Quick verdict
- Pick Sender if you want the bigger free plan or the lowest bill for plain email marketing. Sender’s Free Forever plan covers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, and its Standard plan costs less than MailerLite Comfort at every list size we priced, from 500 to 10,000 subscribers.
- Pick MailerLite if your newsletter is part of a creator business: a website with a blog, landing pages, paid newsletters, digital products and bookings, and RSS-to-email all live in the same account. Comfort is $19 a month (or $17.10 billed yearly) at up to 1,000 subscribers. It’s our pick for most creators.
- The catch with each: Sender’s pricing and feature pages don’t list a website builder, paid newsletter subscriptions, digital-product sales or RSS campaigns. MailerLite’s Free plan stops at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, a tenth of Sender’s free list.
Start free on MailerLite See Sender pricing
The MailerLite button is an affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid plan, at no extra cost to you. The Sender button is a plain link.
MailerLite vs Sender side by side
| Dimension | MailerLite | Sender |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Active subscribers; unsubscribed and bounced don’t count | Subscribers, with a monthly email allowance tied to each tier |
| Free plan | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month | Up to 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month |
| Free trial | 14-day premium trial, no payment method needed | 14 days of the Professional plan on every new Free account, no card |
| Cheapest paid plan | Comfort from $12/month (500 subscribers) | Standard from $9/month (500 subscribers) |
| Monthly emails on paid plans | Comfort: 10× your tier’s ceiling. Power: unlimited (fair use) | Standard: 12× subscribers. Professional: 24× subscribers |
| Automations | Visual builder on every plan. Free: 3 (5 steps). Comfort: 50 (100 steps). Power: unlimited, with multiple triggers | Automation builder on every plan, with unlimited triggers and steps listed on all plans. SMS in automations from Professional |
| Vendor logo | On Free; removed on Comfort and Power | Required on Free; removed on every paid plan |
| Website builder | Free: 1 website. Comfort: 10. Power: unlimited. Blog section on every plan | Not listed on its pricing or feature pages |
| Landing pages | Free: 1. Comfort: 10. Power: unlimited. Custom domains from Comfort | Free: 10. Paid plans: unlimited. Custom domain from Standard |
| Paid newsletters, digital products | Paid newsletters and recurring subscriptions on Comfort and Power; digital products and bookings on every plan (1 / 5 / unlimited) | Not listed on its pricing or feature pages |
| SMS and transactional email | SMS not listed; transactional email points to MailerSend, a separate product | SMS from Standard; transactional email (API and SMTP) on every plan, including Free |
| Seats | Free 2, Comfort 3, Power unlimited | Free 1, Standard 3, Professional 10 |
| Support | Free: live chat for the first 14 days, then community support. Comfort: 24/7 email. Power: adds 24/7 live chat | 24/7 email and live chat on every plan; priority on Professional |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Prices at 500 to 10,000 subscribers
Both tools price paid plans by list size. MailerLite takes 10% off yearly billing. Sender takes 30% off the first year of yearly billing, “valid for first-time users”. The pricing page doesn’t say what a renewal year costs; the full list price is 12 monthly payments.
| Subscribers | MailerLite Comfort | Sender Standard | MailerLite Power | Sender Professional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12 / $10.80 | $9 / $6.30 | $25 / $22.50 | $15 / $10.50 |
| 1,000 | $19 / $17.10 | $15 / $10.50 | $39 / $35.10 | $20 / $14 |
| 2,500 | $33 / $29.70 | $27 / $18.90 | $49 / $44.10 | $44 / $30.80 |
| 5,000 | $49 / $44.10 | $39 / $27.30 | $69 / $62.10 | $79 / $55.30 |
| 10,000 | $89 / $80.10 | $69 / $48.30 | $129 / $116.10 | $127 / $88.90 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Monthly billing, then the per-month price on yearly billing. MailerLite’s yearly price is its standing 10% discount. Sender’s yearly price is its first-year price for first-time users, with 30% off. Sender’s pricing page doesn’t state the renewal price; the full list price for a year is 12 monthly payments. MailerLite says prices may be subject to applicable taxes; Sender’s FAQ says VAT isn’t included. Checked on mailerlite.com/pricing and sender.net/pricing, October 9, 2026.
What’s included at each tier
| Subscribers | MailerLite Comfort emails | Sender Standard emails | Sender Professional emails |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 12,000 |
| 1,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 24,000 |
| 2,500 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 |
| 5,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 120,000 |
| 10,000 | 100,000 | 120,000 | 240,000 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
MailerLite Power has unlimited monthly emails, subject to fair use. A weekly newsletter fits inside either entry plan’s allowance.
Reading the tables, by our arithmetic:
- Entry plans: Sender Standard costs less than MailerLite Comfort at every size on monthly billing: $3 a month less at 500 subscribers, $4 at 1,000, $6 at 2,500, $10 at 5,000 and $20 at 10,000. It also includes a slightly bigger email allowance.
- Yearly billing: in year one, Sender’s first-time discount widens the gap. At 1,000 subscribers, a year costs $126 on Sender Standard and $205.20 on MailerLite Comfort. Even at Sender’s full list price of 12 monthly payments ($180), a year of Standard costs less than a year of Comfort ($205.20).
- Top plans: Sender Professional is cheaper than MailerLite Power at 500, 1,000 and 2,500 subscribers, MailerLite Power is cheaper at 5,000 ($69 against $79), and they’re $2 apart at 10,000. Power has unlimited sending; Professional caps it at 24× your subscribers.
- Where MailerLite earns its price: the website builder, paid newsletters, digital products and RSS campaigns below. If you won’t use those, Sender is cheaper.
Every MailerLite tier is in our MailerLite pricing guide.
