MailerLite vs Systeme.io
Both are email marketing tools aimed at creators, coaches and small businesses. They differ most on free plan, breadth of features and course hosting.
At a glance
| MailerLite | Systeme.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 72/100 | 84/100 Higher |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | $19/mo monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually | $17/mo monthly; $14/mo billed annually |
| Positioning | email marketing | all in one |
| Launched | 2010 | 2018 |
| Best for | Small businesses that want reliable email, landing pages and simple selling at a low monthly price. | Anyone who wants one bill and one login rather than a stack of five tools. |
Where each one leads
| Dimension | MailerLite | Systeme.io | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2/5 | 5/5 | Systeme.io |
| Ease of use | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
| Breadth of features | 3/5 | 5/5 | Systeme.io |
| Value for money | 5/5 | 5/5 | Tie |
| Email deliverability | 4/5 | 3/5 | MailerLite |
| Selling products | 4/5 | 5/5 | Systeme.io |
| Course hosting | 1/5 | 5/5 | Systeme.io |
| Automation | 4/5 | 3/5 | MailerLite |
| Support | 4/5 | 3/5 | MailerLite |
Scores are 1–5 per dimension. MailerLite leads on 3 dimensions, Systeme.io on 4. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Free | Free | — |
| Comfort | $19 | monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually | |
| Power | $39 | monthly; $35.10/mo billed annually | |
| Systeme.io | Free | Free | — |
| Startup | $17 | monthly; $14/mo billed annually | |
| Webinar | $47 | monthly; $39/mo billed annually | |
| Unlimited | $97 | monthly |
Pricing checked 24 September 2026 and 23 September 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page. 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%. Systeme.io: Billed in USD. Annual billing gives two months free.
Verdict
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.
Systeme.io
- +The free plan is unusually generous — 2,000 contacts and unlimited email sending, and it never expires.
- +Replaces a funnel builder, email tool, course platform and affiliate system with one subscription.
- +No transaction fees on sales made through Stripe or PayPal.
- −Each part of it is less capable than the best specialist tool in that category.
- −Email deliverability and analytics are basic next to dedicated platforms.
Common questions
Is MailerLite cheaper than Systeme.io?
MailerLite starts at $19/mo (monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually), and Systeme.io starts at $17/mo (monthly; $14/mo billed annually) — so Systeme.io is the cheaper entry point. Compare what each includes at that tier, and what it renews at, rather than the headline figure alone.
Does MailerLite or Systeme.io have a free plan?
MailerLite has a free plan, and Systeme.io has a free plan.
Which is better, MailerLite or Systeme.io?
On our weighted scoring across the use cases in this category, Systeme.io 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
- systeme.io — checked 23 September 2026Free plan: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, 1 blog, unlimited emails. Never expires, no card required.
- 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.