If you’re looking for an email marketing tool and the choice is between Emailoctopus and Mailerlite, there are a few issues to consider. Price and the purpose of your website will guide your decision.
I’ve tested both and my use case was growing my subscriber list. My first impressions were that EmailOctopus is great at sending out clean, minimal newsletters when you’re starting out. MailerLite is a good choice when you need advanced automations and landing page features. If you’re trying to decide between the two, I hope this comparison will help you figure out which one best fits your needs right now.
My quick takeaway: EmailOctopus is simple, clean, and budget-friendly. MailerLite is a solid option for online businesses, in particular ecommerce stores, who need advanced marketing tools.
Pricing
For many small businesses and creators, cost is often the first thing to consider. Here, EmailOctopus stands out. Its free plan allows you to manage up to 2,500 subscribers and send up to 10,000 emails each month. This is degrees more generous than what many competitors offer. There aren’t a lot of complicated tiers or add-ons. You pay based on how many subscribers you have.
MailerLite also offers a free plan, but it’s more limited. You can have up to 500 subscribers. The free version includes basic features but more advanced tools are locked behind paid plans.
If you’re selecting based on price alone, EmailOctopus is the clear winner. For anyone just starting to build a list, it’s a very attractive option. MailerLite, on the other hand, is more expensive, but you do get more for the extra cost.
Automations and workflows
EmailOctopus shines in its simplicity. You can set up basic automations, like a welcome sequence when someone joins your list. It must have taken me under 10 minutes to set up my first automation start to finish. For now, I intend to send regular newsletters and the occasional sequence, so the automations included in the free plan are more than enough.
MailerLite, however, offers a far richer set of features. Its automation workflows allow you to build complex journeys, with multiple triggers and conditions that let you personalise how and when subscribers receive your messages.
Let’s say you run an online store. You’d be able to set up the following sequence:
- A customer purchases a product
- This triggers a thank you email
- A week later a follow up email is sent asking the customer to share about the product
If your goal is to create a simple, reliable newsletter, EmailOctopus will do the job well. MailerLite lets you build advanced funnels and behaviour based campaigns.
Templates, Design, and Ease of Use
One of the things I liked about EmailOctopus when I started using it was how fast I could put an email together. The drag-and-drop builder is minimal, and there aren’t too many design options to overwhelm you. As a beginner, it’s really easy to find your way around the interface.
MailerLite, on the other hand, offers more templates and customisation.
You have granular control over things like fonts, colours, and layouts. I found the drag and drop builder simple to navigate despite the range of options.
Mailerlite wins out on templates but both tools score highly for ease of use even if you’ve never designed a newsletter before.
Deliverability
One of the most important considerations when choosing an email marketing tool is deliverability. Even the most well designed email is useless if it’s not landing in your subscribers’ inbox. It was difficult to make a comparison because there’s not a ton of data around deliverability testing from independent sources. From my online research, MailerLite does seem to perform better when it comes to deliverability. It came up on a Reddit thread too during a conversation about deliverability. Again, I think this comes down to your use case. Sales teams doing more cold outreach might need more sophisticated tools to get into inboxes, for example.
Emailoctopus vs MailerLite: What’s the Best Option?
Both platforms have clear strengths and weaknesses. EmailOctopus is straightforward and affordable. For someone like me who’s just started with list building, it’s ideal. One of the main limitations is that I’m not sure how well it scales if your marketing becomes more complex. MailerLite is more expensive, but it gives you access to richer features, more flexibility, and advanced automations.
The choice between these two platforms often comes down to where you are in your business journey.
If you’re just starting out, maybe you’re a blogger, freelancer, or small business owner, then EmailOctopus is a fantastic place to begin. It’s affordable, easy to use, and gives you everything you need to build and maintain a simple mailing list.
If, however, you’re running an eCommerce store, building a personal brand, or planning to grow your audience significantly, MailerLite will give you more of the tools you need to scale.
In my own journey, EmailOctopus was the right choice. I loved how quickly I could set things up and how little I had to think about the tech side of things. I also needed to check with support as I was connecting my domain and my issue was very quickly sorted out via live chat. Live chat on a free plan is a great feature. Another feature I prioritised was double opt in, and again, setting that up was straightforward with EmailOctopus.
MailerLite is also user friendly, and while I really liked the templates and the intuitive drag and drop builder, I won’t need many of the advanced features on offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EmailOctopus cheaper than MailerLite?
Yes, EmailOctopus is generally more affordable, especially for smaller lists. Its free tier is also more generous. You get up to 2,500 subscribers on its free plan. MailerLite’s free plan allows for 500 subscribers.
Does MailerLite offer better automation?
Yes, MailerLite has more advanced automation capabilities, with flexible triggers, conditions, and segmentation.
Can I switch between the two later?
Absolutely. Both platforms allow you to export and import subscribers, making migration relatively straightforward.
