Newsletter platforms compete aggressively on free tiers. Most let you grow to 500-1,000 subscribers for nothing. Substack is fully free to launch (they take 10% of paid subscriptions instead). beehiiv's free plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers. Kit (ConvertKit) is free up to 10,000 subscribers with limited automations. The real question isn't cost at zero. It's which platform's paid tier you'll want when you're ready to monetize. Below are the platforms with real free access, followed by the full category. If you want to narrow the field further, run a side-by-side comparison between your top picks or browse the full creator software directory for options outside this category. Every listing is scored using the same review methodology.
Editorial policy: How we review software · How rankings work · Sponsored disclosure
10 tools with free access highlighted below, plus 0 more in this category.
Published price means the vendor states a figure; quote only means it does not. The best-fit line is each tool’s own authored sentence, not a description of its deployment model.
| Tool | Published price | Pricing model | Deployment | Free trial | Best for | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 BeehiivSponsored | $0 (Launch, to 2,500 subscribers) | Tiered by subscriber count | Cloud | Yes | Newsletters focused on growth and ad revenue | Read review |
 AWeber | $0 (500 subscribers, 3,000 emails/mo) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Small businesses wanting support and selling in one tool | Read review |
 Buttondown | $0 (up to 100 subscribers) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Writers with an existing audience who want to charge for it | Read review |
 Ghost | $18/mo Starter, billed annually | Member-count tiers, or free self-hosted software | Cloud | Yes | Owned publications with paid subscriptions | Read review |
 Kit (ConvertKit) | $0 (free to 10,000 subscribers) | Tiered by subscriber count, unlimited sends | Cloud | Yes | Creators selling a product off a list | Read review |
 Loops | $0 (1,000 contacts, 4,000 sends/mo) | Usage-based pricing | Cloud | Yes | SaaS teams consolidating marketing and transactional email | Read review |
 Mailchimp | $0 (500 contacts, 1,000 sends/mo) | Priced by contact count, send limits per plan | Cloud | Yes | Email tied to ecommerce, CRM and landing pages | Read review |
 MailerLite | $0 (free to 1,000 active subscribers) | Tiered by active subscribers, unlimited sends | Cloud | Yes | Low-cost newsletter publishing | Read review |
 Moosend | $9/mo Pro at 500 subscribers ($7 annually) | Per-subscriber | Cloud | Yes | Budget-conscious senders who need real automation | Read review |
 Substack | $0/mo | Freemium | Cloud | Yes | Starting a paid newsletter at zero cost | Read review |
Showing 10 of 10
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Beehiiv is a newsletter platform built for growth, offering built-in referral programs, an ad network (Boosts), an AI-powered website builder, and paid subscription tools with 0% transaction fees. It's designed for newsletter creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without stitching together multiple tools. Free for up to 2,500 subscribers, with paid plans starting at $49/month.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
AWeber is an email marketing and newsletter platform built for small businesses and creators who need reliable email delivery, automation, and built-in monetization tools. It includes a drag-and-drop email builder, 600+ templates, landing pages, sign-up forms, and ecommerce features. Plans start free for up to 500 subscribers, with paid tiers from $15/month.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Buttondown is a minimalist newsletter platform that lets creators write and send email newsletters using a Markdown editor, manage subscribers, and run paid subscriptions through Stripe with zero revenue share. It is built and maintained by a single developer, prioritizes simplicity and privacy, and offers a free plan for up to 100 subscribers with paid tiers starting at $9/month.
Flat monthly fee · Cloud · Free trial
Ghost is an open-source publishing platform that combines a full website, blog, membership system, and email newsletter into one tool, with 0% platform fees on revenue. Writers can self-host it for free or use Ghost Pro managed hosting starting at $15/month. It is built specifically for independent writers, journalists, and publishers who want to own their content, audience, and revenue.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is a newsletter and email marketing platform built for creators who want to grow an audience, automate email sequences, sell digital products, and run paid newsletters. It supports up to 10,000 subscribers on its free plan, with paid tiers starting at $39/month for advanced automations and commerce tools.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
Loops is an email platform built specifically for SaaS companies. It handles marketing emails, product emails, and transactional emails in one place, triggered by user events like signups, upgrades, and feature usage. Plans start at $49/month with a free tier for up to 1,000 contacts.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Mailchimp is an email marketing and newsletter platform owned by Intuit that lets creators design, send, and automate email campaigns to subscriber lists. It offers drag-and-drop email builders, 300+ integrations, landing pages, and audience segmentation. The free plan covers 250 contacts; paid plans start at $13/month.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
MailerLite is a newsletter and email marketing platform that lets creators build email lists, design newsletters, set up automations, create landing pages, and sell digital products, all from one dashboard. The free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers. Paid plans start at $10/month with unlimited sends.
Per-subscriber · Cloud · Free trial
Moosend is an email marketing and automation platform that offers unlimited email sends, visual automation workflows, landing pages, and subscription forms starting at $9/month for 500 subscribers. It is known for being one of the most affordable email tools with advanced automation capabilities included on every plan.
Freemium · Cloud · Free trial
Substack is a newsletter platform that lets writers publish, grow an audience, and earn money through paid subscriptions, all without paying anything upfront. You write, readers subscribe, and Substack takes a 10% cut only when you charge. It also includes a social feed (Notes), podcast hosting, video publishing, and a built-in recommendation network.
Substack, beehiiv (up to 2,500 subscribers), Kit/ConvertKit (up to 10,000 subscribers with limited features), Ghost (self-hosted only for free), and Mailchimp (up to 500 contacts). Most don't charge until you grow or want premium features.
Substack takes 10% of all paid subscription revenue (not a monthly fee, but a perpetual revenue share). beehiiv's free plan excludes monetization, referral programs, and advanced analytics. Kit's free plan omits automations and sequences. The ceiling of the free tier is where platforms make their money.
beehiiv if you plan to monetize with ads, sponsorships, or a paid subscription and want to keep more revenue long-term. Substack if you want the simplest possible launch with no monthly cost and don't mind the 10% cut. Both have strong built-in discovery for growing your audience.
New reviews, repriced plans and fresh comparisons in newsletter platforms, as we publish them.
Read our buyer guides for deeper editorial takes, check the glossary when a term needs clarifying, or explore pricing calculators to model costs before committing.
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