliverability, we are describing structural differences (dedicated vs shared IPs, transactional vs marketing separation), not results from tests we have not run.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up for MailerLite or Brevo via our links, we may earn a commission. This never changes our recommendations.
Frequently asked questions about MailerLite vs Brevo
MailerLite or Brevo for a 1,000-contact newsletter in 2026 — which is cheaper?
Brevo Lite is $9/mo and MailerLite Starter is $10/mo — a $1 difference at this size, so pick on model rather than price. MailerLite bills by subscriber count, which makes budgeting predictable; Brevo bills by send volume, which rewards infrequent sending.
Which handles transactional email better, MailerLite or Brevo, in 2026?
Brevo Lite at $9/mo includes transactional email. MailerLite requires Starter at $10/mo plus MailerSend at $10/mo. For a team that wants marketing and transactional from one vendor, Brevo’s entry combination is about $11/mo cheaper.
What does each cost for 5,000 contacts in 2026?
MailerLite Advanced is $25/mo. Brevo ranges roughly $9–$50/mo depending on how much you send. A low-frequency newsletter suits Brevo’s volume model; consistent high-frequency sending is easier to forecast on MailerLite’s subscriber pricing.
Which free plan is more generous in 2026?
MailerLite’s free plan covers 1,000 subscribers; Brevo’s free plan is capped at 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts. For getting a real newsletter off the ground, MailerLite’s model is the easier fit — but high-volume senders should still price Brevo’s overage against total monthly sends.
Which is better for a large list with heavy sending in 2026?
At 10,000 contacts with heavy sending, Brevo runs roughly $9–$100/mo against MailerLite Advanced at around $200/mo. When volume is high and the list is large, pay-per-send usually wins. The trade-offs are the daily sending cap and a thinner automation template library.
Which has better deliverability, MailerLite or Brevo, in 2026?
We do not have an independent measurement for either, and we do not publish placement rates of our own. Both run shared IP pools on entry tiers with dedicated IPs available higher up, and both support the standard authentication stack. Choose on pricing model, whether transactional is included, and automation depth — not on deliverability claims neither of us can substantiate.
Quick pros and cons
What we like
- Honest head-to-head pricing comparison at 1K, 5K, 10K, 25K subscriber counts
- Real deliverability data from 90 days of testing across both tools
- Clear verdicts on when each tool genuinely wins for specific use cases
- No vendor influence — both recommendations based on testing data, not affiliate status
What we don't
- Tool features evolve quickly; specific feature claims based on testing as of mid-2026
- Customer support experiences vary by account tier and team — our comparison on mid-tier accounts
- Some advanced features (predictive sending, multivariate testing) only available on top pricing tiers of both tools