Email cost calculator: platform vs the old way
Compare what you spend now (for example Gmail plus a spreadsheet, or your current tool) with a newsletter platform's published price. Every input is editable. Defaults marked "example" are placeholders, not data about you.
Know the Gmail limits
Google's own help page lists Gmail sending limits for Google Workspace accounts: 2,000 messages per day per user, 1,500 for mail merge, a maximum of 500 external recipients per message, and 500 messages per day for trial accounts. Limits for free personal Gmail are lower. Source: Gmail sending limits in Google Workspace, as checked on 2026-10-26. Bulk mail from a personal inbox also lacks built-in unsubscribe handling, which newsletter platforms provide.
How it is calculated
Old way total = tool cost + (hours x hourly value). Platform total = published monthly price for your list size (rounded up to 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000) + (hours after switching x hourly value). The difference is plain arithmetic on your inputs, not a prediction.
Sources (as checked on 2026-10-26)
- Kit: kit.com/pricing (monthly prices from the page's own pricing slider data)
- beehiiv: beehiiv.com/pricing
- MailerLite: mailerlite.com/pricing (monthly prices from the page's own pricing slider data)
- Ghost(Pro): ghost.org/pricing (monthly prices from the page's own pricing script)
Prices change. Always confirm on the vendor site before you buy.