Home › Alternatives › Sender alternatives
Ad disclosure: we earn a commission if you sign up through links marked (paid link), at no extra cost to you. Rankings are by cost only. Details
Sender 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.
Sender's free plan is generous (2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month), but branding removal and custom domains need a paid plan, and the 30% yearly discount only applies to the first year.
Short answer
- With automations, 5,000 subscribers: Sender Standard costs $39/mo. Cheapest alternative: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo (saves $10/mo, $120/yr).
- Basic newsletter, 5,000 subscribers: Sender Standard costs $39/mo. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $0/mo (saves $39/mo, $468/yr).
- Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included), 5,000 subscribers: Sender has no option in our verified data. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $145/mo.
Try Buttondown Try EmailOctopus (paid link)
Ranked by cost only. Links marked (paid link) are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the order. Disclosure.
Get an email if Sender or an alternative changes its prices
We re-check Sender and every alternative on this page each week and email you when a price, free-plan limit or fee changes, with before/after numbers. Plus one monthly cost report. Free. What you get →
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)
Sender Standard: $39/mo. Cheapest fitting plan on each platform, monthly billing. Diff = monthly cost compared with Sender (− = cheaper).
| # | Alternative and plan | Total /mo | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buttondown Paid (usage-based) Visit site | $29 | −$10 |
| 2 | EmailOctopus Pro Visit site (paid link) · vs Sender | $31.50 | −$7.50 |
| 3 | Brevo Starter, limited Visit site · vs Sender | $32 | −$7 |
| 4 | Moosend Pro Visit site | $48 | +$9 |
| 5 | MailerLite Comfort Visit site · vs Sender | $49 | +$10 |
| 6 | Shopify Email Basic plan + email usage Visit site | $49 | +$10 |
| 7 | Flodesk Lite, limited Visit site | $52 | +$13 |
| 8 | GetResponse Starter, limited Visit site | $54 | +$15 |
| 9 | AWeber Lite, limited Visit site (paid link) | $60 | +$21 |
| 10 | Mailchimp Essentials, limited Visit site · vs Sender | $75 | +$36 |
| 11 | Constant Contact Lite, limited Visit site | $80 | +$41 |
| 12 | Omnisend Standard Visit site | $81 | +$42 |
| 13 | Kit Creator Visit site · vs Sender | $89 | +$50 |
| 14 | ActiveCampaign Starter Visit site | $99 | +$60 |
| 15 | Klaviyo Email Visit site | $100 | +$61 |
| 16 | beehiiv Lite Visit site (paid link) | $109 | +$70 |
Not available or not verified for this scenario: Ghost, Substack.
Cheapest alternative at each list size
With automations
Sender plan used: Free, Standard.
| Subscribers | Sender | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 2,500 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 5,000 | $39 | Buttondown $29 Paid (usage-based) | $10 |
| 10,000 | $69 | EmailOctopus $44.50 Pro | $24.50 |
| 25,000 | $149 | Brevo $82 Starter, limited | $67 |
Basic newsletter
Sender plan used: Free, Standard.
| Subscribers | Sender | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 2,500 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 5,000 | $39 | Kit $0 Free | $39 |
| 10,000 | $69 | Kit $0 Free | $69 |
| 25,000 | $149 | Substack $0 Free + 10% of paid revenue | $149 |
Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included)
Sender has no option for this in our verified data (n/a).
| Subscribers | Sender | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | n/a | Kit $29 Free | n/a |
| 2,500 | n/a | Kit $72.50 Free | n/a |
| 5,000 | n/a | Kit $145 Free | n/a |
| 10,000 | n/a | Kit $290 Free | n/a |
| 25,000 | n/a | Ghost $904 Publisher | n/a |
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, AWeber and Flodesk); 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? Sender → Buttondown cost · Sender → EmailOctopus cost · Rank all platforms for your needs
What you'd give up
Cost isn't everything. What Sender does well, from its official pages: Small senders on a tight budget who want automation and landing pages on a generous free plan, and low prices on the paid tiers.
- Free plan: up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with automation, forms and landing pages; Sender branding stays. source
- Paid plans are priced by subscribers with sends at 12x (Standard) or 24x (Professional) your tier and no daily limit. New customers get 30% off the first year on yearly billing. source
- Custom domains for landing pages and removing Sender branding start on Standard. source
FAQ
What is the cheapest Sender alternative?
With automations at 5,000 subscribers: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo vs Sender $39/mo. Basic newsletter at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $0/mo vs Sender $39/mo. Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included) at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $145/mo. Monthly billing, prices verified 2026-10-20.
Is Sender more expensive than the alternatives?
For a newsletter with automations, at least one tracked platform is cheaper than Sender at 3 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 Sender?
Use the migration cost calculator with your own list size. At 5,000 subscribers (with automations), the cheapest alternative saves $10 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)
- Flodesk pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Sender pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Moosend pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Klaviyo pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Omnisend pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Shopify Email 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 alternatives · Flodesk alternatives · Klaviyo alternatives · Omnisend alternatives · Moosend alternatives · Sender pricing · best platform by use case · cheapest by list size