Newsletter Software Comparison: Free Plans, Pricing and How Much Work Each Issue Takes

By: Kazushi Inui (Newsletter Ready) ・ Last updated: 2026-10-21

Newsletter software (also called email marketing software or an email newsletter service) is easiest to choose when you look at three things first: whether there is a real free plan, how the price grows with your list, and how much work each issue takes to produce. This page explains what to check and compares the free plans, starting prices and editors of the services most small businesses in the US and UK shortlist. All figures were checked on the official pricing pages on November 5, 2026.

Want to start free? Newsletter Ready's free plan covers 300 subscribers and 4 issues a month, with no credit card and no time limit. Start free with Newsletter Ready →

7 points for choosing newsletter software

Cost model: most services charge by the number of contacts or subscribers, some by emails sent, and a few take a share of paid subscription revenue. Work out which model fits a list of your size now and in a year.
Free plan or free trial: a free plan has no end date but caps subscribers or sends; a trial gives you everything for 14 or 30 days and then asks for a card. Check which one you are being offered.
Sending limits: look at the monthly send cap, not just the subscriber cap. A plan that allows 250 contacts but only 500 emails a month supports two issues to a full list.
Work per issue: do you design and write every email in an editor, or does the tool draft it for you? This decides whether the newsletter still exists in six months.
US and UK legal basics: in the US, CAN-SPAM requires accurate sender details, a physical postal address and a working unsubscribe link in every commercial email, with opt-outs honored within 10 business days. In the UK, PECR regulation 22 bans marketing email to individual subscribers without prior consent, with a soft opt-in for existing customers and, since February 2026, a similar exception for charities. Pick a tool that adds the footer and records consent for you.
Sending from your own domain: you should be able to send from your company domain and set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Gmail and Yahoo expect this from bulk senders, and it keeps you out of the spam folder.
Support: check the support hours, whether live chat or phone is included, and on which plan. Several services keep phone support for higher tiers.

Comparison table: free plans, starting prices and how emails are built

Checked on each service's official pricing page on November 5, 2026. Prices change often and most are quoted for small lists, so confirm on the linked source before you sign up. Where a figure could not be verified on the official page, the cell says so.

Service	Free plan	Paid plans start at	How you build an email	AI writing
Mailchimp	Yes: up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day)	Essentials from $8.19/mo, Standard from $11.96/mo after a 14-day trial (pricing page in USD)	Email editor with pre-built templates (limited templates on Free)	Generative AI features included in Standard and Premium; not in Free or Essentials
MailerLite	Yes: up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month	Comfort from $12/mo, Power from $25/mo	Drag & drop, custom HTML and simple editors, all available on Free	AI writing assistant listed for Comfort and Power; subject line generator limited on Free
Brevo	Yes, free forever with no credit card: up to 300 emails a day once sending is approved	Starter from $9/mo (from 5,000 emails a month), Standard from $18/mo	Drag & drop email editor and templates	AI content generator for subject lines and email copy from Starter
Kit	Yes: up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited email broadcasts	Creator $33/mo ($390 a year)	Template library and custom HTML/CSS templates	No AI writing feature listed on the pricing page (an MCP connection to AI tools is mentioned)
beehiiv	Yes, free forever: up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends	Lite $49/mo billed annually or $59/mo monthly for up to 1,000 subscribers	Custom builder and email templates	In-editor beehiiv AI on Lite and above; AI usage is limited on Free
Substack	Free to start with no platform fees	No subscription: Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, plus card fees	Substack's own long-form editor and CMS	Not mentioned on the official pages
Constant Contact	No free plan shown on the pricing page; 30-day refund guarantee instead	Lite from $10.20/mo billed annually (price depends on contacts; monthly billing costs more)	Drag-and-drop email editor and templates	AI copy generator listed in the Email row for all plans
Newsletter Ready	Yes: up to 300 subscribers and 4 issues a month, no credit card, no time limit	Lite $9/mo for 2,000 subscribers and 8 issues a month; Pro $29/mo for 5,000 subscribers and 30 issues a month; Pro Plus $49/mo (10,000); Pro Max $89/mo (25,000). Monthly, cancel any time	AI drafts each issue from the articles on your own website; you approve it	The whole issue is drafted by AI from your own articles, with a source link under each section

Setup fees, minimum terms and branding on free plans

Three things the price tables tend to hide. Checked on each service's official pages on November 9, 2026; where the page says nothing, the cell says so. A low monthly price can come with a setup fee, a 12-month commitment, or the vendor's logo in every free-plan email.

Service	Setup fee	Minimum term / cancellation	Branding on the free plan
Mailchimp	None stated	Monthly; cancel or downgrade any time	Free plan carries Mailchimp branding (removal is a paid feature)
MailerLite	None stated	Monthly or yearly; cancel any time	Free-plan emails carry the MailerLite logo (removed on paid plans)
Brevo	None (“no hidden fees”)	Monthly or yearly; cancel any time	Free-plan emails carry the Brevo logo (“No Brevo logo” on paid plans)
Kit	None stated	Monthly or yearly; cancel any time, 30-day refund	Free plan carries Kit branding (removed from Creator up)
beehiiv	None stated	Monthly or yearly	Free and Lite carry beehiiv branding (removed only on Pro and above)
Substack	None; Substack keeps 10% of paid subscriptions	No subscription or term for writers	No option to remove Substack branding is documented
Constant Contact	None stated	Monthly or 12-month prepay; cancel any time by phone, 30-day refund	No free plan (trial only)
Newsletter Ready	None	Monthly, cancel any time; the free plan needs no card	Free plan adds one small line at the end crediting Newsletter Ready (no third-party ads); nothing on Pro and above

If you want to start free

Seven of the eight rows have a real free plan rather than a trial: Mailchimp (250 contacts), MailerLite (250 subscribers), Brevo (300 emails a day), Kit (10,000 subscribers), beehiiv (2,500 subscribers), Substack (free to publish) and Newsletter Ready (300 subscribers). Constant Contact's pricing page shows paid plans with a 30-day refund guarantee.

