newsletter platform · Automattic

MailPoet

WordPress plugin that sends newsletters from your own site, with a free plan for up to 500 subscribers.

54/100

#9 of 12 newsletter platforms
Facts checked 9 Oct 2026

In short

The free Starter plan allows 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails a month³.
Creator costs $14 a month billed yearly at the 1,500-subscriber step; Business costs $17².
Paid plans (Creator, Business, Agency) scale with subscriber count, from 500 up to 200,000³.
Subscribers can be imported from CSV files and exported as CSV or Excel files^7,8.
The plugin is open source under GPLv3, and its code is public on GitHub^1,4,12.

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^1,7,8,9,13. The free plan covers 500 subscribers, and Creator costs $14 a month at the 1,500-subscriber step when billed yearly^2,3. The catch: the vendor's plan and feature pages do not describe paid subscriptions, a recommendation network or A/B tests^5,6.

Best for: WordPress site owners who want newsletters inside their site.

Where the points come from

Earning0 of 25

Your list32 of 32

Growth9 of 26

Price13 of 17

Earning 0 of 25 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Paid subscriptions	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's home or features pages; none describe reader-paid subscriptions to your newsletter^1,6.	0 / 8
Fee on paid subscriptions	Not publishedNo built-in paid subscriptions are described on the vendor's pages, so there is no fee to record^1,6.	0 / 10
Built-in sponsorship or ad network	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page⁶.	0 / 4
Sell digital products	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page⁶.	0 / 3

Your list 32 of 32 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Export your subscriber list	YesHelp page exports chosen lists or segments, several lists into one file, as CSV or Excel; no plan limit stated⁷.	8 / 8
Import subscribers	YesHelp page documents importing subscribers from CSV files on the Subscribers page; no plan requirement stated⁸.	5 / 5
Website on your own domain	YesHelp article shows a past-newsletters archive page on your own WordPress site with the [mailpoet_archive] shortcode; no plan requirement stated¹³.	7 / 7
Send from your own domain	YesHelp article covers a branded sender domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for the From address¹¹.	5 / 5
Open source	YesPlugin readme states GPLv3; the home page and WordPress.org say it is open source, with the code public on GitHub^1,4,12.	3 / 3
Public API	YesThe vendor's repository documents a PHP API with addSubscriber and getSubscriber methods; it runs inside WordPress, not over HTTP¹⁴.	4 / 4

Growth 9 of 26 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Recommendation network	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page⁶.	0 / 6
Referral program	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page⁶.	0 / 4
Send to a tag or segment	YesA segment can be picked under Send to; tags work by building a segment on them. Multiple conditions need a paid plan⁹.	5 / 5
Automated email sequences	YesHome page describes an automated series of onboarding emails; Starter lists basic automation; help covers triggers and actions^1,2,10.	4 / 4
Subscriber source reports	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page, which lists only per-subscriber engagement statistics⁶.	0 / 4
Subject-line A/B tests	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features pages^5,6.	0 / 3

Price 13 of 17 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Free plan	YesStarter is free for up to 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails a month³.	8 / 8
Cost at 1,000 subscribers	$14/moCreator, $14 a month billed yearly ($168) at the 1,500-subscriber step; the plan page has no 1,000 step. Sending is not included².	5 / 9

The rule behind each line: how we score newsletter platforms.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Starter1 site	Free³	$0	Up to 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails a month; MailPoet branding
Creator1 site	$14/month billed yearly ($168/year)^2,3	$14	1,500-subscriber step; Premium features; you send through your host or another service
Business1 site	$17/month billed yearly ($204/year)^2,3	$17	1,500-subscriber step; Premium features plus the MailPoet Sending Service

Prices are for the 1,500-subscriber step, the smallest step above 1,000 on the plan page; monthly billing costs $16 for Creator and $20 for Business there².

Strengths

Free Starter plan with 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails a month³.
Documented CSV import and CSV or Excel export of subscribers^7,8.
Send an issue to a segment chosen in the Send to field⁹.
Open source under GPLv3, with the code public on GitHub^1,4,12.

Limits

Paid subscriptions, an ad network and digital product sales are not described on the vendor's pages^1,6.
Multi-condition segments and filter groups need a paid plan⁹.
The free plan puts MailPoet branding in emails³.
Needs a WordPress site to run⁴.

Other newsletter platforms

1
beehiivWriters who want an ad network, referrals and growth tools
97/100
$0cost at 1,000 subscribers
2
KitCreators who sell products and want a large free plan
94/100
$0cost at 1,000 subscribers
3
GhostWriters who want open-source software and no cut of paid-subscription revenue
77/100
$0cost at 1,000 subscribers
4
SubstackWriters who want paid subscriptions and reader discovery with no monthly fee
71/100
$0cost at 1,000 subscribers

All 12 newsletter platforms

Sources

MailPoet home page, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet plans and pricing, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet plans and limits explained, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet - Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation, WordPress.org. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet plan features, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet all features, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
How to Export Subscribers from MailPoet, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Importing Subscribers with CSV Files, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Guide to Subscriber Segmentation, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet automations help category, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
MailPoet plugin readme (source repository), MailPoet on GitHub. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Display a List of Past Newsletters (Archive) on a Page, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
Add Subscriber and Get Subscriber API methods, MailPoet. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.

Website: www.mailpoet.com · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with Automattic.