Last reviewed by Robert Prime — August 2026
Quick Answer: MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month — and that free limit was cut from 1,000 subscribers, which is the detail most out-of-date guides (ours included, until recently) still get wrong. Once your list passes 250 you must move to a paid plan. The first paid tier, Comfort, starts from $12/month (about £9 at today’s rate); the next tier, Power, starts from $25/month. MailerLite bills in US dollars or euros — there is no GBP price — and the exact monthly cost rises with your subscriber count on a slider, so check the figure for your own list size. A 14-day free trial of premium features is offered with no card required. Confirm the live numbers on mailerlite.com/pricing.
Full breakdown below — what the free tier really gives you, and when you’re forced to pay.
MailerLite pricing at a glance
| Plan | Price | Subscribers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 | up to 250 | 2,500 emails/month, 2 user seats |
| Comfort | from $12/month (≈ £9) | scales with list size | first paid tier |
| Power | from $25/month (≈ £19) | scales with list size | more sending + features |
| Enterprise | Custom | Large lists | Contact sales |
Read from MailerLite’s own pricing page on 12 August 2026. The “from” prices are the advertised entry rates; the exact monthly figure is set by a subscriber slider on their page, which a static read can’t compute — check it for your number. Prices are in US dollars (euros also available); the pound figures use the mid-market rate on 12 August 2026 (1 USD ≈ £0.74).
The free plan — and the cut that caught people out
MailerLite still has a genuinely usable free plan, and for a brand-new author it may be all you need. As at 12 August 2026 the free plan gives you:
- Up to 250 subscribers
- 2,500 emails per month
- 2 user seats
- Email campaigns, visual automations, websites and landing pages, signup forms, the ability to sell digital products, 100+ integrations, reporting and A/B testing
The catch — and it’s the whole reason this page exists — is that 250-subscriber ceiling. MailerLite’s free plan used to allow 1,000 subscribers; it was cut to 250. If you read anywhere (including older versions of our own site) that MailerLite is “free up to 1,000”, that figure is stale. 250 is the current limit — verified on their pricing page.
For a lot of authors that still works: if you’re just starting to build a list and you’re under 250 people, the free plan is enough, and you shouldn’t pay a penny yet. Be honest with yourself about your growth rate, though — 250 comes around faster than you’d think once a launch or a reader magnet starts working.
When you’re forced to pay — and what it costs
The moment your list crosses 250 subscribers, the free plan stops being an option and you move onto a paid tier. The entry paid plan is Comfort, from $12/month (about £9). The step up is Power, from $25/month (about £19), which adds more sending headroom and features. Above that, Enterprise is custom-quoted for large lists.
Two honest caveats on those numbers:
- They’re “from” prices. MailerLite’s cost rises with your subscriber count on a slider. $12/month is the floor for Comfort, not a flat rate for any list size — a bigger list costs more. I could read the “from” figures off the page but not the exact price at every subscriber level, because the slider is calculated in your browser. Check the slider for your own list size before budgeting.
- Annual billing is cheaper. MailerLite advertises a saving (around 10%) for paying yearly rather than monthly. If you’re committing, the annual option lowers the effective monthly cost.
There’s also a 14-day free trial of premium features, with no credit card required, if you want to test Comfort/Power capabilities before paying.
What it costs a UK author
MailerLite bills in US dollars (euros are also available) — there is no separate pound price, so what you pay in sterling depends on the exchange rate and any card fee. At the mid-market rate on 12 August 2026 (1 USD ≈ £0.74):
- Comfort — from $12/month ≈ £9/month
- Power — from $25/month ≈ £19/month
Those are approximate and are the entry rates only. Your card issuer’s rate — plus a possible foreign-transaction fee — will nudge the real charge, and a larger list raises the base price. Confirm the total at checkout.
Is it worth it?
For an author’s email list, MailerLite is one of the better-value tools even after the free-tier cut — the free 250 covers you while you’re finding your first readers, and £9-ish a month to start once you outgrow it is modest. The free plan is genuinely enough until you cross 250 subscribers, so don’t upgrade before you have to. When you do pay, price it on your actual list size using their slider, not on the headline “from” figure.
Frequently asked questions
How much does MailerLite cost?
MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers (2,500 emails a month). After that, the first paid tier — Comfort — starts from $12/month (about £9), and Power starts from $25/month (about £19). It’s billed in US dollars or euros, and the exact monthly figure rises with your subscriber count, so check the slider on their pricing page for your list size.
Is MailerLite free?
Yes, up to a point. The free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, with automations, landing pages, signup forms and A/B testing included. Once your list passes 250 subscribers you must move to a paid plan.
Didn’t MailerLite’s free plan allow 1,000 subscribers?
It used to. The free-plan limit was cut from 1,000 subscribers to 250. Many guides (and, for a while, our own site) still quoted the old 1,000 figure. As at 12 August 2026 the verified free-plan limit on MailerLite’s own pricing page is 250 subscribers.
What does MailerLite cost in GBP?
There’s no pound price — MailerLite bills in US dollars (euros also available). At the mid-market rate on 12 August 2026, the Comfort plan’s “from $12/month” is about £9/month and Power’s “from $25/month” is about £19/month. Your bank’s rate and any foreign-transaction fee will change the exact charge.
Does MailerLite have a free trial of the paid features?
Yes — a 14-day free trial of premium features, with no credit card required. That lets you test Comfort/Power capabilities before committing to a paid plan.
When do I have to start paying for MailerLite?
As soon as your subscriber list passes 250. Below that, the free plan covers you. Above it, you move to Comfort (from $12/month) or higher, priced on your actual subscriber count — so the cost scales as your list grows.
About this guide
Written by Robert Prime for publishing.co.uk. Last reviewed August 2026. Pricing and free-tier limits change and are billed in US dollars — verify the current figures on mailerlite.com/pricing before relying on them.
