AWeber vs MailerLite 2026: Which Free Plan Is Best Now?
Every AWeber vs MailerLite comparison currently ranking says the same thing about free plans: MailerLite’s is far more generous.
The AWeber vs MailerLite free-plan verdict stopped being true on 16 June 2026, when MailerLite cut its free tier from 500 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails. On 13 August it added caps of three automations, three forms, one landing page and one website.
AWeber’s free plan covers 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month. It is now double MailerLite’s, and none of the articles above this one have updated.
Table of contents
AWeber vs MailerLite: the short verdict
- Free plan size: AWeber, 500 subscribers against MailerLite’s 250.
- Free plan capability: MailerLite, which includes three automations. AWeber’s free tier has none.
- Paid price: MailerLite, comfortably, and the gap widens as your list grows.
- Support: AWeber, with 24/7 access on paid plans against MailerLite’s email-only.
- For most small businesses: MailerLite. AWeber earns its premium on support and predictability, not features.
AWeber vs MailerLite: the free plan comparison everyone got wrong
The free tier used to settle AWeber vs MailerLite in about ten seconds. MailerLite’s was the reason to choose it for years. Two changes in 2026 removed that advantage, and published comparisons haven’t caught up.
| Free plan | AWeber | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | 500 | 250 |
| Monthly emails | 3,000 | 2,500 |
| Automations | None | 3 |
| Landing pages | Limited | 1 |
| Credit card | Not required | Not required |
Articles ranking for AWeber vs MailerLite today variously state MailerLite’s free plan at 1,000 subscribers, or 500 subscribers with 12,000 emails. Both figures were correct before 16 June 2026 and neither is correct now.
MailerLite also renamed its tiers that month. Any comparison mentioning a Growing Business or Advanced plan is describing a pricing structure that no longer exists.
The honest reading of the AWeber vs MailerLite free-tier round is a split decision. AWeber gives you twice the list, MailerLite gives you automation. Which matters depends entirely on whether you need a welcome email to fire by itself, and for most people building a list, it does.
AWeber vs MailerLite on price
Both charge by subscriber count, so entry prices tell you very little about what AWeber vs MailerLite will actually cost you.
| List size | AWeber Lite | AWeber Plus | MailerLite Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12.50 annual | $20 annual | $12/mo |
| 5,000 | Scales | Scales | ~$39/mo |
| 10,000 | Scales | ~$149/mo | ~$73/mo |
Prices sourced from the AWeber pricing page and the MailerLite pricing page, September 2026. Published figures for AWeber at 10,000 subscribers range from $69 to $149 depending on the source, because they’re quoting different tiers and different billing cycles. Check your own list size on the vendor’s calculator rather than trusting a table, including this one.
What’s consistent across every AWeber vs MailerLite source is the direction. At 10,000 subscribers MailerLite runs roughly half what AWeber Plus costs. AWeber’s own defenders don’t argue the price point; they argue that predictability and support are worth the difference.
One structural difference worth knowing in any AWeber vs MailerLite decision: AWeber’s Unlimited plan is a flat $899 a month with no subscriber cap. That’s irrelevant to a small business and genuinely useful above roughly 100,000 subscribers, where per-subscriber pricing gets brutal on both platforms.
Where AWeber wins
Four rounds go to the older platform. Support that answers at 3am. Every paid AWeber plan includes 24/7 support by phone, chat and email. MailerLite offers email only, with live chat on higher tiers, and reviews on lower tiers describe urgent issues taking days. If your revenue depends on a send going out on time, that difference is the whole argument.
Twenty-eight years of deliverability. AWeber launched in 1998 and has been sending at volume since. It doesn’t screen and reject new accounts the way MailerLite does, which matters if your site is affiliate-heavy or your list provenance is hard to document.
Gentler price steps. AWeber’s increases between list-size bands are milder than MailerLite’s, which spike more noticeably past 2,500 subscribers. If cash-flow predictability matters more than the absolute number, that’s a real point in the AWeber vs MailerLite trade-off.
Template library. Larger and broader than MailerLite’s, which suits anyone who doesn’t want to design from scratch.
Where MailerLite wins
And five go the other way in the AWeber vs MailerLite ledger. Price at every list size above the entry tier. Roughly half AWeber’s cost at 10,000 subscribers, and the gap compounds annually.
The editor. Cleaner, faster and less cluttered. AWeber’s interface shows its age, and reviewers say so consistently. This sounds cosmetic until you’ve built your fortieth campaign.
Automation on the cheapest paid plan. MailerLite Comfort at $12 includes the automation builder. AWeber Lite allows three automations; unlimited automation sits on Plus at $20 annual. Not a huge gap, but it runs the right way.
Landing pages and a website builder included. If your portfolio is a Notion page, MailerLite can host the signup side of your business without a separate tool.
Honest contact counting. Neither charges for unsubscribed contacts, unlike Mailchimp, but MailerLite also counts a subscriber in three groups once. Our MailerLite review covers the platform in detail, including the account approval process that catches some people out.
Pick AWeber for
- 24/7 support on every paid plan
- No account screening at signup
- Bigger free subscriber allowance
- Milder price steps as you grow
- A larger template library
Pick MailerLite for
- Roughly half the price at scale
- A markedly better editor
- Automation on the free plan
- Landing pages and site builder included
- Faster time to first campaign
The account approval difference
This deserves its own section because it’s the one that can decide AWeber vs MailerLite before price enters the conversation.
MailerLite manually reviews every new account before allowing you to send. Documented decline reasons include thin website details, list sources it can’t verify, affiliate-heavy content and high-risk industries. Of 88 Capterra reviews mentioning approval, 60% were negative.
