Short answer: it depends on two numbers, your list size and how often you send. Sending weekly, Buttondown is the cheapest paid platform up to about 1,000 subscribers, and MailCheap is cheapest from roughly 2,500 to 100,000. Sending daily, MailCheap’s per-email pricing stops being an advantage: Buttondown and then Ghost(Pro) come out cheapest. If you only need a free newsletter, Substack costs nothing at any size, and beehiiv and Kit have free plans up to 2,500 and 10,000 subscribers.
We earn a commission if you buy MailCheap through our links. That does not change the numbers below. They are calculated from each platform’s published prices, and the same code drives our newsletter cost calculator.
Cheapest by list size: weekly newsletter
Four emails a month, monthly billing, cheapest paid plan that fits on each of seven paid platforms. Substack is left out of this ranking because it charges a share of revenue instead of a fee.
| Subscribers | Cheapest | 2nd | 3rd | Most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | Buttondown Paid $9 | MailerLite Comfort $12 | Mailchimp Essentials $13 | beehiiv Lite $59 |
| 1,000 | Buttondown Paid $9 | Ghost(Pro) Starter $18 | MailCheap Starter $19 | beehiiv Lite $59 |
| 2,500 | MailCheap Starter $19 | Buttondown Paid $29 | MailerLite Comfort $33 | beehiiv Lite $79 |
| 5,000 | MailCheap Starter $19 | Buttondown Paid $29 | MailerLite Comfort $49 | beehiiv Lite $109 |
| 10,000 | MailCheap Growth $39 | Buttondown Paid $79 | MailerLite Comfort $89 | Kit Creator $139 |
| 25,000 | MailCheap Pro $79 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $169 | MailerLite Comfort $179 | Mailchimp Essentials $270 |
| 50,000 | MailCheap Pro $79 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $249 | beehiiv Lite $299 | Mailchimp Essentials $385 |
| 100,000 | MailCheap Scale $149 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $329 | MailerLite Comfort $439 | Mailchimp Standard $800 |
Weekly sending is where per-email pricing pays off most. Four sends to 50,000 people is 200,000 emails, exactly MailCheap’s Pro allowance, at $79 (Pro) a month. The subscriber-priced platforms charge for list size whether you send once or thirty times. Remember that MailCheap counts every email, including tests and welcome emails, so a list right at the limit needs headroom.
Cheapest by list size: daily newsletter
Thirty emails a month, monthly billing:
| Subscribers | Cheapest | 2nd | 3rd | Most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | Buttondown Paid $9 | Ghost(Pro) Starter $18 | MailCheap Starter $19 | Mailchimp Premium $350 |
| 1,000 | Buttondown Paid $9 | Ghost(Pro) Starter $18 | MailCheap Growth $39 | Mailchimp Premium $350 |
| 2,500 | Buttondown Paid $29 | MailCheap Growth $39 | MailerLite Power $49 | Mailchimp Premium $350 |
| 5,000 | Buttondown Paid $29 | MailerLite Power $69 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $75 | Mailchimp Premium $350 |
| 10,000 | Buttondown Paid $79 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $105 | MailerLite Power $129 | MailCheap Scale $149 |
| 25,000 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $169 | beehiiv Lite $199 | Kit Creator $199 | MailCheap Max $349 |
| 50,000 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $249 | beehiiv Lite $299 | Buttondown Paid $319 | MailerLite Power $389 |
| 100,000 | Ghost(Pro) Publisher $329 | Buttondown Paid $459 | beehiiv Lite $469 | MailCheap Ultra $799 |
Mailchimp shows no price from 10,000 subscribers up at this frequency: daily sending exceeds even Premium’s 15× cap, and overage pricing isn’t published as a simple rate. Buttondown’s published tiers allow up to 31 emails per subscriber a month.
Daily newsletters favour unlimited-send plans. Buttondown is cheapest up to 10,000 subscribers. Above that, Ghost(Pro) Publisher ($169 (Publisher) at 25,000) leads, with beehiiv Lite next. MailCheap drops down the ranking, because 30 sends to 25,000 people is 750,000 emails, which needs the $349 (Max) plan.
Free plans compared
| Platform | Free plan |
|---|---|
| Substack | Free to publish at any size; 10% of paid-subscription revenue if you charge |
| beehiiv | Up to 2,500 subscribers, beehiiv branding |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, limited features |
| Mailchimp | Up to 250 contacts, max 500 emails a month (250 a day), Mailchimp branding, 1 seat |
| MailerLite | Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month |
| Buttondown | First 100 subscribers |
| Ghost(Pro) | No free plan |
| MailCheap | No free plan and no free trial |
Free plans come with limits: platform branding, fewer features, and a ceiling on list size or sends. For a hobby newsletter, Kit’s 10,000-subscriber free plan and beehiiv’s 2,500 are the most generous fixed-fee options we found. Substack is free at any size if you don’t charge readers.
