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Newsletter Platform Pricing: What It Really Costs as You Grow
A practical comparison of email newsletter platforms, free plans, and upgrade costs
Russell Cargill & Lenore Sterner
May 24th, 2025
If you’re choosing a newsletter platform, the price you pay today is rarely the price you pay a year from now. Most platforms get expensive the moment your list starts growing, or the moment you want monetization features that actually matter.
But with so many email newsletter platforms out there, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for you.
If you’re comparing newsletter platforms, you’re usually trying to answer one of three questions:
• How much will this actually cost as my list grows?
• Which platform is best if I want to monetize?
• What should I start with if I’m launching today?
This guide answers all three, with real pricing breakdowns and a clear recommendation depending on what you’re building.
Most email newsletter platforms cost between $0 and $100+ per month, depending on subscriber count and features.
Free plans are best for launching, but many platforms become expensive as your list grows or when you want monetization tools.
If you plan to monetize with ads or paid subscriptions, choose a platform built specifically for newsletters rather than general email marketing.
If you need a CRM-first system or complex sales funnels, traditional email marketing platforms may be a better fit.
Starting free and upgrading only when growth or revenue demands it is usually the safest long-term budget strategy.
Let's dive in!
Table of Contents
What is an Email Marketing Platform?
An email newsletter platform is software that helps you create, send, publish, and track newsletters. In addition to sending emails, most modern platforms also include subscriber management, analytics, signup forms, and web hosting for your newsletter content.
Why Is the Right Email Marketing Platform Important for Businesses?
Email marketing platforms are essential in today's digitally-obsessed world.
It becomes the system you rely on to grow your audience, understand reader behavior, and eventually generate revenue.
The right platform helps you:
Manage subscribers as your list grows
Track engagement like opens and clicks
Automate onboarding and recurring sends
Scale without switching tools every year
The wrong choice often leads to early migrations, higher costs, and lost momentum.
You'll be able to manage your email list, track open and click-through rates, and even automate your campaigns.
These platforms help businesses save time, energy, and money!
How much money?
That usually depends on the size of your email list and the features you need.
How Much Does an Email Marketing Platform Cost?
Email marketing platform costs can range from free to expensive, depending on what features you need.
Some platforms offer free basic plans for limited subscribers or emails, while others charge a flat monthly fee or a price per subscriber.
Of course, most offer Premium plans with advanced features, but they can be costly.
Most email newsletter platforms range from free to over $100 per month, depending on subscriber count and feature access. Free plans typically cap list size or functionality, while paid plans unlock automation, analytics, and monetization tools.
The right price depends on how fast you plan to grow, whether you want to monetize, and how much complexity you actually need.
Let's see how the big players stack up against each other below.
Pricing Models of Email Marketing Platforms
AWeber
AWeber is a popular email marketing service provider that has been around for a long time, so you can trust that they know what they're doing.
You'll have access to pre-designed email templates that you can customize, you can manage your email list, create autoresponders, do A/B testing, and track email performance with detailed insights.
AWeber offers an affordable, limited Lite tier that starts at $12.50 per month (when paid annually) and includes up to 500 subscribers.
If you need more advanced features, their pricing starts at $20 per month.
Best for: Small lists that need basic email marketing
Not ideal for: Monetized newsletters or media brands
HubSpot
HubSpot's email marketing software has all the features you'd expect from a top-of-the-line product, including send-time optimization, high email deliverability, A/B testing, performance analytics, and drip campaigns.
You can try out HubSpot Email Marketing for free, including the CRM and its free marketing, sales, service, and operations tools.
You can send 2,000 emails, store up to 1000 subscribers, create custom signup and popup forms, create landing pages, and track your online ads. Paid plans start at $15 per month, per seat, once you need to send more than 2000 emails per month and need more advanced features.
It's no surprise that HubSpot is a popular choice for businesses of all sizes with all these great features.
Best for: Teams using a CRM-first marketing stack
Not ideal for: Solo creators or newsletter-first businesses
Kit
Kit is great if you're a creator or professional blogger. In that case, Kit features, like paid newsletters, are specifically designed for you, which is why I rate them as one of the best email marketing services for professional bloggers.
They've even added the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions from the same platform.
Kit offers a 14-day free trial, and their pricing starts at $25 per month.
They also offer a 30-day refund policy if you're not completely satisfied with their service.
Drip
Drip is a fantastic email marketing platform for e-commerce, bloggers, and digital marketers.
With its easy-to-use features, you can easily create sales funnels, automation, and personalization for your customers.
One unique feature of Drip is its e-commerce revenue attribution feature, which allows you to track precisely how much revenue you generate from each email campaign you send.
