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MailerLite vs Moosend is the closest head-to-head in budget email marketing: both price by subscriber count, both target small senders who find Mailchimp bloated, and both undercut the big platforms on cost. The differences that remain are narrow but decisive — one has a free plan, the other has deeper automation out of the box.
Because the two are positioned as near-twins, the choice rarely comes down to a killer feature. It comes down to how you start (free tier versus paid trial) and what you automate once you're in.
The pricing math, verified
As of July 2026, Moosend's Pro plan starts at $9/month billed monthly for up to 500 contacts, dropping to about $7.65/month with the 20% annual discount (Moosend pricing, 2026). The catch: Moosend has no permanent free plan — only a 30-day free trial. When the trial ends, you pay or you leave.
MailerLite's side changed recently too. Its plans were renamed in mid-2026 to Comfort (from $12/month) and Power (from $25/month) with price increases, and the free plan was cut to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month — the old 1,000-subscriber free tier is gone (MailerLite pricing, 2026). At 1,000 subscribers the Power plan runs roughly $39/month (EmailToolTester, 2026). So MailerLite still owns the “genuinely free forever” argument, but it's a smaller argument than it used to be — and at paid tiers, Moosend now undercuts MailerLite's entry price.
Where each platform actually wins
Moosend's real edge is automation you don't have to build. Its library of pre-built “recipes” covers scenarios like abandoned cart recovery and onboarding sequences, sitting on top of a drag-and-drop workflow builder that doesn't paywall the advanced pieces. There's also quiet enterprise weight behind it: Sitecore, a major digital-experience vendor, acquired Moosend in 2021, which put serious infrastructure behind a budget-priced tool.
MailerLite wins on the surrounding product: a cleaner editor, a website and landing-page builder, and — on the Power plan — monetization for digital products and paid newsletters that Moosend doesn't offer. It also holds a 4.7 rating on Capterra across 2,266 reviews, a strong signal for a tool this cheap. For creators and service businesses, that breadth matters more than ecommerce recipes ever will.
The honest verdict
If starting free matters — even at the trimmed 250-subscriber cap — or you want to sell digital products from the same tool, MailerLite is the pick. If you're comfortable paying from day one and want abandoned-cart and onboarding automation pre-built rather than hand-assembled, Moosend punches above its price point, and its $7.65–$9 entry now undercuts MailerLite's. This is a fit question between two well-matched budget tools, not a quality gap — and since both vendors changed pricing recently, verify current numbers on the official pages before committing.
Comparing MailerLite more broadly? See MailerLite vs Brevo, MailerLite vs Flodesk, MailerLite vs Omnisend for ecommerce-first multichannel, and MailerLite vs Sender for the free-tier battle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Moosend have a free plan?
No. Moosend offers a 30-day free trial only — there is no permanent free tier. MailerLite does have a forever-free plan, though it was reduced in mid-2026 to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month. If a $0 starting point is the requirement, MailerLite is the only option of the two.
Is Moosend cheaper than MailerLite?
At paid tiers, yes. As of July 2026 Moosend Pro starts at $9/month for up to 500 contacts, or about $7.65/month with the 20% annual discount, while MailerLite's Comfort plan starts at $12/month after its mid-2026 price increases. MailerLite counters with a free plan and broader features like a website builder and monetization tools.
Who owns Moosend?
Sitecore, the digital-experience platform company, acquired Moosend in May 2021. For buyers the practical upshot is enterprise-grade infrastructure and stability behind a budget-priced email tool, while Moosend continues to operate as its own product.