Newsletter LedgerMailerLite alternatives: what costs less for your newsletter
MailerLite Comfort is one of the cheaper ways to run a paid newsletter, but it is not the cheapest at every size. Under 10,000 subscribers Kit costs less, free or paid, because Kit's Free plan covers that size and sells subscriptions. For a large free newsletter Substack stays $0, and from 25,000 subscribers beehiiv and Ghost(Pro) are close to or below MailerLite for a paid newsletter in our example. Prices checked .
Paid newsletter: monthly cost next to MailerLite
| Platform | 1,000 subscribers | 5,000 subscribers | 10,000 subscribers | 25,000 subscribers | 50,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite (for reference) | $43.70 Comfort | $177.10 Comfort | $346.10 Comfort | $826.10 Comfort | $1,617.10 Comfort |
| Kit | $29.00 cheapest Free | $145.00 cheapest Free | $290.00 cheapest Free | $890.83 * Creator | $1,829.00 * Creator |
| Buttondown | $44.60 Standard | $171.00 Standard | $354.00 Standard | n/a no self-serve price | n/a no self-serve price |
| Ghost (Pro) | $55.60 Publisher | $196.00 * Publisher | $354.00 * Publisher | $806.00 * cheapest Publisher | $1,538.00 * cheapest Publisher |
| beehiiv | $75.60 Lite | $228.00 Lite | $385.00 Lite | $834.00 Lite | $1,579.00 Lite |
| Substack | $66.60 Substack (no plan fee) | $333.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $666.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $1,665.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $3,330.00 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 MailerLite
| Platform | 1,000 subscribers | 5,000 subscribers | 10,000 subscribers | 25,000 subscribers | 50,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite (for reference) | $17.10 Comfort | $44.10 Comfort | $80.10 Comfort | $161.10 Comfort | $287.10 Comfort |
| Kit | $0.00 cheapest Free | $0.00 cheapest Free | $0.00 cheapest Free | $165.83 * Creator | $379.00 * Creator |
| Buttondown | $9.00 Standard | $29.00 Standard | $79.00 Standard | n/a no self-serve price | n/a no self-serve price |
| Ghost (Pro) | $18.00 Starter | $63.00 * Publisher | $88.00 * Publisher | $141.00 * Publisher | $208.00 * Publisher |
| beehiiv | $0.00 cheapest Free | $95.00 Lite | $119.00 Lite | $169.00 Lite | $249.00 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)
Buttondown
- Free for the first 100 subscribers, then priced by list size: $9/month to 1,000, $29 to 5,000, $79 to 10,000 and $139 to 20,000.
- Paid subscriptions are a +$9/month add-on, and Buttondown says "You keep all of the money you make after credit card fees."
- No yearly price found, so our figures are month-to-month.
Visit Buttondown (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 MailerLite is still the better deal
- Paid newsletters from just above 10,000 to 25,000 subscribers. Once Kit's Free plan runs out, MailerLite Comfort is within 3% of the cheapest platform in our data, with 0% commission.
- More than a newsletter. MailerLite is a general email marketing tool, so automations, forms and landing pages come with the same plan.
Questions
What is cheaper than MailerLite for a newsletter?
Under 10,000 subscribers, Kit: its Free plan costs $0 and sells paid subscriptions, so it beats MailerLite Comfort for free and paid newsletters. Buttondown is within a few dollars of MailerLite at most sizes up to 20,000. From 25,000 subscribers beehiiv and Ghost(Pro) come close to or below MailerLite for a paid newsletter, though Ghost's figures at that size are not yet confirmed.
Is there a free alternative to MailerLite?
Yes. MailerLite Free stops at 250 subscribers, while Kit Free covers 10,000, beehiiv Free 2,500 (without paid subscriptions) and Substack is $0 at any size, though Substack keeps 10% once readers pay.
Do MailerLite alternatives take a cut of paid subscriptions?
beehiiv, Buttondown and Ghost(Pro) take 0%, like MailerLite. Kit takes 0.6% on top of card processing, and Substack keeps 10%.
This page compares published prices and plan limits only; we have not moved a publication off MailerLite ourselves. The order of platforms follows the numbers, never whether a platform pays us. See the methodology.