Newsletter LedgerButtondown alternatives: what costs less at your size
Buttondown takes 0% of paid subscriptions, but it is free only for the first 100 subscribers and adds $9/month once you sell subscriptions. Under 10,000 subscribers Kit costs less for free and paid newsletters, because Kit's Free plan covers that size and sells subscriptions. MailerLite Comfort is within a few dollars of Buttondown at most sizes. Buttondown's self-serve prices in our data stop at 20,000 subscribers. Prices checked .
Paid newsletter: monthly cost next to Buttondown
| Platform | 1,000 subscribers | 2,500 subscribers | 5,000 subscribers | 10,000 subscribers | 20,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buttondown (for reference) | $44.60 Standard | $104.50 Standard | $171.00 Standard | $354.00 Standard | $680.00 Standard |
| Kit | $29.00 cheapest Free | $72.50 cheapest Free | $145.00 cheapest Free | $290.00 cheapest Free | $737.50 * Creator |
| MailerLite | $43.70 Comfort | $96.20 Comfort | $177.10 Comfort | $346.10 Comfort | $675.10 Comfort |
| Ghost (Pro) | $55.60 Publisher | $129.50 * Publisher | $196.00 * Publisher | $354.00 * Publisher | $673.00 * cheapest Publisher |
| beehiiv | $75.60 Lite | $135.50 Lite | $228.00 Lite | $385.00 Lite | $701.00 Lite |
| Substack | $66.60 Substack (no plan fee) | $166.50 Substack (no plan fee) | $333.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $666.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $1,332.00 Substack (no plan fee) |
Per month, US dollars, billed yearly where the platform offers it, otherwise month-to-month. 5% of the list pays $8/month; plan, platform fee and Stripe's card fees included. * = includes a figure not yet confirmed on the vendor's own page. "n/a" = no self-serve price in our data at that size.
Free newsletter: monthly cost next to Buttondown
| Platform | 1,000 subscribers | 2,500 subscribers | 5,000 subscribers | 10,000 subscribers | 20,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buttondown (for reference) | $9.00 Standard | $29.00 Standard | $29.00 Standard | $79.00 Standard | $139.00 Standard |
| Kit | $0.00 cheapest Free | $0.00 cheapest Free | $0.00 cheapest Free | $0.00 cheapest Free | $157.50 * Creator |
| MailerLite | $17.10 Comfort | $29.70 Comfort | $44.10 Comfort | $80.10 Comfort | $143.10 Comfort |
| Ghost (Pro) | $18.00 Starter | $63.00 * Publisher | $63.00 * Publisher | $88.00 * Publisher | $141.00 * Publisher |
| beehiiv | $0.00 cheapest Free | $0.00 cheapest Free | $95.00 Lite | $119.00 Lite | $169.00 Lite |
| Substack | $0.00 cheapest Substack (no plan fee) | $0.00 cheapest Substack (no plan fee) | $0.00 cheapest Substack (no plan fee) | $0.00 cheapest Substack (no plan fee) | $0.00 cheapest Substack (no plan fee) |
Per month, US dollars, billed yearly where the platform offers it, otherwise month-to-month. Plan price only. * = includes a figure not yet confirmed on the vendor's own page. "n/a" = no self-serve price in our data at that size.
Try your own list size, price and share of paying readers in the cost calculator.
Disclosure: links to platforms go through /go/ redirects. Some are affiliate links (currently beehiiv, Systeme.io and Buttondown): if you sign up and pay, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. That never changes the numbers or the order of results. Full disclosure.
The alternatives, from their own pages
Kit
- Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers, and it can sell paid subscriptions.
- Charges 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction including card processing, which Kit says means it "only takes 0.6%".
- Above 10,000 subscribers you need the Creator plan. Creator prices above 3,000 subscribers are not yet confirmed on Kit's own page.
- The referral program is on the Pro plan, not Creator.
Visit Kit (opens in a new tab)
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
MailerLite
- Free plan up to 250 subscribers, without paid newsletters.
- Comfort is priced by list size and sells paid subscriptions with 0% commission; only Stripe fees apply.
- Paying yearly saves 10%.
- A general email marketing tool, not only a newsletter platform.
Visit MailerLite (opens in a new tab)
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
Ghost (Pro)
- Ghost(Pro) has no free plan. Starter is $18/month billed yearly and cannot sell subscriptions.
- Publisher, the cheapest plan with paid subscriptions, is $29/month billed yearly at 1,000 members. Prices for larger lists sit behind a slider we could not read, so those figures are not yet confirmed.
- No transaction fees from Ghost on subscriptions; payment processor fees still apply.
Visit Ghost (Pro) (opens in a new tab)
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
beehiiv
- Free plan up to 2,500 subscribers, without paid subscriptions.
- Lite is the cheapest plan that sells subscriptions, priced by list size.
- Takes 0% of paid subscription revenue; you pay only Stripe.
- Lite includes the referral program and the ad network, up to 10 live automations and one paid tier.
Visit beehiiv (opens in a new tab)
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
Substack
- Free to publish at any list size: there is no plan price.
- Keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, on top of Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per card charge. Its help center also lists Stripe Billing at 0.7% of recurring payments.
- A custom domain is an optional one-time $50.
Visit Substack (opens in a new tab)
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
When Buttondown is still the better deal
- Paid newsletters around 5,000 subscribers. Buttondown costs less than MailerLite there, and less than Substack at every size we checked.
- A simple, writing-first tool. Buttondown is built for newsletters only, with a flat price instead of a revenue share.
Questions
What is cheaper than Buttondown?
Under 10,000 subscribers, Kit: its Free plan costs $0 and sells paid subscriptions. MailerLite Comfort is within a few dollars of Buttondown at most sizes and cheaper for a paid newsletter at most of them, because Buttondown adds $9/month for paid subscriptions.
Is there a free alternative to Buttondown?
Buttondown is free only up to 100 subscribers. Kit Free covers 10,000 subscribers, beehiiv Free 2,500 (without paid subscriptions), and Substack is $0 at any size, though Substack keeps 10% once readers pay.
What if my list grows past 20,000 subscribers?
Buttondown's self-serve prices in our data stop at 20,000, so larger lists need to contact Buttondown. MailerLite, beehiiv, Kit and Ghost(Pro) all list prices above that size.
This page compares published prices and plan limits only; we have not moved a publication off Buttondown ourselves. The order of platforms follows the numbers, never whether a platform pays us. See the methodology.