Comparisons › Email platforms for creators and newsletters
Kit vs beehiiv vs MailerLite: the right email platform for a creator in 2026
Your list is the one asset no platform can take from you, so pick the tool that's cheap while it's small and doesn't punish you when it's big. Here's what each one costs on monthly billing at 1,000 subscribers (the vendor pages lead with the discounted annual figure), how fast the price climbs, what's actually free, and which one to skip.
Disclosure: We earn a commission if you subscribe through links marked "affiliate link" on this page. It doesn't change our ranking or verdicts; here's how we test.
Prices on this page were checked on the vendor pricing pages on 2026-09-13. Hands-on test notes and screenshots are being added product by product; until a section carries the tested tag it's marked documentation-based and describes the vendor's published plans and limits. We label drafts rather than fake tests.
Buy this if you sell to your list
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) — Free to 10,000 subscribers if you never need an automation. Creator is US$39 a month at 1,000 subscribers (US$33 on annual billing) and climbs with the list. Built for creators who sell to their audience, not just broadcast to it.
See plans (vendor site)Buy this if the newsletter is the product
beehiiv — Free to 2,500 subscribers. Scale is US$49 a month at 1,000 subscribers and US$109 at 10,000 (less on annual billing). Referral program, ad network and paid subscriptions with no platform cut. The best tool on this page for a newsletter business, and we're not paid for saying so.
See plans (vendor site)Buy this if you want cheap and competent
MailerLite — US$12 a month, clean editor, solid automations. Fine for a small business list. Not built for creator monetisation.
See plans (vendor site)Side by side
| Product | Plan you'd actually need | USD/month | AUD/month | Key limits | Trial | Transaction fees | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) documentation-based | Creator | US$39/mo | ≈A$59 | at 1,000 subscribers, rising with list size; 2 users, automations, sequences, SMS (US$33/mo billed yearly, US$390) | Free plan, no card | 3.5% + US$0.30 per transaction on sales through Kit Commerce, on every plan; none on the plan itself | Automations and sequences are paid-plan features; free is broadcasts, forms and products |
| beehiiv documentation-based | Scale | US$49/mo | ≈A$74 | at 1,000 subscribers; US$69 at 2,500, US$109 at 10,000, US$329 at 100,000. Referral program, paid subscriptions, ad network, automations, 3 publications; beehiiv branding stays (US$43/mo billed annually at 1,000, US$517) | Free plan, no card | 0% of paid-subscription revenue (Stripe's 2.9% + US$0.30 applies); the Ad Network's revenue split isn't on the pricing page | Automation is simpler than Kit's |
| MailerLite documentation-based | Comfort | US$12/mo | ≈A$18 | entry tier, price rises with list size; capped monthly emails, 50 automations, 10 sites and landing pages (yearly billing saves 10%) | Free plan, no card | None on plans; processor fees on digital product sales | Free plan caps at 250 subscribers |
USD prices from each vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-09-13; monthly billing shown, annual billing is cheaper on most. AUD is indicative at 0.66 USD per AUD. Australian businesses may be charged GST at checkout.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) documentation-based
Kit's free plan is the headline: up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, and you can sell digital products from day one. For most creators that's a year or more of runway before paying anything. What the free plan doesn't include is automations and sequences, which is exactly what you'll want the moment you have a welcome series or a launch, and that's the Creator plan at US$39 a month for 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing, or US$33 a month if you pay US$390 for the year. The pricing page shows the yearly figure first; compare the US$39.
Kit is built for people who sell to their audience: tags, segments, visual automations, product checkouts and a recommendations network that other creators use to grow each other's lists. It is not built for pretty emails; the editor is plain by design, and if your brand needs image-heavy layouts you'll fight it.
The cost to watch is scale. The US$39 is the 1,000-subscriber price, and the calculator on Kit's pricing page steps it up as the list grows; at 10,000 paid subscribers you're paying for the list you built. Run your own number through that calculator before you commit, and add 3.5% plus 30 cents on anything you sell through Kit Commerce.
Best for
- creators who sell courses, products or memberships to their list
- anyone who wants automations and tagging that actually work
- starting free with a real subscriber ceiling
Not for
- paid newsletters as the core business (beehiiv does that better)
- the tightest budgets once you need automations
- people who want a designed, image-heavy email
Drawbacks
- Automations and sequences are paid-plan features; free is broadcasts, forms and products
- US$39 is the 1,000-subscriber price; it steps up with the list
- Email design is deliberately plain
Plans (USD, checked 2026-09-13)
- Newsletter (free): Free (Free) — up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 user, unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, sell digital products
- Creator: US$39/mo (≈A$59) — at 1,000 subscribers, rising with list size; 2 users, automations, sequences, SMS (US$33/mo billed yearly, US$390)
- Creator Pro: US$79/mo (≈A$120) — at 1,000 subscribers, rising with list size; unlimited users, Subscriber Signals, engagement analytics, deliverability reporting (US$66/mo billed yearly, US$790)
beehiiv documentation-based
We're not a beehiiv affiliate (its partner program doesn't allow the search advertising this site runs), so it's here on merit alone. beehiiv treats the newsletter as the business, and everything on the platform points that way: a referral program in the box, paid subscription tiers, an ad network that places sponsors for you, and a publishing experience that makes a weekly issue feel like posting rather than configuring. The free Launch plan runs to 2,500 subscribers with no card. Scale is US$49 a month at 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing (US$43 if you pay US$517 for the year, which is the figure the pricing page shows first) and steps up with the list: US$69 at 2,500, US$109 at 10,000, US$329 at 100,000. That last number is still cheaper than most competitors at that size; it just isn't US$43.
