ConvertKit vs. MailerLite vs. MailChimp: How do you know who to choose as your email service provider when there are so many options out there for bloggers? Today I’m breaking down what provider is best for what stage your blog or business is in, your budget, your tech level, and desired long-term targets.
Having an email list is crucial to growing an engaged base of loyal fans, repeat visitors, and happy customers. Most bloggers know and are comfortable with that fact but when it comes time to pick an email service provider to house their email list, many end up frustrated and confused.
So, whether you’re a newbie blogger or a long-time blogger, tech-savvy or tech-phobic, let’s walk through exactly which email service provider is going to be best for you: ConvertKit vs. MailerLite vs. MailChimp.
Skip to MailerLite details.
Skip to MailChimp details.
Skip to the verdict.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is kind of like the cool start-up of email service providers. It’s run by a small team and the owner, Nathan, is super accessible and hands on. For me, it’s the company I really WANT to see succeed because it’s made up of such wonderful human beings.
The functionality is geared towards professional bloggers (and other online entrepreneurs) and there are a million amazing things you can do with automations and subscriber tagging. For instance, I can have many different welcome autoresponder sequences and drop new subscribers into the one that would be best for them automatically based off which form they used to subscribe or even which they prefer.
I can tag my email subscribers down to the nth degree so I know, at a glance, every webinar a particular peep has attended or every product she’s ever been interested in.
Lead magnet delivery is a total breeze and makes life so easy when you’ve got several to manage.
One of my favorite things, which may seem small to some but I tremendously appreciate, is the fact that I can have multiple ConvertKit windows open at the same time. In the middle of writing a broadcast but need to check that my tags are set up properly? No problem- just open that setting up in another window. It sounds simple but I’ve found that will ‘break’ or basically mess things up in a lot of email service providers because of the way they’re coded.
The biggest issue for ConvertKit right now is that they’re growing SO fast. The growing pains are a real concern, just as for any start-up business, but I’m confident that they will continue to tackle them with the same grace, humility, and humor that they have so far.
Plus, they’re a little spendy with no free plan.
I use ConvertKit for The Art of Better Blogging because I love the tagging system, the plain-text email philosophy, and the ease of delivering content upgrades to my subscribers.
MailerLite
MailerLite popped up on my radar a few months ago, even though they’ve been in business now since 2010. The thing that impresses me about their way of operating the most is that ALL functionality is available with the ‘forever free’ plan which covers up to 1,000 subscribers.
Although the integrations aren’t nearly quite as robust as MailChimp, MailerLite allows their users to almost bypass many of the other tools out there that are needed to create a fantastic lead capturing system. Since all of their tools are fully drag & drop capable, building an embeddable opt-in form, pop up, subscribe button or landing page is ridiculously easy. Customization doesn’t require any CSS to achieve what exactly what you want, unlike ConvertKit, and their forms are gorgeous to begin with.
Which brings us to my favorite feature of MailerLite; the landing pages.
Instead of limited landing page capabilities (unless you code) with ConvertKit, MailerLite’s interface for building beautiful landing or squeeze pages is simple, easy, and intuitive. This solves the problem that so many bloggers have and are using other tools to accomplish.
Segments, groups, automation, autoresponder sequences- all included with even the free plan. Even the features and flexibility of these options has tremendously impressed me to the point that I’ve switched my lifestyle blog from ConvertKit to MailerLite.
MailChimp
MailChimp is where most bloggers seem to start out, although, thankfully, that trend is starting to shift. Newbie bloggers see Mailchimp as a free, easy way to start an email list. That’s true, to a point.
Of all the email service providers on this list, MailChimp is the one I do not recommend. Between their outdated layouts, limited functionality and a UI (user interface) that’s not really very intuitive, there are just better providers out there.
Any kind of automation or autoresponder sequence isn’t available on the free plan but they are sufficient on the paid plans. MailChimp can be a good fit for anyone selling physical products or digital products through WooCommerce or Shopify.
