Unveiling Top 10 MailerLite Alternatives for Enhanced Email Marketing in 2024

Diving into the world of email marketing can sometimes feel like navigating a vast ocean with countless tools at your disposal. Among these, MailerLite as a popular email marketing service has emerged as a beacon for many businesses, shining bright with its blend of simplicity and affordability.

But as the tides of business needs and growth patterns change, you might find yourself casting a net for something more—perhaps a tool with advanced features, more robust automation capabilities, or even more responsive customer support.

You're not alone in this voyage. Did you know, for instance, that in 2023, email marketing was credited with an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent? With stakes this high, choosing the right platform becomes not just a preference but a pivotal business decision.

And then, there's the evolving landscape itself. Over 319 billion emails were sent and received each day in 2021, a number that's only expected to rise.

This explosion in email communication underscores the need for tools that not only keep pace but also offer cutting-edge features to stand out in a crowded inbox.

After using these tools and reading numerous expert blogs, here's a well-researched guide to the 10 best alternatives to MailerLite for 2024.

A quick look at MailerLite

MailerLite as an email marketing tool stands out in the crowded field of email marketing solutions with its comprehensive suite of tools designed to simplify and enhance your email campaigns.

Whether you're setting up automated workflows for welcome messages, promotional blasts, membership renewals, or tackling abandoned shopping carts, MailerLite email marketing software has got you covered with an array of pre-built templates.

These templates, alongside the flexibility to craft custom workflows, simplify the marketing automation process, allowing users to efficiently execute targeted campaigns without the need for extensive technical know-how.

In addition to its automation capabilities, MailerLite's email marketing platform is equipped with user-friendly tools for creating forms and pop-ups.

Its drag-and-drop interface enables users to easily design and implement engaging forms without any prior coding or design experience.

This is complemented by the email marketing software comprehensive tracking and analytics suite, which provides valuable insights into campaign performance. Marketers can track open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates, offering a clear view of how recipients are interacting with their emails.

This data-driven approach of the email marketing service empowers users to refine their email marketing strategy and improve the effectiveness of their email marketing solution.

What MailerLite Lacks

MailerLite as a email marketing software has always been the go-to for those just dipping their toes into the vast sea of email marketing, thanks to its beginner-friendly interface and straightforward functionality.

It's like your first bike with training wheels; perfect for getting started but eventually, you're going to crave the speed and agility of a racing bike. As your email marketing skills sharpen and your business expands, you start to feel the pinch of its simplicity.

It's at this junction that many start to look around, wondering if there's something out there that matches their growing ambitions a bit more closely.

This itch for more advanced tools is a big reason why some users start to explore what else the email marketing world has to offer.

Let’s look at some limitations of Mailerlite as a marketing automation platform that prompt users to look for Mailerlite alternative.

Limited Automation Capabilities

While MailerLite allows for basic email marketing automation, it falls short in providing advanced automation features that enable more complex, behavior-triggered email sequences. This limitation can hinder the ability to execute nuanced, highly personalized marketing strategies as your business scales.

Basic Reporting and Analytics

The platform's reporting capabilities are relatively basic, lacking a dedicated analytics tab for in-depth campaign analysis. The absence of advanced spam and design testing tools further limits the ability to optimize emails before sending, which could impact the overall effectiveness of email campaigns.

Restrictive Free Plan and Scaling Costs

MailerLite's free plan is limited in terms of features, offering only basic email building, segmentation, and email marketing automation capabilities. This might be sufficient for testing but not for regular campaign execution.

Additionally, the cost of the service increases significantly as your subscriber list grows, potentially making it an expensive option for businesses with a large number of subscribers.

Customer Support Limitations

Some users have reported that MailerLite's customer relationship management could be more responsive, especially for those on the starter plan, which lacks live chat support.

Additionally, the lack of phone support in the Enterprise plan can be a significant drawback for larger organizations that prefer direct, immediate assistance.

These limitations suggest that while MailerLite might be a viable option for beginners or those with basic email marketing needs, businesses looking for more advanced features, in-depth analytics, and robust support might need to consider alternatives.

Top 10 Mailerlite Alternative Email Marketing Software

Mailchimp

G2 Rating: 4.3/5

Main Features:-

Built-in CRM Functionality

Unlike MailerLite, which lacks a comprehensive CRM system, Mailchimp includes CRM features that, although somewhat basic, enable users to track the revenue generated from each contact directly within the platform.

