Buying guide

Best Newsletter Platforms for Creators and Writers

SEO & GEO professional · Hands-on with 2 of 11 tools · Prices verified 14 Oct 2026

Affiliate links on this page may earn me a commission, at no extra cost to you. They don't change what I recommend. How I choose and earn

For a newsletter you want to grow and later charge for, I'd start with Kit. Its free plan holds 10,000 subscribers on your own domain, and Creator, where paid subscriptions come in, is $75/month billed annually for the list I priced. If you'd rather pay nothing until readers pay you, Substack fits better. Prices checked 14 Oct 2026.

Every price on this page is for one person running a newsletter with 5,000 subscribers, charging readers through paid subscriptions, on their own domain.

5,000 subscribers
paid subscriptions
your own domain
1 user

Who this is for. Creators, writers and small business owners who run a newsletter themselves and want it to earn money, mostly through paid subscriptions. Some tools here are publishing platforms that bill your readers for you; the rest are email tools that send a free newsletter well and leave charging readers to something else. The costly mistake is picking on the monthly price alone: once readers pay, the cut a platform takes from every payment can cost more than the plan itself.

Looking for something else?

Different job, different guide.

I'm down to two of these

I also need funnels, courses or a CRM

Best all-in-one marketing softwareEmail plus landing pages, checkout and contacts in one subscription.

I want a discount before I commit

Current dealsCoupons and partner offers on marketing software.

My picks for different needs

Find the line that sounds like you. Each pick links to the full reasoning below.

Start free, grow a big list and charge readers later
The largest free plan here, with your own domain, and paid subscriptions from Creator.
Why this one
Kit
My default
$75/moannual
See Kit plansAffiliate link
A newsletter-first platform with a website and no cut of my revenue
Free until your list outgrows the starter tier, and nothing taken from paid subscriptions.
Why this one
beehiiv
$95/moannual
See beehiiv plansAffiliate link
The lowest monthly bill for a paid newsletter
The cheapest plan here that takes paid subscriptions on your own domain, with no platform cut.
Why this one
Buttondown
$24.17/moannual
See Buttondown plansAffiliate link
No monthly bill until readers pay me
Free to publish at any list size; Substack keeps a share of subscription revenue instead.
Why this one
Substack
$0
See Substack plans
A full publication site I own, with members and paid tiers
A real website and newsletter in one, connected to your own Stripe account with no platform fee.
Why this one
Ghost
$63/moannual
See Ghost plans
Beautiful emails and selling products to my list
Design-first email with a checkout that adds no fee of its own.
Why this one
Flodesk
See Flodesk plans
A free newsletter on a small budget
A free plan for a real starter list, and a low entry price on Pro.
Why this one
EmailOctopus
See EmailOctopus plansAffiliate link

The tools side by side

Each priced row is the cheapest plan that takes paid subscriptions on your own domain at this list size. Rows marked Not priced are email tools with no paid reader subscriptions, and the platform fee column is the cut taken from each payment before card processing.

a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers on its own domain: plan priced, monthly and annual cost, Platform fee on reader payments, Custom domain, Team seats, Free plan
Tool and plan	Cost per month	Platform fee on reader payments	Custom domain	Team seats	Free plan
KitCreator	$75annual $89 monthly	0.6%	Yes	2	Yes
beehiivLite	$95annual $109 monthly	0%	Yes	2	Yes
Buttondown1,001 to 5,000 subscribers	$24.17annual $29 monthly	0%	Yes	Not published	Yes
SubstackFree	Free	10%	Yes	unlimited	Yes
GhostPublisher	$63annual $75 monthly	0%	Yes	3	No
FlodeskNot priced	Not priced here. Flodesk sells products through checkout but not recurring paid subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.	0%	Not priced	Not priced	Yes
MailerLiteNot priced	Not priced here. MailerLite doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.	Not priced	Not priced	Not priced	Yes
EmailOctopusNot priced	Not priced here. EmailOctopus doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.	Not priced	Not priced	Not priced	Yes
GetResponseNot priced	Not priced here. GetResponse's pricing page lists no paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.	Not priced	Not priced	Not priced	Yes
SequenzyNot priced	Not priced here. Sequenzy prices by emails sent and doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.	Not priced	Not priced	Not priced	Yes
MoosendNot priced	Not priced here. Moosend doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.	Not priced	Not priced	Not priced	No

11 picks, in the order I'd consider them

Each one says who it is for, what it costs for a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers, and what you give up.

