Retained background comparison

MailerLite vs Kit (ConvertKit)

Email platforms for founder newsletters and small communities

Previous conclusion

Choose MailerLite for simple course/community automations and price-sensitive early lists. Choose Kit when the newsletter itself is central to a creator business.

Price check

MailerLite: Free up to 1,000 subscribers. Kit (ConvertKit): Free plan available.

MailerLite

Best for: Founders who need affordable newsletters, course emails, landing pages, and simple automations.

Avoid if: Your creator business needs advanced newsletter monetization workflows and segmentation from day one.

Open MailerLite

Kit (ConvertKit)

Best for: Creator founders and newsletter businesses where email is central to the business model.

Avoid if: You just need the cheapest basic newsletter tool for a tiny list.

Open Kit (ConvertKit)

Background sources

Claims retained for decision context

These vendor, review, and case-study sources are not founder-interview evidence and do not establish a universal winner.

Biased but useful case-study · 2026-06-23 Course delivered to 12,000 students. MailerLite says 100DaysOfNoCode used email automations to deliver a course. Vendor-authored but specific and audience-relevant. Source: MailerLite / Max Haining

Directional case-study · 2026-06-23 Sold out online course in 6 hours; example campaign had 86.26% open rate and 7% CTR. Buildcamp used MailerLite email/segmentation for a course launch; page reports high engagement on active subscriber segment. Vendor-authored but has concrete launch and engagement numbers. Source: MailerLite / Buildcamp

Directional case-study · 2026-06-23 Early emails had >70% open rates; welcome-email response rate around 25% in first weeks. Blogging for Devs used an email course/newsletter funnel to attract engaged subscribers. Vendor-authored but very relevant creator/founder context with concrete engagement metrics. Source: Kit / Monica Lent

Directional case-study · 2024-09-09 Maintains +50% open rate with 27,000+ subscribers. RadReads uses Kit automations and dedicated content to serve its audience. Vendor-authored but strongly relevant to creator/newsletter use case. Source: Marijana Kay, Kit / Khe Hy

Directional case-study · 2026-06-23 Email list grew 50% to 320,000+ subscribers; around 40% opens and 3% clicks remained steady. Daily Stoic made email the foundation of its marketing strategy on Kit. Vendor-authored but quantified and strong for creator-newsletter fit; larger than solo-founder v1 audience. Source: Kit / Ryan Holiday