erLite Review 2023: Pros, Cons & Pricing [Analyzed] //

MailerLite is a handy and simple email marketing tool that allows you to create professional emails and popups. It also has workflows and websites. But is it really as good as it appears?

This MailerLite Review will examine the features that made this software so popular. We will also focus on pricing.

We will also identify the areas for improvement, as well as what this email platform currently lacks in comparison to other tools such Mailchimp, Moosend and Constant Contact.

Let’s get started.

Disclaimer This information is accurate as at May 2023.

MailerLite Overview & Rankings

Let’s first take a look at the overall rating of MailerLite before we dive into its strengths and weaknesses.

MailerLite was included in our list of the best email marketing services because of its simplicity, affordability, and user-friendly interface.

It is an excellent option for beginners and small businesses who are looking to start with email marketing. You will also find drag-and drop builder, and email deliveryability.

MailerLite is not without its cons. These include the absence of advanced features such as advanced reporting and automation, as well the limitations of the Free Plan.

Let’s summarize the pros and con we found.

MailerLite Pros & Cons: Summary

Below you can see what MailerLite excelled at and where it needs improvement.

Let’s start with the pros and then move on to the cons.

MailerLite Review: Pros Analyzed

MailerLite Classic is the new version. We used the latest version in this review.

This MailerLite and MailerLite Classic comparison resource will help you discover the differences.

Ease of Use

MailerLite’s user interface (UI) is a simple dashboard that makes it easy to find what you are looking for. You can access the templates and account settings from the left-side menu.

MailerLite allows you to customize your dashboard with your favorite theme. MailerLite has light and dark themes, whereas the auto option matches your default preferences.

This option is located under your profile. You can also change your profile picture, reset your password and opt-in to MailerLite’s Newsletter.

Overall, we found it easy to navigate our profile, which is something that we appreciate when using email marketing tools. This is a great win for any email marketing platform looking to offer a seamless experience.

Let’s now move onto the email builder.

Email Editor

MailerLite has a email campaign builder that we found under the Campaign option. This allows us to create campaigns with regular, A/B Split, RSS feed or auto-resend.

We had to enter the email address and name of the sender after clicking on the normal one.

Note In order to access the email and forms builders, you first need to verify and authentication your domain via your account settings.

This process will take several moments, especially if your are not familiar with DKIM or SPF authentication.

You can now select and access the builder which best suits your requirements. You can choose between three different options.

• drag-and-drop editor
• rich-text editor
• Custom HTML Editor (only for Advanced Plan Users)

MailerLite’s drag-and drop editor is very easy to use. You can see in the screenshot below that content blocks are organized neatly in categories and a drop-down list, which allows you to add text, images, and headers.

MailerLite provides several options for building different types of emails. These include eCommerce offers, countdown times, product blocks and surveys.

The builder was impressive because, in addition to social buttons, we were able to upload Instagram and Facebook posts.

It is an innovative feature that allows eCommerce brands to showcase social media and product content via email.

We used an example from Calvin Klein below to demonstrate how simple it is to add:

The drag-and drop editor builder allows you to track the latest changes made in your email design. This is especially useful if more than one person is involved in the design process.

MailerLite teased a new drag and drop editor on May 24, 2023 through an email sneak preview and video. We will update our review when the new version is released.

Email Template Gallery

Let’s now move on to the Email Templates. 90 premade designs are categorized into 12 categories to make navigation easier.

MailerLite offers different templates to suit various occasions. These include holidays, events and newsletters.

The newsletter templates are modern and easily customizable. It is great to have so many designs, as it saves you time.

There’s also a “My Templates”, where you can save and create your own designs, or import them in.zip (Linux).

Important MailerLite templates are not available on the free plan. You must upgrade to the Business Plan to use them.

Sign up Forms

MailerLite asks you to verify your domain in order to access the builder. This is the same as the email campaign builder.