Kit

Best overall: biggest free plan, paid subscriptions when you're ready

Desk research

Choose it if

You want to build a list for free first, then charge for a premium tier or sell digital products to the same readers without switching tools.

Consider Substack instead if

You want no monthly bill at all, and you're fine giving up a bigger share of each payment in return.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

Kit has the largest free plan here that includes your own domain: a newsletter can grow to 10,000 subscribers before it costs anything. When you start charging, Creator adds paid subscriptions, digital product sales and unlimited visual automations, and Kit keeps 0.6% of each sale inside an all-in transaction fee that already covers card processing. That makes its cut the smallest of the platforms that take one.

The plan I priced

Creator for this list is $89/month billed monthly, or $75/month billed annually. It includes 2 users. The 14-day trial needs no card, and Kit refunds within 30 days of signing up.

Closest alternative

beehiiv becomes the better choice when you want a newsletter website with more than one publication and no cut of your subscription revenue, and you accept a higher plan price for it.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: Creator

Billed annually

$75/mo

Billed monthly

$89/mo

Above 400,000 subscribers: no bigger plan is published.

The trade-off

Creator gets expensive as the list grows, because the price follows subscriber count: it already costs more than Ghost or Buttondown for this list. Kit is an email tool first, so the web archive of your posts is plainer than what beehiiv, Ghost or Substack give you.

What my review says

Best for: A creator or writer who wants to grow a list for free and then sell paid subscriptions or digital products to it.

Skip it if you want a full publication website with posts and archives as the center of the product, or you need more than 2 users without moving to Pro.

Strengths

A free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers, with your own domain.
Kit keeps 0.6% of each sale, inside an all-in fee that covers card processing.
A 30-day refund window on monthly and yearly plans.

Limits

Creator's price climbs with every subscriber band.
Creator includes 2 users; more need Pro, from $79/month billed monthly.
The post archive is simpler than on a publishing platform.

See Kit plans My Kit review Kit pricingAffiliate link

beehiiv

Best newsletter-first platform with no revenue cut

Desk research

Choose it if

The newsletter is the product, you want a site for your posts and up to 3 publications, and you'd rather pay a flat plan price than share revenue.

Consider Buttondown instead if

You want the same no-cut deal for far less a month and don't need a polished website around your newsletter.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

beehiiv is built around publishing rather than marketing email. The free plan covers 2,500 subscribers, which is enough to find out whether people read you. Lite then adds paid subscriptions, a custom domain and automations, sends are unlimited on every plan, and beehiiv takes 0% of subscription revenue. Once readers pay, that flat-fee model leaves more of each payment with you than Substack's share does.

The plan I priced

Lite for this list is $109/month billed monthly, or $95/month billed annually. It includes 2 team seats and 3 publications. Stripe's own fee still applies: Stripe's standard processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction applies; beehiiv takes 0%.

Closest alternative

Ghost becomes the better choice when you want a full website you control, with members and paid tiers, and a lower plan price for the same list.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: Lite

Billed annually

$95/mo

Billed monthly

$109/mo

Above 100,000 subscribers: Pro (+$594/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

It is the priciest plan here for this list, and the free plan has no paid subscriptions and no custom domain, so charging readers means paying from day one. Lite still shows beehiiv branding; removing it needs Pro, from $109/month billed monthly.

What my review says

Best for: A creator whose newsletter is the business and who wants publishing, a website and paid subscriptions without a revenue share.

Skip it if you want to charge readers or use your own domain without paying a plan price; beehiiv's free plan allows neither.

