The best free newsletter platforms in 2026 include beehiiv, Kit, Substack, Buttondown, Listmonk, Notocat, Elite Email, Minutemailer, Newsletter Glue, and rasa.io. These picks range from generous free tiers like beehiiv’s 2,500 subscribers to Kit’s 10,000 subscriber free plan, from Substack’s built-in monetization to Buttondown’s developer-friendly approach, and from Listmonk’s self-hosted open-source option to Notocat’s Notion integration. Elite Email and Minutemailer offer free forever plans for smaller senders, while Newsletter Glue and rasa.io provide premium features for WordPress users and enterprises, with free trials or custom pricing.
This list is for anyone looking to start or grow a newsletter without upfront costs. Use it to compare free plan limits, standout features, and where paid plans begin. Whether you’re a solo writer, a small team, or a large organization, there’s a platform here that fits your needs and budget.
How we picked these newsletter platforms
We evaluated each platform on the depth of its free plan, clarity of pricing, fit for different use cases, and reliability. All picks offer a genuinely free tier except where noted, and we’ve highlighted what each free plan includes and where paid plans start. We focused on platforms that provide real value without requiring a credit card, ensuring you can test and grow before committing.
Related shortlists: 7 Best Dating Apps for Small Teams in 2026 and Top 10 AI Content Detection for Small Teams in 2026.
Also worth a look: Top 10 Newsletter Platforms for Small Teams in 2026 and 10 Best Newsletter Platforms in 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Key features | Pricing | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | growing audiences with a generous free tier for up to 2,500 subscribers, with growth and monetization tools | Referral boosts, Monetization tools, Custom website builder | Launch — free for up to 2,500 subscribers | Free plan |
| Kit | creators wanting a free for up to 10,000 subscribers | Visual automations, Landing pages and forms, Tagging and segmentation | Free — up to 10,000 subscribers, no credit card required | 14-day free trial |
| Substack | writers looking to monetized from day one | Built-in payments, Free to start, Hosted website | Free to start — no platform fees or contracts | Free plan |
| Buttondown | developers and writers who want a developer-friendly, API-first email tool | Markdown-first editor, Pay for subscribers, not features, API access | Free — nothing for your first 100 subscribers | Free plan |
| Listmonk | large lists on a self-hosted open-source platform | Free and open source, Self-hosted, SQL-based segmentation | Free and open source (AGPLv3) — self-hosted, no subscriber or sending fees | Free plan |
| Notocat | teams living in Notion who want to turn pages to newsletters | Write in Notion, Custom domains, Branded subscribe forms | Free — up to 100 contacts and 800 monthly emails, full feature access | Free plan |
| Elite Email | smaller senders wanting a free forever plan for up to 500 contacts | Drag-and-drop builder, Free forever plan, Flexible billing | Free — up to 500 contacts forever, no credit card required | Free plan |
| Minutemailer | small teams wanting a free plan for 1,000 emails per month | Free plan, Pay-as-you-go credits, Team access | Free — 1,000 emails/month, unlimited contacts, up to 3 team members | Free plan |
| Newsletter Glue | WordPress publishers who want to add a newsletter without a second platform | Native WordPress editor, Send via your own provider, Unlimited subscribers | Newsletter Glue — $29/month, send up to 25,000 emails/month through its own infrastructure | 14-day free trial |
| rasa.io | organizations needing AI personalization for large subscriber lists | AI content curation, Per-subscriber personalization, Scheduling automation | Custom annual contract pricing based on subscriber count, departments and personalization features | No free trial |
The best newsletter platforms in 2026
Here are our top picks, ranked from the most generous free plans to those with more limited free tiers or premium enterprise features. Each platform is chosen for its ability to serve a specific newsletter need, from growth to automation to self-hosting.
1. beehiiv
The newsletter platform built for growth.
beehiiv is best for: growing audiences with a generous free tier for up to 2,500 subscribers, with growth and monetization tools
beehiiv offers a free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers with built-in referral boosts, an ad network, analytics, and a custom website builder. It’s ideal for newsletters that want to grow and monetize their audience without upfront costs.
