Editorial note: This comparison uses the companies’ published US pricing and features checked September 2, 2026. Publish Smarter had no paid relationship with either company when this guide was published.
An author email platform has to do three jobs well: collect readers, deliver dependable launch emails, and stay affordable while the list grows. MailerLite and Kit both cover those basics, but their free plans make very different tradeoffs.
Key Takeaways
- Choose an email platform around the welcome sequence, newsletters, and reader signup you need.
- Compare MailerLite for a small list that needs starter automation and visual newsletter design.
- Compare Kit for a larger audience, tagging, and a broader creator business.
- Check automation access, future list costs, and export options before moving subscribers.
Table of Contents
- MailerLite vs Kit at a glance
- The biggest difference: free capacity versus free automation
- Pricing for a growing author list
- Which editor is better for author newsletters?
- Automation: the author use cases that matter
- Choose MailerLite if…
- Choose Kit if…
- A simple decision for most authors
- Before you move your list
- Test the signup as a reader, not as the account owner
- Move an existing list without creating two competing systems
- Final verdict
- Frequently asked questions
Give new subscribers one clear path
Once your email platform is ready, send podcast listeners to a focused signup page with one useful reader incentive instead of a crowded homepage.
MailerLite vs Kit at a glance
| Decision point | MailerLite | Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Free subscriber limit | 250 | Up to 10,000 |
| Free sending | 2,500 emails per month | Unlimited broadcasts |
| Free automation | 3 automations, up to 5 steps each | No automated sequences or visual automation builder |
| Free forms/pages | 3 forms; 1 website and 1 landing page | Unlimited landing pages and forms |
| Entry paid plan | Comfort starts at $12/month | Creator starts at $39/month, or $390 billed annually for 1,000 subscribers |
| Best fit | Budget-conscious authors who want design and starter automation | Creator businesses prioritizing list size, segmentation, and monetization |
Sources: MailerLite pricing and Kit pricing. Prices scale and can change, so confirm the checkout total for your list size.
The biggest difference: free capacity versus free automation
Kit lets a new creator keep up to 10,000 subscribers on its free plan and send unlimited broadcasts. That is an enormous runway if your strategy is a straightforward newsletter: collect readers, tag them, and send regular updates or launch announcements.
The catch matters for authors. A reader magnet normally works best with an automated welcome sequence: deliver the bonus, introduce your books, set expectations, and invite the reader to take one next step. Kit reserves unlimited email sequences and visual automations for its paid Creator plan.
MailerLite caps the free list at 250 subscribers and monthly sending at 2,500 emails, but includes three automations. That smaller allowance can still support a polished welcome funnel while an author proves that the lead magnet and emails work. When the list passes 250 active subscribers, sending is locked until the author upgrades or reduces the active count.
Pricing for a growing author list
MailerLite
- Free: up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails.
- Comfort: starts at $12 per month and includes more templates, up to 50 automations, 10 websites or landing pages, and removal of MailerLite branding.
- Power: starts at $25 per month and adds unlimited monthly emails, automations, forms, landing pages, and user seats, subject to fair-use terms.
MailerLite says paid pricing is based on subscriber count and sending volume. That makes it important to compare the exact tier for your real list—not only the attractive starting price.
Kit
- Free: up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, unlimited landing pages and forms, tagging, segmentation, and selling tools.
- Creator: $39 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, or $390 billed annually. It adds unlimited visual automations and sequences, integrations, A/B subject testing, removal of Kit branding, RSS campaigns, and support.
- Pro: $79 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, or $790 billed annually. It adds deeper analytics, engagement scoring, collaborative editing, more testing, and a referral system.
Kit becomes much more expensive when an author needs automated sequences, but the free plan delays the subscriber-count upgrade far longer. The best economic choice depends on whether list size or automation is your first constraint.
Which editor is better for author newsletters?
MailerLite offers drag-and-drop, rich text, and custom HTML approaches, plus templates and a stock image library. It is a better match for authors who want visually designed newsletters with book covers, event panels, boxed calls to action, and storefront-style sections.
Kit is oriented toward creator emails that feel direct and personal. It still supports custom templates on paid plans, but its strongest appeal is not decorative design. It is the creator workflow around forms, tags, broadcasts, recommendations, digital products, and automated sequences.
Neither visual style is universally better. A simple letter from the author can outperform a heavily designed email when the voice and offer are strong. Choose the editor you will actually use every month.
Automation: the author use cases that matter
- Reader-magnet delivery: send the promised story, checklist, or bonus chapter immediately.
- Welcome sequence: introduce the author, books, genre promise, and reading order over several days.
- Launch sequence: segment advance readers, buyers, and general subscribers so each group gets relevant messages.
- Backlist nurture: guide a reader from one book or series to the next.
- Re-engagement: identify readers who no longer open or click before paying to retain them.
MailerLite gives a beginner enough free automation to build the first two workflows. Kit’s free plan can deliver broadcasts and collect subscribers, but an author who wants a multi-email welcome path should budget for Creator or use a temporary manual process.
A three-email reader-magnet sequence to plan
| Purpose | Example next step | |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately after signup | Deliver the promised sample or bonus and confirm who it is for | Link to the download and explain the reading order |
| About two days later | Introduce the book’s reader promise and the author | Give one relevant book link and a short bio |
| About five days later | Start a reader conversation | Ask one easy question about their favorite kind of story |
This is a sample sequence, not a measured campaign result. Check automation eligibility before building it: MailerLite’s free plan has automation limits, while Kit’s free newsletter plan does not include automated sequences. A manual broadcast and an automated welcome sequence use different workflows. These author bio examples can help with the short introduction in the second email.
