listmonk vs MailerLite: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of listmonk and MailerLite to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
listmonk
6.6/10
listmonk is a free, open-source, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager. Technical teams use it to send high-volume email campaigns and transactional email through their own SMTP providers.
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 | 6.6/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 3/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 10/10 | 8/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $12/mo Comfort |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Self-hosted (open source) | $25/mo Power |
| Features | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| Segmentation | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
| SMS Marketing | Not listed | |
| Webinars | Not listed | |
listmonk vs MailerLite cost by team size
listmonk and MailerLite cost the same at 1 user; listmonk costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | listmonk | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | FreeFree |
| 5 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $25/moPower |
| 10 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $25/moPower |
| 25 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $25/moPower |
| 50 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $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 listmonk
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $25/mo
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose MailerLite
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Support score (5/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (8/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for small business (9/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
listmonk
Pros
- The software has no licence or per-subscriber fees. A reviewer estimates 100,000 subscribers on weekly sends costs about 45 USD a month in hosting and SES fees.
- Reviewers report it handles hundreds of thousands to millions of subscribers on modest hardware.
- Multi-SMTP queues with rate limiting let you mix providers such as SES, Postmark or Mailgun.
- SQL-based segmentation and Go templating give developers very fine control.
- It includes a transactional API, OIDC SSO, role-based permissions and scoped API tokens.
Cons
- You must set up and run Docker or the binary, PostgreSQL, a reverse proxy and SMTP yourself.
- Support comes only from the community on GitHub, with no SLA.
- It has no behavioural automation or drip sequences.
- Deliverability and list cleaning depend on your own DNS and provider configuration.
- Reviewers say it has fewer integrations, templates and tutorials than commercial platforms.
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 6.6/10 for listmonk. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 4/10 for listmonk and 9/10 for MailerLite.
Listmonk costs less for 10 users: free on its Self-hosted (open source) plan, against about $25/mo on its Power plan for MailerLite, billed monthly.
Yes, both listmonk and MailerLite have a free plan.
MailerLite is the better fit for freelancers: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 3/10 for listmonk.