Enhanced Design Testing

Mailchimp as a mailerlite alternative email marketing service offers advanced design testing capabilities, allowing users to preview how their emails will appear across various email clients, not just on mobile and desktop.

This feature surpasses MailerLite's more basic preview options.

Extensive Integration Capabilities

With over 300 integrations spanning 20 different categories such as design, e-commerce, and point of sale, Mailchimp significantly outnumbers MailerLite in terms of third-party integrations.

This broad range enhances the platform's versatility and utility in diverse marketing ecosystems.

Cons:-

“For a company that's been around as long as Mailchimp has, it's crazy to me how bad the UX/UI is. It's just hard to use so much of the time.” (GetApp Review)

Cost: Mailchimp's pricing can escalate quickly as the number of contacts increases, making it a potentially expensive option for businesses with large mailing lists. This cost structure might not suit every budget, especially for small businesses or startups.

User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX) Concerns: Some users find Mailchimp's UI/UX design to be less intuitive than desired, which could present a learning curve for new users or those accustomed to more straightforward interfaces.

Lack Of Hyper Personalization Features: Lacks hyper-personalization features limiting its tailored email marketing.

Pricing:-

Mailchimp offers a free plan for starters with its essentials plan priced at $13 per month and the premium plan going up to $350 per month.

Brevo (Sendinblue)

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Main Features:-

Enhanced SMS Marketing Features

Brevo equips businesses to utilize text messaging effectively, enabling direct engagement with audiences on their mobile devices.

This capability facilitates personalized communication, timely distribution of crucial updates, and heightened customer engagement, ranging from promotional content to order updates.

Chat Marketing Capabilities

Through embedding live chat on websites or apps, Brevo offers businesses the ability to provide instant support. Its chat tools support live interaction, helping businesses resolve queries, alleviate concerns, and navigate customers through their purchase process seamlessly.

Integrated SMS and Email Marketing Efforts

Brevo as a mailerlite alternative email marketing service offers a unified approach to customer communication by allowing seamless integration between SMS and email marketing efforts.

This integration aids in maintaining consistent communication across different channels and executing automated, action-triggered SMS campaigns to improve customer relations.

Cons:-

“We've gone through some trouble to transition our mailing list, learn the new interface, and get it linked to our website for subscriptions.” (GetApp Review)

Limited Functionalities: More limited email marketing functionalities compared to MailerLite.

Complexity of Interface: Initial complexity of the interface for some users especially small businesses and email marketing beginners.

Additional Cost for Email Volume and Branding: For sending a high volume of emails, the costs can add up, and starter plan users need to pay extra to remove Brevo branding.

Limited AI-integration: Has limited Artificial Intelligence incorporation

Pricing:-

Offers a free tier for unlimited contacts with a daily limit of 300 emails. For extended capabilities, paid subscriptions begin at $25 monthly, covering unlimited contacts and up to 20,000 emails.

ActiveCampaign

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Main Features:-

Advanced Automation Creation

ActiveCampaign as a mailerlite alternative email marketing service offers a powerful automation builder that helps businesses tailor highly specific and engaging automation workflows.

The email marketing platform offers a user-friendly drag and drop interface which simplifies the creation of intricate automation sequences that react to customer behaviors, preferences, and actions, ensuring highly personalized communication strategies.

Predictive Sending Powered by AI

Utilizing cutting-edge machine learning, ActiveCampaign evaluates past email campaign performances to pinpoint the ideal sending times for each subscriber.

This AI-powered predictive sending optimizes email delivery times, enhancing the probability of email opens and interactions, thus boosting the overall success of marketing campaigns.

Comprehensive Third-Party App Integrations To Email Marketing Tool

The email marketing platform supports extensive integrations with a wide array of third-party applications, facilitating a cohesive ecosystem for managing both marketing and sales endeavors.

By allowing data to flow seamlessly between different systems, ActiveCampaign empowers businesses with a holistic view of customer engagements and amplifies the potential for personalized marketing communication.

