SaaS lifecycle comparison · Prices checked October 7, 2026
Brevo vs MailerLite: Pricing and Fit for SaaS Teams
Choose Brevo if you send more email than your list size suggests, want transactional email and SMS or WhatsApp on the same account, and can live with sends-based tiers. Choose MailerLite if you want a predictable per-subscriber bill, a cleaner builder for landing pages and digital products, and your transactional email lives elsewhere. Both start under $15 a month: Brevo Starter at $9 and MailerLite Comfort at $12.
This is a comparison of two low-cost senders rather than two lifecycle specialists, and neither is built around product events the way a SaaS-first tool is. They are worth comparing because many early software companies start on one of them for newsletters, waitlists and basic onboarding before the product justifies a heavier stack. The deciding detail is the billing unit: Brevo's paid tiers are selected by monthly email volume, with a cap on stored contacts; MailerLite's are selected by active subscribers, with the monthly email allowance derived from that tier.
Side by side
| Decision point | Brevo | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 300 email sends a day, storage for up to 100,000 contacts, automation limited to 2,000 contacts | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 user seats |
| Paid starting prices | Starter $9/mo, Standard $18/mo, Professional $499/mo | Comfort $12/mo ($10.80 billed yearly), Power $25/mo ($22.50 billed yearly) at 500 subscribers |
| What sets the tier | Monthly email sends; first tiers store up to 500, 1,500 or 2,500 contacts | Active subscribers; Comfort sends 10× the tier ceiling, Power is unlimited |
| Automation | Free: up to 2,000 contacts; Standard: unlimited contacts, A/B testing, AI send-time optimization | Email automation on the free plan; Power adds unlimited automations and multiple triggers |
| Segmentation and data | Advanced segmentation on Starter; Professional adds AI segmentation and contact scoring | Segments by subscriber data; digital products and website builder included |
| Integrations and API | REST API, SMTP and outbound webhooks on every plan; inbound webhooks on Professional | Shopify, WooCommerce and Stripe integrations; AI assistant connectors named for Claude and ChatGPT |
| Transactional email | Included on all plans via API and SMTP | Not in MailerLite itself; handled by MailerSend |
| Other channels | SMS, WhatsApp (Professional), web push, chat, sales tools | Email, landing pages, signup forms, websites |
| Deliverability features | Dedicated IP add-on on Professional, which also lists deliverability specialist support (3 hours a year) | Dedicated IP is an Enterprise add-on; account audits and deliverability support there too |
Everything above is taken from Brevo's help-center pricing article and pricing page and from MailerLite's pricing page. Treat blank spots as "not stated", not as "missing".
Cost at three list sizes
Because the billing units differ, the fairest comparison is a scenario with a list size and a sending habit. Each row assumes four campaign or automation emails per subscriber each month. MailerLite's numbers are the monthly-billed prices its subscriber selector showed; Brevo publishes starting prices per plan and the contact allowance of the first tiers, but the later tier prices appear only inside its plan selector.
| Scenario | Brevo | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| 250 subscribers, about 1,000 sends | Free ($0): within 300 sends a day; automation covers up to 2,000 contacts | Free ($0): within 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails |
| 1,000 subscribers, about 4,000 sends | From $9/mo, but the 5,000-send tier stores only 500 contacts; 1,000 contacts means the 10,000-send tier (up to 1,500 contacts), priced in the selector | Comfort $19/mo or Power $39/mo |
| 5,000 subscribers, about 20,000 sends | 20,000-send tier (listed range 20,000 to 100,000 sends, up to 500,000 contacts); price shown in the selector, Standard starts at $18 | Comfort $49/mo or Power $69/mo |
| 10,000 subscribers, about 40,000 sends | Same 20,000-to-100,000 send range; price in the selector | Comfort $89/mo or Power $129/mo |
Read the Brevo column as a structure rather than a number. Its entry plans are cheap because they limit sends and stored contacts; once you step into the 20,000-and-up range, the contact cap lifts to 500,000, so a large list that sends rarely can cost less on Brevo than on MailerLite, while a small list that sends daily costs more. Two Brevo details change the entry math. On Starter, emails carry a "Sent by Brevo" footer unless you buy the Remove Brevo logo add-on at $9 a month, so a branded Starter account is $18 at the first tier, the same starting price as Standard, which already hides the logo and adds unlimited-contact automation and A/B testing. And Brevo's free plan allows automation for only 2,000 contacts.
