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Newsletter platform cost calculator

Enter your list size and the features you need. We show what 23 tracked platforms (beehiiv, Kit, Substack, Mailchimp, MailerLite, Brevo and more) would actually cost you today — and at 2× and 5× your list — with every price linked to its official source.

Free Get an email when these prices change, plus a monthly cost report. Price Change Alerts →

Prices change often. Each price was checked on the platform's official pricing page on the date shown; plans, promos and taxes vary. Confirm on the official site before you buy. Not financial advice.

Results

Cheapest 3 for your list (by total monthly cost, same order as the full list)

We earn a commission from some links, at no extra cost to you.

Systeme.io Startup$17/moSee Systeme.io plans paid link
Buttondown Paid (usage-based)$29/moSee Buttondown plans paid link
EmailOctopus Pro$31.50/moSee EmailOctopus plans paid link

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Monthly cost in USD for 5,000 subscribers, billed monthly. "Total" = plan price.
#	Platform	Cheapest fitting plan	Plan /mo	Total /mo	Total /yr	At 2× list	At 5× list	Verified	Link
1	Systeme.io Cheapest	Startup tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan; billed on peak contacts; overage charges above the tier	$17	$17	$204	$47	$97	Oct 27, 2026	See plans paid link
2	Buttondown	Paid (usage-based) tier up to 5,000	$29	$29	$348	$79	$239	Oct 27, 2026	See plans paid link
3	EmailOctopus	Pro tier up to 5,000	$31.50	$31.50	$378	$44.50	$94.50	Oct 27, 2026	See plans paid link
4	Brevo	Starter tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan; priced by emails sent: 20,000 emails/month (4 per subscriber)	$32	$32	$384	$46	$82	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
5	Sender	Standard tier up to 5,000	$39	$39	$468	$69	$149	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
6	Moosend	Pro tier up to 5,000 billed on peak contacts; overage charges above the tier	$48	$48	$576	$88	$160	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
7	MailerLite	Comfort tier up to 5,000	$49	$49	$588	$89	$179	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
8	Shopify Email	Basic plan + email usage tier up to 5,000 priced by emails sent: 20,000 emails/month (4 per subscriber)	$49	$49	$588	$69	$129	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
9	Flodesk	Lite tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan	$52	$52	$624	$72	$162	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
10	SendPulse	Standard tier up to 5,000	$52	$52	$624	$78	$159	Oct 20, 2026	See plans paid link
11	GetResponse	Starter tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan; billed on peak contacts; overage charges above the tier	$54	$54	$648	$79	$174	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
12	Mailjet	Premium tier up to 12,500 priced by emails sent: 20,000 emails/month (4 per subscriber)	$59	$59	$708	$59	$112	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
13	AWeber	Lite tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan	$60	$60	$720	$100	$210	Oct 27, 2026	See plans paid link
14	Mailchimp	Essentials tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan; billed on peak contacts; overage charges above the tier	$75	$75	$900	$110	$270	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
15	Constant Contact	Lite tier up to 5,000 limited automations on this plan	$80	$80	$960	$120	$280	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
16	Omnisend	Standard tier up to 5,000	$81	$81	$972	$132	$282	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
17	Kit (ConvertKit)	Creator tier up to 5,000	$89	$89	$1,068	$139	$199	Oct 20, 2026	See plans
18	ActiveCampaign	Starter tier up to 5,000 billed on peak contacts; overage charges above the tier	$99	$99	$1,188	$189	$489	Oct 20, 2026	See plans
19	Klaviyo	Email tier up to 5,000	$100	$100	$1,200	$150	$400	Oct 27, 2026	See plans
20	beehiiv	Lite tier up to 5,000	$109	$109	$1,308	$139	$199	Oct 27, 2026	See plans paid link

Not shown (3)

Ghost (Ghost(Pro)): Starter: no automations; Publisher: no automations; Business: no automations
Substack: Free + 10% of paid revenue: no automations
HubSpot (Marketing Hub): Free: no automations; Starter: Above the largest published tier (price not published)

Cheapest fitting plan per platform; ties keep the lower tier. "n/a" means no self-serve plan covers that list size or feature set. Ranking is by cost only — affiliate relationships never change the order (disclosure).

Next: What would switching cost me? · Best platform for my needs & budget · Price change tracker

Get alerted if these prices change

We re-check every platform's official pricing page and email you when a price, limit or fee changes, with before/after numbers and the cheapest alternative. Plus one monthly cost report. Free, no spam. What you get →

Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)

Costs at a glance

1,000 subscribers (with automations, monthly billing): cheapest is EmailOctopus Free at $0/mo; most expensive tracked option is beehiiv at $59/mo.
10,000 subscribers (with automations, monthly billing): cheapest is EmailOctopus Pro at $44.50/mo; most expensive tracked option is ActiveCampaign at $189/mo.
50,000 subscribers (with automations, monthly billing): cheapest is Systeme.io Unlimited at $97/mo; most expensive tracked option is ActiveCampaign at $759/mo.

Price-change log

Dated, sourced record of every pricing change we track — starting with beehiiv's October 2026 increase. Plus a monthly cost report across all platforms.

beehiiv price increase 2026

What you'll pay at your renewal and the cheaper alternatives at your list size.

Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost

Cost at 1k, 10k and 50k subscribers — free and paid newsletters.

Head-to-head comparisons

Cheapest platform for your list size

Best platform for your use case

Cheaper alternatives

FAQ

What is the cheapest newsletter platform?

It depends on list size and features. With no special needs, Substack is free (it takes 10% of paid subscription revenue instead), Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers and beehiiv is free up to 2,500. If you need automations, EmailOctopus is usually the cheapest in our data; if you also want your website on your own domain, MailerLite or Buttondown usually is. Use the calculator for your exact numbers.

How much did beehiiv raise its prices in 2026?

On October 1, 2026 beehiiv renamed Scale to Lite and Max to Pro. At 10,000 subscribers on monthly billing, Lite went from $109 to $139/month and Pro from $219 to $239/month. Existing customers move to the new prices at their first renewal on or after November 1, 2026.

Does the calculator include payment processing fees?

Yes, if you tick "paid subscriptions". We add each platform's own cut (e.g. Substack 10%, Kit's all-in 3.5% + $0.30) plus an estimate of Stripe's standard card fee (2.9% + $0.30 per payment) for Stripe-based platforms, and Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where the platform's own docs confirm subscriptions run on your Stripe account (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack, AWeber and Flodesk).

How often are prices checked?

Every price row shows the date it was last verified against the official pricing page and links to the source. Price changes are recorded in our dated price-change log.

Want to know when any of this changes? Get free price-change alerts.