Key beehiiv features
- Referral boosts — a built-in network for cross-promotion and subscriber referrals
- Monetization tools — an ad network and paid subscriptions to generate revenue
- Custom website builder — a polished, brandable site beyond just the newsletter archive
- Advanced analytics — subscriber growth and engagement data out of the box
- Segmentation — target sends to specific subscriber groups
beehiiv pricing
- Launch — free for up to 2,500 subscribers
- Scale — $43/month ($517/year billed annually)
- Max — $96/month ($1,151/year billed annually)
- Enterprise — custom pricing for 100K+ subscribers
- Free trial: Free plan
2. Kit
Audience building for creators
Kit is best for: creators wanting a free for up to 10,000 subscribers
Kit provides a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers with visual automations, landing pages, and commerce tools. It’s perfect for creators who want to combine newsletter with a small business without paying for the start.
Key Kit features
- Visual automations — build subscriber journeys and sequences without code
- Landing pages and forms — grow a list beyond the newsletter itself
- Tagging and segmentation — send the right content to the right subscribers
- Commerce tools — sell digital products and subscriptions to an audience
- Free plan — up to 10,000 subscribers before any payment is required
Kit pricing
- Free — up to 10,000 subscribers, no credit card required
- Creator — $33/month ($390/year billed annually)
- Pro — $66/month ($790/year billed annually)
- Free trial: 14-day free trial
3. Substack
Paid email newsletters made simple
Substack is best for: writers looking to monetized from day one
Substack is free to start with built-in payments, a hosted website, and a discovery network. Writers keep 90% of subscription revenue, and readers can choose free or paid tiers.
Key Substack features
- Built-in payments — Stripe-powered paid subscriptions with no separate billing setup
- Free to start — no platform fees or contracts, writers keep 90% of subscription revenue
- Hosted website — every newsletter gets its own site with a free and paid archive
- Substack app — readers can browse, comment and get notified from a dedicated app
- Notes — a built-in social feed for discovery and audience growth
Substack pricing
- Free to start — no platform fees or contracts
- Writers keep 90% of subscription revenue (Substack takes 10%, minus payment processing fees)
- Readers choose free or paid tiers set by each writer
- Free trial: Free plan
4. Buttondown
A small, elegant tool for producing newsletters.
Buttondown is best for: developers and writers who want a developer-friendly, API-first email tool
Buttondown offers a free for first 100 subscribers with a markdown-first editor, API access, RSS-to-email, and custom domains. It’s a favorite for developers and writers who want to self-automate.
Key Buttondown features
- Markdown-first editor — write newsletters in plain markdown, no drag-and-drop required
- Pay for subscribers, not features — the first 100 subscribers are free
- API access — automate sends and subscriber management programmatically
- RSS-to-email — turn an existing blog feed into a newsletter automatically
- Custom domains and hosted archives — keep every issue under your own brand
Buttondown pricing
- Free — nothing for your first 100 subscribers
- Pay only for active subscribers beyond 100, assuming up to one email a day
- Add-ons from $9/month — tagging, segmentation, paid subscriptions, analytics and more
- Team and whitelabel add-ons from $79/month
- Free trial: Free plan
5. Listmonk
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
Listmonk is best for: large lists on a self-hosted open-source platform
Listmonk is free and open source (AGPLv3) with no subscriber or sending fees, runs as a single binary, and SQL-based segmentation. It suits large lists where hosted platforms get expensive fast.
Key Listmonk features
- Free and open source — AGPLv3 licensed, no subscription cost at any list size
- Self-hosted — runs as a single binary on your own server
- SQL-based segmentation — query subscribers directly for precise targeting
- Multi-channel sending — email, SMS and WhatsApp from one dashboard
- High performance — built to handle millions of sends on modest hardware
Listmonk pricing
- Free and open source (AGPLv3) — self-hosted, no subscriber or sending fees
- Runs on your own server as a single binary
- Optional paid hosting or support available from third-party providers
- Free trial: Free plan
6. Notocat
Transform your Notion pages to beautiful newsletters
Notocat is best for: teams living in Notion who want to turn pages to newsletters
Notocat provides a free plan for up to 100 contacts and 800 emails per month with full feature access. It removes an entire copy-paste step between drafting and sending.
Key Notocat features
- Write in Notion — turn any Notion page into a newsletter issue directly
- Custom domains — send and host issues under your own domain
- Branded subscribe forms — collect subscribers without extra tools
- Sending analytics — track opens and engagement per issue
- Free plan — up to 100 contacts and 800 emails a month with full feature access
Notocat pricing
- Free — up to 100 contacts and 800 monthly emails, full feature access
- Paid plans scale by contact tier (1k to 100k+), billed monthly or yearly
- Custom plans available for 100k+ contacts
- Free trial: Free plan
7. Elite Email
Drag & drop email builder for awesome newsletters
Elite Email is best for: smaller senders wanting a free forever plan for up to 500 contacts
Elite Email offers a free forever plan for up to 500 contacts with a drag-and-drop builder and scheduling. It’s a low-risk pick for smaller senders.
