Meta description: Flodesk vs MailerLite for small brands after Flodesk’s November 2026 plan change: design tools, free-plan limits, verified USD prices, and who each one suits.
Flodesk and MailerLite both chase small brands that want email without an enterprise CRM. What they lead with is different. Flodesk sells design: polished templates, visual workflows and, on its higher plan, checkout. MailerLite sells a public price table that rises with list size, plus more automation room as you move up a plan, and its public docs say it stores data in the European Union.
This comparison is for boutique brands, makers, coaches and small online shops. USD prices below come from official vendor pages checked on 14 November 2026 (Europe/Amsterdam). There are no affiliate links on this page. See our affiliate disclosure.
Quick verdict
| You are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A brand that cares most about on-brand, good-looking emails and wants one flat bill as the list grows | Flodesk Email | Unlimited subscribers and emails at one published price |
| A small business that wants cheaper automation while the list is still small | MailerLite Comfort or Power | Comfort is $12/mo at 500 subscribers and $19/mo at 1,000 |
| Under 250 contacts and testing email | MailerLite Free | Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month |
| Building sign-up pages now, sending later | Flodesk Free | Forms and landing pages; email sending is not included |
Neither replaces a sales CRM like ActiveCampaign. If you want paid newsletter subscriptions with no platform cut, look at beehiiv. For free plans, automation and prices on Kit, beehiiv and MailerLite, see Kit vs beehiiv vs MailerLite.
Free plans: the first real difference
| Flodesk Free | MailerLite Free | |
|---|---|---|
| Sends email | No: forms, landing pages and link-in-bio pages only | Yes, within caps |
| Contact limit | Not a sending plan | 250 |
| Send cap | — | 2,500 emails a month |
| Vendor branding | Removing the Flodesk footer is listed on the paid Email plan | The MailerLite logo stays on Free; removal starts on Comfort |
| Good for | Collecting sign-ups while you decide | A tiny list sending real campaigns |
Flodesk Free is easy to misread in comparison tables. It is handy for forms and landing pages, but Flodesk says plainly that the Free plan does not include email sending or workflow automations. MailerLite Free is a small, capped sending plan.
Sources: flodesk.com/pricing, mailerlite.com/pricing.md, checked 14 November 2026.
Verified USD prices
Flodesk: two unlimited plans for new customers
As of 10 November 2026, new Flodesk members can buy two paid plans, Unlimited Email and Unlimited Everything. Both include unlimited subscribers and unlimited emails at one flat price. Legacy tiered plans (Lite, Pro, and the older Everything plan) stay with members who already have them, but they are no longer for sale to new customers.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | — | Email sending not included |
| $46/mo | $38/mo ($456/year) | Unlimited subscribers and emails; workflows, A/B testing, and removal of the Flodesk footer | |
| Everything | $99/mo | $79/mo ($948/year) | Everything in Email, plus checkout, unlimited sales pages, payment plans, upsells, subscriptions, and three seats |
Flodesk’s pricing page says annual billing is two months free compared with paying monthly. The listed annual totals are $456 for Email and $948 for Everything. Your price does not change as the list grows. Checkout is not included on Email.
If you already pay for a legacy Lite, Pro, or Everything plan, Flodesk says you can keep it at your current price unless you choose to switch. This comparison is written for someone choosing a plan as a new customer on 14 November 2026.
Source: flodesk.com/pricing and Flodesk’s help article Flodesk pricing: the new Unlimited plans and what happens to older plans (as of 10 November 2026), both checked 14 November 2026.
MailerLite: contacts counted across the billing cycle
Unsubscribed and bounced contacts don’t count, but the count is cumulative over the billing cycle: anyone active at any point still counts, even if you delete them later. MailerLite’s pricing document says annual billing takes 10% off.
| Band | Comfort monthly | Comfort annual-eff. | Power monthly | Power annual-eff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12 | $10.80 | $25 | $22.50 |
| 1,000 | $19 | $17.10 | $39 | $35.10 |
| 5,000 | $49 | $44.10 | $69 | $62.10 |
Annual-effective means the monthly equivalent when you pay yearly, not a month-to-month price. Comfort allows monthly sends of 10 times your tier ceiling, 50 active automations, and up to 100 automation steps. Power has unlimited monthly emails (subject to fair use), unlimited automations with up to 100 steps each, multiple automation triggers, and unlimited seats.
Source: mailerlite.com/pricing.md and mailerlite.com/pricing, checked 14 November 2026.
For how Flodesk and MailerLite sit next to Kit, beehiiv, GetResponse and ActiveCampaign, see our email marketing software pricing comparison.
Design or automation: what a small brand is really paying for
Flodesk: design first, with a flat bill
Flodesk’s pitch is that your emails should look like your brand without a designer on retainer. Templates and visual editing sit at the center of the product. For new customers, both paid plans include unlimited workflows, so the old Lite limit of one workflow no longer applies if you are buying today.
What that means:
- Email is enough if you only need to send and automate. Checkout, payment plans, and extra team seats sit on Everything.
- The bill stays the same at 500, 5,000, or 50,000 subscribers. That is the main pricing contrast with MailerLite.
MailerLite: cheaper at the start, then the list size shows up on the invoice
Comfort covers forms, campaigns, and automations at a low entry price. Power adds unlimited sends, unlimited automations, multiple triggers, and unlimited seats.
What that means:
- At about 500 contacts, Comfort costs $12/mo against Flodesk Email at $46/mo.