The subscriber cap is only half the question. Mailchimp's free plan sends 500 emails a month, so a list of 250 gets two issues; Brevo caps sends per day instead of per month; Kit and beehiiv allow large free lists but keep some features for paid plans. Read the limits that match how you will actually send.

Also ask who will write each issue. A free plan with a blank editor still costs an afternoon a month. If nobody on your team has that afternoon, a tool that drafts from what you already publish is more likely to keep going. Newsletter Ready's free plan is built for exactly that: it reads your news or blog page and drafts the issue for you to approve.

Sending platforms vs. newsletter networks

Substack and beehiiv are publishing networks as much as email tools. They are designed for writers who want to build an audience, add paid subscriptions and be discovered by other readers on the network. Substack charges nothing up front and keeps 10% of paid revenue; beehiiv has a free plan and paid tiers with monetization features.

A company that wants to keep in touch with its own customers has a different need: a list it owns, sent from its own domain, with the sender details and unsubscribe handling that commercial email requires. Mailchimp, MailerLite, Brevo, Kit, Constant Contact and Newsletter Ready are built for that. If you ever leave, you export your list as a CSV and take it with you.

When Newsletter Ready is not the right choice

You want pixel-level control over the design: Newsletter Ready is built to reduce the work per issue, not to be a design tool.
Your list is larger than 25,000 subscribers or you send high-volume promotional campaigns: Pro Max tops out at 25,000 subscribers.
You want a long-established vendor with a large ecosystem of integrations: Newsletter Ready launched in 2026.
You do not publish news or articles on your website: the drafts are built from your own pages, so there has to be something to read.

Who Newsletter Ready suits

Small businesses and nonprofits that already post news or blog articles but never get around to the newsletter.
Teams that want to start free with a few hundred contacts and grow from there.
Anyone who wants the CAN-SPAM footer, consent record and one-click unsubscribe handled by the tool rather than remembered each time.
Owners who would rather approve a finished draft than start from an empty editor.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free newsletter service?

Yes. As of November 5, 2026, Mailchimp (250 contacts, 500 sends a month), MailerLite (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month), Brevo (300 emails a day), Kit (10,000 subscribers), beehiiv (2,500 subscribers), Substack (free to publish) and Newsletter Ready (300 subscribers, 4 issues a month) all offer a free plan with no end date. Limits change, so check the official pricing pages.

What is the best newsletter software for a small business?

It depends on who writes it. If you want full design control and have someone to write each issue, Mailchimp, MailerLite, Brevo or Constant Contact are the usual picks. If you are a writer building an audience, Substack or beehiiv. If you already publish articles on your site and nobody has time to write the email, Newsletter Ready drafts it from those articles. Use the seven points above rather than a ranking.

How much does newsletter software cost?

Most services price by contacts. For a small list, paid plans in the table start between about $8 and $12 a month on annual billing (Mailchimp Essentials $8.19, Brevo Starter $9, Constant Contact Lite $10.20, MailerLite Comfort $12), with Kit Creator at $33 and beehiiv Lite at $49. Newsletter Ready Pro is $29 a month for 5,000 subscribers. Prices rise with list size, so compare at the size you expect in a year.

Can I just send the newsletter from Gmail or Outlook?

For a handful of people, yes. Beyond a few dozen recipients, bulk sends from a mailbox are more likely to land in spam, you have to handle unsubscribes by hand, and Gmail and Yahoo now expect bulk senders to authenticate their domain and offer one-click unsubscribe. A newsletter service does all of this for you.

What does the law require for a business newsletter in the US and UK?

In the US, CAN-SPAM applies to commercial email: accurate header and subject line, a valid physical postal address, a clear unsubscribe option that works for at least 30 days, and opt-outs honored within 10 business days. In the UK, PECR regulation 22 requires prior consent for marketing email to individual subscribers unless the soft opt-in for existing customers applies, and every message must offer a simple, free way to refuse further email. Newsletter Ready records the consent basis for each subscriber and adds the sender details and unsubscribe link automatically; our CAN-SPAM and GDPR guides go into detail.

Can I switch from my current tool?

Yes. Every service in the table lets you export your list as a CSV. Newsletter Ready imports that CSV directly, and contacts who had unsubscribed in your old tool are carried over as "do not send" so they are never emailed again. Step-by-step migration guides for Mailchimp, Benchmark Email, Substack, Kit and Brevo are linked below.

Try it on your own site first

Paste your website's URL on the homepage and you get a sample issue in about a minute, with no sign-up and no email sent. If you like it, start on the free plan (300 subscribers, 4 issues a month) and upgrade only when your list outgrows it.

See a sample issue made from your website Newsletter Ready vs Mailchimp →Newsletter Ready vs rasa.io →How to migrate from Mailchimp →How to migrate from Benchmark Email →How to migrate from Substack →How to migrate from Kit →How to migrate from Brevo →CAN-SPAM requirements checklist →GDPR and UK newsletter consent →Turn your blog into a newsletter →AI newsletter generator →

Compare Newsletter Ready

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice.