Creator Short verdict: who should pick what
- Our pick · Best free publishing stack Best free publishing stack (website + unlimited sends): Beehiiv Free. Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends and a website, with Beehiiv branding until Pro. Custom domains: paid plans per help + feature table (Free summary also lists them — confirm in-account).
- Our pick · Best free plan Biggest free list: Kit. Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms. Visual automations, sequences and RSS campaigns start on Creator.
- Our pick · Best free to publish Free at any list size (with a take rate later): Substack. Publishing is free no matter how many subscribers you have. Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction if you charge.
- Our pick · Best minimal, writing-first Minimal writing-first free start: Buttondown. Free for your first 100 subscribers; extras are à la carte.
- Our pick for an all-in-one creator toolkit Small test list with a full ESP feel, and good value when you upgrade: MailerLite Free. Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations, 1 website and 1 landing page. Paid newsletters, RSS campaigns and custom domains start on Comfort at $12/month for up to 500 subscribers ($19 at up to 1,000), checked October 7, 2026.
- Budget pick · Low-cost newsletters Bigger free list on a budget: EmailOctopus Free. Up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, with no time limit and no credit card. When you outgrow it, Pro starts at $9/month billed yearly ($10 monthly) for up to 500 subscribers. Referral link: if you sign up and pay, you get $15 off your first payment and we may earn a $15 account credit.
If you want the wider shortlist (paid plans and creator types), see best newsletter tools for creators. For a decision framework, read how to choose a newsletter tool.
Verified free-plan limits compared
All figures come from each vendor’s official pricing page or help center, checked October 7, 2026, in USD. “Paid newsletter on free?” means whether the vendor’s own pages say you can charge readers while staying on the free tier.
| Platform | Subscriber / contact limit | Email send limit | Branding / watermark | Paid newsletter on free? | Key free gaps vs paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv (Free) Our pick · Best free publishing stack |
Up to 2,500 subscribers | Unlimited | Beehiiv branding; remove on Pro | No (Lite / Pro) | Email automations (Free gets a single welcome email), Ad Network, referral program, paid subscriptions, digital products |
| Kit (Free) Our pick · Best free plan |
Up to 10,000 subscribers | Unlimited email broadcasts | Kit branding; remove on Creator+ | Yes (commerce on every plan; 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction) | Visual automations, email sequences, RSS campaigns, polls |
| MailerLite (Free) Our pick for an all-in-one creator toolkit |
Up to 250 subscribers | 2,500 emails / month | MailerLite logo stays on | No (Comfort or Power + Stripe) | Free caps: 3 automations, 1 website + 1 landing page, 3 signup forms, 2 seats; paid plans add removal of the logo, paid newsletters and RSS campaigns |
| Buttondown (Free) Our pick · Best minimal, writing-first |
First 100 subscribers | Priced assuming ≤1 email / day to the whole list | Whitelabeling is a +$79/mo add-on | With Paid subscriptions add-on (+$9/mo); Buttondown takes no cut beyond card fees | Tagging, analytics, paid subscriptions, RSS-to-email (+$9/mo each) and automations (+$29/mo) are add-ons |
| Substack Our pick · Best free to publish |
No list-size cap for free publishing | No send quota listed in its cost help article | Your publication lives on Substack | Yes; Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction (+ Stripe fees) | No plan tiers; the cost is the 10% fee once readers pay |
| EmailOctopus (Free) Budget pick · Low-cost newsletters |
Up to 2,500 subscribers | 10,000 emails / month | EmailOctopus branding on emails; removed on Pro | Not covered on its pricing page | Reports kept 30 days, 1 landing page, 1 form, 1 user on Free; Pro from $9/mo billed yearly ($10 monthly) for up to 500 subscribers |
| Systeme.io (Free) | Up to 2,000 contacts | Unlimited email sends (per pricing FAQ) | Not specified in the pricing FAQ | 0% transaction fees on all plans (funnels / courses oriented) | 3 sales funnels, 1 course, 1 blog, 1 affiliate program, 1 custom domain on free |
| GetResponse (Free) | Up to 500 contacts (unconfirmed and removed contacts count) | 2,500 newsletters / month | GetResponse badge on every message | No: paid premium-newsletter subscriptions are paid-plan only (listed on Creator) | Premium features for the first 14 days only; after that no scheduling, autoresponders or published automation workflows, and 1 published landing page |
| Mailchimp (Free) | Up to 250 contacts | 500 sends / month (250 / day) | Branding removal is listed for paid plans (Essentials and up) | Not covered in the Free plan description | Very low send ceiling; subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward the 250 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sources are listed at the bottom of the page, all checked October 7, 2026. GetResponse’s Free plan page and help center give 500 contacts as the Free limit; one FAQ answer on the Free plan page mentions up to 1,000 contacts in the first 14 days, so check in your account if you’re near that number. Systeme.io is an all-in-one marketing suite, not a newsletter-first publisher.