Strengths

A free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers.
0% taken from paid subscriptions on every paid plan.
Lite includes 3 publications and unlimited sends.

Limits

No paid subscriptions or custom domain on the free plan.
The highest plan price here for this list.
Removing beehiiv branding needs Pro.

See beehiiv plans My beehiiv review beehiiv pricingAffiliate link

Buttondown

Lowest bill for a paid newsletter

Hands-on

Choose it if

You write a newsletter, want to charge for it, and care more about a low bill and a clean editor than about a website builder or growth features.

Consider Ghost instead if

You want a full publication website with themes and member pages, not only a newsletter with an archive.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

For this list Buttondown costs a fraction of Kit or beehiiv and still includes paid subscriptions, automations and an archive on your own domain, with 0% taken from what readers pay. One price covers the list size and features grow with it, so there is little to configure. It bills only for active subscribers.

The plan I priced

The plan for up to 5,000 subscribers is $29/month billed monthly, or $24.17/month billed annually. Above that the next band is $79/month billed monthly, which also adds teams and white labeling. Stripe's card fees apply to every payment.

Closest alternative

Substack becomes the better choice when your list is still small and you'd rather pay nothing monthly while you find out whether readers will pay.

Buttondown homepage, captured 14 Oct 2026

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: 1,001 to 5,000 subscribers

Billed annually

$24.17/mo

Billed monthly

$29/mo

Above 5,000 subscribers: 5,001 to 99,999 subscribers (+$41.66/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

The free tier stops at 100 subscribers, so it is not a place to grow for free. Prices also assume a sending pace: Prices assume at most one email a day to the whole list; heavier sending is usage-priced by arrangement. Daily senders to big lists should ask first.

What my review says

Best for: An independent writer who wants paid subscriptions on their own domain for the smallest bill and no platform cut.

Skip it if you want to grow a large list for free first, or you want a full website builder around your newsletter.

Strengths

0% taken from paid subscriptions; only card fees apply.
Paid subscriptions, automations and a custom-domain archive at this list size.
Sending from your own domain on every plan.

Limits

The free tier covers 100 subscribers.
Prices assume at most one email a day to the whole list.
Teams and white labeling come with the next band up.

See Buttondown plans My Buttondown review Buttondown pricingAffiliate link

Substack

Free to publish: pay only when readers pay

Desk research

Choose it if

You're starting from zero, don't know yet whether anyone will pay, and want to publish today without a bill.

Consider Kit instead if

You want automations and product sales, and a much smaller share taken from each payment once revenue grows.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

Substack is the only pick with no monthly price at any list size, and it handles posts, the newsletter and paid subscriptions in one place. That makes it the lowest-risk way to test whether readers will pay. The cost arrives with revenue: Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per payment for US cards plus a 0.7% Stripe Billing fee on recurring payments, on top of Substack's 10%.

The plan I priced

Publishing is free at any list size, and paid subscriptions are available from the start. A custom domain costs $50 one-time, and team contributors are unlimited.

Closest alternative

Buttondown becomes the better choice when your paid revenue has grown to the point where a low flat price beats giving up a share of every payment.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: Free

Free plan

The trade-off

The percentage never stops. Once paid subscriptions bring in real money, the share Substack keeps costs more than a flat plan on beehiiv, Ghost or Buttondown, and there are no email automations or drip sequences. I have no affiliate link for Substack; it ranks here because it is the cheapest way to start charging.

What my review says

Best for: A writer who wants to start a paid newsletter today and only pay once readers do.

Skip it if your paid revenue is already steady, so a flat monthly price would cost less than a share of every payment, or you need email automations.

Strengths

Free to publish with unlimited subscribers.
Paid subscriptions from day one, with no plan to buy.
No seat pricing: contributors on a publication are unlimited.

Limits

Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, before Stripe's fees.
No email automation or drip sequences.
A custom domain costs $50 one-time.

See Substack plans My Substack reviewNo affiliate link: plain link

Ghost

Best for a publication website you own

Desk research

Choose it if

You want a real publication site with your own design and member pages, and you're happy to pay a flat price from the first day.

