AWeber vs MailerLite: Free Room, Paid Price and Setup Help

The short answer: while your list is under 500 people and the budget is zero, AWeber gives you more room: its free plan is titled 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month (AWeber free plan), against 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails on MailerLite's (MailerLite pricing). Once you pay, MailerLite costs less at every list size in the price table below, from $12 against $15 at 500 subscribers to $49 against $60 at 5,000 on the entry plans. AWeber earns its higher price when you want someone else to build the account or round-the-clock support.

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Both tools do the core job: forms, a newsletter editor, automations, landing pages and a way to sell. The difference is in how each one rations those things on the cheaper plan, and in how the price moves as the list grows.

Three checks before the trial:

1. Price the band you will reach, not the list you have. Both tools charge by band, so everyone from 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers pays the same. For example, a list of 2,400 that grows by 100 a month crosses 2,500 in its second month, and from then on AWeber Lite bills $60 instead of $35 (AWeber pricing). Budget the band you will be in at renewal.
2. Count the lists you already run. Export from your current tool and note how many separate lists and saved segments you send to. AWeber Lite allows 1 list and 1 custom segment; three newsletters for three audiences put you on Plus from day one.
3. Pick the one number both trials will be judged on. The click rate of your welcome sequence is a fair one: it exists in every tool, and it moves when the copy or the timing changes. Note today's figure before you rebuild the sequence anywhere.

Plan by plan

Read on the AWeber pricing page and the MailerLite pricing page, including MailerLite's full plan comparison.

What tips it

Both price in bands, with different jumps

Neither tool charges by the exact subscriber. AWeber's slider runs in bands of 0 to 500, 501 to 1,000, 1,001 to 2,500 and 2,501 to 5,000, with one price per band (AWeber pricing). MailerLite's page jumps at the same boundaries: a list of 2,600 is quoted at the 5,000 price (MailerLite pricing). The size of the step is what differs. Crossing 2,500 adds $25 a month on AWeber Lite, from $35 to $60, and $16 on MailerLite Comfort, from $33 to $49. A band system is easy to budget, and it is hardest on a list that sits just over a boundary.

How much the entry plan rations

AWeber Lite is a capable plan with tight edges: one list, three automations, three landing pages and one custom segment. MailerLite Comfort is roomier on the same price line, with 50 automations, 10 landing pages and unlimited segments, and it caps you on sends instead, at ten times the subscriber tier (MailerLite pricing). If you send one newsletter and one welcome sequence, both entry plans fit. If you run several audiences, Lite does not.

Help with the setup

AWeber sells a Done For You service: its team builds the template, a landing page, a sign-up form and a welcome series, then delivers newsletter drafts weekly, for the Plus price plus a setup fee shown on the pricing page as $79, struck down from $599 under a limited-time banner. AWeber also lists 24/7 support on Lite. MailerLite's Comfort plan lists email support, and live chat starts on Power.

What each costs at five list sizes

Monthly billing in USD, checked on 26 October 2026 on the AWeber pricing page and the MailerLite pricing page. Each figure is the price of the band that ends at that list size.

Annual billing narrows the gap: AWeber Lite for 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers drops to $50 a month and Plus to $75, while MailerLite's yearly toggle takes 10% off (AWeber, MailerLite).

An agent finds the leaking step

AWeber's MCP connector sits in the ChatGPT app directory and Claude's connector directory, and AWeber says it works on every ChatGPT plan, including Free (AWeber MCP). The use case it documents fits a small team well: ask which message in your welcome workflow loses the most people, and the assistant breaks the workflow down and shows the step where engagement drops. It can then draft a replacement email in the voice of your top performers, which lands in AWeber as a draft. The human check is built into that: AWeber saves the email as a draft for you to review, schedule and send, so a person edits it and decides when it goes out.

MailerLite runs the same pattern through its own MCP server, which drafts campaigns and automations and does not send without your confirmation.

The free route first

Start on AWeber's free plan if your list is under 500, or MailerLite's if it is under 250, and build the welcome sequence you already have. A week of real sign-ups tells you more about each editor than any feature table. If you then trial a paid plan, MailerLite's trial asks for no card, and AWeber's runs 14 days.

That $599-to-$79 banner deserves one plain sentence. A countdown on a setup fee exists to move the purchase forward. The fee is only worth paying if you would not build the account yourself, and the free plan answers that question for nothing.

Choose AWeber if your job is

• Starting a list from zero and keeping it free up to 500 subscribers.
• Handing the setup and weekly newsletter drafts to a vendor team.
• Running several lists with unlimited users and round-the-clock support on Plus.

Choose MailerLite if your job is

• Paying less for the same list at every size on the price ladder above.
• Running many automations and landing pages on the entry plan.
• Selling digital products or bookings from the same account as the newsletter.

FAQ

Which free plan is larger?

AWeber's: its free plan page is titled 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month (AWeber free plan), while MailerLite's free plan holds 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails (MailerLite pricing).

Does AWeber take a cut when I sell through it?

Its pricing page lists low transaction fees on AWeber Ecommerce: 1.0% on Lite and 0.6% on Plus (AWeber pricing).

Can I send more often on MailerLite's Power plan?

Yes. Power lists unlimited monthly emails, while Comfort allows ten times the subscriber tier, so 25,000 emails for 2,500 subscribers (MailerLite pricing).