Cons:-

“VERY SLOW - the system is very slow to load data which frustrates the UX and makes it frustrating to access contact data quickly” (GetApp Review)

Steep Learning Curve: Mastering ActiveCampaign's advanced email marketing automation features can be challenging especially for email marketing beginners, requiring time and effort to fully utilize its capabilities. It is not a mere drag and drop marketing platform feature but instead has a complex learning curve.

Higher Costs for Advanced Features: Access to ActiveCampaign's more sophisticated functionalities comes at a higher price point, which may be a consideration for businesses budgeting for their marketing tools.

Pricing:-

Offers two plans, with the marketing plan starting at $49/month, this plan is designed to cater to the needs of marketing teams looking for advanced automation and campaign tools and the $19/month option which focuses on sales teams in need of CRM functionality integrated with automation features.

Constant Contact

G2 Rating: 4/5

Main Features:-

Social Media Integration

Distinguishing itself from many email platforms, Constant Contact enables users to create and schedule both organic and paid social media posts for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn—a capability not available in MailerLite.

Event Marketing Support

Constant Contact offers specialized tools for event marketing, such as customizable registration forms, email invitation creation, ticket sales, and real-time RSVP tracking, providing a comprehensive solution for event management that requires additional tools for implementation in MailerLite.

SMS Marketing

For customers in the United States, Constant Contact offers SMS marketing as an additional feature, allowing for more direct and personal engagement with audiences, unlike MailerLite, which necessitates a third-party integration for SMS campaigns.

Cons:-

“Constant Contact is expensive for the purpose it performs and you can not pay per use which is unfair to most.” (GetApp Review)

Lacks AI integration: The email marketing automation platform has limited automation capabilities, potentially restricting the depth of marketing automation strategies.

Limited Email Deliverability: Email deliverability rates have been reported as suboptimal, which could impact the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns.

Expensive: It lacks a free tier, making it a more expensive option from the outset, with pricing that can be significantly higher than some of its competitors.

Pricing:-

Constant Contact's plans begin at $12 monthly for up to 500 subscribers, covering basic email marketing functionalities.

For access to more advanced features, there is a plan available at $35 per month for the same number of subscribers, catering to businesses in need of more sophisticated tools and support.

Mailjet

G2 Rating: 4/5

Main Features:-

Visual Email Builder

Mailjet, as a email service provider, provides a visual automation builder that facilitates the creation of complex email sequences based on subscriber actions, such as opens or clicks.

This tool includes pre-built automation templates for common scenarios like abandoned cart emails and birthdays, allowing for personalized email sequences

Reporting and Analytics Dashboard

It offers an extensive reporting dashboard to monitor campaign performance, with insights into growth trends, click rates, and personalized tips for improvement​​.

Automation Features

The platform includes automation features and industry-leading integrations, supporting personalized marketing strategies with tools for event management, appointment scheduling, and social campaigns

Cons:-

“Required monthly subscription if you are sending more than 6000 emails per month. Somehow costly as compared to other services.” (GetApp Review)

Limited Advanced Automation: The platform's email automation features have been noted to be less intuitive and somewhat outdated, potentially limiting personalized and targeted email automation efforts​​.

Cancellation and Collaboration: Users have reported difficulties in canceling their subscriptions and issues with collaboration, as the platform can become slow or unresponsive when multiple users are logged in simultaneously

UI/UX Design Issues: Some users might find the user interface (UI) complex and challenging to navigate. The email service provider is not based on a drag and drop model but is instead rather complex to use.

Pricing:-

Mailjet's pricing includes a free tier allowing up to 1,500 email contacts and 200 emails per day. For expanded needs, paid plans begin at $15 per month, offering unlimited contacts and the ability to send up to 15,000 emails monthly.

GoCustomer

GoCustomer is an AI-enabled email marketing Platform designed for effective customer acquisition, retention, lead nurturing, and upselling.

Main Features:-

LinkedIn Agent for Hyper Personalization

The standout feature of GoCustomer is its advanced personalization capabilities, facilitated by the LinkedIn Insights feature which allows you to deliver personalized messages.

This innovative feature probes into LinkedIn profiles to extract detailed insights, enabling messages to be customized with an exceptional degree of precision and relevance.

This level of customization goes beyond traditional personalization to achieve what can be termed as hyper-personalization.

Website Agent for Tailored Engagement

The Website Insights feature introduces a novel dimension to email marketing by enabling the creation of highly personalized emails. This is achieved by extracting information from specified website URLs.

