Mailerlite vs Brevo: Budget Champions Compared

Overview

Both Mailerlite and Brevo offer affordable email marketing for startups. Mailerlite focuses on email with a clean interface. Brevo offers multi-channel marketing in one platform. Both are solid budget choices.

The quick answer: Mailerlite is better for pure email marketing. Brevo makes sense if you need SMS and chat alongside email.

Key Differences

Pricing Model

Mailerlite prices based on contacts. Simple and predictable. You know what you pay based on list size.

Brevo prices based on emails sent. This benefits startups with large lists but infrequent sends. You only pay for what you use.

Multi-Channel vs Focus

Brevo includes SMS, WhatsApp, chat, and CRM. If you need multi-channel marketing without multiple tools, Brevo consolidates your stack.

Mailerlite focuses purely on email and does it well. The interface is cleaner because it does not try to do everything.

User Experience

Mailerlite has a cleaner, more modern interface. Navigation is intuitive. Learning curve is gentle.

Brevo can feel cluttered with all its features. Finding specific settings takes more time.

Pros and Cons

Who Should Choose What

Choose Mailerlite if:

• You only need email marketing
• You value clean interfaces
• You want predictable pricing
• Website builder is useful
• Simplicity is priority

Choose Brevo if:

• You need SMS and chat
• You want multi-channel in one platform
• You have many contacts, few sends
• You need a built-in CRM
• Transactional email is important

Consider Sequenzy for SaaS

Neither Mailerlite nor Brevo has native billing integration for SaaS. If you use Stripe, Polar, Creem, or Dodo, Sequenzy offers automatic billing data sync and revenue attribution. At $19/mo, Sequenzy provides SaaS-specific features that both budget options lack.

The Bottom Line

Both are excellent budget choices. Mailerlite is better for pure email marketing with its clean interface and generous free tier. Brevo makes sense if multi-channel marketing matters more than simplicity.

For SaaS startups, consider starting with Mailerlite and upgrading to Sequenzy when you need billing integration and revenue attribution.