Free plans compared
Sender Free Forever covers up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month with no daily sending limit, and Sender says it never expires. It includes email campaigns, the automation builder, signup forms and popups, up to 10 landing pages and transactional email through an API or SMTP. The limits: Sender branding stays on emails, forms and landing pages, you get one seat, email A/B testing and SMS aren’t included, and landing pages can’t use a custom domain.
MailerLite Free covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations (5 steps each), 1 website, 1 landing page, 1 digital product or booking, 3 signup forms, email A/B testing and 2 seats. The MailerLite logo stays on, and once you pass 250 active subscribers, sending is locked until you upgrade or remove subscribers. See our MailerLite free plan guide.
Which free plan fits? For a free list between 250 and 2,500 people, Sender is the clear winner: MailerLite would already need Comfort. Under 250 subscribers, MailerLite Free adds a website with a blog and a digital product, which Sender doesn’t list at all.
Trials: every new Sender Free account gets 14 days of the Professional plan with no card, and Sender says the trial ends automatically and you stay on Free. MailerLite gives every new account a 14-day premium trial with no payment method needed; its trial help says the trial runs within the Free plan’s 250-subscriber and 2,500-email limits.
Automations
Both tools have a visual automation builder on every plan, with premade workflows. Sender lists unlimited triggers and automation steps, automation splits and custom-event triggers on all plans, including Free. Professional adds SMS steps and multichannel automation. On paper, Sender’s free automations are less limited than MailerLite’s.
MailerLite’s builder allows 3 active automations on Free (5 steps each), 50 on Comfort and unlimited on Power, with up to 100 steps on paid plans and multiple triggers on Power. Where it pulls ahead is what the automations connect to: RSS campaigns and auto-resend from Comfort, plus e-commerce triggers and the purchases from MailerLite’s own digital products and paid newsletters.
Creator features: websites, paid newsletters and products
- Website builder: MailerLite includes a website builder with a blog section, SEO settings and password-protected pages: 1 site on Free, 10 on Comfort and unlimited on Power, with custom domains from Comfort. Sender’s pricing and feature pages list landing pages and forms, but no website builder.
- Landing pages: this one goes to Sender on volume. Its Free plan allows 10 landing pages and paid plans unlimited, against MailerLite’s 1 on Free and 10 on Comfort.
- Paid newsletters: MailerLite lists paid newsletters and recurring subscriptions on Comfort and Power, through Stripe. Sender’s pricing and feature pages don’t list paid newsletter subscriptions.
- Digital products and bookings: MailerLite sells them on every plan (1 on Free, 5 on Comfort, unlimited on Power). Sender lists store integrations such as Shopify and WooCommerce, not its own checkout.
- RSS-to-email: MailerLite lists RSS campaigns from Comfort. We didn’t find RSS campaigns on Sender’s pricing or feature pages.
Where Sender pulls ahead beyond price
Sender bundles a few things MailerLite doesn’t list on its pricing page. Transactional email (receipts, password resets and other app-triggered messages) through a REST API or SMTP is on every Sender plan, including Free; MailerLite points transactional email to MailerSend, a separate product with its own pricing. SMS campaigns start on Standard, and Professional includes free SMS credits equal to the monthly subscription fee. Support is 24/7 by email and live chat on every Sender plan.
Which should you choose?
Choose MailerLite if…
- You want your newsletter, website and blog in one place.
- You plan to charge for a newsletter or sell digital products or bookings without adding another tool.
- You publish a blog or podcast elsewhere and want RSS campaigns to send new posts automatically.
- You send heavily: Power’s unlimited sending is cheaper than Sender Professional at 5,000 subscribers.
Start free on MailerLiteAffiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid plan, at no extra cost to you.
Choose Sender if…
- You want to stay free past 250 subscribers: up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month.
- You only need email campaigns, automations, forms and landing pages, and want the lowest monthly bill.
- You also need SMS or transactional email in the same account.
See Sender’s pricing page. Weighing other free plans? Read our best free newsletter platforms roundup or MailerLite vs EmailOctopus. Pricing by emails sent instead? See MailerLite vs Brevo.
FAQ
Is Sender cheaper than MailerLite?
Yes, on the entry plans. Sender Standard costs less than MailerLite Comfort at 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 subscribers, on monthly and yearly billing. On the top plans, MailerLite Power is cheaper than Sender Professional at 5,000 subscribers (checked October 9, 2026).
Is Sender’s free plan really free?
Yes. Sender says its Free Forever plan never expires and needs no card: up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with Sender branding on emails, forms and landing pages.
Does Sender have a website builder or paid newsletters?
Neither is listed on Sender’s pricing or feature pages. MailerLite includes a website builder with a blog on every plan and paid newsletters on Comfort and Power.
Related
- MailerLite for creators · MailerLite pricing · MailerLite free plan
- Best free newsletter platforms
- MailerLite vs Brevo · MailerLite vs EmailOctopus
- Mailchimp alternatives
- All comparisons
Sources (checked October 9, 2026)
- MailerLite pricing page: plans, prices by subscriber tier, comparison table, subscriber-counting and email-limit FAQ
- MailerLite help: what’s in the 14-day premium trial: trial limits, no payment method, live chat for the first 14 days
- MailerLite paid newsletters page: paid newsletter subscriptions through Stripe
- Sender pricing page: plan cards, subscriber selector, first-year yearly discount, plan comparison table and FAQ (Free Forever plan, 14-day Professional trial, VAT)
- Sender features page: campaigns, SMS, automation, transactional email, landing pages, forms and integrations
MailerLite and Sender are trademarks of their owners. We run Creator Mail Stack independently, and it is not endorsed by either company. We’re in MailerLite’s affiliate program, as described in the disclosure, and have no relationship with Sender. Found something out of date? Tell us.