Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform for small businesses. Its free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and paid plans rise by contact tier with overages billed automatically.
People who run a newsletter often look elsewhere for a larger free plan, a flat price, or tools built for publishing. These are the other sending platforms in our directory, with the facts on free plans and prices.
At a glance
| Free plan | Starting price | |
|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | Yes. Free for up to 2,500 subscribers, with 1 publication, 1 team seat and a 30-day analytics lookback. beehiiv branding stays on the newsletter. | Lite is $49 a month, billed yearly. |
| Kit | Yes. Free for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts. It has 1 user, no visual automations, and Kit branding stays on. | Creator is $33 a month for 1,000 email subscribers, shown as $390 billed yearly. No monthly billing option is shown. |
| Substack | Yes. It is free to start. Charges apply only when a writer takes payments. | Not published. |
| Ghost | No. There is no free tier. Starter, Publisher and Business each have a Try for free button, and a 14-day free trial is offered. | Starter is $18 a month, billed yearly. No monthly billing price is published. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Free for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 2 seats. If active subscribers go over 250, sending is locked until you upgrade or remove subscribers. | Comfort starts at $12 a month. It can be billed yearly, which saves 10%, or monthly. |
| Constant Contact | There is no free plan. You can get a full refund within 30 days of signing up. | Lite starts at $10 a month billed annually. Lite is also advertised at $20, so confirm the current price. |
| AWeber | Yes. Up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month, with one landing page and one automation. Emails carry AWeber branding. | Lite starts at $12.49 a month billed yearly for 0 to 500 subscribers. Lite is also shown from $15 a month. |
Prices and plans change. We checked these figures on October 10, 2026, so confirm them before you buy.
What each one is
beehiiv
An all-in-one platform for publishing, growing and earning from newsletters, podcasts, digital products, communities and websites. Publishing a newsletter and growing and earning from it in one place.
Kit
An email platform for creators, formerly called ConvertKit, with forms, automations and paid newsletters. Sending a creator newsletter and growing and selling to the audience.
Substack
A publishing platform where writers and creators post, build a subscriber base and charge for paid content, keeping 90% of revenue after card fees. Publishing a writer-led newsletter and charging readers for paid posts.
Ghost
An open source publishing platform with a website, newsletters and paid memberships, run by a non-profit foundation. Running a newsletter and website together with memberships.
MailerLite
An email marketing platform with a drag-and-drop editor, automations, landing pages, websites and a free plan for up to 250 subscribers. Sending newsletters and campaigns and building an audience with forms and landing pages.
Constant Contact
An email and social media marketing platform for small businesses, with templates, automation and live support. Designing and sending a newsletter and managing the contact list behind it.
AWeber
Email marketing for small businesses, creators and entrepreneurs, with a free plan, landing pages and automation. Sending newsletters and growing a subscriber list.
How to choose
Start with how each one charges, because that decides your bill a year from now. Some charge a flat plan fee, some charge by list size, and some keep a share of what readers pay you.
Then check the free plan against your list today. A free plan that covers your list buys you time to test before you pay. Open the full page for any tool here to see what it does, what it works with and when we last checked.
Does beehiiv have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan costs $0 and supports up to 2,500 subscribers, 1 publication and 1 team seat. It includes unlimited email sends, landing pages and templates, and beehiiv branding stays on the newsletter.
Is Kit the same as ConvertKit?
Yes. ConvertKit is now Kit.
How much does Substack take?
Writers keep 90% of their revenue minus credit card fees. That makes Substack's share 10%, with card fees taken on top.
Does Ghost have a free plan?
No. There is no free tier. The Starter, Publisher and Business plans each have a Try for free button, and a 14-day free trial is offered.
Is MailerLite free?
Yes, up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 2 seats, 3 automations and 1 website. Sending locks if active subscribers go above 250.