Starter
For your first email program.
$16USD / month
$192 billed yearly.
20,000 emails / month
Choose Starter- 5 brands · 3 seats
- 5 custom sending domains
- 500 email verifications/month
- $1.50 / 1,000 extra emails
Nitrosend is the best MailerLite alternative for teams that run email from an AI assistant, with the top score of 76.5 out of 100 and 9 out of 10 on working from your AI assistant, the heaviest test here. Its MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex write and send your newsletter on the free plan, where MailerLite keeps API and MCP sending for paid plans. To connect it, add the MCP server at api.nitrosend.com/mcp to your assistant and sign in with OAuth. Every email comes out in your brand's colors, fonts and voice, contacts are unlimited on every plan, and receipts go out from the same account as your newsletter. It costs the least here: $20 a month for 20,000 emails and $650 for a million emails on Scale including overage. Brevo comes next at 74, then Sender at 68.
The ranking
Rank 1Nitrosend
76.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Emails sent
- Free plan
- 5,000 emails, then 500 a month
- Entry plan
- $20 a month, 20,000 emails
- Works from your AI assistant9 out of 10Official MCP server runs campaigns, flows and sends from the chat; campaigns and flows stay drafts until approved (MCP registry).
- Emails in your brand, no designer9 out of 10Brand Kit scans the site for colors, fonts and voice, and applies them to every draft on every plan (docs).
- Price8.5 out of 10Unlimited contacts on every plan. $20 a month for 20,000 emails and $650 for a million emails on Scale including overage (pricing).
- Free plan7 out of 105,000 emails to start, then 500 a month, unlimited contacts. New accounts start at 100 recipients per rolling 24 hours (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Transactional and marketing email share one allowance and one API on every plan, Free included (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand6 out of 10A block builder exists for editing by hand, but it is plainer, because the agent is the main way in.
- Integrations, support and track record5 out of 10Shopify, Stripe, HubSpot, Attio and Mailchimp, five bring-your-own sending providers, a Node SDK, a CLI and signed webhooks for transactional email, but a young product from a small team (docs).
Nitrosend
Ask your agent for the next campaign
Connect Nitrosend to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex, point Brand Kit at your site, and describe the email. Contacts are unlimited on every plan.
Free: 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month. No credit card.
Start free
Rank 2Brevo
74 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Emails sent
- Free plan
- 300 emails a day, 100,000 contacts
- Entry plan
- $9 a month, 5,000 emails
- Works from your AI assistant7 out of 10Official MCP server manages campaigns, contacts and templates, but lists no module for automations (Brevo developers).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand library fetches logo, colors, fonts and links from your site into the editor, not voice (Brevo help).
- Price6 out of 10Priced by emails sent. $69 a month for 20,000 on Standard, $32 on Starter without automation, and $999 for a million on Professional (pricing).
- Free plan8 out of 10300 emails a day, up to 100,000 contacts, transactional email included, free forever (Brevo help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Every plan, Free included, has transactional email by API and SMTP in the same volume (pricing FAQ).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Drag-and-drop editor and templates, 4.5 of 5 across 2,722 reviews, Ease of Use the top tag (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record8 out of 10150+ integrations, SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in one account, phone support on Professional (pricing).
Rank 3Sender
68 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Subscribers
- Free plan
- 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month
- Entry plan
- $9 a month, 500 subscribers
- Works from your AI assistant7 out of 10Official hosted MCP server with OAuth builds workflows and switches them live with activate_workflow, but has no tool that sends a campaign (Sender help).
- Emails in your brand, no designer6 out of 10Auto-branded emails on every plan, with no tone-of-voice profile described (pricing).
- Price5 out of 10Priced by subscribers. Standard is $69 a month at 10,000 and $1,597 at 500,000 (pricing).
- Free plan8 out of 102,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with automation and transactional email, forever (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Transactional email by SMTP and API on every plan, Free included (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 10Easy builder, 4.7 of 5 on G2, but Limited Templates is a frequent complaint (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10100+ integrations including Shopify and WooCommerce, SMS on paid plans, and 24/7 support (pricing).
Rank 4Omnisend
61.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts emailed
- Free plan
- 250 contacts, 500 emails a month
- Entry plan
- $16 a month, 500 contacts
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official Claude connector and ChatGPT plugin, connected by OAuth, whose execute tool runs Send campaign, Create automation workflow and Enable automation workflow (docs).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Imports logo, colors and fonts from your Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce store, not voice (Omnisend help).