By understanding the content and context of these websites, this feature can craft emails that are not merely relevant but also profoundly resonate with recipients, giving the impression that each email is individually tailored.

AI-driven Lead Nurturing

The core mission of GoCustomer is to redefine the way businesses engage and maintain their customer base. Utilizing cutting-edge AI technology, it spots potential leads, engages them with tailored content, and smoothly transitions them through the sales funnel.

This approach not only boosts conversion rates but also fosters enduring customer relationships.

Smart Data Utilization for Campaign Optimization

In the era of data-driven marketing, GoCustomer harnesses the power of extensive data analytics to refine email marketing strategies. By analyzing trends, preferences, and user behaviors, it ensures that marketing campaigns are both strategic and impactful.

Pros:-

Seamless Scalability and Workflow Integration: The platform offers easy scalability and integrates smoothly into existing workflows.

Hyper Personalization Powered by AI: Features like the LinkedIn Agent provide a level of personalization that can significantly enhance engagement.

Integration with Sales Enablement Tools: GoCustomer integrates with tools that facilitate effective selling, enhancing the overall sales process.

Budget-Friendly Solutions: It is designed to be cost-effective, offering significant value for the investment.

Pricing:-

GoCustomer provides a 7-day free trial to test its features, with pricing for the starter pack beginning at $30.

Omnisend

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Main Features:-

Enhanced Email Marketing Features

Although MailerLite's free tier is notable for sending emails, Omnisend offers additional perks for no cost, including pre-designed email templates, click tracking, and the ability to send SMS messages and push notifications, enriching the marketing toolkit without added expenses.

Wider Channel Access

Unlike MailerLite, which requires extra integrations for broader marketing outreach, Omnisend supports direct push notifications and SMS campaigns. This capability allows for a more diversified approach in reaching out to your audience across multiple platforms.

Advanced Ecommerce Capabilities

Omnisend excels with its ecommerce-centric approach, offering in-depth revenue tracking and analytics that focus on sales performance.

This feature set includes access to 100 specific email templates designed for ecommerce, and tools like a product picker that simplifies adding items from your online store into marketing emails.

Cons:-

“Not all my emails go to my customers and they complain that our email goes to junk.” (GetApp Review)

Complexity for New Users: The wide array of features and functionalities offered by Omnisend can be daunting for those new to email marketing, potentially leading to a steep learning curve.

Limited Customization: Some users have found the customization options for product and discount blocks within email designs to be lacking, which could limit creativity in campaign visuals.

Limited Email Deliverability: Users complain of their emails ending up in the junk folder instead of the customer’s inbox.

Pricing:-

Omnisend's free tier allows for up to 250 contacts per month, with allowances for sending up to 500 emails, 60 SMS messages, and 500 web push notifications, catering to small businesses or those just starting with email marketing. The paid subscriptions start at $16 per month for up to 500 contacts.

SendPulse

G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Main Features:-

Comprehensive Email Marketing Suite

SendPulse offers a robust set of email marketing tools, including an intuitive drag-and-drop editor for crafting custom email templates, segmentation capabilities for targeted campaigns, and the option to engage users with drip campaigns based on specific actions.

Multi-Channel Automation

Beyond email, SendPulse supports SMS marketing and chatbots for Facebook and Telegram, providing a broad toolkit for reaching audiences across different platforms. This facilitates a more integrated approach to customer engagement and support.

Advanced Segmentation and Automation

With detailed segmentation tools, marketers can tailor their messages based on user behavior, such as click-throughs or recent interactions, enhancing the relevance and efficiency of campaigns.

Drip campaigns further automate communication, addressing various customer needs from abandoned cart reminders to registration confirmations.

Cons:-

“The segmentation feature can be complex and may require some initial learning to execute properly.” (GetApp Review)

Limited A/B Testing: While email campaigns can benefit from A/B testing, this feature is not available for SMS messages, potentially limiting optimization opportunities for text message marketing.

Segmentation Complexity: While powerful, the segmentation tools can be complex and may require a learning curve to utilize effectively for maximizing campaign relevancy and efficiency.

Lacks Hyper-personalization Features: Does not allow for the creation of the same degree of personalized, tailored content as other software tools like GoCustomer.

