Newsletter platforms in 2026: Substack, beehiiv, Kit, Ghost, MailerLite and Mailchimp pricing and fees compared

Free plans, the monthly cost at 1,000 subscribers and the cut each platform takes from paid subscriptions, checked on each platform's own site.

Published by: MarkRelay Research
Updated: October 25, 2026
Sources: 9 primary sources, linked below

Summary

For a free newsletter, Kit goes furthest at no cost (to 10,000 subscribers), then beehiiv (2,500); Substack is free to publish at any size. At 1,000 subscribers the cheapest paid plans are MailerLite Comfort ($19 a month) and Ghost(Pro) Publisher ($29, billed yearly), against beehiiv Lite at $59 and Kit Creator at $33. For paid newsletters, Substack keeps 10% of revenue while beehiiv and Ghost keep 0%; card fees apply everywhere. MarkRelay is a different kind of tool: it sends a list you already have from your own domain and Cloudflare account, $99 a year plus Cloudflare's per-email price, with no growth tools or payments.

Key findings

1Largest free plans: Kit 10,000 subscribers, beehiiv 2,500, MailerLite 250, Mailchimp 250; Substack is free to publish without a limit.
2At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: MailerLite Comfort $19, Ghost Publisher $29 (yearly billing), Kit Creator $33, beehiiv Lite $59.
3Cut of paid subscriptions: Substack 10%, beehiiv Lite and Pro 0%, Ghost Publisher and Business 0%; Kit charges 3.5% + 30¢ per sale.
4Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward its price; MailerLite and beehiiv price by subscribers; Brevo prices by emails sent.

Questions this report answers

Asked by real people, quoted as they wrote them.

“What is the best newsletter platform in 2026?”

r/Emailmarketing, 49 comments

It depends on whether the newsletter is free or paid. Free and growing: Kit's free plan or Substack. Paid with real revenue: beehiiv or Ghost, which take 0% of subscriptions. Simple broadcasts to an existing list from your own domain: MailerLite, or MarkRelay at a per-email price.

“What email platform do you use for your newsletter?”

r/Emailmarketing, 33 comments

The tables below put each platform's free plan, its price at 1,000 subscribers and its fee on paid subscriptions side by side.

“Mailchimp alternatives for 1 newsletter every 1-2 months?”

r/Emailmarketing

For a rare send, per-subscriber pricing costs you every month whether you send or not. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers; MarkRelay charges Cloudflare's per-email price plus a flat $99 a year.

“Looking for email newsletter vendor”

r/Emailmarketing, 28 comments

Shortlist by what you need: automations (Kit Creator, MailerLite, Mailchimp), paid subscriptions without a revenue share (beehiiv, Ghost), the cheapest list price (MailerLite Comfort $19 at 1,000), or sending from your own infrastructure (MarkRelay).

Newsletter platforms side by side

Platform	Free plan	At 1,000 subscribers, monthly	Cut of paid subscriptions	Custom domain
Substack	Free to publish	$0	10% + card fees	$50 once
beehiiv	2,500 subscribers	$59 (Lite)	0% on Lite and Pro + Stripe	Lite and Pro
Kit	10,000 subscribers	$0 (free) or $33 (Creator)	3.5% + 30¢ per sale	Not stated
Ghost(Pro)	No	$29 (Publisher, billed yearly)	0% on Publisher and Business	Yes
MailerLite	250 subscribers	$19 (Comfort)	Not stated	Not stated
Mailchimp	250 contacts	From $13 (Essentials)	Not stated	Not stated
MarkRelay	No	$13.60 (weekly sends)	Does not take payments	Your own domain

Substack

Free plan: Free to publish
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: $0
Cut of paid subscriptions: 10% + card fees
Custom domain: $50 once

beehiiv

Free plan: 2,500 subscribers
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: $59 (Lite)
Cut of paid subscriptions: 0% on Lite and Pro + Stripe
Custom domain: Lite and Pro

Kit

Free plan: 10,000 subscribers
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: $0 (free) or $33 (Creator)
Cut of paid subscriptions: 3.5% + 30¢ per sale
Custom domain: Not stated

