AWeber vs MailerLite: Which Is Better for Small Businesses in 2026?

AWeber has served small businesses since 1998. MailerLite launched in 2010 and has taken a lot of AWeber’s small-business and creator audience since. If you’re choosing between them today, the question is mostly price, entry-plan limits and editor quality against integration count and track record.

Plan details were checked against both vendors’ pricing pages on 2026-10-05.

AWeber at a Glance

AWeber’s main strengths are its 750+ integrations, its large template library, and 28 years of operation. Our data lists a 97.8% deliverability rate for it. The free plan covers up to 500 subscribers with 3,000 emails per month, 1 landing page, 1 email automation and 1 user, and AWeber branding stays on the emails.

The weak spot is the paid entry plan. Lite caps you at 3 automations, 3 landing pages, 1 email list and 1 custom segment, and monthly sends are capped at 10 times your subscriber count. AWeber has no SMS marketing channel. Interface quality is subjective, so try the free plan before judging it.

MailerLite at a Glance

MailerLite’s pitch is a modern editor and low entry pricing. The Comfort plan starts at $12/month (monthly billing) for 500 subscribers. It adds unlimited templates, 50 active automations, 10 websites and landing pages, auto resend, multivariate testing and 3 user seats. The Power plan at $25/month for 500 subscribers adds unlimited sending, automations, landing pages and seats, multiple automation triggers and 24/7 live chat support. MailerLite also lists appointment booking among its newer features.

The trade-offs: fewer integrations (MailerLite’s pricing page lists 100+, against AWeber’s 750+), and a free plan that shrank in June 2026, when MailerLite restructured its plans: the free tier is now 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, down from 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails. The same restructure renamed Growing Business to Comfort and Advanced to Power, and raised paid prices.

Pricing and Plan Limits

AWeber (monthly billing, 500 subscribers):

• Free: 500 subscribers, 3,000 emails/month, 1 landing page, 1 automation, 1 user
• Lite: $15/month. Sends capped at 10x subscribers (5,000/month at 500), 1 list, 3 landing pages, 3 automations, 3 users, 1 custom segment
• Plus: $30/month. Sends capped at 12x subscribers (6,000/month at 500), unlimited lists, landing pages, automations, segments and users, priority 24/7 support
• Lists above 100,000 subscribers: contact AWeber for a quote

MailerLite (monthly billing):

• Free: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 2 seats, 3 automations, 1 website and 1 landing page, 3 signup forms
• Comfort: $12/month for 500 subscribers. Sends capped at 10x the top of your subscriber tier, 3 seats, 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages
• Power: $25/month for 500 subscribers. Unlimited sending, seats, automations and landing pages
• Enterprise: custom pricing for 200,000+ subscribers

At the entry paid tier for 500 subscribers, MailerLite Comfort is $12/month against AWeber Lite at $15/month. The price gap is small. The limits differ more: Comfort allows 50 active automations and 10 landing pages, Lite allows 3 of each. MailerLite’s own free plan includes the same 3 automations that AWeber Lite charges for.

Annual billing lowers both. AWeber’s pricing page shows $12.49/month for Lite and $19.99/month for Plus when billed annually. MailerLite’s page says yearly billing saves 10%. Both vendors scale price with subscriber count, and the monthly prices above are for 500 subscribers only. Check each pricing page at your list size.

Free Plans

Both free plans are small and both include automation and landing pages at token levels. AWeber’s free plan allows 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month with 1 automation and 1 landing page. MailerLite’s allows 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month with 3 automations, 1 landing page, 1 website and all three of its email editors (drag and drop, custom HTML and simple). AWeber gives you twice the list size; MailerLite gives you more automations and a website. Neither is a place to run a list for long, but both let you test the editor before paying.

Templates and Design

AWeber has a large template library, and its design tools include a drag-and-drop builder, an AI subject line assistant, dynamic content and AMP emails. We have not verified a current template count on AWeber’s site, so compare the galleries yourself.

MailerLite includes unlimited templates on Comfort and above, plus drag-and-drop, custom HTML and simple editors on every plan including Free. The Free plan’s template access is limited. Open both editors on a free account and build the same email in each; that tells you more than any feature list.

Automation and Landing Pages

On automation, MailerLite is ahead at the entry level. Comfort gives 50 active automations with up to 100 steps each. AWeber Lite gives 3, and you need Plus at $30/month for unlimited. If automation is central (welcome sequences, product follow-ups, re-engagement), the entry plans favor MailerLite.

Landing pages follow the same pattern. AWeber Lite gives 3 and Plus gives unlimited. MailerLite Comfort gives 10 websites and landing pages and Power gives unlimited.

Integrations

AWeber lists 750+ integrations in total, including Facebook, PayPal, WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce and Zapier. MailerLite’s pricing page lists 100+. If your stack is small (a website, a form, maybe an e-commerce store), either one covers the typical bases. If you run less common tools, AWeber is more likely to have a native connector, so check your tools against both integration directories before you commit.

Deliverability

Both are strong. Our data lists 97.8% deliverability for AWeber and 97% for MailerLite. These are the vendors’ reported or catalog figures, not our own test. At these rates the real-world difference is small for a healthy sender. Neither should cause deliverability problems for typical small business use.

Who Should Choose AWeber

AWeber makes more sense if you need a wide integration library, want a large template selection as a starting point, or already know the platform and have no reason to migrate. Its free plan also gives you more subscribers (500 vs 250) if you want to start without paying.

Who Should Choose MailerLite

MailerLite is the stronger choice for most new users today. The lower entry price, 50 automations and 10 landing pages on Comfort, and a more current editor make it the better daily-use tool for small businesses, bloggers, and service providers. If you’re starting from scratch and your integrations are covered, MailerLite is the default pick at this price point.

Bottom Line

MailerLite beats AWeber on entry price ($12 vs $15 at 500 subscribers), automation and landing page limits at the entry tier, and editor quality. AWeber beats MailerLite on integration count (750+ vs 100+), free-plan list size and track record. For most people starting out in 2026, MailerLite is the better starting point. If you have a specific integration need that only AWeber covers, AWeber earns its place.

Sources

1. AWeber Pricing — accessed 2026-10-05
2. AWeber Free Email Marketing — accessed 2026-10-05
3. AWeber Email Marketing (free plan limits, 750+ integrations) — accessed 2026-10-05
4. MailerLite Pricing — accessed 2026-10-05