MailerSend Free Trial Review: Is It Worth Testing in 2025?

Testing email tools can feel like speed dating—you’ve got limited time to figure out if there’s potential. MailerSend’s free trial gives you 100 emails to kick the tires, but is that enough to know if it’s the one?

What Are the MailerSend Pricing Plans?

MailerSend keeps it simple: Trial (100 emails), Hobby (3,000 free emails monthly), Starter (starting at $28/month for 50,000 emails), and Professional ($88/month for the same volume but better features). No contracts tying you down, which is nice.

Here’s what matters: if you blow past your monthly limit, you’ll pay between $0.80-$1.00 per 1,000 extra emails depending on your plan. The upside? Your emails keep sending even when you hit the cap. No sudden cutoffs during a critical password reset wave.

A Quick Overview of MailerSend and Its Features

MailerSend comes from the MailerLite family but focuses purely on transactional emails—the automated stuff like order confirmations and password resets. It’s built for teams where both developers and non-technical folks need to collaborate without stepping on each other’s toes.

You get the full toolkit: Email API, SMTP relay, webhooks, tracking, analytics, multiple editors. Even on the free tier. That’s honestly rare—most platforms gate the good stuff behind paid plans.

Think of it this way: if you’re running a SaaS app or ecommerce site and need reliable system emails, this is designed for that. Marketing campaigns? Not really MailerSend’s thing.

What Do You Get with the MailerSend Free Trial?

The trial hands you a temporary domain that lets you send 100 emails without touching your DNS settings. Smart move if you’re comparing multiple services—no need to add authentication records until you commit.

Once those 100 emails are gone, you can slide into the Hobby plan (3,000 free monthly emails) by verifying your actual domain. Just need to add your payment info, even though the plan itself costs nothing.

It’s basically a test drive before the paperwork. And honestly? That’s how it should work.

Key Features Included

Full API and SMTP Access

Trial users get complete access to the Email API and SMTP relay right away. No “upgrade to unlock” nonsense. You can actually build and test your integration with real code.

They provide 7 SDK libraries for different languages, solid documentation, and examples that don’t assume you already know everything. The webhook setup works too—so you can see real-time data on opens, clicks, and bounces flowing into your app.

That’s production-ready access during a trial. Not common.

Email Tracking and Analytics

The trial includes advanced tracking and real-time analytics—stuff competitors often lock behind paid tiers. You’ll see hard bounces, soft bounces, open rates, clicks, spam complaints. All filterable, all exportable.

This matters because you need to know if their infrastructure actually delivers before you build around it. The transparency here is refreshing.

Template Editors and Design Tools

You get three editor options: drag-and-drop builder, rich text editor, and straight HTML if you want full control. Their template library has pre-built, responsive designs for the usual suspects—welcome emails, password resets, that kind of thing.

The drag-and-drop editor includes 90+ content blocks, so you can build without coding. Or ignore all that and write your own HTML. Your call.

The catch? You’re limited to 3 templates during the trial. Enough to test your core email types, but not much more.

What’s Missing in the MailerSend Free Trial?

Restricted or Limited Features

The 100-email cap is… tight. Too tight for any real volume testing. And that trial domain? On the free Hobby plan, you’re stuck with 1 domain, 3 templates, 3 API tokens, 1 webhook, and 5 users max.

If you’re managing multiple brands or need complex automation, you’ll hit those walls fast. Features like domain spaces, SMS capabilities, and dedicated IPs only show up on Starter plans and higher.

No email verification tools either. And you’re limited to email-only support during the trial—no live chat unless you upgrade.

Hidden Costs and Limitations

Here’s the thing that trips people up: even though the Hobby plan is “free,” they require a credit card because overages cost $1.00 per 1,000 extra emails. Easy to forget you’re monitoring that 3,000-email ceiling.

And about that ceiling—MailerSend dropped their free tier from 12,000 to 3,000 emails back in May 2024. Not exactly a generous move.

SMS costs extra too: $1.40 per 100 messages. Email verification? Also extra. Annual plans save you 20%, but you’re committing upfront.

Better Alternatives to MailerSend Free Trial

Sender’s Free Plan for Marketing-Focused Teams

Sender gives you 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails monthly for free—that’s 5x what MailerSend offers. And we’re not talking about a stripped-down version.

You get 9 pre-built automation workflows right out of the gate—abandoned carts, welcome series, re-engagement campaigns. Stuff that would cost you money almost anywhere else.

Sender doesn’t cap your automation workflows on the free plan. That’s huge if you’re trying to nurture leads without burning through budget. You also get A/B testing, Google Analytics integration, and 60+ templates compared to MailerSend’s 3.

Some teams actually use both—MailerSend for transactional emails and Sender for marketing campaigns. Makes sense if you need reliability in both areas.

Go with Sender if: You’re building marketing campaigns, need serious free volume, want landing pages and popups, or can’t afford to pay yet. The free tier honestly competes with paid plans from bigger names.

Stick with MailerSend if: You’re a developer who needs robust API docs, webhook flexibility, and transactional email that just works. Their deliverability optimization for system-generated emails is legitimately strong. That matters when a failed password reset means a lost customer.

Bottom line: MailerSend’s trial does what it needs to—lets you test the core features. But that 100-email limit feels stingy. And the Hobby plan’s drop to 3,000 monthly emails? Makes it less competitive when Sender’s giving away 15,000.

Pick MailerSend if you need API-first transactional email with excellent developer docs. Pick Sender if you want full marketing features and way more free volume without handing over a credit card.