Act! vs MailerLite Comparison
Compare Act! vs MailerLite features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Act!
5.4/10
Act! is a long-running CRM with contact management, sales pipelines and built-in marketing automation, sold to small and midsize businesses in cloud and Windows desktop editions.
MailerLite
7.1/10
MailerLite is an email marketing platform for small businesses and creators, combining newsletters, automations, landing pages, sites, forms and digital product sales.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.4/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Scalability | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $30/user/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $12/mo Comfort |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $300/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $25/mo Power |
| Features | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| Email Marketing | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
| Segmentation | Not listed | |
| More features | ||
| Marketing Automation | Not listed | |
| Customer Support Management | Not listed | |
| Lead Management | Not listed | |
| Integrations | Not listed | |
| Sales Automation | Not listed | |
| Opportunity Management | Not listed | |
| Contact Management | Not listed | |
| Reporting & Analytics | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
Act! vs MailerLite cost by team size
MailerLite costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Act! | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $30/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeFree |
| 5 users | $150/moAct! Premium Cloud | $25/moPower |
| 10 users | $300/moAct! Premium Cloud | $25/moPower |
| 25 users | $750/moAct! Premium Cloud | $25/moPower |
| 50 users | $1,500/moAct! Premium Cloud | $25/moPower |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Act!
- Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose MailerLite
- Has a free plan (Act! does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $25/mo vs $300/mo
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Scalability score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (8/10 vs 4/10)
Pros & Cons
Act!
Pros
- Contact management is detailed and copes with large contact databases and big imports.
- A desktop and hybrid deployment allows offline work, which most cloud-only CRMs do not offer.
- Basic marketing automation is included in Premium, with drip campaigns, lead scoring and web visitor tracking.
- Fields and sales processes are highly customisable.
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android are included at no extra cost for Premium Cloud subscribers.
Cons
- Reviewers describe the interface as dated and dense, comparable to older Windows software.
- Pipeline and profit reporting is a recurring complaint, and the date-based pipeline can hide open deals.
- Users report freezing and slowness, especially with remote databases.
- There is no native Mac desktop app.
- Enhanced support and several capabilities cost extra on top of the per-user fee.
MailerLite
Pros
- The interface is clean, and reviewers say automations are quick to set up even for first-time users.
- Automations are included even on the free plan.
- Paid plans start at $12 a month, which reviewers say is cheaper than Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
- Native e-commerce integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and Stripe feed purchase-based automations.
- Reviewers report deliverability ranking first in an independent EmailToolTester test.
Cons
- Many users report accounts suspended or terminated with little warning and difficult appeals.
- Support is email-only on Comfort, and some reviewers say replies are slow.
- The free plan has been cut more than once and now allows only 250 subscribers.
- Prices rise steeply as the list grows, according to a competitor's analysis.
- Reviewers find reporting and segmentation limited for larger companies.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
MailerLite scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 7.1/10 against 5.4/10 for Act!. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 5/10 for Act! and 9/10 for MailerLite.
MailerLite costs less for 10 users: about $25/mo on its Power plan, against about $300/mo on its Act! Premium Cloud plan for Act!, billed monthly.
MailerLite has a free plan; Act! does not list one.
MailerLite is the better fit for freelancers: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 4/10 for Act!.