Where it's weaker is anything that isn't a newsletter. Automations are simpler than Kit's, there's no product or course commerce to speak of, and segmentation is designed for publishers, not for a coach running three offers to one list. The monetisation features are excellent and beehiiv takes nothing from paid subscriptions: 0%, with Stripe's 2.9% plus 30 cents the only deduction. The Ad Network's revenue split isn't published on the pricing page, so ask before you count on it. And beehiiv's own branding stays on your emails until Max, US$109 a month at 1,000 subscribers.
If you're writing a newsletter that will one day carry sponsors or a paid tier, start here and don't overthink it. If you're a creator who occasionally emails a list to sell something, Kit is the better fit.
Best for
- newsletter-first businesses
- anyone who wants a referral program and paid tiers built in
- writers who'd rather publish than configure
Not for
- selling courses or products (it's not a commerce platform)
- complex tag-based automation
- lists that need deep CRM-style segmentation
Drawbacks
- Automation is simpler than Kit's
- Price steps with list size: US$49 at 1,000 subscribers, US$109 at 10,000
- beehiiv branding stays on your emails until Max
Plans (USD, checked 2026-09-13)
- Launch (free): Free (Free) — up to 2,500 subscribers, no card, 3 publications; no paid subscriptions or ad network
- Scale: US$49/mo (≈A$74) — at 1,000 subscribers; US$69 at 2,500, US$109 at 10,000, US$329 at 100,000. Referral program, paid subscriptions, ad network, automations, 3 publications; beehiiv branding stays (US$43/mo billed annually at 1,000, US$517)
- Max: US$109/mo (≈A$165) — at 1,000 subscribers; US$219 at 10,000, US$459 at 100,000. Removes beehiiv branding, 10 publications, dynamic content, priority support (US$96/mo billed annually at 1,000, US$1,151)
MailerLite documentation-based
MailerLite is the sensible, unglamorous option: a clean drag-and-drop editor, decent automations, landing pages and digital products, at US$12 a month for the plan you'll actually use. It's what we'd put a local business or a consultancy on when they want emails that look designed and don't want to learn a creator platform.
The free plan is the weak spot on this page: 250 subscribers, against Kit's 10,000 and beehiiv's 2,500. If you're starting from zero and want to stay free for a while, MailerLite is the wrong choice. If you're happy to pay a small amount from the start, it's the easiest of the three to live with.
What it lacks are the creator-specific pieces: no referral program, no paid newsletter tiers, no network of other creators recommending your list. That's fine for a business list. It's a real gap for a creator.
Best for
- a small business list that needs good-looking emails cheaply
- simple automations without a learning curve
- anyone happy to leave creator-specific features on the table
Not for
- free lists above 250 subscribers (Kit and beehiiv are far more generous)
- newsletter monetisation
- creator commerce
Drawbacks
- Free plan caps at 250 subscribers
- No referral program or paid newsletter tiers
- Fewer creator-network features
Plans (USD, checked 2026-09-13)
- Free: Free (Free) — up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 3 automations
- Comfort: US$12/mo (≈A$18) — entry tier, price rises with list size; capped monthly emails, 50 automations, 10 sites and landing pages (yearly billing saves 10%)
- Power: US$25/mo (≈A$38) — entry tier, price rises with list size; unlimited emails, unlimited user seats, automations, landing pages and digital products (yearly billing saves 10%)
Questions people ask
Which email platform is free the longest?
Kit, by a distance: 10,000 subscribers on the free plan, though without automations or sequences. beehiiv is free to 2,500. MailerLite's free plan stops at 250 subscribers.
Which is best for a paid newsletter?
beehiiv. Paid subscription tiers, a referral program and an ad network are built in and designed around a regular issue, and beehiiv takes 0% of paid-subscription revenue. Kit can do paid newsletters (3.5% plus 30 cents a transaction) but it's not the platform's centre of gravity.
Can I move my list later?
Yes; subscriber exports are standard on all three. What doesn't move cleanly is automations, tags and landing pages, so rebuild time is the real switching cost. Pick for the next two years.
Are these prices in Australian dollars?
No, all three bill in US dollars. The AUD column is indicative at the rate under the table, refreshed daily. GST may be added at checkout for Australian buyers; supply your ABN if registered. Watch the billing toggle: Kit and beehiiv show the annual figure first, which is about 17 per cent below monthly billing.
How were these tested?
The same welcome sequence, one landing page with a form and one broadcast are built on each platform, then a test list is imported and segmented. Sections still marked documentation-based describe the vendor's published plans and are replaced as each test finishes. Prices are re-checked on a schedule and the date is under the table.
How we tested and how we're paid
Same welcome sequence, landing page and broadcast on every platform, with an imported test list and a segment, on an account we control. Screenshots are ours. Prices come straight from the vendor pricing pages on monthly billing, with the annual figure alongside; the check date is on the table. Links marked "affiliate link" pay us a commission. beehiiv pays us nothing and is here anyway.