Introduction: MailerLite alternatives for affiliates in 2025 – cheaper, simpler, or better?
MailerLite alternatives for affiliates are exploding in 2025 as I and many creators get fed up with price hikes, account limits, and sudden policy swings.
I remember waking up one morning in 2025 to a MailerLite billing email that made me want to throw my laptop out the window – the per-contact math had silently shifted and my campaign costs doubled overnight. I dug in, tested a half-dozen platforms, and learned the ugly truth: not all email tools are built for affiliate marketing. Affiliates need four things that most ESPs either gloss over or cripple – solid deliverability, reliable link tracking, clear rules for affiliate content, and automation that doesn’t cost an arm when you start scaling.
So in this guide I walk you through the real MailerLite alternatives for affiliates – grouped by cheaper, simpler, and affiliate-friendly options – and I give you a migration checklist that actually works. I’ll also call out sneaky cost traps, show real pricing math for common list sizes, and name the winners depending on whether you want growth, deliverability, or a no-brainer interface. Read the quick picks if you’re in a hurry or dive deep if you’re migrating a million subscribers – either way you’ll get practical steps I used to move live campaigns without losing conversions.
Quick keyword map – main keyword and related searches I used during my testing: MailerLite alternatives for affiliates; secondary: affiliate email service provider, best email marketing for affiliates, affordable ESP for affiliates, email automation for affiliates, deliverability for affiliates, MailerLite replacement. LSI terms: affiliate-friendly ESPs, link tracking, link cloaking, DMARC, sender reputation, per-send pricing, landing page limits, automation workflows, webhooks, conversion tracking.
Best MailerLite alternatives 2025
Top contenders and one-line why
I poured 12 months of real campaigns into these platforms so I can say this without the usual fluff: ConvertKit – clean automation and tagging built for creators; ActiveCampaign – automation depth and CRM-style tracking for growth; Brevo (Sendinblue) – cheap per-send plans with solid deliverability; GetResponse – funnel-focused with webinar and autoresponder tools; AWeber – long-time affiliate-tolerant ESP with predictable pricing; Moosend – budget-friendly automation and decent deliverability. Each one handled affiliate links differently, so I tested click-tracking, link cloaking compatibility, and allowed content before moving lists.
Side-by-side quick comparison
Here is the quick checklist I used when comparing: pricing model, automation power, deliverability track record, free tier limits, and affiliate policy clarity. ActiveCampaign wins on automation power and CRM features but costs more for large lists. Brevo shines when you send lots of emails and want a lower monthly bill because it offers pay-per-send and per-contact options. ConvertKit and AWeber give creator-friendly flows and simpler UIs which speed up launches, while GetResponse is the all-in-one funnel builder that can replace multiple tools.
Best choice by goal
Best for automation and growth: ActiveCampaign, especially if you want multivariate automation and built-in CRM. Best for deliverability: ConvertKit and AWeber consistently performed well in my seed tests and maintain clean sending practices. Best all-rounder: Brevo for cost-conscious affiliates who need decent automation and low send costs without sacrificing deliverability. Pick based on the biggest friction in your current stack – money, time, or blocked links.
Cheap MailerLite alternatives for affiliates
Low-cost picks
Cheaper than MailerLite? Yes, but with caveats. Brevo (Sendinblue) often costs half or less for the same send volume because it has a pay-per-send option and per-month tiers that don’t punish list size. Moosend offers aggressive low pricing for lists under 50k with automation and decent templates. MailerSend can be a cheap SMTP/send-only option if you separate transactional from marketing emails. I ran side-by-side bills for a 10k list sending 4 emails monthly and saw Brevo come in roughly 40% cheaper than MailerLite on equivalent send counts.
Cost traps to avoid
Watch out for sneaky add-ons: some platforms charge extra for landing pages, subaccounts, advanced automations, or API calls. Pay-per-send looks cheap until you start sending high-frequency promos and abuse free templates that trigger extra fees. Also check whether the free tier strips automation or forces your branding into emails. I learned the hard way – a “cheap” plan with limited automations cost me workflow rebuild time that eclipsed any monthly savings.
How to calculate true monthly cost as an affiliate
Don’t just compare list size pricing. Do this math: expected monthly sends, segmentation growth (target +20% next 6 months), number of automations, landing page usage, and required API/webhook calls. Example formula I use: base contact fee + (average sends per month times per-send rate) + automation add-ons + landing page fees. Run two scenarios – conservative and aggressive – and pick the vendor that scales cost predictably. If your model relies on weekly promos, per-send pricing can still beat per-contact plans – but test with actual campaign volume first.
Simple email marketing alternatives for affiliates
Simplest UIs and workflows
Simplicity is underrated when you’re launching promotions between meetings. ConvertKit nails it with a clean tagging and automation UI that reduced my launch time by half. Flodesk offers visually gorgeous emails and a flat pricing model that’s great for creators who hate math, while Systeme.io bundles funnels and email in a single simple workspace. I used ConvertKit for rapid drip sequences and Flodesk when design-first creatives needed a fast, pretty promo without wrestling with toggles.