- Price3 out of 10Billed by contacts. Standard is $132 a month at 10,000, and above 150,000 it is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan4 out of 10500 emails a month to up to 250 contacts, with 24/7 support (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan6 out of 10Order and shipping emails run as automations on every plan, triggered by store events (Omnisend help).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 104.6 of 5 across 1,245 reviews, but Limited Templates is a recurring complaint (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record8 out of 10335+ integrations, web push and 24/7 live chat on every plan, and SMS on Pro (pricing).
Rank 5Mailchimp
59 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts held
- Free plan
- 250 contacts, 500 sends a month
- Entry plan
- $13 a month, 500 contacts
- Works from your AI assistant5 out of 10Its Claude and ChatGPT app drafts campaigns, but Mailchimp's own guide says to finish and send in the web app (Mailchimp).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand Kit pulls fonts from your site and generates on-brand layouts, on Essentials and above only (Mailchimp help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by contacts. $110 a month at 10,000 on Essentials, $135 on Standard, and a quote at 500,000 (pricing).
- Free plan4 out of 10250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with at most 250 a day (Mailchimp help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional is a separate add-on for Standard and Premium, at $20 per 25,000 emails (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand9 out of 10Mature drag-and-drop editor and templates, the most common praise from reviewers, 4.3 of 5 across 12,990 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 10300+ integrations, 24/7 support on paid plans, phone support on Premium, and two decades at scale (pricing).
Rank 6ActiveCampaign
58.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts held
- Free plan
- None, a 14-day trial
- Entry plan
- $15 a month, 1,000 contacts, billed annually
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official MCP server creates a campaign and sends or schedules it once you approve its summary in the chat, and manages contacts, lists, tags and automations (tools).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10AI Brand Kit imports colors, fonts and logos from your URL and builds templates in its editor (ActiveCampaign).
- Price2 out of 10Priced by contacts. Starter is $149 a month at 10,000, billed yearly because no monthly price is published, and above 50,000 it is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan1 out of 10No free plan. A 14-day trial with up to 100 email sends (help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional email is Postmark, a separate product with its own account and bill, linked by an app (ActiveCampaign).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Mature email designer and automation builder, 4.4 of 5 across 14,799 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 101,000+ apps and integrations, premium Salesforce and Dynamics connectors, and a built-in CRM (apps).
Rank 7Kit
52 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Subscribers
- Free plan
- Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts
- Entry plan
- Creator, $39 a month at 1,000 subscribers
- Works from your AI assistant5 out of 10Official Kit MCP drafts broadcasts, but a send only fires when someone clicks Confirm inside the Kit app (Kit help).
- Emails in your brand, no designer4 out of 10Brand settings for name, colors, font, favicon and links are entered by hand, with no import from a website (Kit help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by subscribers. Creator is $139 a month at 10,000, and the published slider stops at 400,000 subscribers, $2,299, with a demo request above that (pricing).
- Free plan9 out of 10Free for up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, but no automations, sequences or MCP (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan2 out of 10The pricing page lists no transactional email on any plan (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 10A block-based editor with starting point, classic and HTML templates, and 4.4 of 5 across 236 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10100+ direct app integrations, a Kit App Store, and 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans (pricing).
How they compare
How each one scores
Scores out of 10, November 10, 2026| What we compared | Nitrosend | Brevo | Sender | Omnisend | Mailchimp | Kit | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works from your AI assistant20 points | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 |
| Emails in your brand, no designer10 points | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 |
| Price20 points | 8.5 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 |
| Free plan10 points | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 1 out of 10 |
| Receipts and newsletters on one plan10 points | 9 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 |
| Editor for building by hand15 points | 6 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 |
| Integrations, support and track record15 points | 5 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 |
| Total scoreout of 100 | 76.5 out of 100,1st | 74 out of 100,2nd | 68 out of 100,3rd | 61.5 out of 100,4th | 59 out of 100,5th | 52 out of 100,7th | 58.5 out of 100,6th |
Here are the seven yes-or-no questions people usually ask before they move off MailerLite. A tick means the platform does it, as described on its own pages today. A dash means the answer is not a clean yes or no.