MailerLite's trade-off is that the allowance follows the tier. On Comfort the monthly email limit is ten times the top of your subscriber tier, so 5,000 subscribers can send 50,000 emails; moving to Power makes it unlimited and adds unlimited automations, landing pages and signup forms.
Where Brevo fits
Brevo suits a team whose sends are uneven or whose list is large relative to its sending. Pricing starts at $9, the free tier tolerates up to 100,000 stored contacts, and the same account carries transactional email through an API or SMTP, outbound webhooks, SMS, web push and a sales module. For a SaaS company that wants a single vendor for a welcome flow plus password resets plus an occasional SMS, that bundle is the argument. Professional starts at $499 a month and covers 150,000 to 10 million monthly sends, so there is a headroom path, though it is a large jump from Standard.
The cost is some friction in reading the plan. The send tier, the contact cap and the logo add-on interact, and the first tiers fill up if you grow the list faster than you grow your sends.
Where MailerLite fits
MailerLite suits a marketer who wants a simple number: pick the subscriber count, pick Comfort or Power, and that is the bill. Its free plan includes automations, a website, a landing page and signup forms, plus all three email editors. Digital products and the Stripe connection suit an indie product that sells a template pack or a course next to its software. The limits are the 250-subscriber ceiling on free (sending locks when you pass it), and the lack of transactional email, which MailerLite hands to MailerSend.
If your product needs event-driven triggers, check how your events reach the tool before committing. Neither pricing page documents a product-event ingestion model the way Customer.io or Loops do, so plan on webhooks, Zapier or a custom sync.
Choose Brevo if…
- You want transactional email and campaigns under one account.
- Your list is large but your send frequency is low.
- SMS, WhatsApp or web push are on your roadmap.
- You are happy to read a send-based tier table.
Choose MailerLite if…
- You want per-subscriber pricing that scales in clear steps.
- Landing pages, a small site and digital products matter as much as the email.
- You can send transactional mail from another service.
- You prefer one plan, Power, that unlocks everything without send limits.
Migration notes
From MailerLite to Brevo, export subscribers with their groups and custom fields, then check the Brevo tier's contact cap before import; hitting 1,501 contacts on a Starter account moves you to the next tier automatically, as the help article explains. Recreate automations from their triggers, and remember that on the free plan automation covers only 2,000 contacts.
From Brevo to MailerLite, export contacts with attributes, map Brevo lists to MailerLite groups, and rebuild segments from your fields. Move transactional sending first to a service such as MailerSend, since MailerLite does not send it, and keep your sending domain's SPF and DKIM records updated so replies and bounces still reach you during the overlap.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Brevo or MailerLite?
At entry level Brevo is cheaper: $9 against $12 at 500 subscribers. At 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers MailerLite's published prices run from $19 to $89 for Comfort; Brevo's depend on your send tier, so check its selector with your real monthly volume.
Can either send transactional email?
Brevo can, on every plan, through its API and SMTP relay. MailerLite sends marketing email and routes transactional email through MailerSend.
Which free plan is better for a SaaS launch?
Brevo's free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts but caps sends at 300 a day. MailerLite's allows 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. A large waitlist with few sends fits Brevo; a small engaged list that mails often fits MailerLite.
Does Brevo put its logo on emails?
On Starter, yes, until you add the $9/month Remove Brevo logo add-on. Standard and above do not show it.
Continue with ConvertKit vs Mailchimp, MailerLite alternatives, or browse the SaaS comparisons hub. See our evaluation method.