Consider beehiiv instead if

You want to start on a free plan and only pay once your list is past the starter tier.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

Ghost suits writers who think of their work as a publication rather than an email list. Paid memberships run through your own Stripe account and Ghost takes 0%, a custom domain is free on every plan, and for this list Publisher costs less than Kit or beehiiv. It is also open source, so a self-hosted version exists if you ever want to run your own server.

The plan I priced

Publisher for this list is $75/month billed monthly, or $63/month billed annually. It includes 3 staff users and 3 newsletters. Starter, at $18/month billed monthly, stops at 1,000 members and can't take payments.

Closest alternative

beehiiv becomes the better choice when you want a free plan to start on and unlimited sends on every plan.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: Publisher

Billed annually

$63/mo

Billed monthly

$75/mo

Above 100,000 subscribers: no bigger plan is published.

The trade-off

There is no free plan: the 14-day trial takes a card at signup, and Starter, the cheapest plan, has no paid subscriptions at all. I have no affiliate link for Ghost; it ranks above the email tools because it bills readers and they don't.

What my review says

Best for: A writer who wants a self-branded publication site with paid memberships and no revenue share.

Skip it if you want to start on a free plan, or you only need a newsletter without a website around it.

Strengths

0% platform fee; payments go to your own Stripe account.
A free custom domain on every plan.
Open source, so a self-hosted version exists.

Limits

No permanent free plan, and the trial takes a card.
Starter has no paid subscriptions.
Publisher's price rises with each member band.

See Ghost plans My Ghost review Ghost pricingNo affiliate link: plain link

Flodesk

Best for design-led creators selling products

Desk research

Choose it if

How your emails look matters a lot to your brand, and you sell products or offers to your list rather than a paid subscription.

Consider Kit instead if

You want recurring paid subscriptions as well as product sales, and a much larger free plan.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

Flodesk is the one email tool here that lets you take money from readers without a platform fee: Checkout comes with Pro and Everything, and only Stripe's rate applies. Its templates and editor are the reason people choose it, which suits coaches, designers and lifestyle creators whose newsletter is part of their brand. I have no affiliate link for Flodesk; that checkout is why it ranks above the email tools that do pay me.

The plan I priced

Pro, which includes one checkout and 2 seats, is $28/month billed monthly at the entry list size, and Everything, with unlimited checkouts, is $54/month billed monthly at that size. Both prices rise with your subscriber count.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you want automations and landing pages for less, and the design of each email matters less to you.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: not priced

Not priced here. Flodesk sells products through checkout but not recurring paid subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.

The trade-off

It sells products, not recurring paid subscriptions, so it can't run this page's workload. The free plan has no subscriber cap on the pricing page, but Flodesk lists email sending among the paid features its trial unlocks, so treat it as a place to collect sign-ups.

What my review says

Best for: A design-led creator or small brand that sells products to its list and wants emails that look the part.

Skip it if you want to charge for subscriptions to the newsletter itself, or you need many team seats.

Strengths

Checkout with 0% platform fee on Pro and Everything.
A design-first editor and templates.
Priced by subscriber count, so a small list pays a small price.

Limits

No recurring paid subscriptions.
Lite stops at 25,000 subscribers.
Email sending is a paid feature.

See Flodesk plans My Flodesk review Flodesk pricingNo affiliate link: plain link

MailerLite

Low-cost email for a free newsletter with landing pages

Desk research

Choose it if

Your newsletter is free, it supports a business or a product you sell elsewhere, and you want automations and landing pages without a big bill.

Consider EmailOctopus instead if

You want a free plan that holds a real starter list, not just a few hundred contacts.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

MailerLite gives the full automation builder and landing pages on its cheapest paid plan: Comfort includes 50 automations, 10 landing pages and 3 users. For a small business newsletter that feeds sales somewhere else, that is more tooling per dollar than most picks here.