Beehiiv Free: best free plan for a real publication
Our pick · Best free publishing stackFree plan strengths
- $0 for up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited email sends.
- A website, link-in-bio and the recommendation network.
- Podcast hosting on Free (pricing.md, October 7, 2026: 1 show / 5,000 monthly downloads; confirm episode limits in-account).
Free plan limits
- No paid subscriptions, Ad Network, referral program, digital products or automations (beyond a single welcome email) until Lite.
- Beehiiv branding stays until Pro.
- Lite starts at $59/month on monthly billing at up to 1,000 subscribers.
Beehiiv’s Free plan is the strongest “newsletter as a product” free tier in this roundup. Per Beehiiv’s pricing page and its text version (pricing.md) (checked October 7, 2026), Free is $0 for up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited email sends, newsletters, a website, link-in-bio, the recommendation network, API access (excluding Send API) and podcast hosting (pricing.md: 1 show, 5,000 monthly downloads; confirm episode limits in-account). Custom domains: paid plans per help + feature table; Free plan summary also lists Custom Domains — confirm in-account.
Paid-newsletter eligibility on free: no. Paid subscriptions, the Ad Network, the referral program, digital products and email automations start on Lite. Beehiiv’s help center says a single welcome email is available on every plan, including Free; multi-step welcome flows need Lite or above. Removing Beehiiv branding needs Pro.
When you’d outgrow free: at 2,500 subscribers, or earlier if you need paid subscriptions, ads, a referral program or automation beyond a welcome email. Lite starts at $59/month on monthly billing (or $49/month billed annually) at the up-to-1,000-subscriber tier, and $79/month monthly at up to 2,500.
Full plan tables and setup notes are in our Beehiiv guide. Fee math versus Substack is in Beehiiv vs Substack.
Kit Free: biggest free subscriber ceiling
Our pick · Best free planFree plan strengths
- Up to 10,000 subscribers, the biggest free ceiling in this roundup.
- Unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, plus tagging and segmentation.
- You can sell digital products and subscriptions on Free (3.5% + 30¢ per transaction, card processing included).
Free plan limits
- Visual automations, email sequences and RSS campaigns start on Creator.
- Kit branding stays until Creator ($33/month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers).
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) advertises a free plan for creators just starting out: Free—up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited email broadcasts, audience tagging and segmentation, and the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions on every plan, including Free. Those bullets are on Kit’s pricing page (checked October 7, 2026).
Paid-newsletter eligibility on free: yes. Commerce works on every plan. Kit charges 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction and says that figure includes card processing.
Key free gaps: The Creator plan card lists unlimited visual automations, unlimited email sequences, Kit MCP, A/B subject-line tests, polls, remove-Kit-branding, SMS marketing, apps and integrations, and RSS campaigns. Creator is quoted at $33/month billed yearly ($390/year) for 1,000 subscribers.
