If you’re wondering which email marketing tool to use for your business (Flodesk vs Mailerlite), I’ve broken down a full comparison!

As a website designer of 9+ years and marketer of 11+ years, I’ve ended up trying a LOT of different email marketing tools for myself and for clients, and Flodesk* and MailerLite are some of the most popular choices right now!

However, each tool has their pros and cons, so I wanted to share with you an objective side-by-side comparison, because I personally use BOTH Flodesk (I’m a Flodesk University Instructor and use it for my byRosanna brand) and MailerLite (I use this for my travel blog) weekly.

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*Disclaimer: Flodesk kindly sponsored me to write an honest review/comparison post, and this post contains affiliate links where I get a small commission if you make a purchase, (so thank you in advance for your support!), but please know I would never recommend anything that I don’t personally LOVE myself, and all opinions in this content are honest and my own.

Watch this as a video! Or if you prefer to read, keep scrolling for the blog…

What is Flodesk?

Flodesk* is an email marketing software that allows you to grow a list of email subscribers and send regular emails to those subscribers (whether as regular newsletters, promotional emails or email automations).

Flodesk is well known for it’s incredibly intuitive interface and beautiful email designs that help non-technical small business owners to get set up quickly without any coding or graphic design knowledge. I’ll share more of the pros and cons below!

Can Flodesk connect with any website?

Yes, Flodesk* can connect easily with any website platform (I use it on my own Squarespace site and for clients all the time, for example), because you set up & design the sign up forms in Flodesk and embed them onto sites by copying and pasting a simple snippet of code.

This is great because if you ever want to update your sign up forms, you just have to edit them once inside Flodesk, and they automatically update wherever you’ve embedded them on your website.

Further reading: 3 Ways to Connect Flodesk to Your Squarespace Website

What is MailerLite?

MailerLite is also an email marketing software that can collect email subscribers for you and then allows you to send email newsletter/promotions/automated campaigns to those subscribers.

It’s known for being fairly simple to use and for its good free plan for those just starting out.

Can Mailerlite connect with any website?

Yes, MailerLite works in the same way that Flodesk does where you create the sign up forms inside MailerLite itself, and then copy and paste a snippet of code onto any website to embed it there.

As with Flodesk, if you need to update the sign up forms at any point, you do this once inside MailerLite and it will automatically update anywhere you’ve embedded them on your site!

Flodesk vs MailerLite: 2024 Comparison

Both Flodesk* and MailerLite are fantastic email marketing platforms for small/creative business owners thanks to their ease-of-use. Each has their pros & cons though, depending on your different needs, so I’ve listed these in my comparisons below…

Features	Flodesk	Mailerlite
Pricing (based on paying monthly)	Fixed fee of $38 per month (or $19p/m for your first year if you sign up using my link!) no matter how many subscribers you have or emails you send. Includes all email automation features too.	Mailerlite has a FREE plan but only up to 1000 subscribers & some limited features. Other plans range from $10/$20 per month and get more expensive as your list grows. For acess to all Mailerlite's features on their Advanced plan, a list of 10,000 subscribers would cost $110 per month.

A note about pricing

One of the things I love most about Flodesk is their simple, fixed rate pricing. You pay one fee and get access to all their features, with unlimited subscribers and unlimited email sends, with no hidden extras!

So while MailerLite’s free or lower cost plans look appealing, the cost can get complicated - and very expensive - over time as your list grows.

Get 50% off your first year of Flodesk with my link*! Making it only $19 per month no matter how big your list.

Features	Flodesk	Mailerlite
General Ease-of-Use	Flodesk is super minimal and designed for non-technical creatives to get started easily. I particularly love the flow of creating an email, as you get started on the design & content first, before it takes you to deciding on a subject line and the audience. You can just tell they've really thought about the journey!	Mailerlite isn't the most complex email marketing tool, however I still find it awkward to navigate around when creating an email. To me it just isn't very intuitive, and I often find myself getting stuck or unable to find what I need!
Email Design	Flodesk's software is well known for creating beautifully designed emails (no code or graphic design expertise needed) with their drag & drop editor, that look elegant and creative.	Designing emails in Mailerlite is easier than some other platforms thanks to the drag & drop content blocks, but I feel the designs look ‘clunkier’ and it's harder to make them look elegant and refined (my opinion as a designer!).
Email Templates	Flodesk has loads of beautifully designed email templates to choose from, specifically designed with small, creative business owners in mind.	Mailerlite's free plan doesn't include premium templates, but their other plans do have lots of options to get you started.
Email Content Blocks	From elegant layout blocks, to countdown timers, ecommerce blocks, and now even poll blocks, Flodesk has loads of ways you can make your emails engaging and look great, while also prioritising deliverability.	Mailerlite offers a lot of these blocks too, plus some other dynamic blocks such as accordions, surveys & quizzes - however it's unclear how well they render in all inboxes and if these affect deliverability.
Sign Up Forms	In Flodesk you can design embedded/inline forms, pop-up forms, 'link in bio' forms, and landing page forms, and there are lots of beautiful templates to choose from! Plus fun features like video forms, countdown timers and 'spin-to-win' forms.	In my opinion Mailerlite's sign up form designs really let it down. There are limited design options for embedded & pop-up forms, and the styling is limited and clunky too. They do, however, have a website/landing page builder with more design options, although no templates on the free plan.
Automations	Known as ‘Workflows’ in Flodesk, it’s very intuitive to set up automated email sequences with multi-steps and conditions. They also have 'link actions' which means you can kick off an automation or update subscriber details based on what links they've clicked in your emails.	Automations in Mailerlite work similarly, except on their Advanced plan they do have the option to have 'multi-trigger' workflows (although I've never needed this option in Flodesk),and the option to create more advanced ecommerce automations if you integrate Mailerlite with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce or PrestaShop.
Connecting to Your Website	It’s easy to connect Flodesk to any website, because you create the sign up forms within Flodesk and copy & simple snippet of code to paste into your Squarespace site!	It's also easy to connect Mailerlite to any website too with copy & paste code snippets for your sign up forms. You can also integrate it directly with Shopify, WordPress and other ecommerce & website builders with apps.
Integration with other tools	Flodesk are constantly adding more integrations to their list, including Shopify, Interact, Squarespace Forms, Typeform etc. It also connects with Zapier, which means you can easily connect Flodesk to other tools you use, like Jotform, Teachable, Thrivecart, Trello or whatever you like!	Mailerlite has been around for a while and so has over 100 integrations with different website platforms, project management tools and more, including Zapier and Squarespace e-commerce.
Analytics	Flodesk has in-depth analytics for individual emails (including useful device stats, and the exact links clicked & by who),detailed analytics for automated sequences/workflows for each email in the sequence, plus a whole Analytics section that shows comparisons between emails, top subscribers and much more!	Mailerlite also offers in-depth email analytics, form analytics and automation analytics. However finding their overview analytics is awkward and doesn't show as much as Flodesk's Analytics area. Mailerlite does offer A/B split testing though.