The plan I priced

Comfort is $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed annually, at its smallest list size, and the price rises with subscriber count. The 14-day trial of paid features needs no card.

Closest alternative

Kit becomes the better choice when you plan to charge readers or sell digital products, and want a free plan that holds a large list.

MailerLite homepage, captured 14 Oct 2026

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: not priced

Not priced here. MailerLite doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.

The trade-off

It has no paid reader subscriptions, so it can't run this page's workload. The free plan stops at 250 subscribers, and paid plans move up a tier and charge your card automatically when the list grows past the limit.

What my review says

Best for: A small business or creator running a free newsletter who wants automations and landing pages for little money.

Skip it if you want to charge readers for the newsletter, or you want to grow past a few hundred subscribers on a free plan.

Strengths

Comfort includes 50 automations and 10 landing pages.
A 14-day trial of paid features with no card.
3 users on Comfort.

Limits

No paid reader subscriptions.
The free plan stops at 250 subscribers.
Paid plans move up a tier automatically when the list grows.

See MailerLite plans My MailerLite review MailerLite pricingAffiliate link

EmailOctopus

Cheapest way to send a free newsletter

Desk research

Choose it if

Your newsletter is free, the list is modest, and you want the smallest possible bill for sending it.

Consider MailerLite instead if

You want more automations and landing pages and don't mind paying a little more.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

EmailOctopus is the plainest tool on this list, and that is the point. Starter is free for 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, which covers a weekly newsletter while the list is young. Pro removes the branding and adds unlimited users and landing pages at a low price.

The plan I priced

Pro is $10/month billed monthly, or $9/month billed annually, at its smallest list size, and the price rises with subscriber count. There is no trial; the free Starter plan takes its place.

Closest alternative

Substack becomes the better choice when you want the newsletter to be free for you to run and also want the option to charge readers later.

EmailOctopus homepage, captured 2 Oct 2026

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: not priced

Not priced here. EmailOctopus doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.

The trade-off

It has no paid reader subscriptions, so it can't run this page's workload. The free plan's monthly email cap fills quickly once you send more than weekly, and it keeps EmailOctopus branding in your emails.

What my review says

Best for: A creator or small business sending a free newsletter to a modest list for the smallest bill.

Skip it if you want to charge readers, or you send to a growing list several times a week on the free plan.

Strengths

Free for 2,500 subscribers.
Pro adds unlimited users and landing pages and removes branding.
Month-to-month or yearly billing on Pro.

Limits

No paid reader subscriptions.
The free plan caps sends at 10,000 emails a month.
No trial of Pro.

See EmailOctopus plans My EmailOctopus review EmailOctopus pricingAffiliate link

GetResponse

Email marketing for a small team that runs a newsletter

Desk research

Choose it if

A newsletter is one part of a small business's email marketing, two or three people share the work, and you want landing pages from the same vendor.

Consider MailerLite instead if

You want a lower entry price and more automations on the cheapest plan.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

GetResponse is a business email platform rather than a publishing tool. Its strength for a newsletter is the team: Starter includes 3 user seats where most entry plans include one, and the 14-day trial needs no card.

The plan I priced

Starter is $19/month billed monthly, or $15.58/month billed annually, at its smallest list size, and the price rises with your contact count.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you want the same kind of tool for less, with more automations included.

GetResponse homepage, captured 14 Oct 2026

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: not priced

Not priced here. GetResponse's pricing page lists no paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.

The trade-off

The pricing page lists no paid reader subscriptions, so it can't run this page's workload. Starter allows a single automation workflow, and the free version left after the trial carries a GetResponse badge on every email.

What my review says

Best for: A small business where a few people share the newsletter and the rest of the email marketing.

Skip it if you want to charge readers for the newsletter, or you want a free plan with a published subscriber limit.

Strengths

3 user seats on Starter.
A 14-day trial with no card.
Landing pages and email from one vendor.

Limits

No paid reader subscriptions on the pricing page.
Starter allows a single automation workflow.
The free version adds a GetResponse badge to every email.

