THE RIGHT TOOL FOR YOUR CASE
The best software for sending newsletters (and which to choose)
There are dozens of newsletter tools, and almost every comparison you find earns a commission for recommending one. This one doesn't. Here is what each option offers, what it really costs and which I would choose depending on what you need: writing to your clients now and then, or building a newsletter that is a business in itself.
Three questions before choosing
The best tool is not the one with the most features, but the one you will actually use. Before looking at prices, answer these:
- What is the newsletter for? Keeping in touch with clients is not the same as selling paid subscriptions or courses.
- How many contacts do you have? Almost all tools are free or cheap with few subscribers, and the price rises with the list.
- Who will send it? If it's you, you need something simple. If someone technical is behind it, you can save a lot with more advanced options.
Switching tools later is easy: the hard part is having a list of people who want to read you.
The tools, one by one
Prices and limits checked on their official websites on 4 November 2026. They change often, so check them before signing up.
- MailerLite
- Simple, well designed and with good deliverability. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with forms and a landing page. Paid plans start at about $10.80 a month, billed annually, for 500 subscribers. My default recommendation for a service business.
- Brevo
- A European company with a free-forever plan that limits daily sends. Besides newsletters, it sends transactional emails and SMS. The Starter plan costs from €7 a month for 5,000 emails. A good alternative if you prefer a European provider.
- Mailchimp
- The best known. It has a basic free plan for fewer than 250 contacts, but the price rises quickly: the Standard plan starts at about €18 a month. Complete, but for a small list you pay a lot for features you don't use.
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
- Built for creators: writers, trainers, podcasters. Its free plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers and lets you sell digital products and subscriptions. Advanced automations are on paid plans, from $33 a month. A good fit if your newsletter is part of your business.
- beehiiv
- A platform built for newsletters that want to grow and earn money. It has a free plan; paid subscriptions, with no cut of your revenue, and advertising come with the Lite plan, from $49 a month billed annually. It includes a website for the newsletter.
- Substack
- Publishing is free, however many subscribers you have. If you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack keeps 10% of the revenue, plus Stripe fees. It is the fastest way to start, but readers see your newsletter inside Substack, not on your website.
- Amazon SES with Sendy or listmonk
- The cheapest option for large lists: Amazon SES charges cents per thousand emails, Sendy is a one-off licence and listmonk is free and open source. In exchange, someone has to install it, configure the domain and maintain it. I use Amazon SES for this website's contact form: it works very well, but it is not for anyone who doesn't want to touch anything technical.
MailerLite · Brevo · Mailchimp · Kit · beehiiv · Substack: official pricing pages.
Which I would choose for your case
- A service business that wants to write to its clients
- MailerLite or Brevo. They are simple, the free or cheapest plan lasts a long time, and they help you set up your domain so you don't end up in spam.
- An online shop
- Look first at the integration with your shop: Mailchimp, Brevo and MailerLite connect with the most common platforms. What matters is recovering abandoned carts and sending order updates without manual work.
- A newsletter you want to turn into a business
- Kit, beehiiv or Substack. Kit if you sell courses or digital products; beehiiv if you want to grow, charge for subscriptions and sell ads; Substack if you want to start today without setting anything up.
- A large list and someone technical on the team
- Amazon SES with Sendy or listmonk. With tens of thousands of subscribers, the savings compared with a paid platform are huge.
For almost every business I work with, the answer is the first one. Funnel platforms like ClickFunnels also send emails, but cost much more; I explain why in ClickFunnels: what it is, what it costs and whether your business needs it.
If you want your newsletter or website to bring in income, here I review every option: How to monetize a website: the real ways to make money from it
How often to send your newsletter
The question I'm asked most after choosing a tool. The short answer: as often as you can keep it up, as long as you have something useful to say.
- A service business: once a month is a good starting point. Enough to be remembered, without overwhelming anyone.
- A content newsletter: weekly or even daily. Some newsletters write every day and sell a lot, but because every email is worth reading.
- Consistency over volume: one email a month for two years works better than four in a row and then silence.
- Watch unsubscribes and complaints: if they rise every time you send, the problem is the frequency or the content.
Before your first send, check what Gmail and the law require: I explain it in how to send bulk email without ending up in spam or breaking the law. And to get read, the basics of copywriting apply to email just as they do to a website.
Your list is yours; the tool is not
Whatever you choose, remember two things:
- Check that you can export your subscribers whenever you want. Almost every tool allows it; make sure before you start.
- Build the list from your website, not just from social media. A well-explained form on your site, next to content worth reading, is the best way to get quality subscribers. If you switch tools tomorrow, your website and your list are still yours.
EXAMPLE
A tax advisory firm puts a form on every service page: “Get the tax changes affecting your company once a month, explained in five minutes”. It uses MailerLite's free plan for the first year. When the list grows, it moves to a paid plan for a few euros a month. What makes it work is not the tool, but that the email solves a real concern for its clients.
Your list grows by itself when your business attracts the right audience: Magnetic marketing: what it is and how to attract clients without chasing them
Common questions
What is the best free newsletter software?
For a business starting out, MailerLite or Brevo. If you are a content creator, Kit has a very generous free plan in subscriber numbers, and Substack is free as long as you don't charge for subscriptions.
Can I send my newsletter from Gmail?
It's not a good idea: Gmail limits daily sends, doesn't handle unsubscribes and it's easy to end up in spam. To write to many people at once, use newsletter software.
Do I need design skills to make a newsletter?
No. They all have templates, and many of the best-performing newsletters are almost plain text, like a personal email. What you write matters more than how it looks.
What if I want to switch tools later?
You export your subscribers as a file and import them into the new tool. What you will have to redo are templates and automations, so keep things simple at first.
A website that brings subscribers and clients
I design websites and write their copy so every page explains what you do and brings quality contacts. If you want to start a newsletter, we set up the form and connect it to the tool you choose.
See web design options