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Kit alternatives: cheaper options at 1k–25k subscribers (2026)
Last verified against official pricing pages · USD, monthly billing, excluding tax
Prices change often. Every price here was checked against the platform's official pricing page on the date shown, but plans, promos and taxes vary. Always confirm on the official site before you buy or switch. Not financial advice.
Kit's free plan is generous (10,000 subscribers), but visual automations and sequences need the Creator plan, which is priced per subscriber tier.
Short answer
- With automations, 5,000 subscribers: Kit Creator costs $89/mo. Cheapest alternative: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo (saves $60/mo, $720/yr).
- Basic newsletter, 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free costs $0/mo. No tracked platform is cheaper.
- Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included), 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free costs $145/mo. No tracked platform is cheaper.
Try Buttondown Try EmailOctopus
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Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)
All alternatives at 5,000 subscribers (with automations)
Kit Creator: $89/mo. Cheapest fitting plan on each platform, monthly billing. Diff = monthly cost compared with Kit (− = cheaper).
| # | Alternative and plan | Total /mo | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buttondown Paid (usage-based) Visit site | $29 | −$60 |
| 2 | EmailOctopus Pro Visit site | $31.50 | −$57.50 |
| 3 | Brevo Starter, limited Visit site | $32 | −$57 |
| 4 | MailerLite Comfort Visit site · vs Kit | $49 | −$40 |
| 5 | GetResponse Starter, limited Visit site | $54 | −$35 |
| 6 | AWeber Lite, limited Visit site (paid link) · vs Kit | $60 | −$29 |
| 7 | Mailchimp Essentials, limited Visit site · vs Kit | $75 | −$14 |
| 8 | Constant Contact Lite, limited Visit site | $80 | −$9 |
| 9 | ActiveCampaign Starter Visit site | $99 | +$10 |
| 10 | beehiiv Lite Visit site (paid link) · vs Kit | $109 | +$20 |
Not available or not verified for this scenario: Ghost, Substack.
Cheapest alternative at each list size
With automations
Kit plan used: Creator.
| Subscribers | Kit | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $39 | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | $39 |
| 2,500 | $59 | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | $59 |
| 5,000 | $89 | Buttondown $29 Paid (usage-based) | $60 |
| 10,000 | $139 | EmailOctopus $44.50 Pro | $94.50 |
| 25,000 | $199 | Brevo $82 Starter, limited | $117 |
Basic newsletter
Kit plan used: Free, Creator.
| Subscribers | Kit | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 2,500 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 5,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 10,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 25,000 | $199 | Substack $0 Free + 10% of paid revenue | $199 |
Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included)
Kit plan used: Free, Creator.
| Subscribers | Kit | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $29 | none cheaper | — |
| 2,500 | $72.50 | none cheaper | — |
| 5,000 | $145 | none cheaper | — |
| 10,000 | $290 | none cheaper | — |
| 25,000 | $924 | Ghost $904 Publisher | $20 |
Cheapest plan on each platform that covers the list size and needs. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack and AWeber); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees. "limited" = feature capped on that plan.
Switching? Kit → Buttondown cost · Kit → EmailOctopus cost · Rank all platforms for your needs
What you'd give up
Cost isn't everything. What Kit does well, from its official pages: Creators who sell digital products and rely on automations and sequences — or who want a free plan for a list up to 10,000.
- Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, but without visual automations or sequences, and Kit branding stays on. source
- Creator plan includes unlimited visual automations and sequences; Pro adds deliverability reporting and a referral system. source
- Charges 3.5% + 30¢ per paid-subscription transaction, inclusive of card processing. source
FAQ
What is the cheapest Kit alternative?
With automations at 5,000 subscribers: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo vs Kit $89/mo. Basic newsletter at 5,000 subscribers: none cheaper vs Kit $0/mo. Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included) at 5,000 subscribers: none cheaper vs Kit $145/mo. Monthly billing, prices verified 2026-10-20.
Is Kit more expensive than the alternatives?
For a newsletter with automations, at least one tracked platform is cheaper than Kit at 5 of the 5 list sizes we checked (1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000). Cheaper is not always better: check the features you need on each platform page.
How much would I save by switching from Kit?
Use the migration cost calculator with your own list size. At 5,000 subscribers (with automations), the cheapest alternative saves $60 a month.
Sources
- beehiiv pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Kit pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- MailerLite pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Ghost pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Buttondown pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Substack pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- EmailOctopus pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Brevo pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Mailchimp pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- AWeber pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Constant Contact pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- ActiveCampaign pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- GetResponse pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Stripe pricing (card-fee estimate)
- Stripe Billing pricing (0.7% on recurring payments)
More: Substack alternatives · Mailchimp alternatives · beehiiv alternatives · Kit pricing · best platform by use case · cheapest by list size