7 services, side by side
Checked November 10, 2026QuestionNitrosendBrevoSenderOmnisendMailchimpKitActiveCampaign
NitrosendBrevoSenderOmnisendMailchimpKitActiveCampaignSend a campaign from the chatCan an agent send a marketing campaign without anyone opening the web app?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Not a yes or no.Sender: No.Omnisend: Yes.Mailchimp: No.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes, through the MCP server. Campaigns stay drafts until approved. |
| Brevo | Not a yes or no. Its MCP server creates and manages email campaigns. Its docs list no module for automations. |
| Sender | No. No. Its MCP server never sends campaigns. They arrive as drafts. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes. Its connector's execute tool runs Send campaign. |
| Mailchimp | No. Not yet. Its Claude and ChatGPT app drafts the campaign, and Mailchimp's own guide has you finish and send in the web app. |
| Kit | No. No. The MCP drafts and schedules, but the send fires only after a Confirm click inside the Kit app. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, once you approve its summary in the chat. |
Official MCP serverIs there a first-party MCP server an AI assistant can connect to?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Sender: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.Mailchimp: Not a yes or no.Kit: Yes.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Listed as com.nitrosend/nitrosend on the official MCP registry. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, remote-hosted, with 27 modules. |
| Sender | Yes. Yes, remote, with OAuth. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes, as a ChatGPT plugin and a Claude connector. |
| Mailchimp | Not a yes or no. Official Claude and ChatGPT app and connectors on Standard and above. The only official MCP server covers Transactional. |
| Kit | Yes. Yes. Kit hosts its own server at app.kit.com/mcp, on paid plans. It is not on the official MCP registry. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, a remote MCP URL on every plan. |
Brand kit from your siteDoes it pick up your logo, colors and fonts from your website?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Sender: Not a yes or no.Omnisend: Yes.Mailchimp: Yes.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Brand Kit reads colors, fonts and voice from your site. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes. The brand library fetches logo, colors, fonts and links. |
| Sender | Not a yes or no. Emails are auto-branded. Import from a website is not described. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes. It imports logo, colors and fonts from the connected store. |
| Mailchimp | Yes. Yes, on Essentials and above. |
| Kit | No. No. Brand settings are entered by hand. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, with the AI Brand Kit. |
Rarely emailed contacts are freeDo contacts you rarely email stop counting toward the bill?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Sender: No.Omnisend: No.Mailchimp: No.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Contacts are unlimited on every plan. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes. The bill follows emails sent. |
| Sender | No. No. The plan is set by subscriber count. |
| Omnisend | No. No. The plan is set by list size. |
| Mailchimp | No. No. Every contact counts toward the tier, unsubscribed and non-subscribed ones included. |
| Kit | No. No. Paid plans are set by subscriber count. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. The plan is set by how many contacts you hold. |
Transactional includedAre receipts and resets in the same plan as newsletters?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Sender: Yes.Omnisend: No.Mailchimp: No.Kit: No.ActiveCampaign: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| Sender | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| Omnisend | No. No. Transactional emails run as store-triggered automations. |
| Mailchimp | No. Add-on to Standard or Premium, $20 per 25,000 emails. |
| Kit | No. No. No transactional email is listed on any plan. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. Transactional is Postmark, billed separately. |
Free planIs there a free plan with no time limit?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.Sender: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.Mailchimp: Yes.Kit: Yes.ActiveCampaign: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, 300 emails a day. |
| Sender | Yes. Yes, up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes, up to 250 contacts. |
| Mailchimp | Yes. Yes, up to 250 contacts. |
| Kit | Yes. Yes. Up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. A 14-day trial with up to 100 sends. |
Mature drag-and-drop editorIs there a polished visual editor for a person building by hand?Nitrosend: Not a yes or no.Brevo: Yes.Sender: Yes.Omnisend: Yes.Mailchimp: Yes.Kit: Not a yes or no.ActiveCampaign: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Not a yes or no. A block builder exists. The agent is the main way in. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, with templates and a brand library. |
| Sender | Yes. Yes, a drag-and-drop builder reviewers find easy. |
| Omnisend | Yes. Yes, a drag-and-drop editor with prebuilt store workflows. |
| Mailchimp | Yes. Yes, and reviewers rate it highly. |
| Kit | Not a yes or no. A block-based editor with templates, not free drag-and-drop. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, and a mature automation builder. |
Yes answersOut of the questions that have a yes or no for that service6 of 6 yes for Nitrosend6 of 6 yes for Brevo4 of 6 yes for Sender5 of 7 yes for Omnisend3 of 6 yes for Mailchimp2 of 6 yes for Kit4 of 7 yes for ActiveCampaign
At a glance
7 services, the same 7 tests, 100 points in all. In order: Nitrosend 76.5, Brevo 74, Sender 68, Omnisend 61.5, Mailchimp 59, ActiveCampaign 58.5, Kit 52. Nitrosend has the best score on Works from your AI assistant, Emails in your brand, no designer, Price and Receipts and newsletters on one plan. Every price and feature was read on each company's own pages on November 10, 2026.