Choose MailerLite if…
- You have fewer than 250 subscribers and want an automated reader-magnet sequence now.
- You prefer a visual newsletter builder and more designed layouts.
- Your budget makes Kit’s paid entry price uncomfortable.
- You want websites, landing pages, forms, and a small digital product in one inexpensive starter account.
- You send often enough to value Power’s unlimited sending later.
Choose Kit if…
- You expect the list to grow beyond 250 quickly but only need broadcasts at first.
- You organize readers with tags and segments across genres, series, or products.
- You plan to sell digital products, paid newsletters, or subscriptions from the same platform.
- You want creator-network recommendations and a creator-centered ecosystem.
- You are ready to pay for robust visual automations and sequences.
A simple decision for most authors
Starting from zero with a reader magnet? MailerLite is the better first test. Build one landing page, one form, and a short welcome automation. The 250-subscriber cap is enough to learn whether readers want the offer before taking on a paid bill.
Planning to collect those subscribers after an interview? Use this podcast landing page guide to give listeners one clear next step before they enter the welcome sequence.
Already bringing in hundreds of subscribers from a launch, podcast, or social audience? Kit’s 10,000-subscriber free allowance can prevent an immediate upgrade. Just decide whether broadcast-only email is acceptable or whether the Creator plan belongs in the budget from day one.
Running a mature author business with several series and products? Compare the paid automation builders, reporting, integration list, and support using your actual workflow. At that stage, migration time and missing integrations can cost more than the monthly price difference.
Before you move your list
- Remove bounced and chronically inactive addresses.
- Export subscribers, tags, segments, forms, and automation logic from the old platform.
- Authenticate your sending domain before a launch week.
- Rebuild one welcome path and test every link on desktop and mobile.
- Send to the most engaged segment first, then watch bounces and complaints.
Test the signup as a reader, not as the account owner
Use an address that is not already on the list and open the signup page in a private browser window. Account owners can accidentally overlook restricted downloads, remembered form details, or pages that work only while they are logged in.
- Sign up from a phone. Check that the offer and the email expectation are clear before submitting.
- Complete any confirmation step your setup requires. Note which page and message appear at each stage.
- Open the delivery message and download the promised file without an administrator session.
- Follow the book link and reply to the email. Confirm that both reach the right destination.
- Unsubscribe using the message’s link. Check that the address stops receiving the ongoing messages it opted out of.
Repeat with an address already subscribed to the same offer. Does it receive a sensible response, or does the setup add it to the welcome path twice? Then test a reader who wants a different series. Your form labels, groups, tags, or segments should make those interests distinguishable without requiring you to remember each reader personally.
Write down what passed, what failed, and which feature is responsible. If the download works but follow-up messages do not, investigate the trigger, enrollment conditions, and plan eligibility before changing the offer itself. Kit’s current Free plan guidance distinguishes broadcasts from the paid automation features; test the workflow your actual plan supports.
Move an existing list without creating two competing systems
Choose a cutover day with no major launch broadcast scheduled. Map each old signup form to its replacement, including forms in book back matter, website sidebars, reader-magnet pages, and event QR codes. A forgotten form can keep adding subscribers to the old provider after you believe the migration is finished.
| Reader state | What to preserve | What to test |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribed and interested in one series | Subscription status and meaningful interest labels | The correct ongoing newsletter audience |
| Partway through a welcome path | The messages already received | A restart will not repeat the entire introduction unnecessarily |
| Unsubscribed or otherwise suppressed | The exclusion from future marketing | A general import does not reactivate the address |
Keep a dated export and a record of your mapping before changing forms. Compare subscriber counts by state rather than expecting two providers’ dashboard totals to match automatically. Their counting and status labels may differ.
Once the replacement forms pass your reader test, change the public links and stop the overlapping sends. Keep the old account available long enough to check that new signups are reaching the intended provider and that you can retrieve anything you still need. Decide who will monitor replies and delivery problems during the first ordinary newsletter send.
Judge the transition by functioning reader journeys, accurate subscription states, and manageable work—not by whether every old tag survives unchanged. Preserve labels that drive a real decision; leave behind organizational clutter that never affected a message.
Final verdict
MailerLite wins for a small, budget-conscious author list that needs automation and flexible design immediately. Its free ceiling is low, but the included starter automations solve a real author problem.
Kit wins for free list capacity and a long-term creator business. Its free plan is excellent for forms and broadcasts, while the paid Creator tier becomes compelling when tagging, sequences, integrations, and product sales all support the same audience.
Do not choose based on the subscriber limit alone. Write down the first automation you need, the list size you expect in twelve months, and the monthly revenue or book sales email must support. The right platform is the least expensive one that removes your actual bottleneck.
If you would rather combine an author website, mailing-list tools, blog, events, and optional direct book sales in one hosted system, read our Tertulia for Authors review. Its Basic plan collects subscribers; full email campaigns are part of Pro.
Frequently asked questions
Is MailerLite or Kit easier for a new author?
MailerLite is often easier when the goal is a visual newsletter plus a short reader-magnet automation. Kit is attractive when the goal is to collect a large audience and send simple broadcasts before paying.
Which free plan is more generous?
Kit is far more generous on subscriber capacity and broadcasts. MailerLite is more generous on starter automation. “More generous” depends on which limit you will hit first.
Can authors sell ebooks through either platform?
Both companies list digital-product selling features. Compare checkout fees, tax handling, delivery, and storefront requirements before replacing a dedicated retailer or ecommerce platform.