1. beehiiv
beehiiv suits writers who want to start free and grow, since the free plan covers 2,500 subscribers and the platform keeps no cut of paid subscriptions. Most growth and money tools, including the ad network, referrals, A/B tests and a custom domain, sit behind Lite at $49 a month. Paid subscriptions are not listed on the free plan.
Best for: Writers who want an ad network, referrals and growth tools. Prices, facts and sources
2. Kit
Kit suits creators who want a free plan that scales to 10,000 subscribers and who sell products or subscriptions, since Kit says it keeps only 0.6% of sales. Your newsletter site can use your own domain. Automations and sponsorships need a paid plan, and referrals and the source breakdown of new subscribers need Pro.
Best for: Creators who sell products and want a large free plan. Prices, facts and sources
3. Ghost
Ghost suits writers who want to own the software and keep all paid-subscription revenue apart from Stripe's fees. Recommendations, members export and open code are built in. The catch: the cheapest hosted plan lacks paid memberships, referrals need a separate FirstPromoter account, and automations are in beta.
Best for: Writers who want open-source software and no cut of paid-subscription revenue. Prices, facts and sources
4. Substack
Substack suits writers who want to start a paid newsletter at no upfront cost and tap its recommendation network. The price is a 10% cut of paid revenue, plus card fees. Its public pages do not describe an API, digital-product sales or a sponsorship marketplace. It confirmed a data breach in February 2026.
Best for: Writers who want paid subscriptions and reader discovery with no monthly fee. Prices, facts and sources
5. Buttondown
Buttondown suits writers who want low, flat pricing and a documented API, with no platform cut of paid subscriptions. Segments, welcome sequences and list import and export are built in. The catch: the sources show no recommendation network, referral rewards or A/B tests.
Best for: Writers who want low flat pricing and no cut of paid subscriptions. Prices, facts and sources
6. SendFox
SendFox suits creators who want to start free and pay no SendFox fee on paid newsletters, with tags, plus own-domain sending and CSV export on every plan. A weekly send to 1,000 subscribers is about 4,400 emails, above the free cap of 3,000, so Pro at $15.83 a month applies. The catch: it describes no ad network or subject-line tests, and A/B testing covers automation emails only.
Best for: Creators who want a free start and no fee on paid newsletters. Prices, facts and sources
7. Curated
Curated suits writers who collect links and add commentary, and a list of 1,000 pays nothing. It charges no commission on paid subscriptions and offers a public API, own-domain sending and CSV import. The catch: no help page documents subscriber export, and it lists no automations, referral or A/B tools.
Best for: Writers who send curated link roundups and want a free start. Prices, facts and sources
8. Paragraph
Paragraph suits writers who want a free newsletter and site with an AI agent that drafts for them, and who do not need reader payments. Segments, import, an API and attribution reports are documented. The catch: paid subscriptions are not described, export and a custom domain need a paid plan, and the product is now aimed at company content.
Best for: Writers and small teams who want a free newsletter plus AI drafting help. Prices, facts and sources
9. MailPoet
MailPoet suits people who already run WordPress and want to send newsletters from there, with list import and export, segments and an archive page built in. The free plan covers 500 subscribers, and Creator costs $14 a month at the 1,500-subscriber step when billed yearly. The catch: the vendor's plan and feature pages do not describe paid subscriptions, a recommendation network or A/B tests.
Best for: WordPress site owners who want newsletters inside their site. Prices, facts and sources
10. listmonk
listmonk suits people who can run their own server and want a free, open-source sender with an API and CSV import. Software cost is zero, with no subscriber cap stated. The catch: it is a one-way mailing tool, so its documentation lists no paid subscriptions, automations, referral or recommendation features, and the docs list only a per-subscriber export.
Best for: Technical publishers who want a free tool and full control of their list. Prices, facts and sources
11. Mailcoach
Mailcoach suits writers and developers who prefer to pay for emails sent rather than list size, and who want segments, split tests and automations. A 1,000-subscriber weekly newsletter costs about USD 12 to 15 a month. The catch: it lists no paid subscriptions, no free plan and no subscriber export.
Best for: Developers and writers who want to pay by emails sent, not list size. Prices, facts and sources
12. Sendy
Sendy suits people who want a one-time purchase and to send at Amazon SES prices, with segments, drip autoresponders, an API and CSV import. The catch: it is not open source, the vendor's pages list no export, A/B test, paid subscription or recommendation feature, and there is no free plan.
Best for: Publishers who want to own the software and pay only Amazon for sending. Prices, facts and sources