You can select the type of form you want to create after adding a name. This includes a pop-up form, an embedded form or a promotional form (only for Advanced Users).

The next step was to create a group of subscribers to continue creating the form content. We found 24 templates, including full-screen and half-screen forms, as well as model, slide-box, and model-based forms.

Let’s now take a closer look at MailerLite form builder.

We had a very positive experience with forms. The drag-and drop builder was simple to use and the UI clean. We were able to find all we needed to design our newsletter signup form.

Content blocks include text, images and countdown timers. Social links are also available to make your creation unique.

We had many design options, including fonts and button settings, content elements, background customizations, and other features.

MailerLite’s editor allows us to edit the form type in addition to changing colors and width. This is a very time-saving and convenient feature. Besides changing the colors and width, MailerLite’s form editor allowed us to change the type of form, which was very convenient.

The form builder allowed us to create a success message after the subscription, which was convenient and quick.

MailerLite’s form builder has a minimal learning curve , and offers a wide range of design options.

You can then set triggers, schedules, visibility, and frequency. You are now ready to start using your pop-up for lead generation.

Email Deliverability

Deliverability is another important part of MailerLite’s review.

MailerLite’s rigorous and lengthy verification process, according to tests, has maintained high email delivery rates from 2017 to 2023.

The ESP scored 91.7 points in 2023. It has some room to improve to reach the 98 that it achieved in 2022.

MailerLite’s deliverability is better than the other tools on the table.

Segmentation & Personalization

MailerLite offers email list management, segmentation and personalization.

You can segment your audience using the options available, such as location, age and so on.

You must first add your contacts to the Subscribers tab. It was a pretty simple process. We simply had to drop our CSV file into the box, and then import the subscribers by following the steps.

MailerLite provides different ways to add contacts. These include copying/pasting data from Excel, adding one subscriber and importing information from Mailchimp.

We found it easy to segment our audience . MailerLite asked that we set up the parameters for our group by selecting from options such as location and signup source.

There’s also a “fields option” to segment your contacts according to the tags that you created when importing your subscribers.

You can also automate your email list by setting certain actions.

Personalization

MailerLite allows you to customize your subject lines, and add dynamic content blocks to your campaigns in order for you create more targeted offers.

You can choose the variable option in the customization box to the right for simple personalization.

When hovering your mouse over the content blocks, you will see the “eye” icon.

MailerLite offers you a variety of options for customizing the recipients that can view your content, and excluding certain subscribers.

MailerLite dynamic content does not have an if/then/else logic that allows you to further personalize your emails. It may be a disadvantage for those who wish to create more complex blocks.

Let’s now move onto another important section.

Affordability

MailerLite is one of the cheapest email marketing services available.

Growing Business starts at $10 per month for 1K contacts plus $2 tax. Users get unlimited emails and access to templates.

The Advanced plan starts at $21 and includes the advanced features such as the custom HTML editor. Promotion pop-ups and multiple automation triggers are also included.

MailerLite offers a cost-effective option to new business owners or marketing professionals looking to start email marketing on a budget.

Landing pages

MailerLite has a landing-page builder that you can find under the Sites menu on the left.

We had to select a group of subscribers and enter the name of our page to get to the builder. Then, we could choose to start from the beginning or to select one template for a landing page.

has 49 pre-made designs neatly organized by categories to make navigation easier.

The templates follow the logic of drag-and stop email editors. We were already familiarized with the page builder, so it was much easier to create.

MailerLite’s editor, compared to other tools for landing pages is a fast and simple solution that will boost your lead generation efforts without the need to use additional software.

The website builder also follows this logic and allows you to create your page just as you would your landing pages.

Integrations

We also checked MailerLite’s list of integrations which includes 140 integrations for popular third-party applications, including WordPress, Shopify and Stripe.

MailerLite can be connected to other apps via a developer.

You can also use Zapier in order to integrate the ESP into other tools if there is no specific integration available.