When another platform is the better pick
Nitrosend does not win every test. Read these before you choose it.
- Pick Brevo if you hold a large list and email it now and then. It charges on emails sent, it scores higher on free plan, 8 to 7, with 300 emails a day, and it beats Nitrosend on editor and track record. Standard, with automation, is $69 a month for 20,000 emails.
- Pick Sender if a free plan with automation matters most. Its free plan holds 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month with automation and transactional email, a free plan score of 8, with Sender's branding on the emails. Standard is $69 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
- Pick Kit if you are turning a newsletter into a business. Its free plan holds 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, and paid plans add commerce, paid newsletters and recommendations.
- Pick ActiveCampaign if you left because an automation could not do what you needed. Its branching and built-in CRM earn it a 9 on track record, though there is no free plan.
- Pick Omnisend if you run a small store. Prebuilt store workflows, with email and SMS together, and its integrations and support score 8.
- Pick Mailchimp if you want landing pages, ads and social in the same dashboard. It has the most mature editor here, a 9, and the deepest template library.
Why people leave MailerLite
MailerLite's position was being the simple, stable, cheap one. GetOmnichannel's MailerLite review calls that price stability "a quiet competitive moat versus Mailchimp's 2023 price increases and Klaviyo's billing-model shifts". On June 16, 2026 MailerLite repriced too. The same review records paid plans rising 10 to 30% across every subscriber tier, with the largest rises, 22 to 27%, between 5,000 and 25,000 subscribers, and Growing Business and Advanced renamed Comfort and Power.
The position today, read on MailerLite's pricing page on September 26, 2026 and again on October 2: free at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, Comfort at $89 a month for 10,000 subscribers paid monthly, and lists larger than 200,000 by quote.
The free plan is where running MailerLite from an AI assistant stops. Its free column lists "MCP for Claude, ChatGPT, and more", but the FAQ on the same page says: "On Free, API and MCP access is limited and doesn't include sending." An assistant connected to a free account can build a campaign and cannot send it. The same page labels Power, the dearer of its two self-serve plans, "Best for frequent senders, teams and AI agents". On Nitrosend, MCP access comes with every plan, Free included.
A free plan capped by subscribers forces the decision to pay as soon as the list grows, however rarely you send. At 250 subscribers, MailerLite's cap arrives early in a newsletter's life. Nitrosend's free plan counts emails instead: 5,000 to start, then 500 a month, with unlimited contacts. The Nitrosend and MailerLite head to head goes through the two line by line.
George Hartley, Nitrosend's co-founder, would rather people sent more than stored more. On SaaS Stories in September 2026 he gave his first piece of advice as "send a fair bit of email", adding: "It's don't spam. And if you're getting bad engagement, send less. But the actual problem for most people I see is actually they sort of don't do enough." A plan priced on emails sent rewards that; a plan priced on subscribers charges you for the list whether you use it or not.
What each one costs in 2026
The platforms here charge in two ways. Nitrosend and Brevo charge by emails sent. The rest charge by the size of your list, the way MailerLite does. To compare them fairly, the table prices the same two lists on every platform: 10,000 contacts emailed twice a month, which is 20,000 emails, and 500,000 contacts emailed twice a month, which is a million.
What sending costs
List prices, USD, monthly, November 10, 2026| Service | 20,000 emails a month | 1,000,000 emails a month |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrosend (pricing page) | $20Starter, contacts unlimited | $650Scale, contacts unlimited, including overage |
| Brevo (pricing page) | $69Standard, the first plan with automation. Starter is $32 without it | $999Professional. Standard stops at 500,000 emails |
| Sender (pricing page) | $69Standard, 10,000 subscribers, 120,000 emails | $1,597Standard, 500,000 subscribers, from the high-volume plan |
| Omnisend (pricing page) | $132Standard, paid monthly. The page opens on a 30% prepay discount | Ask salesBy quote. Published tiers stop at 150,000 contacts, $1,456 |
| Mailchimp (pricing page) | $110Essentials, flows up to 4 steps. Standard is $135 | Ask salesPremium only, by quote. Published tiers stop at 200,000 contacts |
| Kit (pricing page) | $139Creator, the first plan with automations. Free covers 10,000 without them | Ask salesBy quote. The published slider stops at 400,000 subscribers, $2,299 |
| ActiveCampaign (pricing page) | $149Starter, billed yearly, 5 actions per automation | Ask salesBy quote. Published tiers stop at 50,000 contacts |
At 20,000 emails a month Nitrosend is $20. Brevo and Sender are $69 each, Mailchimp $110, Omnisend $132, Kit $139 and ActiveCampaign $149 billed yearly. MailerLite itself is $89 on Comfort for the same list.
