Two different constraints

MailerLite’s free tier lists 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly sends. Brevo’s free tier lists 100,000 stored contacts and 300 daily sends. Brevo says unused daily sends do not roll over. Stored contacts are therefore not the number you can reach in a single free campaign.

Scenario: one weekly update to 200 readers

Four updates require 800 sends across the month. Each update uses 200 sends on its delivery day. Both published limits accommodate this simple schedule, provided other emails do not consume the remaining allowance. Record automated messages in the same workload plan rather than treating them as free extra capacity.

Scenario: 600 people need the same announcement

Six hundred recipients exceed MailerLite’s free audience ceiling. With Brevo, 600 deliveries would require at least two days at the published daily cap, assuming no other sends. For an event reminder or a time-sensitive launch, splitting the audience may be unacceptable. Compare a paid option against the deadline, not merely the size of the address book.

Scenario: two messages on a busy day

Sending two messages to 200 people means 400 sends that day. A low monthly total does not make that fit a 300-send daily cap. Build a calendar for your busiest day and include welcome messages. This simple exercise often reveals the constraint earlier than comparing headline prices.

What to inspect in a trial

Recreate one actual campaign. Check how contacts are imported, how suppression and unsubscribe fields are preserved, and whether the form works on your website. Use your own test addresses first. Keep a record of the configuration and results; a single successful delivery does not establish general inbox placement.

Our decision

Consider MailerLite for a small audience where monthly planning matches your schedule. Consider Brevo when your contacts and daily delivery needs differ substantially, but calculate your peak day first. Neither free tier solves the 600-person same-day example above. Check a paid quote or another tool when the deadline is fixed.

Official sources

Plan terms can change. Confirm the current allowance and total price before subscribing.