Ghost(Pro)

Free plan: No
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: $29 (Publisher, billed yearly)
Cut of paid subscriptions: 0% on Publisher and Business
Custom domain: Yes

MailerLite

Free plan: 250 subscribers
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: $19 (Comfort)
Cut of paid subscriptions: Not stated
Custom domain: Not stated

Mailchimp

Free plan: 250 contacts
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: From $13 (Essentials)
Cut of paid subscriptions: Not stated
Custom domain: Not stated

MarkRelay

Free plan: No
At 1,000 subscribers, monthly: $13.60 (weekly sends)
Cut of paid subscriptions: Does not take payments
Custom domain: Your own domain

Not stated means the platform's own page does not say. MarkRelay is $99 a year spread over twelve months plus Cloudflare Workers Paid and per-email sending, at four sends a month to 1,000 subscribers. Source: Substack, beehiiv, Kit, Ghost, MailerLite, Mailchimp.

A weekly newsletter: monthly cost by list size

Subscribers	MailerLite Comfort	Brevo Starter	MarkRelay$99/yr + Cloudflare
1,000	$19	$9	$13.60
5,000	$49	$32	$19.20
10,000	$89	$56	$26.20

1,000

MailerLite Comfort: $19
Brevo Starter: $9
MarkRelay: $13.60

5,000

MailerLite Comfort: $49
Brevo Starter: $32
MarkRelay: $19.20

10,000

MailerLite Comfort: $89
Brevo Starter: $56
MarkRelay: $26.20

Four sends a month to the whole list, monthly billing. MailerLite prices by subscribers; Brevo by emails sent; MarkRelay is Cloudflare Workers Paid ($5, 3,000 emails included, then $0.35 per 1,000) plus the $99 license spread over twelve months. Source: MailerLite pricing, Brevo pricing, Cloudflare Email Service pricing.

Platform or sender

Substack, beehiiv, Kit and Ghost are platforms: they host your sign-up pages and archive, take payments and help you grow. MailerLite and Mailchimp are email marketing tools with forms and automation. MarkRelay is a sender: it delivers broadcasts to a list you bring, from your own domain, and keeps the list in your own Cloudflare account. Choosing between them starts with which of those jobs you need done.

Where MarkRelay fits

A good fit when

A newsletter or announcements to a list you already have, sent from your own domain at Cloudflare's per-email price.
Lists that grow faster than you mail them, where contact tiers keep raising the bill.

Look elsewhere when

Automation flows, landing pages, sign-up forms and e-commerce integrations: MarkRelay does not have them.
Selling paid subscriptions: MarkRelay sends, but does not take payments.

Common questions

Which newsletter platform is free?

Substack is free to publish; Kit is free to 10,000 subscribers, beehiiv to 2,500, MailerLite to 250 and Mailchimp to 250 contacts.

Which newsletter platform takes no cut of paid subscriptions?

beehiiv (Lite and Pro) and Ghost(Pro) (Publisher and Business) take 0%; card processing still applies. Substack keeps 10%.

Sources and method

Substack: going paid (substack.com/going-paid)
beehiiv pricing (www.beehiiv.com/pricing)
Kit pricing (kit.com/pricing)
Ghost pricing (ghost.org/pricing/)
MailerLite pricing (www.mailerlite.com/pricing)
Mailchimp plan limits (mailchimp.com/help/about-mailchimp-pricing-plans/)
Brevo pricing (www.brevo.com/pricing/)
Mailchimp (mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/)
Cloudflare Email Service pricing (developers.cloudflare.com/email-service/platform/pricing/)

Facts are taken from each vendor's own pricing pages, documentation or terms as of the updated date above; prices are in US dollars per month unless stated. Cost comparisons apply each vendor's published rates to the same volume. MarkRelay is not affiliated with the platforms covered here;MarkRelay sells a self-hosted email app, which this page mentions where it fits. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.

Revisions

October 25, 2026: First published; every fact checked on the vendor's own pages.