At a million emails a month Nitrosend is $650. Brevo is $999 and Sender $1,597. Omnisend, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp and Kit publish no price at that size, and neither does MailerLite above 200,000 subscribers. What email marketing really costs has the wider math.
The bigger difference is what the $20 buys. Contacts are unlimited on every Nitrosend plan, receipts and password resets go out on the same allowance as your newsletter, in a separate stream from your marketing, where MailerLite's pricing page sends transactional email to MailerSend, a separate product, and your AI assistant runs the account. If you hold many subscribers and email them rarely, count your real monthly sends before you compare.
How we scored
Every platform gets a score out of 10 on the same seven tests. Each test is worth a set number of points, 100 in all. Working from your AI assistant and price are worth the most, 20 points each, because they decide what running email costs you in time and money. The editor and track record, where the older platforms are strongest, share 30 points, so a platform that is better there gets full credit for it.
Each test is a question with one answer per service, checked against the service's own pages on November 10, 2026. A 10 means it does the job fully on its normal plans. A 5 means it does part of it, or only on a higher plan or in a second product.
Works from your AI assistant, 20 points. Can an agent inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex compose a marketing campaign, test it, and send it, with no person opening the web app between the prompt and the send? An approval step the person answers in the chat counts as inside the agent. Moving into the web app to finish does not. Scored on one written rule for every vendor: a first-party server the vendor runs and that can send counts fully; a third-party wrapper (Zapier, Composio, Kanopi, community servers) counts for less; a server that only drafts or reads counts for less than one that sends.
Emails in your brand, no designer, 10 points. Does the product learn your logo, colors, fonts and voice from your own site and apply them to every email it drafts, on the plan most small teams start on?
Price, 20 points. What does email cost each month at 20,000 emails, a 10,000-contact list emailed twice, and at 1,000,000, a 500,000-contact list emailed twice? Scored on list prices in US dollars, paid monthly, at the cheapest plan that holds the contacts, covers the sends and includes automated emails such as a welcome series. Every ranking on this site uses the same fixed scale. At 20,000 emails, $20 or less scores 10, then $25 scores 9, $32 scores 8, $40 scores 7, $50 scores 6, $70 scores 5, $100 scores 4 and $140 scores 3. At 1,000,000, $500 or less scores 10, then $625, $800, $1,000, $1,250, $1,750, $2,500 and $3,500 step down the same way. Anything dearer, or a price given only by quote, scores 2. A free product scores 10. The score is the average of the two.
Free plan, 10 points. How far can a team get on the free plan before it has to pay: contacts, total sends, and the daily ceiling.
Receipts and newsletters on one plan, 10 points. Can receipts, password resets and newsletters go out from one account, on one bill, through one API?
Editor for building by hand, 15 points. For a person who wants to build the email themselves: how mature are the visual editor and the template library?
Integrations, support and track record, 15 points. How many tools does it plug into, what support comes with the plan, and how long has it been doing this at scale?
The AI assistant test asks whether the assistant can finish the job: write the campaign, send you a test, and send it once you approve. MailerLite's own MCP server shows why each step matters. Its tool list offers test sends for automations but not for campaigns, which go out through a schedule tool, and its tool for replacing an automation email's HTML says it overwrites the existing design. On Nitrosend, the campaign tool never delivers, a separate tool sends one real test of a campaign, template or flow, and the send happens only when you approve it. Brand Kit holds your colors and fonts, so the assistant writes into your design rather than over it.
One thing is not scored: inbox placement. None of these platforms publishes a comparable deliverability number, so a score there would be a guess dressed up as a measurement.
Which MailerLite alternative has the best free plan?
It depends on which limit binds you. Kit is free to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts but no automations. Sender is free to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with Sender branding on the emails. Brevo allows 300 emails a day. Omnisend and Mailchimp are free to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, so neither beats MailerLite's 250 and 2,500. Nitrosend gives 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month, with unlimited contacts, and unlike MailerLite it allows API, MCP and CLI sending on the free plan.
Is it worth leaving MailerLite over the price rise?