When you’d outgrow free: at 10,000 subscribers, or when you need visual automations and sequences. See our Kit for creators guide and Kit vs Beehiiv for a side-by-side.
MailerLite Free: small list, familiar ESP toolkit
Our pick for an all-in-one creator toolkitFree plan strengths
- 2 user seats, campaigns and up to 3 active automations.
- 1 website, 1 landing page and up to 3 signup forms.
- Three editors: drag-and-drop, custom HTML and simple.
Free plan limits
- Only 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month; sending locks if you go over 250.
- The MailerLite logo stays on.
- Paid newsletters need Comfort or Power.
MailerLite’s Free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, with 2 user seats, campaigns, automations (up to 3 active), 1 website and 1 landing page, up to 3 signup forms and three editors (drag-and-drop, custom HTML and simple), per MailerLite’s pricing page (checked October 7, 2026). The MailerLite logo stays on Free; removing it is a paid-plan feature. If a Free account goes over 250 active subscribers, MailerLite locks sending (campaigns and automations) until you upgrade or remove subscribers.
Paid-newsletter eligibility on free: no. Paid newsletters and recurring subscriptions through Stripe need Comfort or Power. Comfort is $12/month at up to 500 subscribers and $19/month at up to 1,000 ($10.80 and $17.10 billed yearly); Power starts at $25/month. That’s why MailerLite is our pick for an all-in-one creator toolkit once you outgrow a free plan and want automations, a website and paid newsletters in one place (checked October 7, 2026). Every tier is in our MailerLite pricing guide.
Start MailerLite FreeAffiliate link: we may earn a commission if you buy a paid plan, at no extra cost to you.
When you’d outgrow free: at 250 subscribers, or sooner if you send often. A full 250-person list emailed once a week uses roughly 1,000–1,100 of the 2,500 monthly emails; sending twice a week uses about 2,200 before any welcome emails. Details and billing rules are in MailerLite free plan explained, our MailerLite guide and Beehiiv vs MailerLite.
Buttondown Free: writing-first, à la carte after 100
Our pick · Best minimal, writing-firstFree plan strengths
- Free for your first 100 subscribers.
- A rich text or Markdown editor, sending from a custom domain and hosted archives.
- With the paid subscriptions add-on, you keep everything after card fees.
Free plan limits
- Tagging, paid subscriptions, analytics and RSS-to-email are +$9/month each; automations are +$29/month.
- Prices assume at most one email a day to your whole list.
Buttondown’s pricing page says you pay absolutely nothing for your first 100 subscribers (checked October 7, 2026), with a rich text or Markdown editor, sending from a custom domain and hosted newsletter archives included. Prices assume you send at most one email a day to your whole list; if you send more, Buttondown asks you to contact it about usage-based pricing.
Add-ons on the pricing page today: tagging and segmentation, paid subscriptions, comments and surveys, analytics, RSS-to-email and attachments are each +$9/month; sponsorships, archives on a custom domain, multiple newsletters and automations are each +$29/month; whitelabeling and teams are +$79/month. Buttondown says it charges only for active subscribers, and its paid subscriptions page says you keep all of the money you make after credit card fees.
When you’d outgrow free: at 100 subscribers, or when you need paid subscriptions, tagging or automations. Start at buttondown.com.
Substack: free to publish, paid when readers pay you
Our pick · Best free to publishFree plan strengths
- Publishing is free no matter how many subscribers you have.
- No plan tiers: there’s nothing to price or upgrade up front.
Free plan limits
- Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction, on top of Stripe’s card fee (2.9% + $0.30 in the US example) and Billing fee.
- Your publication lives on Substack (a custom domain is an optional one-time $50).
Substack’s help center states that publishing is free on Substack no matter how many subscribers you have. If you enable paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of each transaction, Stripe charges a credit-card fee (2.9% + $0.30 in the US example on that article) and a Stripe Billing fee for recurring subscriptions (0.7%). A custom domain is optional and costs a one-time $50. Source: How much does Substack cost? (article updated September 29, 2026; checked October 7, 2026).