Notes by list size
Under 1,000 subscribers
Start free if you can. If you need a paid tool, Buttondown at $9 (Paid), MailerLite at $12 (Comfort) for 500 subscribers, and Mailchimp Essentials at $13 (Essentials) for 500 contacts are all cheaper than MailCheap’s $19 (Starter) minimum.
1,000 to 10,000
For weekly sending, MailCheap Starter’s 20,000 emails cover a 5,000-person list four times a month for $19 (Starter). The nearest rival at 5,000 is Buttondown at $29 (Paid). beehiiv Lite ($109 (Lite)) and Kit Creator ($89 (Creator)) cost more but include growth and automation tools.
10,000 to 50,000
The spread gets wide. At 25,000 weekly, MailCheap costs $79 (Pro) a month and Mailchimp Essentials $270 (Essentials). Ghost(Pro) Publisher ($169 (Publisher)) is the cheapest option with unlimited sends, plus paid memberships with a 0% Ghost fee.
50,000 to 100,000
At 100,000 weekly, MailCheap Scale is $149 (Scale) and Ghost(Pro) $329 (Publisher). Above 100,000, several platforms (Ghost, Buttondown, Mailchimp Essentials) move to custom or unpublished pricing, so ask for quotes.
What price doesn’t tell you
- Monetisation. beehiiv (Lite and up), Ghost Publisher, Kit and Substack support paid subscriptions. We did not find paid subscriptions in MailCheap’s plan feature list.
- Growth tools. beehiiv’s referral program, recommendation network and ad network, Kit’s referral system on Pro, and Substack’s recommendations can grow a list. MailCheap’s own comparison page says beehiiv “has more ways to grow and earn.”
- Trials and refunds. beehiiv, Kit and Mailchimp offer free trials. MailCheap has none and doesn’t refund partial periods.
- Track record. MailCheap is a newer product. Mailchimp, MailerLite, Ghost, Kit and Substack have been around much longer.
- Counting rules. MailCheap doesn’t count unconfirmed, unsubscribed or bounced contacts as subscribers, but every email sent counts. MailerLite counts active subscribers over the billing cycle. Mailchimp counts contacts in its own way. Read each platform’s billing page.
Who should pick which
Lowest bill, weekly, 2,500+ subscribers
MailCheap (affiliate link), if you don’t need built-in paid subscriptions or growth networks.
Small list or daily sending
Buttondown is cheapest on its published tiers up to 10,000 subscribers sending daily. At larger sizes, consider Ghost(Pro).
Paid newsletter
Ghost(Pro) Publisher or beehiiv for a flat fee with 0% platform take. Substack if you would rather pay a share of revenue than a fixed fee.
Free hobby newsletter
Substack, or Kit’s free plan up to 10,000 subscribers.
Method and caveats
We take each platform’s published list price for the plan tier that covers your subscriber count. Then we check whether that tier allows your sends. We never move you up to a bigger list tier just to get more sends; if the matching tier can’t cover your sends, the next plan up is used. Promotions are ignored. Taxes and payment fees are excluded. Where a platform publishes no price (custom tiers, overages, annual plans via sales), we show “check site” instead of guessing. Sources and last-checked dates are listed on the home page.
FAQ
What is the cheapest newsletter platform in 2026?
If your newsletter is free, Substack costs $0 at any size, and beehiiv (2,500 subscribers) and Kit (10,000) have free plans. Among paid tools sending weekly, Buttondown is cheapest up to about 1,000 subscribers and MailCheap from about 2,500 up, on the list prices we checked. For daily sending the picture changes: Buttondown, then Ghost(Pro), lead at most sizes.
Why do the rankings change with sending frequency?
Some platforms charge by subscribers with unlimited sends (beehiiv, Kit, Ghost, MailerLite Power), some by subscribers with a send cap (Mailchimp, MailerLite Comfort, Buttondown), and MailCheap by emails sent. A daily newsletter sends about 7.5× as many emails as a weekly one, which only matters on send-metered plans.
Are yearly plans cheaper?
Usually. beehiiv, Kit Creator, MailerLite and Ghost publish lower yearly prices, and MailCheap gives two months free on yearly billing. Mailchimp and Buttondown don’t publish yearly prices on their pricing pages, so we treat their yearly cost as 12× monthly. Switch the calculator to yearly to compare.
Do these prices include tax and payment fees?
No. They are list prices in USD before VAT or sales tax. If you sell paid subscriptions, Stripe’s processing fees come on top on every platform, and Substack also takes 10%.
How often is this updated?
Every price on this site comes from one data file with a last-checked date per platform. This guide was checked on the date shown at the top. If a platform changes its prices, the tables here update when the data file does.