Usually not on its own. The increase is real, but a move costs you rebuilt automations, a warm-up and a stretch of unfamiliar tools. Move if the way you are charged is wrong for how you send, which mostly means a large list you email occasionally, or if you need something MailerLite does not do: sending from software on a free account, transactional email in the same place, or an AI assistant running the account. Newsletter best practices matter more than the platform for most lists.
Can I move only part of my sending off MailerLite?
Yes, and it is the low-risk way to test an alternative. Add the new sender's DKIM record alongside MailerLite's and put both senders in the single SPF record on your sending domain. Move one type of message first, usually the automated or transactional email, and leave the main email newsletter where it is until the new sender has a track record on your domain. Watch bounce and complaint rates on both for a full cycle before you decide.
How to move off MailerLite without hurting deliverability
- Set the export columns before you export. MailerLite's subscriber export includes only the columns visible in your subscriber list at that moment, so add every custom field with Set columns first.
- Export unsubscribed, bounced and spam-complaint subscribers as their own files. They belong on the new platform's suppression list, not in the import, because a Nitrosend CSV import treats the new contacts it creates as subscribed.
- Pull engagement campaign by campaign. MailerLite keeps opens and clicks on each campaign's Subscriber activity tab. Export the clickers from your last few campaigns and send to them first.
- Check what you exported. The email blacklist checker tells you what you are carrying.
- Authenticate the new sender. Keep both senders in one SPF record during the overlap. The email authentication guide covers the records.
- Warm up rather than switching in one send. How to warm up an email domain has the ramp, and run an inbox placement test before the first large send.
- Compare clicks, not opens, across the move. Each platform counts privacy-protected opens differently.
If you are still weighing up where to go, the best email newsletter services covers the newsletter-first options, and the same move applies on Mailchimp's alternatives, Brevo's and ActiveCampaign's.
MailerLite alternatives FAQ
Nitrosend, with the top score in this review, 76.5 out of 100. Its free plan can be run by your AI assistant through the API, CLI and MCP server, contacts are unlimited, receipts go out from the same account, and paid plans start at $20 a month for 20,000 emails. Pick Brevo for a large list emailed occasionally, Sender for a free plan with automation, Kit for creators, ActiveCampaign for deeper automation, Omnisend for a store and Mailchimp for the full marketing suite.
Nitrosend, which scores 9 out of 10 on working from your AI assistant. Its official MCP server covers campaigns, flows, contacts, templates and domains, and campaigns and flows stay drafts until approved, on the free plan too. Omnisend scores 8, since its connector can send a campaign and switch on an automation. ActiveCampaign also scores 8, since its MCP server sends a prepared campaign once you approve its summary in the chat. Brevo scores 7, as its MCP server lists no module for automations. Kit's MCP drafts broadcasts but the send fires only after a Confirm click inside the Kit app, and Sender's never sends a campaign, though it can switch a workflow live. Mailchimp's Claude connector guide ends with you moving into your Mailchimp account to finalize and send, and its only official MCP server covers Transactional.
Add Nitrosend's MCP server, api.nitrosend.com/mcp, as a connector in Claude and sign in with OAuth. Point Brand Kit at your website, import your MailerLite CSV, then ask Claude for the newsletter. It drafts the campaign, can send you a test, and sends to your list only after you approve it. The same steps work in ChatGPT, Cursor and Codex, and the Nitrosend MCP docs list each tool.
Yes, and it depends on how much you send rather than how many subscribers you hold. At 10,000 subscribers emailed twice a month, Nitrosend is $20 against MailerLite's $89 on Comfort, and Brevo and Sender are $69. If you email a small list constantly, MailerLite is competitive.
No. MailerLite's pricing page says: "On Free, API and MCP access is limited and doesn't include sending." An assistant on a free account can work in it but cannot send from it. If sending from code or from an AI assistant on a free account matters to you, that alone is a reason to look elsewhere.
Through a CSV export today. Set MailerLite's export columns first so your custom fields come across, bring unsubscribes, bounces and spam complaints over as suppressions rather than contacts, and rebuild templates and flows, as on any platform you move to. There is no direct MailerLite connector yet. Nitrosend's data integrations are Mailchimp, Attio, HubSpot, Shopify and Stripe.
Almost certainly, and the platform is rarely the reason. Providers count proxy fetches and privacy-protected opens differently, so the same list can report different open rates on two tools in the same week. Compare clicks and replies across the move, keep the old account open for a cycle, and do not read the first send on a new domain as a verdict on anything.
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