See GetResponse plans My GetResponse review GetResponse pricingAffiliate link

Sequenzy

Pay for emails sent, not for subscribers

Hands-on

Choose it if

You have a large list you email now and then, such as a product update or a monthly roundup, and paying per subscriber feels wasteful.

Consider EmailOctopus instead if

You send weekly or more often, where a subscriber-priced plan usually costs less than paying per email.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

Sequenzy turns the usual newsletter pricing around: contacts are unlimited on every plan and the bill follows sending volume. The free plan covers 2,500 emails a month with the automation builder and unlimited team members. For a business that mails a big list once a month, that can be far cheaper than any subscriber-priced tool here.

The plan I priced

Scale is priced by monthly email volume: One paid tier priced by monthly email volume, from $19/mo for 15k emails to $1999/mo for 3M emails; contacts, sending domains and team members are unlimited. The entry band is $19/month billed monthly, or $17.08/month billed annually. Free emails carry a Sequenzy watermark.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you send on a regular schedule and want a price that follows list size instead of volume.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: not priced

Not priced here. Sequenzy prices by emails sent and doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.

The trade-off

It has no paid reader subscriptions, and it is built for software companies' product and lifecycle email more than for publishing. Frequent sending is where it gets expensive: a weekly issue to a list this size already passes the entry sending band.

What my review says

Best for: A business with a big list that sends an occasional newsletter and wants to pay for sends, not contacts.

Skip it if you send a newsletter to your whole list every week or more, or you want to charge readers.

Strengths

Unlimited contacts and team members on every plan.
A free plan with 2,500 emails a month.
The automation builder is included on the free plan.

Limits

No paid reader subscriptions.
Frequent sends to a big list raise the bill quickly.
Free emails carry a Sequenzy watermark.

See Sequenzy plans My Sequenzy review Sequenzy pricingAffiliate link

Moosend

Budget automation, but no free plan

Desk research

Choose it if

Your newsletter sits inside a small business's email marketing, you send often, and you want automation without paying per email.

Consider EmailOctopus instead if

You want to start on a free plan rather than a trial that ends.

Why it fits a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers

Moosend's Pro plan includes automation, unlimited email sends and 5 team seats, and its price moves in small steps as the list grows. For a business that sends frequently, unlimited sends at a contact-based price is a fair deal.

The plan I priced

Pro is $9/month billed monthly, or $7/month billed annually, at its smallest list size, and rises with your contact count. The 30-day trial needs no card.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you want a free plan to start on and landing pages included.

A paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers: not priced

Not priced here. Moosend doesn't sell paid reader subscriptions, so no plan meets this workload.

The trade-off

It has no paid reader subscriptions and no free plan: after the 30-day trial you pay or stop. Free newsletters are better served by EmailOctopus or Kit, which both start free.

What my review says

Best for: A small business that sends its newsletter often and wants unlimited sends on a contact-based price.

Skip it if you want a free plan, or you want to charge readers for the newsletter.

Strengths

Unlimited email sends on Pro.
5 team seats on Pro.
A 30-day trial with no card.

Limits

No free plan.
No paid reader subscriptions.
More seats mean the custom Moosend+ plan.

See Moosend plans My Moosend review Moosend pricingAffiliate link

What a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers really costs

The bars are the cheapest plan that takes paid subscriptions on your own domain for this list, on yearly billing where the vendor sells it. Substack has no bar because it charges no monthly price; its cost is the share it keeps from every payment. The email tools without paid subscriptions are left off.

Dollar prices, per month (billed annually where sold)

Buttondown$24.17/mo
Ghost$63/mo
Kit$75/mo
beehiiv$95/mo

Pay monthly or yearly?

What yearly billing saves on the same plan.

Kit$89 monthly, $75 yearly: 16% less
beehiiv$109 monthly, $95 yearly: 13% less
Buttondown$29 monthly, $24.17 yearly: 17% less
Ghost$75 monthly, $63 yearly: 16% less

When you'll outgrow the plan

The first limit you hit, and the next plan up.

