Newsletter platform pricing study: what 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 subscribers cost
An original comparison built only from public pricing pages, as checked on 2026-10-26. We did not test the products, survey users, or use any private data.
Key findings
- Kit's Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers at $0, but its pricing page lists automated email sequences only on paid plans.
- Among the lowest paid plans, MailerLite Comfort is the lowest published monthly price at all three list sizes ($19, $49, $89).
- beehiiv Lite is the highest of the lowest paid plans at 1,000 subscribers ($59) and 5,000 ($109). At 10,000, beehiiv Lite and Kit Creator are both $139.
- Ghost(Pro) Publisher, the lowest Ghost plan with paid subscriptions, is $35, $75 and $105.
Full table (USD per month, monthly billing)
| Plan | 1,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Free | $0 | $0 | $0 | Free up to 10,000 subscribers; no automated sequences |
| Kit Creator | $39 | $89 | $139 | |
| Kit Pro | $79 | $139 | $189 | |
| beehiiv Free | $0 | n/a | n/a | Up to 2,500 subscribers |
| beehiiv Lite | $59 | $109 | $139 | |
| beehiiv Pro | $109 | $199 | $239 | |
| MailerLite Free | n/a | n/a | n/a | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month |
| MailerLite Comfort | $19 | $49 | $89 | Monthly sends capped at 10x tier ceiling |
| MailerLite Power | $39 | $69 | $129 | |
| Ghost(Pro) Starter | $18 | n/a | n/a | 1,000 members; no paid subscriptions |
| Ghost(Pro) Publisher | $35 | $75 | $105 |
Method
- We opened each official pricing page on 2026-10-26 and recorded the monthly-billing price at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 subscribers. For Kit, MailerLite and Ghost the per-tier prices come from the pricing data each page loads into its own price slider; beehiiv publishes a tier table directly.
- "Lowest paid plan" means the cheapest paid tier that holds the list size. Free plans are listed in the table but excluded from the charts.
- Annual billing is cheaper on every platform (for example beehiiv Lite at 1,000 is $49/mo billed annually; Kit says pay yearly and save 17%). Kit also showed a limited-time Pro promotion. Promotions, taxes and transaction fees are excluded.
- Ghost's pricing page counts "members" rather than subscribers, and Kit and MailerLite count active subscribers. Plans differ in features and send limits, so the cheapest plan is not automatically the best fit.
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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.