You can try Drip for free, and their plans start at $39/month, which includes all of their features.
beehiiv offers a comprehensive set of tools to help you grow your newsletter and reach your audience.
beehiiv's platform was created by the same team behind the popular business newsletter, Morning Brew.
With that kind of expertise, you know you're getting a platform that's been designed with growth in mind.
And the best part?
beehiiv is free for up to 2,500 subscribers!
You'll have access to a sleek, minimal editor that makes it easy to craft beautiful emails and a suite of analytics tools to track your performance and subscriber growth.
beehiiv also offers a variety of paid options that give you access to even more capabilities, such as a referral program, digital products, recommendations and more.
Plus, with a beautiful website that's easy to navigate, beehiiv stands out as one of the best newsletter platforms on the market.
Give it a try with a free trial and see for yourself. Most other platforms only offer 14-day trials, so with beehiiv, you’re really getting to dig in and try out the features for yourself.
Here are the pricing options:
Launch: $0/month, includes up to 2,500 subscribers, and includes everything you need to get started, including a website to host your newsletter online.
Scale: Starts at $43/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, includes growth and monetization options (Ad Network, Boosts, Paid Subscriptions), best-in-class 3D analytics, access to the beehiiv support team, and more.
Max: Starts at $96/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, consists of all Scale plan features, plus up to 10 publications, remove beehiiv branding, audio newsletters, direct sponsorship storefronts, and so much more.
While many platforms offer free or inexpensive plans, they are often incredibly limited and don’t give you what you need to grow and scale your newsletter.
beehiiv gives you a free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers with everything you need to get started – and the paid plans give you an impressive amount of features at an affordable price point.
Best for: Creators and publishers growing and monetizing newsletters
Not ideal for: CRM-heavy enterprise sales workflows
Features and Pricing Plans of Popular Email Marketing Platforms
Newsletter service | Starting price | Features included | Free plan? | Free trial |
AWeber | $12.50/month | Up to 500 subscribers, send up to 10x subscribers maximum monthly, 1 segment, 24/7 support. | No | 14 days |
HubSpot | $0/month | Up to 1000 subscribers, send up to 2000 emails per calendar month, includes HubSpot branding, 30 total website pages, 30 total landing pages. | Yes, up to 1,000 subscribers. | 14 days (for the highest plan only) |
Kit | $0/month | Up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 user, 1 email sequence, unlimited landing pages, paid newsletters, and subscriptions. | Yes, up to 10,000 subscribers. | 14 days |
Drip | $39/month | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, unlimited sub-accounts, open API access. | No | 14 days |
beehiiv | $0/month | Up to 2.500 subscribers, unlimited emails, custom website, custom newsletter, up to 3 publications, Link in bio tool, API access. | Yes, up to 2,500 subscribers. | 14 days |
How Much Should I Budget for Email Marketing per Month?
The truth is, there's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as it really depends on your specific business needs and goals.
That being said, there are a few factors you can consider to help you determine a realistic email marketing budget.
Set Your Business Goals
Begin by defining your precise objectives for email marketing. Are you aiming to:
Boost Sales: If your primary goal is to increase revenue, your strategy can focus on promoting products, offering exclusive discounts, and tracking sales conversions.
Enhance Brand Awareness: To improve brand visibility, you should emphasize content-rich emails, engaging storytelling, and sharing valuable industry insights.
Expand Your Email List: Growing your subscriber base can involve lead-generation campaigns, incentives, and opt-in strategies.
Calculate Your Email List Size
Understanding the size of your email list is crucial since many email marketing platforms charge based on the number of subscribers.
Consider your list's current size and potential growth as your business expands.
For instance, relying solely on Gmail may become impractical as your audience grows, so opting for a platform that supports scalability and provides growth-oriented features is a wise choice.
Determine Campaign Complexity
Decide whether your campaigns will be straightforward newsletters or if you need more advanced features like automated sequences and personalized emails.
Keep in mind that more intricate campaigns might necessitate additional tools or services, which could impact your budget.
Research Email Marketing Platforms
Explore a variety of email marketing platforms.
Take a detailed look at finding a platform that aligns with your budget and requirements. Consider how each platform's cost structure may evolve as your email list expands.
Think about the platform's customer service, support, and even the community that uses it.
Account for Additional Expenses
Beyond the email marketing platform's costs, remember to factor in potential supplementary expenses, such as hiring a copywriter or designer to craft compelling emails.
These additional services aren’t always cheap and can easily blow your budget out of the water.
Set a Definitive Budget
Based on your research, calculations, and the specific goals you've defined, establish a clear and realistic budget for your email marketing campaigns.
This budget should be tailored to meet your objectives and align with the costs associated with your chosen platform and campaign complexity.
