Email platforms · Guide
The Cost of Switching Email Platforms: What You Pay Twice
When you move between MailerLite and GetResponse, the old plan is not refunded for unused time. How much the overlap costs and how long the saving takes to cover it.
Moving a list to a cheaper plan saves money each month. It also costs money once, because the plan you leave keeps what you have already paid. This page works out that one-time cost from the two providers' terms.
What the terms say about refunds
| MailerLite | GetResponse | |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel at any time | Yes, from the plan and billing page | Yes |
| Refund for unused time after you cancel | No | No |
| Refund if the provider ends the service without cause | Yes, for a prepaid year | Yes, pro rata |
| Renewal | Automatic, at the price current on the renewal date | Automatic |
| Changing plan | A discount ends if you change plan or billing interval | An upgrade restarts the billing cycle. A downgrade goes through support |
Both sets of terms say that a plan you paid for and did not fully use is not refunded, including when you cancel right after a renewal charge. MailerLite's terms add that it may give refunds in other cases at its own discretion, within 30 days of the last payment.
So the overlap between the old plan and the new one is paid twice. The unused part of the old plan is the cost of switching.
Monthly billing: the overlap is at most one month
On monthly plans the most you lose is one month of the old plan. How long the saving takes to cover it depends on the price gap.
| Move | Old plan | New plan | Saving per month | One month of overlap | Months to cover it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 subscribers, GetResponse Starter to MailerLite Comfort | $54 | $49 | $5 | $54 | 10.8 |
| 10,000 subscribers, MailerLite Comfort to GetResponse Starter | $89 | $79 | $10 | $89 | 8.9 |
| 12,000 subscribers, GetResponse Starter to MailerLite Comfort | $174 | $129 | $45 | $174 | 3.9 |
The overlap shrinks if the new plan starts close to the old plan's renewal date. With one week of overlap on the first row, the unused part is about a quarter of $54.
A small monthly gap takes most of a year to pay back a full month of overlap. A large gap, like the 12,000 row, pays it back in about four months.
Yearly cost of paid plans at 12,000 subscribers
MailerLite Comfort
Tier: up to 15,000 subscribers · 150,000 emails per month
From 15,001 subscribers: $1,717.20/year
$1,393.20/year
billed yearly · $1,548 if billed monthly
Lowest listed priceSee MailerLite plansAWeber Lite
Tier: up to 15,000 subscribers · 150,000 emails per month
From 15,001 subscribers: $1,850/year
$1,500/year
billed yearly · $1,800 if billed monthly
+$106.80 per yearSee AWeber plansKit Creator
Tier: up to 15,000 subscribers · Unlimited email broadcasts
From 15,001 subscribers: $1,890/year
$1,690/year
billed yearly · $2,028 if billed monthly
+$296.80 per yearSee Kit plansGetResponse Starter
Tier: up to 25,000 subscribers · Unlimited
From 25,001 subscribers: $2,942.16/year
$1,712.16/year
billed yearly · $2,088 if billed monthly
+$318.96 per yearSee GetResponse plansAWeber Plus
Tier: up to 15,000 subscribers · 180,000 emails per month
From 15,001 subscribers: $2,150/year
$1,800/year
billed yearly · $2,160 if billed monthly
+$406.80 per yearSee AWeber plansMailerLite Power
Tier: up to 15,000 subscribers · Unlimited (fair use policy)
From 15,001 subscribers: $2,365.20/year
$1,933.20/year
billed yearly · $2,148 if billed monthly
+$540 per yearSee MailerLite plansGetResponse Marketer
Tier: up to 25,000 subscribers · Unlimited
From 25,001 subscribers: $3,532.56/year
$2,115.60/year
billed yearly · $2,580 if billed monthly
+$722.40 per yearSee GetResponse plansGetResponse Creator
Tier: up to 25,000 subscribers · Unlimited
From 25,001 subscribers: $4,073.76/year
$2,450.16/year
billed yearly · $2,988 if billed monthly
+$1,056.96 per yearSee GetResponse plansKit Pro
Tier: up to 15,000 subscribers · Unlimited email broadcasts
From 15,001 subscribers: $2,690/year
$2,490/year
billed yearly · $2,988 if billed monthly
+$1,096.80 per yearSee Kit plans
Official list prices in USD, before tax. MailerLite checked November 12, 2026; GetResponse checked November 12, 2026; AWeber checked November 12, 2026; Kit checked November 12, 2026. Try another list size.
