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Newsletter platform pricing in 2026: true cost at every subscriber tier

Newsletter platform pricing pages show you the start-of-tier price ($43/mo, $33/mo, "free forever") and let you assume the rest scales linearly. It doesn't. Beehiiv's $43/mo base becomes $84/mo at 10,000 subscribers. Kit's $33/mo base becomes $135/mo. Substack's "free" becomes 10% of your subscription revenue forever. Here's what each major platform actually costs at the subscriber tiers most operators care about, plus an interactive calculator for your exact numbers.

TL;DR by use case

• Cheapest at scale with paid subs: Beehiiv (flat fee + 0% take)
• Cheapest if not monetizing: Substack (genuinely free) or MailerLite Free (under 1K subs)
• Most expensive at scale with paid subs: Substack (the 10% take grows with revenue)
• Most expensive flat fee at 10K subs: Mailchimp Standard ($135/mo at 10K contacts)
• Best value-for-features at scale: Beehiiv Max ($96/mo annual, includes Sponsorship Storefront + 10 publications)

Interactive pricing calculator

Annual cost comparison table

These are annual costs at three common subscriber tiers, assuming annual billing on each platform (vs higher monthly billing). Stripe processing fees on paid subscriptions are NOT included — they apply equally on every platform that handles paid subs.

| Platform | 1,000 subs | 10,000 subs | 25,000 subs | 100,000 subs | |---|---|---|---|---| | Beehiiv Scale (annual) | $516 | $1,008 | $1,548 | $3,144 | | Beehiiv Max (annual) | $1,152 | $1,728 | $2,388 | $4,788 | | Kit Creator (annual) | $396 | $1,356 | $2,808 | $6,792 | | Kit Creator Pro (annual) | $792 | $2,388 | $4,548 | $9,948 | | Substack (if monetizing @ $40K/yr revenue) | $4,000 | $4,000 | $4,000 | $4,000 | | Substack (no monetization) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | | MailerLite | $108 | $552 | $1,200 | $2,748 | | Ghost(Pro) | $108 | $948 | $1,908 | $5,388 | | GetResponse | $228 | $948 | $2,148 | $5,388 | | Brevo | $108 | $588 | $1,308 | $2,988 | | Mailchimp Standard | $312 | $1,620 | $3,720 | $9,360 |

Read "Substack" rows carefully — Substack's cost is independent of subscriber count and depends entirely on your paid subscription revenue. At $40K/yr in paid sub revenue you pay $4,000 regardless of whether your list is 1K or 100K. If you don't monetize, it's $0 forever.

Hidden costs to factor in

Pricing pages omit these. They're real money:

1. Stripe processing fees on paid subscriptions (all platforms)

2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. At $40K/yr in paid sub revenue (~4,000 transactions/yr at $10/mo plans): approximately $2,360/year in Stripe fees. Same on every platform that handles paid subs. The platforms charging 0% take rate (Beehiiv, Ghost) don't absorb these — you pay Stripe directly.

2. Custom domain (varies)

• Beehiiv: Included on all paid plans, $0
• Kit: Included on paid plans, $0
• Substack: $50 one-time fee per publication AND removes you from recommendation network
• MailerLite: Included on paid plans
• Ghost(Pro): Included on all plans
• GetResponse: Included on paid plans
• Brevo: Included on paid plans
• Mailchimp: $20/year (must purchase through Mailchimp)

3. Removing platform branding

• Beehiiv: Max plan only (~$96/mo annual)
• Kit: Any paid plan
• Substack: Not removable on any plan
• MailerLite: Any paid plan
• Ghost(Pro): Always removable
• GetResponse: Paid plans
• Brevo: Paid plans

4. Subscriber count vs contact count (Mailchimp gotcha)

Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your plan tier. Your "1,000 active subscribers" might be "1,800 contacts" if you have churn. This pushes you into higher tiers faster than competitors. Other platforms count active subscribers only.

5. Annual vs monthly billing

Every paid platform offers 15–30% discount for annual billing. The table above uses annual rates. Monthly billing adds:

• Beehiiv: +14% (Scale $43→$49)
• Kit: +18% (Creator $33→$39)
• MailerLite: +25%
• Ghost(Pro): +15%

If cash flow allows, always pay annually. The savings are real.

Cost-of-paid-subscription comparison

For creators monetizing, here's what each platform's take-rate model means at $X/year in paid sub revenue:

| Annual paid sub revenue | Beehiiv Scale @ 10K subs | Substack | Kit Creator @ 10K subs | |---|---|---|---| | $1,000 | $1,008 (platform fee, no take) | $100 (10% take) | $1,356 (platform fee, no take) | | $5,000 | $1,008 | $500 | $1,356 | | $10,000 | $1,008 | $1,000 | $1,356 | | $25,000 | $1,008 | $2,500 | $1,356 | | $50,000 | $1,008 | $5,000 | $1,356 | | $100,000 | $1,008 | $10,000 | $1,356 | | $250,000 | $1,008 | $25,000 | $1,356 |

The crossover where Beehiiv beats Substack (at 10K subs):

• Below ~$10,080/year: Substack cheaper
• Above ~$10,080/year: Beehiiv cheaper
• At $100,000/year: Beehiiv saves you ~$9,000/year
• At $250,000/year: Beehiiv saves you ~$24,000/year

This is why creators with serious paid subscription businesses migrate from Substack to Beehiiv. The 10% take compounds.

"Cheapest platform" by scenario

| Your scenario | Cheapest option (annual cost) | |---|---| | Hobby newsletter, 500 free subs, no monetization | Beehiiv Launch (free) — $0 | | 5K subs, no paid subscriptions | MailerLite — $300/year | | 10K subs, no paid subscriptions | MailerLite or Brevo — $552–$588/year | | 10K subs + $10K/yr paid revenue | Beehiiv Scale — $1,008/year (vs Substack $1,000 — basically tied) | | 25K subs + $50K/yr paid revenue | Beehiiv Scale — $1,548 (vs Substack $5,000) | | 100K subs + $250K/yr paid revenue | Beehiiv Max — $4,788 (vs Substack $25,000) | | Need built-in commerce (digital products) | Kit Commerce — $396 base + 3.5% per transaction | | Self-hosting, full ownership | Ghost (self-hosted) — $0 platform fee, infrastructure costs ~$10–50/month |

Related comparisons

• Best newsletter platforms 2026 (ranked overall)
• Best free newsletter platforms
• Beehiiv vs Substack (take-rate math)
• Beehiiv vs Kit (post-October-2025 price hike)
• Kit vs Substack (when to pick each)