What will your newsletter platform actually cost?
Platforms advertise the entry price. Your bill depends on your list size. Enter your subscriber count and see the real cost on every major platform — monthly, yearly, and over 3 years.
Prices from official tier tables, verified 2026-07-12. No estimates, no interpolation.
| Plan | Monthly | Per year | 3-year total |
|---|
The full price curves (the part pricing pages don't show at once)
Every platform shows one slider position at a time. Here are the complete official tiers side by side:
| Up to subscribers | Scale $/mo | Max $/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $43 | $96 |
| 2,500 | $61 | $131 |
| 5,000 | $78 | $149 |
| 10,000 | $96 | $193 |
| 25,000 | $149 | $254 |
| 50,000 | $219 | $334 |
| 75,000 | $254 | $369 |
| 100,000 | $290 | $404 |
| Up to subscribers | Creator $/mo | Pro $/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $39 | $79 |
| 3,000 | $59 | $99 |
| 5,000 | $89 | $139 |
| 8,000 | $119 | $169 |
| 10,000 | $139 | $189 |
| 15,000 | $169 | $249 |
| 25,000 | $199 | $279 |
| 50,000 (45–55k) | $379 | $519 |
| 100,000 (95–105k) | $679 | $879 |
| 500,000 | $2,499 | $2,799 |
Substack pricing works differently: $0 platform fee at any list size, but 10% of revenue if you sell paid subscriptions (plus Stripe fees). Free-newsletter writers pay nothing; monetized writers usually pay more than beehiiv/Kit would cost. See the full beehiiv vs Substack crossover math.
Methodology
We read prices from the platforms' own pricing engines — the tier tables their pricing sliders use — not from marketing pages or third-party roundups. Each table above carries its verification date. If a price changed since, the calculator is wrong and we want to know: hello@newslettercalc.com.
FAQ
- Which platform is cheapest at 5,000 subscribers?
- On monthly billing: beehiiv Scale $78/mo vs Kit Creator $89/mo. Substack stays $0 unless you charge for subscriptions (then 10% of revenue).
- Is beehiiv really free up to 2,500 subscribers?
- Yes — the Launch plan is $0 to 2,500 subs with unlimited sends. Kit's free plan caps at 1,000.
- What's the catch with Substack being "free"?
- The 10% revenue share. At $10,000/yr of paid subscriptions you pay $1,000/yr — more than beehiiv Scale costs at 10,000 subscribers.