MailerLite vs GetResponse — which should you choose?

MailerLite and GetResponse are both European and both at the cheaper end of the field, so they often end up in the same consideration. This pair has one feature most vs pages lack, though: the cheaper one changes mid-table. And once that is sorted out, the choice is settled by a third thing few comparisons mention.

The short answer

Choose MailerLite if the list is small. It is cheaper at a 500-contact list, it has a free plan, and cleaning out the inactive is in the app in one view.

Choose GetResponse if the list is large or if you run webinars. At a 10,000-contact list it is €120 a year cheaper, and sending is unlimited on every paid plan.

Comparison table

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Prices exclude VAT, billed monthly unless stated otherwise.

• The price is the monthly price of the cheapest paid plan at that list size. The Free plan column shows when you do not have to pay.
• GetResponse: the smallest list sold is 1,000 contacts, so the 500-contact column shows that price.

Prices side by side — the order changes mid-table

Both price by contact count and both in euros, so the figures are directly comparable.

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Cheapest paid plans (MailerLite Comfort, GetResponse Starter) read from the price lists (MailerLite, GetResponse) on 3 September 2026, monthly prices excluding VAT. GetResponse’s smallest list sold is 1,000 contacts, so the 500-contact row shows the price for a thousand contacts.

The crossover is between 500 and 2,500 contacts, and the reason is simple: GetResponse’s smallest list sold is 1,000 contacts. At a small list you therefore pay for nothing, and MailerLite is cheaper. After that GetResponse’s tiers are gentler, and the gap grows with the list.

The differences are still small: the largest is €120 a year. That is less than in most pairs in our comparison, and that is why price is not the axis on which to make this choice.

Deliverability: one difference from the help pages

We do not test deliverability ourselves. Below are two things: Tooltester’s 2017–2024 series as history — it ended in January 2024, and the source no longer stands behind its method — and eight points from the services’ own help pages, which are the current basis of this comparison.

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Tooltester ended the series with the January 2024 round and explained why in August 2026: seed lists proved unreliable and providers started optimising for them. The figures are therefore history, not a measurement of current deliverability.

Source: Tooltester deliverability test, 12 rounds 8/2017–1/2024. About 80 seed addresses, 28 providers, shared IP addresses. Average across all platforms in the latest round 83.1%. Average and range calculated from the published rounds.

Deliverability features from the help docs

Eight points read from each provider’s own help pages on 13 September 2026. This replaces percentages as a buying basis: a feature can be checked and dated, a seed-list result no longer can. Every cell links to the article it was read from.

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Yes = the help page describes the feature. No = the help page says it is absent or points to an external tool. — = not found in the help pages; that does not mean the feature is absent.

As history: in Tooltester’s series MailerLite’s average of 90.9% was the highest of the five we compare and GetResponse’s 83.8% the second-lowest, although in the last round the order had flipped. The series ended in January 2024, and this was the page’s biggest difference — now it is history.

Read from the help pages, the difference is small. GetResponse adds the DMARC record automatically (p=none) through the Entri integration; MailerLite gives the DKIM and SPF records and checks them, but for DMARC it shows an example and recommends a consultant. The other points are at both: MailerLite’s “Clean up inactive” and GetResponse’s List hygiene page, a dedicated IP and a deliverability team for large senders — at MailerLite from 50,000 weekly emails, at GetResponse only on the MAX plan.

Most of deliverability is still the sender’s own responsibility — authentication, list quality and sending pace: what Gmail and Yahoo require of senders.

Data location: both in the EU

MailerLite’s contracting party for EEA customers is Irish MailerLite Limited and the data is stored in the EU. GetResponse is a Polish company and its servers are in the EU. Both read from the services’ own privacy policies on 3 September 2026.

Data location therefore does not separate these two, and that is good news: at neither is a transfer basis outside the EU needed, and no transfer is recorded in your own policy. What still belongs in the policy: email marketing and GDPR.

Contact counting — a trap at both

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The rules are read from the providers’ own help pages. “Not read” means the rule could not be opened in the original source — we do not guess it in either direction.

• MailerLite. The limit counts subscribers in Active status; unsubscribed and bounced do not count. One trap in the billing period: the period is counted cumulatively, so an address that was active at any point in the period counts toward the limit until the end of the period, even if you delete it immediately. Cleaning the list shows on the bill only in the next period.
• GetResponse. Billing is set by two figures: the month’s highest number of active contacts and the total number of contacts added during the month, regardless of what later happens to them. The same address on several lists is counted several times. Exceeding the limit is not a one-off charge but recurs every billing period, on an annual contract too, and above 100,000 contacts the charge is $4 for every thousand started.

At MailerLite the unsubscribed do not count toward the limit, but the billing period is cumulative: an address that was active during the period counts toward the limit until the end of the period. Cleaning the list shows on the bill only in the next period.

At GetResponse there are three traps: billing is set by the month’s highest number of active contacts, additionally by the total number of contacts added during the month regardless of what later happens to them, and the same address on several lists is counted several times. One import can therefore push you permanently over the limit. All seven rules side by side: how contacts are counted.

The free plan and what the price includes

MailerLite’s free plan holds 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. GetResponse has no free plan at all, only a 14-day trial. In practice MailerLite can be tried without a time limit and GetResponse cannot.

On the paid plans the extras go in different directions. GetResponse has webinars built in and sending is unlimited on every plan. At MailerLite forms and landing pages are included in the price and the pricing has no feature gating in the same way — the Power plan costs €45 at 2,500 contacts. If the size of the free plan is a selection criterion, neither is the answer: free email marketing.

A third option

If you came to this page for the cheapest EU option, neither is it. At a 10,000-contact list Brevo asks €28 a month, while GetResponse asks €69 and MailerLite €79. Brevo’s flip side is that the price follows sending volume rather than list size. For a small list EmailOctopus handles 2,500 subscribers for free. The whole field’s prices side by side: best email marketing software.

Which one for you