Kit vs MailerLite
Both are email marketing tools aimed at creators, coaches and small businesses. They differ most on value for money, free plan and email deliverability.
At a glance
| Kit | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 78/100 Higher | 72/100 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | $33/mo monthly; $390/yr billed annually | $19/mo monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually |
| Positioning | specialist email | email marketing |
| Launched | 2013 | 2010 |
| Best for | Creators whose main asset is the email list itself, not the funnel around it. | Small businesses that want reliable email, landing pages and simple selling at a low monthly price. |
Where each one leads
| Dimension | Kit | MailerLite | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 4/5 | 2/5 | Kit |
| Ease of use | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
| Breadth of features | 3/5 | 3/5 | Tie |
| Value for money | 3/5 | 5/5 | MailerLite |
| Email deliverability | 5/5 | 4/5 | Kit |
| Selling products | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
| Course hosting | 2/5 | 1/5 | Kit |
| Automation | 5/5 | 4/5 | Kit |
| Support | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
Scores are 1–5 per dimension. Kit leads on 4 dimensions, MailerLite on 1. The overall figure weights these for email marketing generally — see methodology.
Pricing
Plans are listed per tool rather than paired row by row — tiers rarely line up, and putting one vendor's second plan beside another's implies an equivalence that is not there.
| Tool | Plan | Per month | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | Free | Free | — |
| Creator | $33 | monthly; $390/yr billed annually | |
| Pro | $66 | monthly; $790/yr billed annually | |
| MailerLite | Free | Free | — |
| Comfort | $19 | monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually | |
| Power | $39 | monthly; $35.10/mo billed annually |
Pricing checked 23 September 2026 and 24 September 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page. Kit: Billed in USD. Paid prices are for 1,000 subscribers and rise with list size; annual billing saves 17%. MailerLite: Billed in USD (EUR also offered). Paid prices are for up to 1,000 subscribers and rise with list size; annual billing saves 10%.
Verdict
Kit
- +Free up to 10,000 subscribers — five times the 2,000-contact limit of Systeme.io’s free plan.
- +The visual automation builder is among the best in the category.
- +Deliverability reputation is strong, which matters more than any feature list.
- −The free plan is broadcasts only — unlimited automations and email sequences need a paid plan.
- −Not a course platform — course content has to be hosted somewhere else.
MailerLite
- +Paid plans start at $19 a month for 1,000 subscribers, with 10,000 emails a month on Comfort.
- +Comfort includes 10 websites and landing pages on your own domain, 10 signup forms and 50 automations.
- +Sells digital products and bookings, and runs paid newsletters with no sales fee.
- −The free plan is small: 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month.
- −Its plans list no course hosting, so courses need a separate platform.
Common questions
Is Kit cheaper than MailerLite?
Kit starts at $33/mo (monthly; $390/yr billed annually), and MailerLite starts at $19/mo (monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually) — so MailerLite is the cheaper entry point. Compare what each includes at that tier, and what it renews at, rather than the headline figure alone.
Does Kit or MailerLite have a free plan?
Kit has a free plan, and MailerLite has a free plan.
Which is better, Kit or MailerLite?
On our weighted scoring across the use cases in this category, Kit comes out ahead overall. The honest answer is that it depends on the use case — the tables above break the score down by dimension so you can weight it to your own priorities.
Other comparisons
Sources & verification
- kit.com — checked 23 September 2026Free up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts. Unlimited automations and sequences need a paid plan.
- mailerlite.com — checked 24 September 2026
- mailerlite.com — checked 24 September 2026No sales fee on paid newsletters; Stripe processes the payments.
- mailerlite.com — checked 24 September 2026Free plan: up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations, 1 website and 1 landing page. Paid newsletters, custom domains and removing the MailerLite logo need a paid plan.