If your site monetises through partner links, or your list came from sources you can’t fully document, AWeber is the lower-risk choice regardless of what the pricing table says. A cheaper platform you can’t get into costs infinitely more than an expensive one you can.
Whichever you choose, get the account approved before exporting anything from your current provider.
The flip side is that MailerLite’s gatekeeping is why its inbox placement sits in the 88 to 95% range. Strict screening keeps spammers off shared infrastructure, which protects everyone sending on it. Both facts are true at once.
Deliverability and list health
Neither side of AWeber vs MailerLite publishes its own inbox placement figures, so treat any comparison claiming a precise winner with suspicion.
On deliverability, AWeber vs MailerLite is closer than either would admit. Independent testing puts MailerLite between 88 and 95% inbox placement, which is strong for the price tier. AWeber’s reputation rests on longevity rather than published numbers: nearly three decades of sending at volume, with infrastructure and sender relationships built over that period.
Both support SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and both let you send from a custom domain. Above roughly 10,000 subscribers, your own authentication setup and list hygiene matter more than the platform in either case, which flattens the AWeber vs MailerLite difference considerably at scale.
MailerLite also publishes the thresholds that trigger an account review: spam complaints above 0.2%, bounce rates above 5%, unsubscribe rates above 1%, and open rates below 3%. That last one catches people, because a dormant list can flag an account without a single complaint. AWeber has no equivalent published tripwire.
Migrating between them
Switching either way in an AWeber vs MailerLite move starts the same. Subscribers and tags export as CSV in both directions and import in under an hour. That part is easy and neither platform makes it difficult.
Automations don’t transfer in either direction. Every sequence, trigger and tag rule gets rebuilt by hand, which is true of every platform in this category and the main reason people stay somewhere they’ve outgrown. Screenshot your workflows before you cancel anything.
Warm up gradually on the new platform. Sending to your whole list on day one from an unfamiliar IP is how people land in spam and then blame the software. Start with your most engaged segment and build over two or three weeks.
AWeber vs MailerLite by user type
Growing list, tight budget
MailerLite settles AWeber vs MailerLite here. Half the cost at 10,000 subscribers.
Affiliate publisher
AWeber. No account screening, which removes the biggest risk in the switch.
Sends are business-critical
AWeber. 24/7 phone and chat support on every paid plan is worth the premium.
Under 500 subscribers
AWeber free, or MailerLite free if you need a welcome sequence to fire automatically.
No separate website
MailerLite. Landing pages and a site builder are included on paid plans.
Above 100,000 subscribers
AWeber Unlimited at a flat $899. Per-subscriber pricing gets punishing on both.
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better free plan, AWeber or MailerLite?
It’s split, and the answer changed in 2026. AWeber’s free plan covers 500 subscribers and 3,000 monthly emails, double MailerLite’s current 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails after the June cut. But AWeber’s free tier includes no automations, while MailerLite allows three. If you need a welcome email to fire on signup, MailerLite wins despite the smaller list. If you’re purely broadcasting, AWeber gives you twice the runway.
Is MailerLite cheaper than AWeber?
At most list sizes, yes. At 10,000 subscribers MailerLite runs roughly $73 a month against AWeber Plus at around $149, so the annual difference is meaningful. At the entry tier the two are close, with AWeber Lite at $12.50 annual and MailerLite Comfort at $12. AWeber’s argument isn’t price, it’s that its increases between bands are gentler and its support is included at every level.
Why do published AWeber prices vary so much?
Because sources quote different plans and billing cycles without saying which. AWeber has Lite, Plus and a flat-rate Unlimited tier, and annual billing saves around 16%. Published figures for 10,000 subscribers range from $69 to $149, and both are defensible depending on tier. When comparing AWeber vs MailerLite, use each vendor’s own calculator with your actual subscriber count rather than any published table.
Does AWeber screen new accounts like MailerLite?
No, and it’s the most practical difference between them for some readers. MailerLite manually reviews every signup, with affiliate-heavy content among its documented decline reasons, and 60% of Capterra reviews mentioning approval are negative. AWeber has no equivalent gate. If your business model or list provenance might raise questions, that removes a real risk from the decision.
Which is easier to use?
MailerLite wins this round of AWeber vs MailerLite clearly. Its editor is cleaner and faster, and most people send a first campaign within an hour. AWeber works and is genuinely simple to learn, but the interface shows its age and reviewers mention it consistently. AWeber’s counterweight is a larger template library, which suits anyone who’d rather pick a design than build one.
Should I switch platforms just to save money?
Under 2,000 subscribers, probably not. The annual saving is modest and migration costs you an evening plus the automations you’ll rebuild by hand, since neither platform exports workflows. Above 10,000 subscribers the gap becomes several hundred a year and the maths changes. Whichever direction you move, warm up sending gradually on the new platform rather than mailing everyone on day one.
The verdict
- For most small businesses, MailerLite. Half the cost at scale and a better editor.
- If your site is affiliate-heavy, AWeber, because MailerLite may not approve you.
- If a missed send costs you money, AWeber’s 24/7 support is the reason to pay more.
- Under 500 subscribers, use a free plan and pick on automation rather than list size.
- Ignore any AWeber vs MailerLite table quoting a 1,000-subscriber MailerLite free tier. It’s a year out of date.
More context: MailerLite vs GetResponse covers the other comparison people run, the free plan guide tracks every 2026 cut with dates, and Mailchimp alternatives is the starting point if you’re leaving a third platform.