Key Elite Email features
- Drag-and-drop builder — add articles, images, coupons and links visually
- Free forever plan — up to 500 contacts with no credit card required
- Flexible billing — monthly subscriptions or pay-as-you-go credit packages
- Scheduling — queue newsletters ahead of time for automatic delivery
- Nonprofit and prepay discounts — up to 20% off for qualifying senders
Elite Email pricing
- Free — up to 500 contacts forever, no credit card required
- From $15/month — unlimited sending for 501–1,000 contacts, scaling by list size
- Pay-as-you-go credits from $15 for 1,000 sends
- Discounts for nonprofits and prepaid annual plans
- Free trial: Free plan
8. Minutemailer
Create and send beautiful newsletters in minutes
Minutemailer is best for: small teams wanting a free plan for 1,000 emails per month
Minutemailer provides a free plan for 1,000 emails per month with unlimited contacts and up to 3 team members. It combines sending with lead capture tools.
Key Minutemailer features
- Free plan — 1,000 emails a month with unlimited contacts
- Pay-as-you-go credits — buy sends as needed instead of a fixed monthly cap
- Team access — up to 3 members on the free plan
- Lead generation tools — capture new contacts alongside sending newsletters
- AI-assisted writing — built-in help for drafting campaigns
Minutemailer pricing
- Free — 1,000 emails/month, unlimited contacts, up to 3 team members
- Starter — $9.80/month for 2,000 credits/month
- Pay-as-you-go credits from $15 per 1,000 sends
- Free trial: Free plan
9. Newsletter Glue
Write newsletters the way you already blog on WordPress
Newsletter Glue is best for: WordPress publishers who want to add a newsletter without a second platform
Newsletter Glue lives inside WordPress and offers a 14-day free trial. It allows unlimited subscribers and sends newsletters using the native editor, with plans starting at $29/month.
Key Newsletter Glue features
- Native WordPress editor — compose newsletters inside the same editor used for posts
- Send via your own provider — the Connect plan routes through 21 email service integrations
- Unlimited subscribers — no per-subscriber pricing on either plan
- Newsletter and template builder — reusable layouts for consistent issues
- Automated newsletters — turn new posts into sends automatically
Newsletter Glue pricing
- Newsletter Glue — $29/month, send up to 25,000 emails/month through its own infrastructure
- Newsletter Glue Connect — $99/month, send through your own email provider
- Non-profit pricing available on application
- Free trial: 14-day free trial
10. rasa.io
Start sending better newsletters today.
rasa.io is best for: organizations needing AI personalization for large subscriber lists
rasa.io offers AI content curation and per-subscriber personalization. It has no free plan but is built for enterprises with custom annual contracts.
Key rasa.io features
- AI content curation — pulls and ranks content from trusted sources automatically
- Per-subscriber personalization — each recipient can see a different mix of content
- Scheduling automation — set a frequency and let the system manage ongoing sends
- Custom contracts — pricing built around an organization's size and departments
rasa.io pricing
- Custom annual contract pricing based on subscriber count, departments and personalization features
- One-time setup fee applies
- Book a walkthrough for a tailored quote
- Free trial: No free trial
Which newsletter platforms should you choose?
For a generous free plan with growth tools, choose beehiiv. For a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers, Kit is best. For a monetized newsletter from day one, Substack is ideal. For a developer-friendly approach, Buttondown is excellent. For a self-hosted open-source solution, Listmonk is perfect. For Notion users, Notocat is a good fit. For a free forever plan with 500 contacts, Elite Email works. For a free 1,000 emails per month, Minutemailer is a great choice. For a WordPress newsletter, Newsletter Glue is a premium option. For enterprise personalization, rasa.io is a top paid-only choice.
If you’re just starting and want the most generous free limits, Kit’s 10,000 subscriber free plan is the strongest choice. For those who want to own their infrastructure, Listmonk’s free open-source model is unbeatable. And for those who need enterprise-grade AI personalization with no free tier, rasa.io delivers powerful features despite its lack of a free plan. Each platform serves a distinct audience, so consider your subscriber count, technical needs, and monetization goals before deciding.
