The free-plan difference
MailerLite lists a ceiling of 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails. Kit lists up to 10,000 subscribers and unlimited email broadcasts. These are published allowances, not a promise that every automation or integration is included.
A small list: test the whole journey
For 200 subscribers and four newsletters, your baseline is 800 sends per month. Add 30 new readers receiving two welcome emails and the workload becomes 860. That fits MailerLite’s published audience and send limits. At this size, evaluate the signup form, editor and unsubscribe experience before choosing on capacity alone.
A growing list: separate audience from frequency
At 800 subscribers and four newsletters, you need 3,200 broadcasts per month before any automated messages. That audience exceeds MailerLite’s free ceiling. Kit’s published free audience allowance accommodates it. This makes Kit worth investigating if the newsletter itself is your main product, but it does not establish that its free workflow meets every requirement.
Automation is a separate decision
Write down your desired sequence: signup, welcome, a follow-up after two days, and a different message after a purchase. Check each step in the current plan comparison. A generous broadcast allowance does not mean that conditional sequences, integrations or branding controls are free.
Compare the paid bill before migrating
Request prices for your current list and your expected list in six months, using the same billing period and currency. Include the features that force an upgrade. An annual price expressed per month is not the same payment commitment as a cancellable monthly plan. We do not declare a paid-price winner because the relevant quote depends on those choices.
Our decision
For a first list below 250 people, shortlist both and try a form and welcome message with your own address. For a larger newsletter on a zero subscription budget, investigate Kit first because of its published audience allowance. Before moving real subscribers, confirm consent records, export fields and the exact automation you need. We have not compared deliverability or support.
What other reviewers and users report
MailerLite: editor flexibility
EmailTooltester’s comparison, updated 4 September 2026, favours MailerLite’s email editor for flexibility and ease of arranging content. Its reviewers see Kit as more focused on creators. This is their editorial assessment; we have not reproduced their tests.
Kit: automation versus email design
TechRadar’s Kit review praises the workflow builder while finding the email layout and template choices more restrictive. The review covers different tiers: do not assume a feature praised in a paid-plan test is available free.
Setup can be a separate hurdle
In a discussion in r/Newsletters, one poster reports difficulty setting up a business email and completing MailerLite verification. A respondent presenting themselves as a MailerLite representative points to domain-authentication troubleshooting. The thread does not establish how common the problem is or whether the product caused it.
How to use this evidence
An editor can be convenient once an account works, while initial domain setup can still be difficult. Treat these reports as questions for your own trial: can you recreate your preferred layout, build the required sequence on your chosen plan, and authenticate your domain? We selected these sources because they address different parts of that journey, not because they establish an overall winner.
Review publishers may earn affiliate income. Read their disclosures and test dates. We use provider documentation for current plan allowances and identify opinions separately. No review text, screenshots or star ratings have been copied into this article.
Official sources
Plan terms can change. Confirm the current allowance and total price before subscribing.