Two Hundred Names Can Fill A Weekend
Most photographers should start on MailerLite and move to Flodesk only if its design speed is worth a higher bill. As of October 2026, MailerLite is free for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Flodesk no longer sells a flat rate to new members, and its cheapest sending plan costs $25 a month, or $19 billed annually, for up to 1,000 subscribers.
Photographers rarely need a large email list. Two hundred past clients and warm inquiries can fill a mini-session weekend faster than any social platform manages.
That changes which email tool makes sense. Features built for a ten thousand subscriber marketing team matter far less than design speed, a clean booking link, and predictable pricing.
Flodesk sells design and simplicity, while MailerLite sells depth and a free starting tier. Both now price by active subscriber count, so the old flat-rate case for Flodesk no longer applies to a new account.
Both handle the core job well, so this comparison sticks to the differences that actually affect a photography business. Our guide to the best email marketing software covers the wider field if neither fits.
Both Now Price By Subscriber Count
Flodesk retired its original flat-rate unlimited plan for new members on December 2, 2025. Its pricing page now scales every paid plan with your active subscriber count, much as MailerLite does.
As of October 2026, Flodesk lists Lite at $25 a month, or $19 a month billed annually, for up to 1,000 subscribers. Pro costs $28 a month and Everything $54 a month at the same list size. At 2,500 subscribers, Lite rises to $32 a month and Pro to $39.
Lite caps out at 25,000 subscribers and includes one workflow automation. Flodesk’s free plan covers forms and landing pages but does not send email. Accounts that paid before December 2, 2025 keep the legacy unlimited plan while the subscription stays active, which is the flat price older reviews describe.
MailerLite starts lower. Its pricing page lists a free plan for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and a Comfort plan from $12 a month for up to 500 subscribers. Go past 250 active subscribers on the free plan and sending locks until you upgrade or remove contacts.
Both vendors count only active subscribers, so unsubscribes and bounces do not raise the bill. Estimate your list size two years out, then price both plans at that number before choosing.
Factor in what each platform removes from your stack. A built-in checkout or landing page builder may replace another subscription, which changes the comparison more than a small monthly difference does.
The Email Is Part Of The Portfolio
Flodesk targets visual brands, and its templates reflect that. A photographer can assemble an on-brand campaign quickly without touching layout settings or building a design system first.
Speed to a good-looking send is the real product here. For a business where the email itself works as a portfolio piece, that beats an extra segmentation rule most weeks.
MailerLite produces attractive campaigns too, with more manual work. The builder gives more control and asks for more decisions, which suits people who enjoy that and frustrates people who do not.
Image handling matters more than either template library. Neither platform replaces a gallery service, so compress your images and link out to your gallery host rather than embedding full-resolution files.
That single habit protects load time and inbox placement. Photographers embed oversized images more than any other profession, and phones are where clients actually open the email.
Inquiry, Booking, Gallery: The Sequence You Actually Send
Write down every email you intend to send before opening either signup page. An inquiry response, a pricing guide, a booking follow-up, a gallery delivery note, and a reminder the following year cover most businesses.
Both platforms trigger sequences from a form signup, which covers that standard funnel. The difference appears when you want the sequence to branch.
MailerLite adds conditions and segment moves, which helps if you separate wedding inquiries from family sessions and send different content to each. Its automation depth is the clearest technical advantage it holds.
Flodesk keeps the workflow builder minimal on purpose. That is a genuine advantage when the alternative is an elaborate automation nobody finishes configuring.
Check the plan limit before you build, though. Flodesk’s Lite plan includes one workflow, and unlimited workflows start on Pro, so a full inquiry-to-gallery funnel usually means the higher plan. Our ConvertKit vs MailerLite for creators comparison covers the same trade-off for a different pair.
Timing deserves as much thought as branching. A gallery reminder that lands three days after delivery earns replies, while the same email sent three weeks later reads as an afterthought.
Seasonal peaks are the other planning problem. Both platforms handle a busy month without complaint, though a list imported the night before a mini-session announcement rarely behaves the way you hoped.
A simple three-email sequence that actually runs beats a branching masterpiece still marked as a draft. Match the builder to the complexity your season really has.
Selling Presets Without Another Subscription
Photographers increasingly sell digital products alongside sessions. Both platforms offer routes to sell without paying for a separate storefront.
Flodesk Checkout comes with Pro, which includes one checkout, and with Everything, which includes unlimited checkouts. Flodesk says it adds no transaction fee on top of Stripe’s standard processing rate. The product page stays visually consistent with the emails around it, which suits a preset pack or a pricing guide.
MailerLite supports digital product sales and paid newsletters inside its own ecosystem. Confirm the current commission structure and payment handling on the official MailerLite site before planning a launch.
Compare payout handling and tax settings rather than the feature checkbox. Both platforms can take money, and the details are what matter once you sell regularly.
