FlockStack vs MailerLite

The short version

MailerLite is a general email marketing tool. Besides newsletters it builds websites, landing pages and forms, and it sells digital products. Its price follows the number of active subscribers, in steps, in two paid plans. FlockStack is for newsletters: it is priced by the emails you send, has its API and MCP server on every plan, and its code is open source.

At the list sizes in the table below, with one issue a week and billed monthly, a FlockStack plan costs less than MailerLite's, per MailerLite's pricing page read on October 21, 2026. If you want landing pages, forms and a website builder in one tool, MailerLite has them and FlockStack does not.

Choose MailerLite if

• You want more than a newsletter in one tool. MailerLite's pricing page lists websites, landing pages, forms, digital products and bookings, with more of each on Comfort and Power. FlockStack sends newsletters, publishes them on an archive site and has signup forms.
• You want a long list of integrations. MailerLite's page listed 100+ integrations on its Free plan when we read it on October 20, 2026. FlockStack connects through its API, webhooks, Zapier and Make.
• You send a big list every day. MailerLite's Power plan lists no cap on monthly emails beyond fair use, and its price follows subscribers. FlockStack counts every email.
• Your list is small and you will not charge. MailerLite's Free plan holds 250 subscribers. Compare that with FlockStack's Free plan in the table.

Choose FlockStack if

• You send on a schedule a plan holds. You pay for the emails, and readers who stop opening are set aside as dormant, so they don't count toward the cap.
• You want to charge readers from the Free plan. FlockStack sells paid subscriptions, gifts and one-time products on every plan, through your own Stripe account, at 0%. MailerLite's Free plan has no paid newsletters. See the paid newsletter platform page.
• You want agents to run it, from the Free plan. The REST API has 234 endpoints and the MCP server lets ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor or Codex use the same actions, with write access on every plan. MailerLite's Free plan cannot send through its API or MCP server. See the newsletter API and the MCP server.
• You want the code. FlockStack is open source under the AGPL-3.0 at github.com/ankurmans/flockstack. Self-hosted newsletter software covers what running it takes.

What each costs at the same list size

MailerLite prices by active subscribers, in steps, and its two paid plans have the same features at a different price. Comfort limits monthly emails to 10 times the step, which a weekly issue to every subscriber stays well under. FlockStack is priced by the emails you send. The table shows the FlockStack plan that holds the list, beside MailerLite's Comfort and Power, billed monthly. MailerLite's yearly billing is 10% less, and a FlockStack yearly plan costs 10 months' price instead of 12.

Power adds more automations and websites, and Comfort has fewer. The plans do not include the same things: FlockStack's include the features on the pricing page. The newsletter cost calculator works out your own list, sends and paying readers.

Three newsletters, worked out

The calculator's three examples, billed monthly. Card processing is Stripe's standard US rate on both, and neither platform takes a share of sales. MailerLite's Free plan holds 250 subscribers and sells no paid newsletters, so the table prices Comfort, the plan where selling starts.

Fees on paid subscriptions

Neither takes a percentage. FlockStack sets no application fee on a sale, and MailerLite says it charges a flat monthly fee, takes 0% commission, and that only Stripe's fees apply. Readers pay your own Stripe account, at 2.9% + $0.30 for a US card. MailerLite's paid newsletters start on Comfort, use flat-rate or package pricing, and take cards only for recurring purchases. On FlockStack, selling works on every plan, with up to 3 paid tiers, gifts and one-time products.

Free plans

MailerLite cut its Free plan on June 16, 2026 to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, per its help center. It has 3 automations of up to five steps, keeps MailerLite's logo, has no custom domain and no paid newsletters, and sending locks if the list passes its limit. FlockStack's Free plan holds 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, with 2 automations, and adds a small "Sent with FlockStack" link.

API and agents

MailerLite's API is REST, with 120 requests a minute. Its official MCP server works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI, VS Code and Cursor through OAuth, and exposes tools for subscribers, campaigns, groups, segments, forms, automations and webhooks. Per its pricing page, paid plans have full API and MCP access, and the Free plan has limited access without sending. FlockStack's REST API and MCP server have the same 234 actions and write access on every plan.

Where FlockStack is the weaker pick

• No landing-page or website builder. MailerLite builds them; FlockStack publishes issues on an archive site.
• Fewer ready-made integrations. FlockStack connects through its API, webhooks and Zapier and Make.
• Not built around teams. MailerLite's Free plan has 2 seats. FlockStack currently does not offer team-role management.
• Paying subscribers can't be moved across yet. FlockStack can't attach a subscription that exists on another platform to a contact.

What this page leaves out

It compares what MailerLite publishes on its pricing page, help center and developer pages, and what FlockStack's plans and docs say. It does not compare editors, templates, deliverability, reporting or support, which we haven't tested side by side. MailerLite renamed its plans on June 16, 2026, and its yearly price above the steps shown here was not read. Check its pricing page before you decide. For more options than one rival, see Mailchimp alternatives, which lists MailerLite. FlockStack is not affiliated with MailerLite.

Moving from MailerLite

Export your subscribers from MailerLite as a CSV (only an account administrator can export, and only the columns you show are included), and FlockStack's contact import recognizes its column names, with each reader's status and signup date. Automations, landing pages and campaigns stay behind. The moving guide has the details for FlockStack.