The two redeeming pluses on the MailChimp side are that pretty much everything under the sun has MailChimp integration and it’s free up to 2,000 subscribers. Well, not really 2,000, though, because if I opt into 3 different forms on your site to get different freebies or for different events, I’m counted as 3 different people. Whomp whomp.
Which email service provider is best for bloggers?
MailChimp is completely off the table here and it’s not even close. If you are making a full-time income from your blog or your business, ConvertKit is the best option. If you’re not yet bringing a decent amount in, or you’re running a hobby blog or website, I’d recommend MailerLite, hands down.
Do you use ConvertKit, MailerLite, MailChimp or something else? What are your pros & cons? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for this guide. I’ve been using Convertkit for a while but am not generating enough income to justify it. So was wondering if Mailerlite was worth switching. Your post has convinced me!
Thank you for this – it is really comprehensive and enlightening. I’m off to Miler Lite right now!!
Thank you for this awesome comparison/review. Yours is the best most detailed post I’ve come across and the confusion is starting to clear. 🙂 I’m wondering, I read somewhere that mail chimp and mailerlite don’t have a possibility to build a newsletter from Outlook. I know of bloggers who use outlook in mail chimp, so do you need several email addresses when you sign up with a ESP? Like one where you log in and another for contacting your subscribers? I hope that makes sense. I’m just trying to understand the steps required before signing up. (Leaning towards Mailerlite).
Thanks for that, Gladys! 🙂 Well, Outlook is nothing more than a program you use to access your email address. As long as you have an email address set up that you can access, everything you’ll need to do is on the MailerLite/MailChimp/ConvertKit website. The email to your subscribers won’t send through your system, it will send through the system of whichever email service provider you choose. Hope that helps! Thanks for taking the time to stop by today.
I’m building my blog theme and want to use Mailerlite. Do they merge with say, WP contact forms and how do they’re subscription forms (embedded) look compared to day Ninja? Being a novice, the automation I need would be to gather potential subscribers and notify them of a new blog post at same time.. I presume this can be done?? Thanks so much !
Hey there, Howard! Hmm… I’m not really sure. I don’t use WP contact forms or an RSS feed. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Hello!! I currently have mailchimp, and basically was in the process of moving over to Convertkit- when I happened upon Mailerlite. This article is super clear and awesome, and really justifies me for leaving mailchimp- but one question I do have… I wouldn’t consider myself a “hobby” blog. My blog JUST started; I have very little traffic and few subscribers. But I do have a business plan for it, and intend it to grow into an online business. I am just aware that things like this take time. Would you recommend starting with Mailerlite (it is soo much cheaper) and switching later? Or should I just say screw it and start with Convertkit because I am serious about building my blog into a business?
Hi Kate! Thank you for that. 🙂 I would recommend starting with MailerLite and swapping over to ConverKit when you start making a regular income. The issue with jumping right into paid services when you’re just starting up is that it’s quite easy for your blogging expenses to balloon to several hundred dollars a month without even realizing it- trust me. lol Thanks for stopping by!
Awesome thorough comparison! I heard many positive things about ConvertKit but I wasn’t familiar with MailerLite. Thank you for sharing!
I just switched from MailChimp to Convert Kit about a month ago. Wow, what a difference! This is a very well laid out comparison. Thank you!
Thank you for this comparison. I use MailChimp. I’ve considered ConvertKit, but I just can’t justify the cost right now…especially because my email list is so small. Once I can increase my list to over 100, then I’ll make the switch.
That’s totally understandable, Karyl. ConvertKit only makes sense when you’re bringing in enough profit to cover some operating expenses since it is a bit on the spendy side. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate you.
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been using MailChimp and have been thinking about switching to ConvertKit for a while – definitely going to make the change after reading this.