Try MailerLite

MailerLite Review – Cons Analyzed

It’s now time to look at the platform’s weaknesses and improve those areas.

Email Automation Tools

The marketing automation capabilities of the tools that we review are also important.

We noticed that many users said they were not as advanced as email marketing platforms.

We also found that the tools for automation are very simple in comparison to other services like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign.

This makes it a great software for business owners and beginners with simple requirements. Let’s now see how well the workflows worked.

MailerLite gives you the choice to either start from scratch, or to use one of ‘s 15 pre-made templates, which range from new promotions and welcome emails, to abandoned carts and webinar invitations.

Important Three workflows, including webinar, advanced welcome and demo call invitation, are only available to Advanced users.

MailerLite automations seemed too simple when compared to Mailchimp Customer Journeys. You can’t drag-and-drop to rearrange your automated workflow steps or duplicate selected items.

MailerLite gives you different options for targeting your customers and subscribers based on the behavior they display, such as completing a questionnaire or adding a product to their shopping basket. Upgrade your plan to Advanced if you want to use multiple triggers.

A/B testing allows you to test different elements and create split tests to find the best sequence.

The editor is easy to use, but it feels a bit rigid in comparison with other tools. Advanced subscribers can only access the advanced templates, which may not be enough for experienced users. Automation is available in all plans, including the free version.

Long Review Process

It took some time for MailerLite to verify our account before we could send out our campaign.

We couldn’t even access the email editor unless we authenticated our domain. This is something we’ve never seen before when reviewing email marketing software.

The detailed approval process was a bit lengthy. We understand that it is important to maintain deliverability and prevent non-ideal clients from abusing the system.

While we waited for MailerLite’s review of our account, we felt that at the very least, we should have been allowed to use the editor to create our campaign and test it.

It may be too much for those who are looking to start their business immediately or for those who test out multiple tools in order to find the right fit for their company.

Let’s now move onto another important part of MailerLite’s review.

Reporting & Analytic

Digital marketing is all about measuring your campaign metrics. The platform will provide you with important metrics that can be used to track your performance.

MailerLite is a cool tool with some great features like open rate by location or click maps. However, its lack of basic reporting and analytics capabilities and the absence of a dedicated tab are disappointing.

To check the statistics of our subscribers, for example, we would have to click on the Stats tab under the Subscriber tab:

Sending your email and checking its performance is the first step to getting access to individual campaign reports.

You can check your dashboard to get an overview of your clicks, opens, and CTOR by checking the Campaigns box.

MailerLite is a great tool for tracking email performance, subscribers, and website performance. However, it could be more sophisticated.

eCommerce Tracking can also be used, but is only available for Woocommerce or Shopify stores.

Spam & Design Testing

MailerLite has a few major cons. One is that it lacks tools to test for spam or design before sending out your emails.

Only a desktop or mobile message preview is available. This does not show how the email will appear on other email clients.

MailerLite allows you to only save your preview, and copy the link to share it with your team. You can’t do anything else, like fix problems or run a spam-check.

MailerLite is probably most vulnerable because it lacks design and anti-spam tools. This is especially true for beginners, who may not be able to correct common mistakes.

Customer Service

MailerLite support is reliable and fast, based on our experience.

We added customer service to the cons section despite our positive experience.

We noticed that the live chat option was only available to Advanced users. This meant we could only access the Knowledge Base and Email Support channels.

For an email marketing service which promotes a “free plan”, the 30 day limit on personal support is not ideal.

MailerLite offers three different ways to get the help you need: a Knowledge Base, an Academy and a Community. We added it to our cons list because of the absence of a live-chat option for Growing Business and free users, and the lack phone support on the Enterprise plan.

MailerLite Review: Pricing

It’s now time to examine ‘s MailerLite pricing.

There are four options for paid plans, based on how many subscribers you have.

See more details below.