Pricing:-

SendPulse Monthly Subscription Rates start from $9.85/month for 2,500 subscribers, scaling up to $840/month for 500,000 subscribers.

HubSpot

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Main Features:-

Complimentary CRM Offering

HubSpot provides a leading CRM tool at no cost, enabling users to monitor individual customer interactions and gain insights into their preferences, a capability not available within MailerLite's offerings.

Extensive Integration Options

While MailerLite covers the essential integrations for many businesses, HubSpot far exceeds this with over 1,000 integrations, catering to a broader range of business needs.

Rich Collection of Landing Page Builder Templates

HubSpot outshines MailerLite with a vast library of nearly 350 landing page builder templates, offering more variety and customization options for businesses looking to create detailed and engaging online landing pages.

Cons:-

“Lack of customization to suit the needs of the industry I was in.” (GetApp Review)

Pricing: HubSpot's pricing is higher when compared to MailerLite, which might be a consideration for budget-conscious businesses.

Learning Curve: New users may find HubSpot's platform more challenging to navigate due to its comprehensive suite of features and tools.

Complexity for Smaller Businesses: The advanced features provided by HubSpot could be overwhelming for smaller businesses that might not require such extensive functionality.

Pricing:-

The starter plan begins at $50/month for 1,000 contacts and you have the option to increase the email send limit to 5,000 per month.

GetResponse

G2 Rating: 4.2/5

Main Features:-

Extensive Webinar Marketing Tools

GetResponse streamlines webinar management from start to finish. The platform enables users to craft professional registration pages, send out automated reminders, and develop customizable landing pages to captivate and involve their audience effectively.

Additionally, it supports engagement through live chat, polls, and screen sharing, enhancing interaction and participation during the webinars.

Intuitive User Interface

Tailored for ease of use, GetResponse's interface simplifies the entire process of webinar management. It offers straightforward drag-and-drop tools, allowing for the creation of captivating webinar content without requiring deep technical knowledge.

Furthermore, the platform facilitates the scheduling of automated webinars, granting audiences the flexibility to engage with your material on their own schedule.

Robust Analytics for Webinar Performance

The platform provides thorough analytics and reporting tools, enabling businesses to monitor attendee participation, analyze participant demographics, and calculate conversion rates.

This approach empowers businesses to refine their webinar strategies based on solid, actionable insights.

Cons:-

“Lack of customization to suit the needs of the industry I was in.” (GetApp Review)

Cost: When compared to email marketing tools like MailerLite, GetResponse's pricing structure is on the higher end.

Learning Curve: Those new to webinar marketing might find the breadth of features and functionalities in GetResponse somewhat daunting at first.

Feature Overload: For businesses with straightforward webinar needs, the extensive suite of advanced features might prove to be more complex than necessary.

Pricing:-

GetResponse offers a free tier suitable for up to 500 contacts and includes 2,500 monthly email sends. For those requiring more capacity, paid subscriptions begin at $15.58 monthly for up to 1,000 contacts and support unlimited email sends.

Wrapping up

In the vast and ever-evolving world of email marketing, finding the perfect platform to suit your business's unique needs can feel like searching for a needle in a digital haystack. While MailerLite has certainly earned its place in the hearts of many for its simplicity and ease of use, the journey doesn't end there.

As your business grows, your marketing tools need to evolve alongside it, and that's where exploring alternatives becomes key.

We've navigated through the sea of options to bring you a comprehensive list of the 10 best MailerLite alternatives for 2024.

Whether you're craving advanced automation capabilities, seeking deeper analytics, or simply need a platform that scales with you without breaking the bank, there's something in this list for every type of marketer.

From the built-in CRM and advanced design testing of Mailchimp to the landing page builder capabilities of Hubspot, and the powerful automation and hyper-personalization capabilities of GoCustomer, each platform has its unique strengths (and a few weaknesses) to consider.

Choosing the right email marketing tool is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business's ability to connect with customers, drive engagement, and ultimately, generate revenue.

Remember, the best choice isn't about finding a one-size-fits-all solution; it's about identifying the platform that aligns with your current objectives, fits your budget, and can grow with you as your needs become more sophisticated.

So, take your time to explore these MailerLite alternatives. After all, in the dynamic ocean of email marketing, having the right tools on board is what will ensure your business not only stays afloat but sails smoothly towards success.