Dani x | http://www.flourishingfreelancer.com
Hey there, Dani! I really love CK and I can’t recommend them enough. Let me know if you need any help! 🙂
I love Convertkit so much. The tagging feature, the easy upload/download opt-ins, the non-spammy email format….all so good. You’ve put together a great summary of it’s features! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 Cheers, Mary Jane
Thanks, Mary Jane! I’m right there with you. I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
I use mailchimp and love it for the automation for my e-courses. I’ve been way too nervous to switch to anyone else as I’ve been with mailchimp for 4 years. I’m comfortable knowing what I know! It doesn’t allow me as much flexibility in design that I like or being able to have multiple opt-ins to one list. I’m hoping that they continue to grow and modernize though. I really hate learning new things when I have a growing business myself!
I agree, Marian! I hope MailChimp really starts to recognize that they’re being left behind in the world of email service providers and kicks it into high gear. Thanks for stopping by!
This is a great post! I’ve been hating Mailchimp – they suspend your account too often for unsubscribes, etc. I’m switching to Mailerlite STAT! Thanks so much xo, Natalie http://natalieast.com
Hi Natalie! Hmm… I would work on getting to the root of why they’re suspending your account first. If it’s a high unsub rate, there are a few things that you can do to bring that rate down. If you’re seeing unsubscribe rates of more than the high single digits, there are some strategies you can easily implement to fix that.
I am just in the process of switching from Mailchimp to Convertkit, so this is great! Thank you!
http://www.theeditorialistla.com/
Congrats Marissa! You’re going to LOVE CK!
Wow this is amazingly helpful! As a new blogger, email lists have daunted me! I know they’re important but I haven’t known where to start. Heading to MailerLite today to get started! Do they have an easy integration so I can move my list from MailChimp to MailerLite?
Hey there, Fi! Yep, just go to MailChimp and export your list. They’ll send you a .CSV file in a ZIP archive. Unzip it. Go to MailerLite and upload the .CSV file in the ‘import’ screen. Done!
This was great!! I started to use mailchimp but it was so confusing that I became discouraged. Thank you gor such a thorough post!!
Thanks for popping over, Liz! You can do this, just keep at it. 🙂 It’s one of the most important things you can do for the growth of your blog.
Great info, Jenn! I currently have MailChimp, and I’m going to be honest, I have absolutely no idea how to use it. I don’t think I’ve even logged in for the last couple of months, mainly because I could never figure out how to get it to do what I wanted. I am going to take your advice and check out MailerLite – I have a small subscriber list (literally I just keep it as a “Notes” list on my phone…) so I need to get serious about building it. So glad you shared your insights to the three – I’m excited to make the switch!
Hi there, Sara! I find that a lot of new bloggers are in the same boat. MailChimp isn’t all that intuitive and can feel a bit overwhelming. Thanks for stopping by!
This is exactly what I needed! I think I am going to go with Maillite because it seems the most user friendly. I have no idea what I am doing and I like that it is free while I figure it out!
That’s a great strategy, Ashley! I think you’ll really like MailerLite, it’s pretty intuitive and easy to use.
I hadn’t heard of MailerLite before, I’ve only heard people talking about MailChimp, so that’s what I have. However, MailerLite does sound nice, especially with easy to make landing pages. I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.
That’s actually why I decided to write about it- MailerLite is one of the best kept secrets out there right now! Their landing pages are so easy!
I’m going to give Mailerlite a try. Mailchimp is good but I’d like an autoresponer.
Let me know how you like it, Tiffany!
Thanks so much for the info! I’ll be making the switch from MailChimp to MailerLite.
It’s my pleasure, Becky! Switching is super easy so you should be thrilled pretty quickly! 🙂
Very helpful! I think I am going to make the switch.
Thanks, Shelley! Let me know if you need any help switching!
I need help switching to mailer lite. Thanks for this post
Hey Chiomah! Feel free to post the details in the Facebook group and tag me so I can help you in detail. Here’s the group URL: theartofbetterblogging.com/group