Systeme.io vs MailerLite vs Kit for small business email

Email is still the marketing channel a small business owns outright. Social reach rises and falls with algorithms; your email list stays yours. Choosing the platform to run it on matters, because moving later means re-building forms, automations and templates.

Systeme.io, MailerLite and Kit (the company formerly called ConvertKit) are three of the most popular choices for small businesses and creators. They overlap, but each has a different centre of gravity: Systeme.io is an all-in-one selling platform with email built in, MailerLite is an email marketing tool first, and Kit is built around creators and newsletters. All plan details below come from each company's official pricing page, checked in October 2026. All three list prices in US dollars.

At a glance

Systeme.io: the all-in-one for selling

Systeme.io's pitch is that you should not need five tools to run an online business. One account gives you email marketing, sales funnels and landing pages, a checkout connected to Stripe or PayPal, online courses, a blog, a booking calendar and even an affiliate programme for people who promote your products.

The free plan is the headline. According to Systeme.io's pricing page, it supports up to 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course and unlimited email sends, never expires and needs no credit card. The limits bite elsewhere: the free plan allows only one automation rule and one email campaign. Paid plans are mostly about contact limits: Startup at $17 a month for 5,000 contacts, Webinar at $47 for 10,000, and Unlimited at $97. Every plan includes unlimited email sends and, per Systeme.io, 0% transaction fees.

The trade-off is depth. Its email editor and automation tools are capable but simpler than a dedicated email platform, and its page templates are less polished than specialist builders. If your business is a Shopify store, you probably don't need Systeme.io's checkout and funnels at all.

Read our full Systeme.io review.

MailerLite: clean, focused email marketing

MailerLite does email marketing and does it tidily. You get three editors (drag-and-drop, rich text and custom HTML), a visual automation builder, sign-up forms and pop-ups, landing pages and simple websites. Integrations include Shopify and WooCommerce, so shops can trigger e-commerce automations like abandoned-cart reminders on paid plans.

The free plan has shrunk: as of October 2026 it covers up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month and 2 user seats, with 3 active automations. Paid plans are priced by subscriber count. Comfort starts at $12 a month and gives you ten times your subscriber tier in monthly sends; Power starts at $25 a month and includes unlimited emails, unlimited automations and 24/7 live chat support. New accounts get a 14-day trial of premium features, and nonprofits get 30% off.

For UK businesses, one practical point: MailerLite says its data is stored in the European Union and that it has GDPR controls in place. That doesn't remove your own UK GDPR responsibilities, but it can simplify your data-protection paperwork.

Read our full MailerLite review.

Kit: built for creators and newsletters

Kit is aimed squarely at creators: writers, YouTubers, podcasters, coaches. Its free plan is the most generous by list size, supporting up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and selling digital products and subscriptions. What it doesn't include is automation: visual automations and email sequences start on the Creator plan, listed at $33 a month billed yearly for 1,000 subscribers. Kit's Pro plan adds things like deliverability reporting, subscriber engagement scoring, a newsletter referral system and unlimited users.

Kit also offers free migration from another platform and 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans. It is a strong tool, but its features and language are tuned to creators rather than, say, a local services business or a product shop. We don't currently rank Kit in our main list, but it is a credible alternative if you are building a newsletter-led business. See Kit's pricing page.

Which is cheapest?

It depends on your list size and what you need:

• Under 250 subscribers and you just want to send newsletters: all three are free.
• 250 to 2,000 contacts and you need automations: Systeme.io's free plan covers the contacts but only one automation rule; its $17 Startup plan is the cheapest way to get unlimited sending plus more automation. MailerLite's Comfort plan is competitive at small list sizes.
• Up to 10,000 subscribers, broadcasts only: Kit's free plan is hard to beat.
• Selling courses or digital products: Systeme.io usually works out cheapest because it replaces a separate course platform and checkout.

Always check the live pricing pages before deciding, because subscriber tiers change: Systeme.io, MailerLite, Kit.

Deliverability

Every email vendor says its deliverability is excellent. We have not run independent inbox-placement tests, so we won't rank these tools on it. What matters more for a small sender is doing the basics: authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records (check each platform's help docs for its set-up steps), only email people who opted in, and remove inactive subscribers regularly.

Who should pick which?

Choose Systeme.io if…

• You sell courses, coaching, memberships or digital downloads.
• You want funnels, checkout and email in one place.
• Budget matters more than design polish.

Choose MailerLite if…

• You want a focused email tool that is easy for anyone on the team.
• You run a Shopify or WooCommerce store.
• EU data storage is a plus for you.

Choose Kit if…

• Your newsletter is the product, or the main way you reach your audience.
• You want to grow a large free list before paying.
• You plan to monetise with paid newsletters or recommendations.

Want to connect your email tool to everything else? Our Make vs Zapier guide covers the automation side.

Bottom line

For a typical small business selling its own expertise or digital products, Systeme.io offers the most for the least, which is why it tops our rankings. MailerLite is our pick for straightforward email marketing, particularly for shops. Kit wins for newsletter-first creators who want a big free list.

Frequently asked questions

Prices and plan limits change frequently. We note the date we checked each fact; always confirm on the vendor's official pricing page before buying. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.