Annual billing: the unused months are the cost
An annual plan is paid in full at the start. Leaving partway through leaves the remaining months unrefunded under both providers' terms.
Take GetResponse Starter at 5,000 subscribers on annual billing. The year costs $531.36, which is $44.28 per month.
| Months used | Months left | Unused amount |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9 | $398.52 |
| 6 | 6 | $265.68 |
| 9 | 3 | $132.84 |
| 11 | 1 | $44.28 |
At this list size the annual prices are close. MailerLite Comfort costs $529.20 for the year, which is $2.16 less than GetResponse Starter. A switch between these two annual plans at 5,000 subscribers saves $2.16 a year, so leaving before the renewal date never pays for itself. Switching at the renewal date has no unused amount.
Yearly cost of paid plans at 5,000 subscribers
MailerLite Comfort
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · 50,000 emails per month
From 5,001 subscribers: $745.20/year
$529.20/year
billed yearly · $588 if billed monthly
Lowest listed priceSee MailerLite plansGetResponse Starter
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · Unlimited
From 5,001 subscribers: $777.36/year
$531.36/year
billed yearly · $648 if billed monthly
+$2.16 per yearSee GetResponse plansAWeber Lite
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · 50,000 emails per month
From 5,001 subscribers: $850/year
$600/year
billed yearly · $720 if billed monthly
+$70.80 per yearSee AWeber plansMailerLite Power
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · Unlimited (fair use policy)
From 5,001 subscribers: $1,069.20/year
$745.20/year
billed yearly · $828 if billed monthly
+$216 per yearSee MailerLite plansKit Creator
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · Unlimited email broadcasts
From 5,001 subscribers: $1,190/year
$890/year
billed yearly · $1,068 if billed monthly
+$360.80 per yearSee Kit plansAWeber Plus
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · 60,000 emails per month
From 5,001 subscribers: $1,200/year
$900/year
billed yearly · $1,080 if billed monthly
+$370.80 per yearSee AWeber plansGetResponse Marketer
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · Unlimited
From 5,001 subscribers: $1,121.76/year
$934.80/year
billed yearly · $1,140 if billed monthly
+$405.60 per yearSee GetResponse plansGetResponse Creator
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · Unlimited
From 5,001 subscribers: $1,318.56/year
$1,072.56/year
billed yearly · $1,308 if billed monthly
+$543.36 per yearSee GetResponse plansKit Pro
Tier: up to 5,000 subscribers · Unlimited email broadcasts
From 5,001 subscribers: $1,690/year
$1,390/year
billed yearly · $1,668 if billed monthly
+$860.80 per yearSee Kit plans
Free plans that cover this size: Kit Free (up to 10,000 subscribers, Unlimited email broadcasts). Free plans have feature limits.
Official list prices in USD, before tax. MailerLite checked November 12, 2026; GetResponse checked November 12, 2026; AWeber checked November 12, 2026; Kit checked November 12, 2026. Try another list size.
Costs that come from how lists are counted
The two providers count subscribers differently. That matters in the month you move. See how each platform counts subscribers for the rules.
- Moving into GetResponse. Its terms count every contact in the account during the month, including unsubscribed and deleted ones, and count a contact once per list. Importing a full export, then deleting the inactive part, counts the full export for that month. Clean the file before importing it.
- Moving out of MailerLite. Its count is cumulative inside a billing cycle. Deleting subscribers after the move does not lower the current cycle's count.
- Discounts. MailerLite's terms say a discount ends when you cancel or change plan. A discounted price on the plan you leave is gone if you come back.
A checklist with numbers
- Find your renewal date and billing period on the current plan.
- Work out the unused amount: the price per month times the months left after the move.
- Work out the monthly saving from the yearly cost calculator, using the way the new provider counts your list.
- Divide the unused amount by the monthly saving. That is the number of months before the switch has paid for itself.
- If that number is longer than the time left on the current plan, switching at the renewal date costs less.