- At 1,000, Comfort is $19/mo and Power is $39/mo, still below Flodesk Email’s $46/mo monthly price. Flodesk Email billed annually ($38/mo) undercuts Power’s monthly $39, but Power still costs less on MailerLite’s own annual rate ($35.10).
- At 5,000, MailerLite Comfort is $49/mo and Power is $69/mo, while Flodesk Email is still $46/mo ($38/mo billed annually). This is where Flodesk’s flat price starts to win on cost.
- Comfort’s 10× send cap is plenty for a weekly newsletter. A daily send to the whole list can exceed it, so check your volume.
Side by side
| Topic | Flodesk (new customers) | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan sends email | No | Yes (up to 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails a month) |
| Who counts on the bill | Subscriber count does not change the paid price | Anyone active during the billing cycle, in published bands |
| Paid entry, monthly | Email $46 / Everything $99 | Comfort $19 / Power $39 at 1,000 subscribers ($12 / $25 at 500) |
| Price at 5,000, monthly | Still $46 / $99 | Comfort $49 / Power $69 |
| Unlimited sends | Both paid plans | Power (fair use); Comfort capped |
| Checkout | Everything only | Not Flodesk-style checkout; MailerLite sells digital products and bookings as plan features |
| Design focus | The headline | Templates exist, but not the main pitch |
| Data storage | Not used as a claim here; check Flodesk’s own privacy terms | Public pricing FAQ: stored in the EU |
Worked scenarios
Scenario A: maker brand, 400 customers on the list, 2 campaigns a month
| Option | Monthly tool cost | Fit |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite Free | Not an option at 400 (limit 250) | Only if the list really stays under 250 |
| MailerLite Comfort (500 band) | $12/mo | Likely the best value |
| Flodesk Email | $46/mo, or $38/mo billed annually | Worth it if templates and a flat future bill are why you open the app |
Scenario B: boutique shop, about 900 active contacts, welcome and post-purchase flows
| Option | Monthly / annual-eff. | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite Comfort (1,000) | $19 / $17.10 | 10× send cap; multiple automation triggers are Power-only |
| MailerLite Power (1,000) | $39 / $35.10 | Multiple triggers; unlimited sends |
| Flodesk Email | $46 / $38 | Unlimited workflows; no checkout |
| Flodesk Everything | $99 / $79 | Only if you need Flodesk checkout, sales pages, or extra seats |
Scenario C: growing toward about 5,000
At 5,000 subscribers, MailerLite Comfort is $49/mo and Power is $69/mo, or $44.10 / $62.10 on annual billing. Flodesk Email is still $46/mo, or $38/mo billed annually. If the list is heading this way and you only need email, Flodesk Email is now the cheaper paid option of the two on these published prices. If you also want Flodesk checkout, Everything is $99/mo ($79/mo billed annually), which is above MailerLite Power at this size.
Who should pick which
| Profile | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Visual brand that expects the list to grow and wants one flat bill | Flodesk Email | Design is the product, and the price no longer steps up with list size |
| Price-sensitive coach or consultant under 1,000 contacts | MailerLite Comfort | Lowest paid entry in this comparison |
| Needs multiple automation triggers soon | MailerLite Power | Multiple triggers are Power-only |
| Sells through Flodesk checkout, payment plans, or extra seats | Flodesk Everything | Those features are not on Email |
| Just collecting sign-ups for now | Flodesk Free or MailerLite Free | Different free jobs: Flodesk Free doesn’t include email sending; MailerLite Free does, within its caps |
| Heavy ecommerce flows plus a sales CRM | Probably neither | Look at ecommerce- or CRM-focused tools instead |
Switching notes
- Recount contacts under the new vendor’s billing rule before assuming your list got “smaller.”
- Expect to rebuild templates; designs rarely transfer one-to-one.
- Carry over consent records and preference-center settings where required.
- Flodesk to MailerLite: you gain a lower starting price and MailerLite’s public band table, and you give up Flodesk’s design-first workflow and flat unlimited pricing.
- MailerLite to Flodesk: don’t move to Flodesk Free expecting to keep sending. New paid plans are Email or Everything, not the old Lite or Pro plans.
How to compare the email designs fairly
Build the same short email in both editors: a heading, a paragraph, one image and a call to action. Use your own copy and assets so you are comparing the work you will actually do, not two different showcase templates.
- Preview on a narrow mobile screen. Is the main action easy to find and tap?
- Check the message with images unavailable. Does the offer still make sense in text?
- Follow the links and review the unsubscribe experience.
- Ask the person who will send next month’s newsletter to make a small edit. Record the steps and friction rather than declaring one editor universally easier.
These are suggested checks, not tests we have run. Confirm any editor feature you rely on in the plan you intend to buy.
Before you pay annually
To turn a plan’s price into program return or tool-cost break-even, use our email marketing ROI calculator.
- Count contacts the way that vendor bills.
- List the workflows you need (welcome, post-purchase, win-back).
- If you need checkout or extra seats, compare Flodesk Everything with the rest of your stack, not only Email.
- Check MailerLite Comfort’s send cap against your monthly volume.
- Price your real list size on both official pages, especially if you expect to pass a few thousand contacts.
- Then choose monthly or annual.
Sources (public pages, checked 14 November 2026)
- Flodesk pricing and FAQ: https://flodesk.com/pricing
- Flodesk help, new Unlimited plans (as of 10 November 2026): https://help.flodesk.com/en/articles/14551297
- MailerLite pricing: https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing and https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing.md
Email Stack Guide. See our Legal Notice and affiliate disclosure.