A Note on analytics:

For an example of Flodesk’s in-depth analytics data, watch my YouTube video walkthrough here!

I love that it’s easy to find an overview of data on all your emails, forms and subscribers. I find that MailerLite’s analytics are more awkward to use and don’t quite offer the same level of detail.

Features	Flodesk	Mailerlite
Ecommerce	Flodesk currently integrates with Shopify and Zapier to connect for ecommerce, and is adding more integrations all the time. They also have their own Ecommerce add-on where you can sell products on your own webpages in Flodesk too.	Mailerlite integrates with most ecommerce websites, and also offers its own Ecommerce feature too (included on paid plans) where you can sell products on webpages/landing pages too.

As you can see, each tool excels in different areas, so it’s important to consider your own specific business needs and priorities when deciding whether to choose Flodesk vs MailerLite!

Flodesk Pros & Cons, and who it works best for:

Below is a summary of the key benefits, pros and cons of using Flodesk* as your email marketing tool of choice:

Pros of using Flodesk

Transparent, fixed pricing no matter the number of subscribers/emails/campaigns you have
(save 50% on your first year by signing up with my Flodesk link*!)
Beautiful, intuitively designed & elegant emails AND forms that are easy to create (perfect for creatives)
Link actions that trigger automations based on what links your subscribers click in your emails
In-depth analytics across email campaigns, automations and your whole account

Cons of using Flodesk

There’s no free / cheaper plan for those just starting out (the fixed price is great as you grow, but can be off-putting for total beginners)
Limited ecommerce integrations; although they are adding to these all the time!

Flodesk is perfect for…

✔️ Creative service-based businesses wanting to easily create beautiful emails (without the tech headache!)
✔️ Those who want to use an intuitive tool that feels FUN to use
✔️ Those with an existing email list that’s already growing (and want to save money in the long-run with the fixed price)

MailerLite Pros & Cons, and who it works best for:

Below is a summary of the key benefits and drawbacks of using MailerLite:

Pros of using Mailerlite

Free and cheaper plans available for beginners (from $0-10 per month, although these are limited)
Lots of integration options for ecommerce businesses
Lots of automation options for ecommerce businesses

Cons of using Mailerlite

Can feel awkward and unintuitive to use and navigate
Email designs are a bit clunky and don’t feel as ‘elegant’ as Flodesk
Analytics aren’t as detailed & easy to access

Mailerlite is perfect for…

✔️ Product-based businesses using ecommerce websites and wanting more complex automations
✔️ Those ‘dipping their toes’ into email marketing & not wanting to spend too much to begin with

Why I use Flodesk for my byRosanna email marketing

I made the switch to using Flodesk* for my email marketing back in 2019, and I’m so glad I did! I’d previously used other platforms like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and Convertkit, and compared to these, Flodesk is SO much easier and intuitive to use, and is much more affordable as your list grows due to its fixed pricing (I was paying £150+ a month for Convertkit at one point!!).

I also just love Flodesk’s ethos and values, and how passionate they are about their users. They’re specifically design with creative small business owners and solopreneurs in mind, and as a team they are AMAZING! I’ve had the opportunity to meet them all at a retreat in Lisbon and they were the loveliest people.

They’ve given me some amazing opportunities to work with them on podcast episodes, sponsored videos, partnerships and as a Flodesk University Instructor too!

So that paired with all the pros mentioned above, I’m definitely staying a Flodesk girlie for the forseeable.

Why Do I use Mailerlite for my travel blog?

At the moment I have under 1000 subscribers and rarely send out emails to my travel blog audience; email marketing is not a priority for me for this brand, so using a simple, free tool works well for it!