In this guide
When should your recipients receive the message?
Brevo and MailerLite can serve a small business that collects sign-ups and then sends campaigns. To choose between them, examine how email sends are distributed over time and how the welcome journey works. An adequate monthly allowance may conceal a limit on the day you want to email your entire audience.
Analysis of official documentation, with no testing on a paid account.
The dimensions to keep separate
| Dimension | Brevo | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 300 emails per day | 250 active subscribers and 2 500 monthly emails |
| Free automation | Up to 2 000 contacts concerned | Three automations |
| Paid budget | Volume, contact capacity, offer and options | Subscribers, email sends and plan |
| Pilot question | Are peak sending volume and access needs covered? | Do the collection and sequences fit in the plan? |
Why Adding Days Is Not Enough
Suppose your campaign must reach 600 readers on Monday morning. The daily free limit of Brevo does not become 600 email sends on Monday just because you sent nothing on Sunday. Spreading the campaign out changes your schedule; it is not functionally equivalent.
In MailerLite, the free plan’s active-subscriber limit must also be respected. Having enough monthly emails does not make a list of 600 subscribers compatible with Free. This theoretical case shows why you need to read two separate usage counts before comparing the word “free”.
Describe collection and automatic messages
Set up a sign-up with a specific promise: receiving a programme, a resource or regular updates. Write the welcome message and the conditions for leaving the sequence. Add its email sends to your usual campaigns. Someone who joins the list at the end of the month may trigger several messages in a short period.
Then ask a colleague to change the content and explain the targeting. If this task requires the path creator, simplify the rules before expanding automations. The ease of creation is not the same as the ease of maintenance.
The changeover must cover the entire need
Brevo distinguishes sending, storage and automation limits by plan. Do not use the free plan's storage allowance to estimate a lower-tier paid plan without checking it. Also check the access needed if several people prepare or approve campaigns.
MailerLite offers Comfort and Power with different limits. For both tools, keep your current estimate and a growth scenario. Add useful options and record the renewal price. An annual discount should not distract from the constraint that drove the choice.
One four-check test
- Registration
Use a few internal addresses and check the recorded source and the promised message.
- Calendar
Simulate the busy day and new registrants of the week, counting campaigns and automations.
- Deregistration
Check that an address removed from the sequence does not receive the next follow-up.
- Transmission
Have a colleague take over the campaign and prepare for the export of useful statutes.
Base your choice on this complete journey. Brevo is worth comparing if your use involves several types of customer relationship; MailerLite is worth comparing if collecting sign-ups and sending newsletters are your main needs. Check the exact features in your chosen plan, without judging the quality of email delivery from price alone.
Sources and methodology
Sources consulted on 27 September 2026. Brevo : offers and limits ; MailerLite : rates ; MailerLite : change of Free ; Methodology Logicelio