Free plan

MailerLite offers a free plan for life that covers up to 1000 subscribers and 12K emails per month.

• Drag and Drop Email Editor
• Email automation builder
• Websites
• Ten landing pages
• Sign-up forms and popups
• Get 30 Days of 24/7 Email and Chat Support

Best used for: The free plan is a great way to test the ESP and its capabilities.

Growing Business

The plan costs $10 per month (approximately $12 after tax) and includes unlimited email, 24/7 support, and 1K contacts.

• Digital Products
• Templates Unlimited
• Dynamic email campaigns
• Campaigns that automatically resend themselves
• Unlimited Pages
• Unsubscribe Page Builder

Best For:This plan is great for beginners. However, it can feel limited at times due to its lack of advanced features.

Advanced

Advanced Plan: Starting at $21/month, includes up to 1,000 users, unlimited email and subscribers.

• Custom HTML Editor
• Pop-ups for promotions
• Automated processes can have multiple triggers
• Preference center
• Facebook Integration

Best for As MailerLite’s Advanced plan, it may be most suitable for businesses who are serious about email marketing.

Custom Pricing

This plan is designed for Enterprises that have over 100K contacts. You can have unlimited users and emails per month, and 24/7 email support.

• Dedicated Success Manager
• Consultation on IP and deliverability
• Custom landing page design
• Custom newsletter design

Best for:Enterprises with larger lists and more complex requirements

Alternatives to MailerLite

We concluded after examining MailerLite’s pricing and features that it is a great software for growing your company, especially if are not an advanced user.

If you require more complex automations or reporting, then you may want to consider ‘s best alternative in order to scale faster.

Here are three email marketing competitors that can help you.

• Moosend is an all-in one email marketing and marketing automation tool that offers a user friendly interface, newsletter templates, automatic responders, etc. This tool is equally affordable and offers what MailerLite does not: advanced reporting, analytics and live chat support.
• Mailchimp : Mailchimp is one of the leading competitors and will provide you with more advanced automations and functionality. The pricing is higher than MailerLite, so you should only consider it after deciding on your email strategy and budget. To learn more, you can read our detailed Mailchimp review.
• Constant contact is another option that’s more affordable than Mailchimp to continue with your email marketing. It is a great tool for small business owners and comes with a number of useful tools that will help you on your way. Check out our ConstantContact review for more information and to see if it is right for you.

Conclusion

MailerLite is a great software for email marketing, especially for beginners and small businesses.

The lack of advanced automations and reports, for example, is not ideal for users and eCommerce store owners with complex needs.

Our MailerLite review concludes with a positive experience. The software’s ease of use and simplicity are ideal for beginning your email marketing journey. You can learn the basics and leverage the knowledge base to keep your audience engaged.

MailerLite is free to try

Frequently Answered Questions (FAQs).

You can find answers to some of the most common questions about MailerLite here.

1. MailerLite is it safe to use?

MailerLite is a secure platform to use, as it takes all the necessary precautions. It also features a strict anti spam policy and a rigorous authentication procedure to stop spammers using the software.

2. MailerLite is free forever.

MailerLite offers a free plan that is available for as long as you want. It includes 12K emails per month and 1K subscribers. All the features are available for free accounts, but they don’t have access to templates.

3. What is the difference between MailerLite and Mailchimp?

Mailchimp is a great option for small business. MailerLite, however, is more affordable and easier to use as it does not have Mailchimp’s advanced functionality.

4. Can I use MailerLite with my domain?

MailerLite lets you use the root domain of its software for landing pages or websites created with it if you do not have a custom domain.

5. What are the best MailerLite alternatives available?

Mailchimp, Moosend ActiveCampaign and (formerly Sendinblue) are some of the best MailerLite alternative with more advanced features.

The post Email Marketing Automation for Thriving Business : Pros, cons & pricing [Analyzed] first appeared on Email marketing automation platform for Thriving businesses .

Author: Marilia Dimitriou