When you will outgrow a free newsletter plan
Checked 17 October 2026
| Platform | You must upgrade when… | Next step | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttondown | you pass 100 subscribers or need an add-on (e.g. automations $29/mo) | Priced by subscribers + add-ons ($9–$79/mo each) | [1] |
| MailerLite | you pass 250 subscribers or 2,500 emails a month | Comfort: from $12/mo | [1] |
| systeme.io | you pass 2,000 contacts, or need more than 3 funnels / 1 course / 1 automation rule | Startup: $17/mo | [1] |
| beehiiv | you pass 2,500 subscribers, or want paid subscriptions, automations or the Ad Network | Lite: $49/mo billed yearly (pricing page default, 1,000-subscriber setting) | [1] [2] [3] |
| Kit | you pass 10,000 subscribers, or need automations/sequences | Creator: $33/mo billed yearly ($390/yr) at 1,000 subscribers | [1] [2] |
| Substack | never for list size; you pay 10% once you charge readers | No monthly plan; optional custom domain one-time $50 | [1] |
Practical tip: export your subscriber list regularly (all six platforms are email-list based) so switching later stays possible.
How this page was made: facts come from each platform's own pricing and help pages, read on 17 October 2026 (sources numbered in every row). We have not yet run a newsletter on each of these platforms, so we make no claims about deliverability or ease of use. We plan to run our own newsletter on a free plan and will report what we actually observe, with dates.
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