Head-to-head
Brevo vs MailerLite: which one in 2026?
Brevo is an email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing platform from the French company Brevo SAS, while MailerLite is a newsletter and landing page tool from MailerLite Limited. Brevo leans toward multichannel sending and transactional mail; MailerLite leans toward simple campaigns, sites and paid newsletters.
Verdict
Brevo fits teams that send more than newsletters: its SMTP relay, SMS and WhatsApp sit beside campaigns, and the free contact ceiling is generous. MailerLite fits solo senders who want a site, forms and paid newsletters without extra apps. Prices above are as of November 2026. Check the daily send cap on Brevo Free before relying on it for a large list.
Brevo and MailerLite side by side
| Brevo | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Price entry | $9 per month (Starter, lowest volume tier, billed monthly) | from $12 per month (Comfort, tiered by subscribers) |
| Free plan limits | Free forever with 100,000 marketing contacts and one marketing seat, but sending is capped at 300 emails per day once the account is approved. | Free with 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails and 2 user seats, plus one landing page and signup forms. |
| First paid tier | Starter at $9 per month ($97 if billed yearly) with email credits from 5,000 per month; logo removal is a $12 monthly add-on. | Comfort from $12 per month according to the FAQ, with 3 seats, 50 automations and removal of the MailerLite logo included. |
| How sending is billed | Credit based: one email equals one credit, and pay-as-you-go credits do not expire but exclude phone support. | Tied to subscriber count; Comfort allows ten times the subscriber tier in monthly emails and Power removes the email cap. |
| Automation depth | Unlimited multi-step workflows start on Standard, with A/B testing and AI send time optimization at that tier. | Free automations exist; Comfort caps at 50 automations and Power lifts the limit along with multiple triggers. |
| Beyond email | SMS (credits sold separately), WhatsApp on Professional, web push, and transactional mail over SMTP relay and API on all plans. | Websites, popups, digital product sales and paid newsletters with recurring payments through Stripe in 100+ currencies. |
| AI features | AI content generator on Starter, Aura AI segmentation and AI Data Analyst on Professional, and MCP access for ChatGPT and Claude. | HeyLite intelligence on Comfort, plus an MCP server for ChatGPT and Claude; the Free plan gets limited MCP access with no sending. |
| Hosting and certification | Servers located in the EU, ISO 27001:2022 certified, with multi-factor authentication and IP whitelisting listed on its security page. | Its policy states an EU data storage center and ISO 27001; AI providers OpenAI and Google Vertex AI are not allowed to train on your data. |
| Top of the range | Professional at $499 per month from 150,000 emails; Enterprise is quote only for companies with 1M+ contacts, with SSO and a dedicated IP. | Enterprise is custom priced by subscriber count with onboarding, deliverability support and a dedicated IP as an add-on. |
Where each one wins
Brevo wins on
- Free plan holds 100,000 contacts, far above MailerLite's 250 subscriber ceiling on its free tier.
- Transactional email, SMS and WhatsApp live in the same account as campaigns.
- Cheapest paid entry at $9 per month undercuts MailerLite's $12 starting price.
MailerLite wins on
- Built-in websites, landing pages and digital product sales with Stripe payments need no extra tool.
- Free plan allows 2,500 emails per month, against Brevo's 300 per day cap that is approval-dependent.
- Logo removal and 50 automations are included in Comfort without a paid add-on.
Which to pick
Pick Brevo if
You need transactional mail, SMS or WhatsApp next to campaigns, or a large contact list on the free plan, and you accept per-credit billing.
Pick MailerLite if
You run a creator or small business newsletter and want landing pages, a site and paid subscriptions in one tool with a small subscriber list.
Each tool in context: Brevo profile, MailerLite profile, and the full Best Email Marketing Software in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Brevo free plan really allow 100,000 contacts?
Yes, per Brevo's pricing page as of November 2026, with one marketing seat. The limit that bites is sending: up to 300 emails per day once the account is approved for sending, so a big list takes many days to reach.
Which is cheaper at the first paid tier, Brevo or MailerLite?
Brevo Starter lists $9 per month, or $97 for a year, from 5,000 emails per month. MailerLite Comfort starts at $12 per month per its FAQ, and the exact price rises with subscriber count, which the pricing cards do not show.
Can I use ChatGPT or Claude to run campaigns in these tools?
Both publish an MCP server for ChatGPT and Claude. MailerLite says users can draft emails, analyze campaigns, manage subscribers and build automations from prompts, with limited access and no sending on Free. Brevo lists MCP access for managing campaigns and contacts.
Do Brevo or MailerLite use my subscriber data to train AI models?
MailerLite's policy says its AI providers do not train on your data. Brevo's privacy policy, updated October 2025, contained no statement on training AI models on customer data in the text we read, so ask the vendor before relying on it.