When free stops being “free enough”: when the 10% take rate costs more than a flat-fee platform. That break-even math is the point of Beehiiv vs Substack.
Other free tiers worth knowing
EmailOctopus Free
Budget pick · Low-cost newsletters
EmailOctopus lists its free Starter plan at up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month, with no time limit and no credit card needed. On Free your emails carry EmailOctopus branding, reports are kept for 30 days, and you get 1 landing page, 1 form and 1 user. There’s no free trial of Pro; EmailOctopus points you to the free plan instead.
When you outgrow it, Pro starts at $9/month billed yearly ($10 on monthly billing) for up to 500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, and the price rises with list size (for example $20/month on monthly billing at 1,001–2,500 subscribers, with 25,000 emails). Pro removes the branding and adds full design control, reports kept forever, unlimited landing pages and forms, and unlimited users. Source: EmailOctopus’s pricing page, checked October 7, 2026. That makes it a low-cost option if you want a larger free list than MailerLite’s and simple campaigns rather than a publication website.
Start on EmailOctopus FreeReferral link: if you sign up and pay, you get $15 off your first payment and we may earn a $15 account credit.
Systeme.io Free
Systeme.io’s pricing FAQ describes a free plan with up to 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 blog, 1 course, 1 affiliate program, 1 custom domain, unlimited emails and file storage, no credit card and no expiry (checked October 7, 2026 on Systeme.io’s pricing page). The same FAQ names Startup at $17/month as the next step if you need more than 3 funnels or 1 course. Treat it as an all-in-one funnel suite first, not a newsletter-only publisher.
GetResponse Free
GetResponse Free includes space for up to 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters per month, with a GetResponse badge on every message and 14 days of premium features, per GetResponse’s Free plan page (checked October 7, 2026). One FAQ answer on that page mentions up to 1,000 contacts in the first 14 days, so check in your account if you’re near 500. GetResponse’s help center also states the 500-contact limit, counts unconfirmed and removed contacts toward it, and says the limit can’t be reset. After the first 14 days you can still send newsletters, but not schedule them, and autoresponders, published automation workflows and premium newsletters stop until you upgrade. Paid premium-newsletter subscriptions are listed on the Creator plan.
Mailchimp Free
Mailchimp’s help center describes a Free plan with up to 250 contacts and 500 sends per month, with a daily send limit of 250 (checked October 7, 2026). Exceeding the contact limit puts a hold on live and test sends until you upgrade or reduce contacts, and unsubscribed contacts count toward the limit. Mailchimp’s paid plans are Essentials, Standard and Premium. See About Mailchimp pricing plans, or our MailerLite vs Mailchimp comparison.
When free stops being free: upgrade triggers
Based on official limits checked October 7, 2026:
- At 100 subscribers you leave Buttondown’s free tier (base price then follows list size; add-ons are extra).
- At 250 you hit MailerLite Free and Mailchimp Free contact ceilings.
- At 500 you hit GetResponse Free’s contact ceiling (unconfirmed and removed contacts count).
- At 2,000 you hit Systeme.io Free’s contact ceiling.
- At 2,500 you outgrow Beehiiv Free and EmailOctopus Free’s subscriber caps (EmailOctopus also caps sends at 10,000/month on Free).
- At 10,000 you outgrow Kit Free.
- Feature triggers, not list size: Beehiiv paid subscriptions, the Ad Network and email automations need Lite; Kit visual automations need Creator; MailerLite paid newsletters need Comfort or Power; Substack’s cost is the 10% take rate once readers pay.
If your show is a podcast as well as a newsletter, compare hosting and private feeds in newsletter tools for podcasters.
FAQ
What is the best free newsletter platform?