Kit: above 400,000 subscribers, no bigger plan is published
beehiiv: above 100,000 subscribers, Pro (+$594/mo)
Buttondown: above 5,000 subscribers, 5,001 to 99,999 subscribers (+$41.66/mo)
Ghost: above 100,000 subscribers, no bigger plan is published

How I calculated this

Workload: 5,000 subscribers, paid subscriptions, your own domain, 1 user.

A plan counts only if it bills readers for paid subscriptions and lets you publish on your own domain. The email tools on this list don't sell paid subscriptions, so their cards give their entry price and say what it covers instead of a price for this workload.

Other options, and why they missed the list

To make this list a tool had to send a newsletter to a subscriber list that you own and can export, at a published price a creator or small business can buy without a sales call. Membership platforms where email is a side feature, and CRMs that need a separate email product, are left out.

Mailchimp
The familiar email tool, but it sells no paid reader subscriptions and its free plan holds a small list. Kit and EmailOctopus start free with far more room.
Brevo
Priced by emails sent and built around a sales CRM, so it suits a business mailing customers better than a writer building readers.

How I chose, and how I earn from this page

Affiliate disclosure

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through one, I may earn a commission and you pay the same price. Kit, beehiiv, Buttondown, MailerLite, EmailOctopus, GetResponse, Sequenzy and Moosend have affiliate links on this site. I have no affiliate link for Substack, Ghost or Flodesk. Substack and Ghost rank above the affiliate email tools because they bill readers for paid subscriptions and those tools don't, and Flodesk ranks above several of them because its checkout lets you sell to readers with no platform fee. The order follows how well each tool serves a newsletter that is growing and starting to charge, and a commission never changes a price or a verdict here.

How this guide was prepared

What I did

I priced one person running a newsletter whose list is past most free tiers, charging readers through paid subscriptions, on their own domain, from each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown beside each source.
For each platform the price is the cheapest plan that takes paid subscriptions and allows a custom domain at that list size, on monthly and yearly billing separately.
The platform fee is the share of each reader payment the platform keeps, read from the vendor's own pages. Card processing by Stripe comes on top everywhere except inside Kit's all-in fee.
Tools that don't sell paid reader subscriptions are not priced for this workload. Their cards give the entry price and what it covers, and they rank below every tool that can bill readers.
Within each group the order follows fit for a creator or small business growing a newsletter: a free start, the cost once readers pay, and how much of each payment you keep.

What to keep in mind

Subscriber-priced ladders change often. Read every price as true on its source date.
Stripe's processing fee depends on the reader's card and country, so the page shows each platform's own cut and names Stripe's fee where the vendor states it.
Several email tools here sell products or have payment integrations that a pricing page doesn't describe in full, so a tool counts as selling paid subscriptions only where its own pages say so.
Flodesk's free plan shows no subscriber cap, but Flodesk lists email sending among its paid features.

Sources and verification dates

Kit pricing and limits checked 19 Oct 2026
beehiiv pricing and limits checked 19 Oct 2026
Buttondown pricing and limits checked 14 Oct 2026
Substack pricing and limits checked 14 Oct 2026
Ghost pricing and limits checked 14 Oct 2026
Flodesk pricing and limits checked 14 Oct 2026
MailerLite pricing and limits checked 19 Oct 2026
EmailOctopus pricing and limits checked 19 Oct 2026
GetResponse pricing and limits checked 19 Oct 2026
Sequenzy pricing and limits checked 14 Oct 2026
Moosend pricing and limits checked 19 Oct 2026

Prices and limits checked on 17 vendor pages. Oldest check: 30 Sep 2026.

14 Oct 2026: Rebuilt the guide for creators and small businesses who want to charge readers: the same eleven tools, priced for a paid newsletter on its own domain from each vendor's own pricing page, with the fee each platform takes from paid subscriptions shown for every tool.

Spot something out of date?Vendors and readers, send me the correct fact.

Software sites change almost every week, and I want every claim on this page to be factually correct. If you are a vendor or a reader, send me the correct fact and a link to the official page. I will check it and update the page. The opinions and rankings stay mine.

