Overview
MailerLite and Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) are both budget-friendly alternatives to Mailchimp, but they approach email marketing differently. MailerLite focuses on doing email exceptionally well with an elegant interface. Brevo packs more features into one platform. See our MailerLite comparison and Brevo comparison for individual analyses.
Both are solid choices for small to medium businesses - the question is what you prioritize.
The Core Difference
MailerLite believes in simplicity. Their email builder, automation workflows, and analytics are all intuitive. You can start sending campaigns within minutes of signing up.
Brevo takes an all-in-one approach. Beyond email, you get SMS, WhatsApp, live chat, CRM, and transactional email. More capabilities, but more to learn.
Pricing Comparison
The pricing models differ significantly:
MailerLite charges per subscriber with unlimited emails:
- 10,000 subscribers: $73/month (Growing Business)
- Unlimited emails included
Brevo charges per email with unlimited contacts:
- Unlimited contacts: $25/month (Starter)
- 20,000 emails/month included
If you have a large list but email infrequently, Brevo saves money. If you send multiple emails weekly to a focused list, MailerLite may be better value.
Ease of Use
MailerLite wins for ease of use. The interface is clean and logical. Creating emails, setting up automations, and analyzing results all feel straightforward.
Brevo isn't difficult, but more features mean more menus and options. There's a learning curve to understand all the capabilities.
Multi-Channel Capabilities
Brevo offers significantly more channels:
- SMS marketing with built-in pricing
- WhatsApp campaigns
- Web push notifications
- Live chat widget
- Sales CRM
MailerLite is email-focused. They offer MailerSend for transactional email, but it's a separate product. No SMS, no chat, no multi-channel.
Free Plan Comparison
MailerLite Free: 500 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month. Most features included. Clean templates without aggressive branding.
Brevo Free: Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day (~9,000/month). Brevo branding on emails. SMS credits sold separately.
For getting started with email marketing, MailerLite's free plan is more practical.
When Each Platform Shines
Choose MailerLite when: You want intuitive email marketing. Ease of use matters more than feature count. You need a generous free tier. You want a website builder included.
Choose Brevo when: You need SMS and WhatsApp marketing. You want built-in CRM. You have a large list but send infrequently. Multi-channel marketing is important.
For SaaS Companies
Neither platform is built for SaaS businesses specifically. Both lack Stripe integration and subscription awareness.
MailerLite is simpler for basic email marketing. Brevo includes transactional email which SaaS products typically need. For subscription-aware automation, consider Sequenzy.
Pricing Models Compared
MailerLite charges per subscriber with unlimited emails on paid plans. At 10,000 subscribers, the Growing Business plan costs $73/month. Brevo charges per email with unlimited contacts, starting at $25/month for 20,000 emails. The right model depends on your list size versus sending frequency.
For businesses with large lists sending infrequently, Brevo's unlimited contacts model saves money. For businesses with smaller lists sending frequently, MailerLite's unlimited emails model is more predictable. Calculate your actual sending patterns before deciding which pricing model works better.
Multi-Channel Marketing Gap
Brevo offers email, SMS, WhatsApp, and chat in one platform with unified automation. You can create workflows that start with email, follow up with SMS, and track conversions across channels. This multi-channel approach is increasingly important for businesses reaching customers on multiple platforms.
MailerLite is email-only. For SMS marketing, you need a separate tool like Twilio or an SMS platform. This means separate dashboards, separate billing, and no unified cross-channel analytics. If email is your only channel, MailerLite's focus is an advantage. If you need SMS, Brevo bundles it.
Email Builder Quality
MailerLite's email builder is consistently praised as one of the best in the industry. The drag-and-drop interface is intuitive, templates are modern, and the editing experience is smooth. Non-technical users can create professional emails without any learning curve.
Brevo's email builder works but is less polished. The interface feels busier and the editing experience requires more clicks to achieve the same results. For teams where email design quality matters, MailerLite provides a noticeably better experience. Check our email editor features for comparison.
CRM and Contact Management
Brevo includes a basic CRM with deal pipelines, contact management, and task tracking. For small businesses that need simple sales tracking alongside email marketing, this integration eliminates the need for a separate CRM tool.
MailerLite focuses on subscriber management without CRM functionality. Contact data is organized around email engagement rather than sales pipelines. Businesses needing CRM features would need a separate tool alongside MailerLite, adding cost and complexity.
Use-case matchups
| Use case | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive email campaigns and templates | MailerLite | MailerLite has the cleaner email builder and simpler campaign workflow. |
| Large list with lower send frequency | Brevo | Brevo's unlimited contacts model can be cheaper when email volume is controlled. |
| Email plus SMS, WhatsApp, chat, and CRM | Brevo | Brevo bundles more channels and a basic CRM. |
| Frequent sends to a focused list | MailerLite | MailerLite's subscriber-based model with unlimited sends can be more predictable. |
| SaaS transactional plus lifecycle email | Sequenzy | Sequenzy is better when Stripe and transactional email are central. |
Best Fit by List Size and Channel Mix
Best email marketing tool for frequent newsletter sends
MailerLite is the stronger fit when the team sends often to a smaller or midsize engaged list. The unlimited-email model on paid plans keeps costs predictable, and the cleaner builder matters when non-technical marketers are producing campaigns every week.
Best email marketing tool for large contact databases
Brevo is the better fit when the business keeps a large contact database but sends only to selected segments each month. Its unlimited-contacts pricing model can be more efficient than paying MailerLite for every subscriber, especially when SMS, WhatsApp, or CRM follow-up are part of the same plan.
Best email marketing tool for SaaS transactional and lifecycle email
Sequenzy is the better fit when the decision is less about newsletters and more about product-triggered email. If Stripe events, transactional messages, onboarding, and retention campaigns need to live together, MailerLite and Brevo both require more stitching than a SaaS-focused lifecycle platform.
Pricing reality
The better price depends on your list-to-send ratio. MailerLite charges by subscribers and includes unlimited emails on paid plans. Brevo charges by email volume and allows unlimited contacts. A large list with infrequent sends favors Brevo; frequent sends to a smaller engaged list can favor MailerLite.
Review signals
The reviews on this page point to a clear product tradeoff. MailerLite is praised for usability, value, and email-builder quality. Brevo is praised for channels and breadth, while users note that the builder is less polished and send limits can matter.
Migration checklist
| Step | Moving to MailerLite | Moving to Brevo | Moving to Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Confirm subscriber count, send frequency, templates, landing pages, and automations. | Confirm contacts, monthly sends, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, and transactional needs. | Confirm SaaS contacts, Stripe events, transactional templates, and campaigns. |
| Data export | Export subscribers, groups, fields, forms, templates, and suppression records. | Export contacts, lists, segments, consent fields, templates, and suppression records. | Export contacts, lifecycle fields, billing IDs, and suppression records. |
| Rebuild workflows | Rebuild templates, forms, landing pages, automations, and product flows. | Rebuild campaigns, automations, CRM fields, SMS, and transactional email. | Rebuild lifecycle journeys, transactional sends, and billing-triggered campaigns. |
| QA | Test forms, templates, automations, deliverability, and unsubscribes. | Test imports, send limits, automations, SMS, transactional email, and unsubscribes. | Test campaign, transactional, and Stripe-triggered paths together. |
Decision checklist
- Choose MailerLite if ease of use, design workflow, and unlimited sends matter most.
- Choose Brevo if multichannel marketing, CRM, or unlimited contacts matter more.
- Choose Sequenzy if the actual need is SaaS lifecycle email with transactional sending and Stripe triggers.