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Price Snapshot
How much does Buttondown cost?
Buttondown starts at $9/mo for a paid plan, with a free plan for smaller teams. That's 40% below median for Email Marketing tools. That is the entry price: the Pay-as-you-grow plan covers up to 500 subscribers, and the same plan is $239/mo at 25,000. Annual billing brings the per-month price down further.
Calculate before you commit
Email Marketing pricing at your contact count
Use my pricing calculator to see how Buttondown compares with other Email Marketing software at the contact count you actually need. Every tool here is priced at the same volume, which is the comparison a vendor’s own pricing page cannot make.
At 500 contacts, Buttondown costs $9/mo on Pay-as-you-grow, which is #9 of 24 in Email Marketing. Mailchimp, the most-reviewed option here, costs $27/mo at the same volume.
EmailOctopusFree/mo
FlodeskFree/mo
Benchmark EmailFree/mo
beehiivFree/mo
LoopsFree/mo
SenderFree/mo
Selzy$7.50/mo
Moosend$9/mo
Buttondown$9/mo
Campaign Monitor$11.70/mo
Constant Contact$12/mo
EngageBay$14.99/mo
Ghost$15/mo
MailerLite$19/mo
Omnisend$20/mo
AWeber$25/mo
Mailchimp$27/mo
Klaviyo$30/mo
Drip$39/mo
Kit$39/mo
ActiveCampaign$49/mo
Customer.io$100/mo
Encharge$179/mo
Keap$299/mo
Priced in another currency, so listed separately rather than ranked:
Zoho CampaignsFree/mo≈$0
The vendor’s own price is on the left. The dollar figure is my conversion at rates taken on 2026-08-06, shown only to give a sense of scale. These vendors do not set their dollar price by converting, so the approximation is not what you would be charged and is not used for ranking.
Some tools do not publish a price at exactly 500 contacts. Those show the next tier up, which is what you would actually pay: EmailOctopus at 2,500, Flodesk at 1,000, beehiiv at 2,500, Loops at 1,000, Sender at 2,500, Buttondown at 1,000.
Compare all Email Marketing pricing by budget →
24 of 25 Email Marketing tools publish a price at this volume. Every figure is the vendor’s own published rate for monthly billing, read from their pricing page and last checked 2026-08-06. Nothing is estimated between published tiers.
WHAT THIS CATEGORY COSTS AS YOU SCALE
Email Marketing pricing by list size
The middle of the market at each level, across every Email Marketing tool on this site that publishes a price there. Going from 500 contacts to 100,000 contacts multiplies the typical bill by 37.5×. At 25,000 contacts, HubSpot costs 5.1× what Buttondown does.
ButtondownCategory median
HubSpot(most reviewed, 40,490)Buttondown$9Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$4/mo
HubSpot$20Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$7/mo
Buttondown$29Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$17/mo
Buttondown$29HubSpot$220Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo
Buttondown$79HubSpot$470Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo
Buttondown$239HubSpot$1,220Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo
Buttondown$319HubSpot$2,470Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo
HubSpot$5,350Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo
Each median is the middle price of the cheapest plan covering that level, across the 36 Email Marketing tools on this site. Tools that publish no price at a level are excluded from that row rather than estimated, which is why coverage varies. “Most reviewed” uses combined third-party review counts as a stand-in for popularity. These are list prices before overage, add-ons and seat charges.
Plans
Buttondown plans and pricing
1 paid plan · Monthly rates shown, annual noted per plan · Verified May 29, 2026
First 100 active subscribers free. Editor, custom domain, hosted archives.
From $9/mo ($90/yr) at 500 subscribers; scales (see tier ladder): $29 at 2.5k-5k, $79 at 10k, $239 at 25k, $319 at 50k. 18% off annual. À la carte add-ons. Charged for active subscribers only.
The free plan covers up to 100 subscribers with markdown editor, hosted archives, and custom domain sending. No credit card required.
Recommendation
Which plan should you choose?
100 subscribers gives you real room to test newsletter writing without pressure.
The markdown editor is available from day one, perfect for technical writers.
Buttondown's privacy-first approach justifies the premium once you need advanced features.
Without public pricing, it's hard to know if you're getting good value compared to MailerLite or beehiiv .
Scaling Costs
How much as you grow?
Buttondown uses contact-based pricing. Here's how costs change as your list grows.
On the Pay-as-you-grow plan, Buttondown ranges from $0/mo at 100 contacts to $319/mo at 50,000 contacts. That's a Infinityx increase.
| contacts | Pay-as-you-grow |
|---|---|
| 100 | $0 |
| 500 | $9 |
| 2,500 | $29 |
| 5,000 | $29 |
| 10,000 | $79 |
| 25,000 | $239 |
| 50,000 | $319 |
Buddy's Take
On the Pay-as-you-grow plan, going from 100 to 50,000 contacts is a Infinityx price jump ($0 to $319/mo). Budget for this. Contact-based pricing always catches people off guard.
Editorial
My take on Buttondown pricing
Buttondown's pricing philosophy is honest but vague. The free tier is useful with 100 subscribers and core features. Once you outgrow that, you're insubscriber-based pricing territory without public rates.
The add-on structure tells the real story: Analytics (+$9), Automation (+$29), and Teams (+$79). These aren't small fees. If you need automation, you're looking at base pricing plus $29 monthly. The **Buttondown MCP server** means you can control it from AI assistants, but you'll need the automation add-on to make that worthwhile.
Deals
Available discounts
Non-profit Discount
501(c)(3) organizations get 50% off all paid plans
Verdict
Is Buttondown Worth the Price?
Buttondown works if you value simplicity and privacy over feature abundance. The free plan is useful for small creators. Beyond that, the pricing becomes opaque and potentially expensive with add-ons. You're paying for a minimal, well-crafted tool rather than a feature-packed platform.
If you need automation or analytics, budget for those $29-$79 monthly add-ons on top of base subscriber pricing. For most creators, MailerLite or Kit offer clearer value.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Buttondown doesn't publish subscriber pricing. You need to contact them or sign up to see rates beyond the free 100 subscribers.
Up to 100 subscribers, markdown editor, hosted archives, and custom domain sending. No credit card required.
Analytics costs +$9/month, Automation +$29/month, and Teams +$79/month. These are added to your base subscriber pricing.
Yes, registered 501(c)(3) organizations get 50% off all paid plans.
Yes, Buttondown operates on a monthly billing cycle with no long-term contracts.
Yes, Buttondown offers a REST API for developers and integrates with AI assistants through its community-built MCP server.
Without public pricing, it's hard to compare directly. The add-on costs suggest it may be pricier than alternatives like MailerLite or beehiiv for feature-rich setups.
See the pricing for yourself
Check the official pricing page for current rates.
View Buttondown PricingMore on Buttondown
Joonas Rotko
Author & founder of That Marketing Buddy
I score marketing software for AI-stack fit (MCP, API, agent-readiness), backed by 10+ years in digital marketing. Building the most trustworthy marketing software database so you can trust the pricing data on this site.
This page may contain affiliate links. I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never influences pricing data.