Questions people ask

What's the difference between a newsletter platform and an email marketing tool?

A newsletter platform is built for publishing: posts live on a web archive, readers subscribe, and the platform can bill them for paid subscriptions. beehiiv, Substack, Ghost and Buttondown work this way. An email marketing tool is built for a business mailing customers: automations, landing pages and segments come first, and charging readers is usually not part of it. MailerLite, GetResponse, Moosend and EmailOctopus are email tools. Kit sits between the two, with email tools plus paid subscriptions and product sales.

Which newsletter platform has the best free plan?

Kit's: it holds 10,000 subscribers and lets you use your own domain. beehiiv's free plan covers 2,500 subscribers but leaves out paid subscriptions and a custom domain. EmailOctopus is free for 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month. Substack is free at any list size and takes a share of paid-subscription revenue instead. Kit and MailerLite also offer trials of their paid plans with no card.

Which newsletter platforms take no cut of paid subscriptions?

beehiiv, Ghost and Buttondown take nothing from paid-subscription revenue, so the only fee on each payment is Stripe's processing fee. Kit keeps a small cut inside an all-in transaction fee that already includes card processing. Substack keeps the largest share of the platforms here, and Stripe's fees come on top of it. Flodesk adds no fee to its checkout, but it sells products rather than subscriptions. The table above shows each platform's exact cut.

Which newsletter platform is best for monetization?

It depends on how you earn. For paid subscriptions at the lowest total cost, Buttondown is $24.17/month billed annually for a list of this size and takes no cut. For subscriptions plus digital products from one list, Kit's Creator plan covers both. For a newsletter-first business with no revenue share, beehiiv's Lite is $95/month billed annually. Substack costs nothing up front but keeps a share of every subscription payment, so it wins only while revenue is small.

How much does a newsletter platform cost?

For a paid newsletter with this many subscribers on your own domain: Buttondown is $24.17/month billed annually, Ghost Publisher is $63/month billed annually, Kit Creator is $75/month billed annually and beehiiv Lite is $95/month billed annually. Substack charges no plan price; it keeps a share of subscription revenue and charges a one-time fee for a custom domain. Most of these prices rise with your subscriber count, so check the next band before your list crosses it.

Can I switch newsletter platforms without losing subscribers?

Usually, yes. Your subscriber list is yours, and email addresses move from one platform to another as an export and an import. What needs care is everything around the list: paid subscribers, who should keep their billing without signing up again, your web archive and links, and your sending reputation. Using your own domain from the start makes a later move much easier, because your address and links don't change with the platform.

Do I need a newsletter platform if I already have an email marketing tool?

Not if your newsletter is free and one part of your business's email. MailerLite, GetResponse or Moosend send a regular newsletter well. A newsletter platform earns its place when publishing is the main activity: when you want a public archive of your posts, paid subscriptions billed for you, or a website built around your writing. If you want to charge readers, most email tools here can't do it without another product.

Joonas Rotko

SEO & GEO professional, founder of That Marketing Buddy

I'm a Finnish SEO and GEO professional with 11+ years in digital marketing, including years as a co-owner of a digital marketing agency. On That Marketing Buddy I test and compare SEO and AI-visibility software for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and agencies.

About me How I review LinkedIn

Best Newsletter Platforms for Creators and Writers

Looking for something else?

I'm down to two of these

I also need funnels, courses or a CRM

I want a discount before I commit

My picks for different needs

The tools side by side

11 picks, in the order I'd consider them

Kit

beehiiv

Buttondown

Substack

Ghost

Flodesk

MailerLite

EmailOctopus

GetResponse

Sequenzy

Moosend

What a paid newsletter with 5,000 subscribers really costs

Pay monthly or yearly?

When you'll outgrow the plan

Other options, and why they missed the list

How I chose, and how I earn from this page

Affiliate disclosure

Questions people ask

Compare two of them head to head

The SEO and AI visibility software worth your money, and the ones that are not