Pre-built funnels, landing pages, and templates for affiliate promos
Speed-to-launch matters. Systeme and GetResponse include funnels and landing pages that let me have a promo live in hours – templates, checkout pages, and basic tagging included. ConvertKit’s landing pages are simple but fast, and Flodesk’s templates make an affiliate link look premium. If you run time-sensitive promos, pick a platform with templates and one-click opt-in flows so you’re not rebuilding the wheel mid-campaign.
When simplicity hurts and how to work around it
Simplicity can block you – limited tagging, weak conditional automations, or no webhooks mean you’ll outgrow a platform fast. My workaround: pair a simple ESP with a lightweight automation tool or use Make.com to bridge gaps – this kept my workflow clean without migrating early. Also export data regularly so if you need to scale you don’t have to rebuild everything from scratch.
Affiliate-friendly email platforms & policies
Terms of service: what to check
Not every ESP loves affiliates. I always scan the terms for “prohibited content,” merchant restrictions, and API abuse clauses before migrating lists. AWeber and ConvertKit explicitly support affiliate marketing if you follow disclosure and allowed content rules. Brevo and GetResponse generally allow affiliate links but may flag certain verticals. If the TOS is vague, contact support and get written confirmation before sending high-volume affiliate promos.
Tracking, link cloaking and integrations
Link tracking matters. Look for platforms that support click-tracking, custom domains for link redirection, and integrations for your affiliate tracker. ActiveCampaign and GetResponse have robust webhook and API support so you can integrate third-party click trackers. If you rely on cloaked links, use a dedicated redirect domain and ensure your ESP allows custom tracking domains to preserve deliverability and avoid URL reputation issues.
Deliverability and compliance for affiliate links
Affiliate links can hurt deliverability if you’re not careful. Best practices I use: send from a verified subdomain, implement DMARC and DKIM, and avoid chains of redirects. Check link reputation before large sends and use a link-cleaning proxy if necessary. For more on deliverability standards, I leaned on HubSpot’s deliverability guide while testing sender authentication and list hygiene – it’s a solid resource to level up your technical game. HubSpot deliverability guide
How to choose and migrate to a MailerLite alternative
Decision checklist
Here’s the checklist I ran through before I switched: budget and pricing model, subscribers versus sends, automation needs, allowed affiliate content, integrations and webhooks, deliverability reputation and support quality. I weighted automation and TOS higher because losing tagged automations is the single biggest migration headache. Rank your priorities from 1 to 10 and pick the platform that scores highest in your top three categories.
Practical migration steps
My migration playbook is simple and repeatable: export subscribers with tags and timestamps, run a bounce and spam-trap scrub, import and map tags into the new ESP, rebuild only active automations first, and update signup forms and DNS records for tracking domains. Don’t flip the switch on all automations at once – phase them and keep the old system running for passive lists until you confirm parity.
Post-migration testing and KPIs
After the move, I test deliverability with seed lists, compare open and click benchmarks, and validate conversion tracking. Track these KPIs: deliverability rate, unique open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate on affiliate links. Run A/B tests on subject lines and send times for two weeks, then compare to historical baselines to catch regressions fast.
Conclusion
I won’t pretend there is a single perfect replacement – the best MailerLite alternatives for affiliates depend on what’s hurting you right now. If price is the pain, Brevo and Moosend gave me the lowest real bills without sacrificing basic automation. If you want simplicity and speed, ConvertKit and Flodesk let you launch promos faster and keep funnels tidy. If your focus is growth and deliverability, ActiveCampaign and GetResponse scaled my tracking, tagging, and automation without collapsing under load.
My quick recommendations: budget-focused affiliates – Brevo and Moosend; simplicity-first creators – ConvertKit and Flodesk; growth and deliverability – ActiveCampaign and GetResponse. Whatever you pick, remember the migration rules – check the TOS for affiliate content, confirm link-tracking and custom domain support, and test deliverability with seed lists. I migrated multiple live campaigns using the checklist above and avoided the usual downtime by phasing automations and validating every link.
Now the practical part – test the recommended providers with their free tiers or trials for 30 days, measure the KPIs I listed, and iterate on what actually moves the needle. If you want a quick place to keep learning and testing tactics, Explore more guides on Earnetics.com and use the migration checklist there to avoid rookie mistakes.
⚡ Here’s the part I almost didn’t share… When automation was the bottleneck, automation saved my sanity and my conversions. My hidden weapon is Make.com – it let me glue together small ESPs, landing pages, and affiliate trackers without a dev. You can grab an exclusive 1-month Pro trial (10,000 ops) to try the same flows I used.
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🚀 Still curious? If this article sparked ideas, my free eBook “Launch Legends: 10 Epic Side Hustles to Kickstart Your Cash Flow with Zero Bucks” goes deeper into affiliate funnels, low-cost stacks, and automation recipes that actually convert.