It depends what “best” means. For the biggest free list, Kit (up to 10,000 subscribers). For unlimited sends plus a website on a free plan, Beehiiv Free (up to 2,500). For free publishing with no subscriber cap, Substack, which takes 10% only if you charge. Checked October 7, 2026.
How do you start a newsletter for free?
Pick a free plan that fits your first year of list size, create a signup form or subscribe page, send a welcome note, and publish on a schedule you can keep. Beehiiv Free, Kit Free, Buttondown Free and Substack are the usual starting points in this roundup. For help deciding, read how to choose a newsletter tool and the tool guides linked below.
Is Beehiiv free forever?
Yes, for the Free plan’s stated limits. Beehiiv’s pricing materials describe Free as $0 with no credit card required, up to 2,500 subscribers and unlimited email sends. Features like paid subscriptions and email automations require paid plans.
What are Kit free plan limits?
Up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited email broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and commerce (digital products and subscriptions) on Free. Visual automations, sequences and RSS campaigns are listed from Creator on kit.com/pricing.
What are MailerLite free plan limits?
Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, with up to 3 active automations, 1 website and 1 landing page, and 3 signup forms. The MailerLite logo stays on. Paid newsletters need Comfort or Power.
Is Buttondown free?
Buttondown is free for your first 100 subscribers. After that, pricing follows list size, and features such as tagging, paid subscriptions, analytics, RSS-to-email and automations are add-ons on the pricing page.
Is Substack free?
Publishing is free at any list size. If you enable paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of each transaction plus Stripe’s fees (and Stripe’s Billing fee for recurring payments).
Why aren’t there star ratings?
Because a star rating would imply we had bought and used every tool, and our picks come from research instead: everything here comes from official pricing and docs, with dates.
Next reads
- Substack alternatives: fees, free plans and break-even math
- Beehiiv for creators: pricing, free plan limits and setup
- Beehiiv vs Substack: fees, free plans and which fits
- MailerLite for newsletter creators
- MailerLite pricing: what you pay after Free
- Kit vs Beehiiv
- Beehiiv vs MailerLite
- Kit vs MailerLite · MailerLite vs Mailchimp
- Best newsletter tools for creators
- Best newsletter tools for podcasters
- How to choose a newsletter tool
- The Creator Mail Stack
- How affiliate links work on this site
Sources (checked October 7, 2026)
- Beehiiv pricing and Beehiiv pricing (text version): Beehiiv Free limits, features and Lite/Pro prices
- Beehiiv help: welcome email vs welcome automation: single welcome email on Free; automations on Lite and above
- Kit pricing: Kit Free plan bullets, Creator add-ons and yearly-billed starting prices
- MailerLite pricing: MailerLite Free limits (subscribers, emails, seats, automations, sites, forms) and Comfort/Power starting prices
- Buttondown pricing: Buttondown free tier (first 100) and add-on prices
- Buttondown paid subscriptions: no Buttondown cut beyond card fees
- Substack help: how much Substack costs: Substack free publishing, 10% + Stripe fees and the optional $50 custom domain
- EmailOctopus pricing: EmailOctopus Free (2,500 subscribers, 10,000 emails/month, branding, 30-day reports, 1 landing page/form/user) and Pro prices by list size
- Systeme.io pricing: Systeme.io Free plan FAQ (2,000 contacts, funnel/course limits) and Startup price
- GetResponse Free plan: GetResponse Free contacts, sends, badge and 14 days of premium features (one FAQ answer mentions up to 1,000 contacts in the first 14 days)
- GetResponse help: trying GetResponse before you buy: GetResponse Free 500-contact limit and post-14-day restrictions
- GetResponse pricing: GetResponse paid plans; premium newsletter subscriptions on Creator
- Mailchimp help: pricing plans and Mailchimp pricing: Mailchimp Free contact and send limits, paid plan names and branding removal
Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. We run Creator Mail Stack independently, and none of these vendors endorse it. Found something out of date? Tell us.