The Two Platforms Side By Side
The table compares the two on the factors that decide a photography business rather than on total feature count.
| Factor | Flodesk | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing structure | Scales with active subscribers; flat rate closed to new members | Scales with active subscribers |
| Free plan | Forms and landing pages, no email sending | Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month |
| Entry sending plan | Lite, $25 a month ($19 billed annually) for up to 1,000 subscribers | Comfort, from $12 a month for up to 500 subscribers |
| Template design quality | Strongest selling point | Good, more manual work |
| Automation depth | Deliberate simplicity; one workflow on Lite | Branching and segmentation |
| Account approval before sending | Typically fast | Review process for new accounts |
| Selling digital products | Checkout on Pro and Everything | Digital products and paid newsletters |
| Landing pages and forms | Included, design led | Included, plus website builder |
| Learning curve | Lowest | Moderate |
Prices are as of October 2026. Read the first three rows together, since they decide more photography accounts than any feature row on this table.
Read the automation row against your calendar. If your season runs on three repeatable sequences, simplicity wins, and if you split audiences by event type, depth wins.
Before Your First Season Send
Do not schedule your first campaign for launch day. MailerLite reviews new accounts before enabling sending, and account review, domain records, and list imports all take time you will not have that evening.
Configure domain authentication early. Sending from an unauthenticated domain pushes more of your season announcements into spam folders, and both platforms document the process clearly.
Test the form embed on your live site rather than in a preview. Showit, Squarespace, and WordPress each handle third-party embeds differently, and a form that breaks your layout costs signups silently.
Send an image-heavy sample to your own phone before you commit. Load time on mobile data is the honest test, and it catches compression problems no preview reveals.
Avoid choosing on today’s list size alone. Platforms are painful to migrate mid-season, and our Constant Contact vs Brevo comparison covers deliverability setup in more detail.
Which Platform Fits Your Photography Business
The new portrait photographer with a few hundred contacts: Choose MailerLite. The free plan covers up to 250 subscribers, and nothing is lost by starting there.
The established wedding photographer with a growing list: Choose Flodesk only if its templates save you real hours each season. New Flodesk accounts pay more as the list grows, just as MailerLite accounts do, so price both at your projected subscriber count.
The photographer selling presets and guides regularly: Compare the checkout features directly, and weigh payment handling over template style. Both can do it, and the details differ.
The photographer on a Showit or Squarespace site: Test the form embed in both trials before deciding. This practical detail outweighs most feature comparisons.
The photographer who wants segmented campaigns: Choose MailerLite. Separating wedding inquiries from family sessions needs the deeper segmentation logic.
The photographer with no time to learn a tool: Choose Flodesk. Time to a good-looking, sent campaign is its clearest advantage.
The photographer moving off a free plan elsewhere: Export your list and your sequences first, then rebuild rather than importing blindly. Contact fields rarely map across platforms cleanly, and a broken merge tag in a booking email is expensive.
The photographer who mostly sends twice a year: Either platform works, so pick on cost. If the list stays under 250, MailerLite’s free plan is hard to beat for a few campaigns a year, however good Flodesk’s templates look.
Decide With A Two-Year View
These platforms solve the same problem for different temperaments. Flodesk optimises for design speed and simplicity, while MailerLite optimises for low entry cost and room to grow.
Small lists and tight budgets point to MailerLite, and photographers who want polished emails with little setup work point to Flodesk. Neither choice is permanent, though migrating in the middle of a busy season is genuinely unpleasant.
Confirm current pricing, checkout terms, and deliverability requirements on each vendor’s official site before you commit. Then send something this week, because an unused list is the only outcome both platforms share.
FAQ
Which one is cheaper as my subscriber list grows?
Both now price by active subscriber count, so neither bill stays flat as the list grows. As of October 2026, MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers, and its Comfort plan starts at $12 a month for up to 500. Flodesk's Lite plan costs $25 a month, or $19 billed annually, for up to 1,000 subscribers. Flodesk closed its old flat-rate plan to new members on December 2, 2025.
Can either platform handle image-heavy newsletters properly?
Both send image-heavy campaigns, and neither replaces a proper gallery service. Keep images optimised and link out to your gallery host, because large embedded files hurt load time and inbox placement. Compression settings matter more than the platform you pick.
Is there an approval process before I can send?
MailerLite reviews new accounts before enabling sending, which occasionally delays a first campaign by a day or two. Prepare your list and your sender domain early rather than the night before a mini-session announcement. Flodesk onboarding is typically quicker to first send.
Can I automate an inquiry follow-up sequence in both?
Both let you build automated sequences triggered by a form signup, which covers inquiry follow-ups and post-session galleries. MailerLite offers more branching and segmentation depth, while Flodesk keeps the builder simpler and faster to learn. Match that to how complex your client journey really is.
Which is better for selling presets or a pricing guide?
Both offer ways to sell digital products, including presets and guides, through their own checkout or storefront features. Photographers selling regularly should compare payout handling and tax settings rather than the feature checkbox. Check the current terms before committing a launch to either.
Sources
- Flodesk: Pricing — checked 2026-10-01
- MailerLite: Pricing — checked 2026-10-01
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How this article was made: it was drafted with AI assistance from the official sources listed above, and its figures were checked against those pages on the dates shown. It is not based on personal hands-on testing.
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