Stay Flexible
While setting a budget is crucial, be prepared to adapt it based on the results and performance of your email marketing efforts.
Regularly monitor and assess your campaigns, allowing room for adjustments when needed to optimize your budget allocation.
By following these steps, you can determine a realistic email marketing budget that will help you achieve your business goals without breaking the bank.
Here are some compelling stats to keep in mind.
Approximately 55% of people prefer email as their top choice for hearing from businesses and nonprofits.
This preference aligns with the remarkable growth in the number of active email users worldwide, which reached 4.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to surpass 4.7 billion by the end of 2026.
These numbers reflect the immense potential of email marketing.
In fact, the global email marketing market is expected to reach a value of 17.9 billion dollars by 2027, a significant increase from its 2020 valuation of 7.5 billion dollars.
It's clear that email marketing is not only essential but also highly profitable.
Brands leveraging email marketing strategies are reaping the rewards, with an average return of $44 for every U.S. dollar spent.
This impressive ROI underscores the effectiveness and value of email marketing.
Which Platform Is Best for Newsletters?
beehiiv is a relatively new email marketing platform. Still, it is quickly gaining popularity among businesses and creators looking for an easy-to-use, sustainable, and effective way to create and send newsletters.
Choose beehiiv if:
• You want to start free without hitting limits immediately
• You plan to monetize with ads or paid subscriptions
• You care more about growth and publishing than CRM features
Choose a traditional email marketing platform if:
• You need a CRM-first system
• You’re running complex sales funnels
• Newsletter monetization is not a priority
Here are some ways beehiiv stacks up against other email marketing platforms
User-friendliness: beehiiv's drag-and-drop editor and customizable templates make it easy for users of all experience levels to create engaging newsletters.
The platform's interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, which can save time and minimize frustration for users.
Segmentation and targeting: It features powerful segmentation and targeting capabilities that enable users to establish custom categories based on subscriber behavior, location, and interests.
This makes it easy to send targeted messages to specific groups of subscribers, increasing the chances of conversions and engagement.
Analytics and Reporting: beehiiv provides detailed analytics and reporting on the performance of email campaigns, including open rates, click-through rates, and more.
This information can help users optimize their campaigns and improve results over time.
beehiiv offers a range of unique features and benefits that make it a standout choice among email marketing platforms.
Its user-friendliness, segmentation capabilities, analytics and reporting, and sustainability focus are just a few reasons businesses and individuals are turning to beehiiv to create and send effective newsletters.
And you can give beehiiv a try for free by signing up for a free account today!
What are you waiting for?
Get started creating the perfect newsletter with beehiiv and take your marketing to the next level.
Frequently Asked Question
Is beehiiv really free?
Yes. beehiiv offers a free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers with core publishing features included.
When should you upgrade from a free plan?
Most newsletters upgrade when they want monetization tools, advanced analytics, or are preparing to scale growth.
Subscriber count, advanced automation, and analytics access are the most common drivers of higher pricing.
How much should a beginner spend on an email newsletter platform?
Most beginners should aim to spend $0 at the start. A free plan is usually enough to validate your idea, build consistency, and grow your first subscribers. You should only consider paying once you hit platform limits or want monetization features.
What is a realistic monthly budget for a growing newsletter?
A realistic budget for a growing newsletter typically falls between $30 and $100 per month, depending on subscriber count and feature needs. This usually covers advanced analytics, automation, and monetization tools without overpaying early.
When does email marketing get expensive?
Email marketing becomes expensive when:
Pricing scales aggressively with subscriber count
Key features are locked behind higher tiers
You need multiple tools to replace missing functionality
Choosing a platform that supports growth and monetization early can help avoid surprise cost jumps later.
Is it better to pay more upfront or upgrade later?
Upgrading later is usually the smarter move. Starting on a free or lower-cost plan lets you test your workflow and audience before committing. Paying more upfront only makes sense if you already have an established list or a clear monetization plan.
How do I budget for monetizing a newsletter?
When budgeting for monetization, consider:
Platform costs as your list grows
Whether ads or paid subscriptions are included or require add-ons
Transaction fees or revenue cuts
A flat monthly fee with built-in monetization tools is often easier to plan around than variable or usage-based pricing.
Common hidden costs include:
Forced upgrades as subscriber count increases
Paying extra for automation or analytics
Needing third-party tools for referrals, landing pages, or monetization
Understanding what is included at each plan level helps prevent budget surprises.
Yes. Many newsletters start and grow on free or low-cost plans. Profitability usually comes from consistency, audience trust, and monetization strategy rather than high software spend. The key is choosing a platform that does not limit growth too early.
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