Comparison Research
Kit vs beehiiv vs MailerLite: Which Newsletter Tool Fits You in 2026
Anna · Designer & web developerUpdated 2026-11-06 · How we testKit, beehiiv and MailerLite compared on free plans, real prices, automations, paid newsletters and fees. Pick by what you sell and how big your list is.
Pick Kit if you sell courses, templates or coaching and want email sequences that turn readers into buyers. Pick beehiiv if the newsletter itself is the product and you want to grow it, run ads and charge for subscriptions with no platform cut. Pick MailerLite if you are a small business that needs cheap campaigns, a few automations and a simple website or landing page in the same account.
The free plans tell the story. Kit gives you up to 10,000 subscribers for free but no automations. beehiiv gives you 2,500 subscribers and a website. MailerLite gives you only 250 subscribers but includes automations and the lowest paid entry price.
I'm Anna, a web designer and developer. I haven't run a newsletter on these three, so this is a research piece based on official pricing pages, docs and independent reviews. Figures are as of November 2026, and these companies change plans often, so check the checkout before you pay. Some links here are affiliate links.
Quick comparison
| Kit | beehiiv | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Creators who sell digital products | Newsletters as a business | Small businesses on a budget |
| Free plan | Up to 10,000 subscribers | Up to 2,500 subscribers | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo |
| Automations on free | No | No | Yes, 3 active |
| First paid plan | Creator, about $33/mo at 1,000 subs (yearly) | Lite, $49/mo yearly or $59 monthly | Comfort, from $12/mo |
| Paid newsletters | Yes, on all plans | Paid plans only | Listed, plan details unclear |
| Platform fee on subscriptions | 3.5% + 30¢ per charge | 0% (Stripe fees apply) | Not stated |
| Ad network | Paid Recommendations and sponsorships on paid plans | Ad network on paid plans | No |
| Remove branding | Creator and up | Pro and up | Comfort and up |
Prices from kit.com, beehiiv.com and mailerlite.com pricing pages, November 2026. All three charge more as your list grows, so the number at 1,000 subscribers is a starting point, not your bill.
Kit: built to sell
Kit (the company formerly called ConvertKit) is the tool for people who make money from what the email leads to: a course, a Gumroad product, a template pack, a coaching call. Its strength is automations. Tags, sequences and a visual builder let you send a welcome series, then a pitch, then stop pitching to anyone who already bought.
The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages and forms, and paid newsletters. It is the biggest free list allowance of the three. The catch is that free accounts get no visual automations and no email sequences, and Kit branding stays on. You can broadcast to a big list, but you can't build a funnel.
Paid plans. At 1,000 subscribers, Creator is $390 a year (about $33 a month) and adds unlimited automations, sequences, 2 team seats and branding removal. Pro was on a first-year promo at $50 a month instead of $66, billed yearly, with unlimited seats. Kit moves you to the next price tier automatically when your list grows past your limit.
Money side. Kit charges 3.5% plus 30¢ per paid subscription charge on every plan. Its Paid Recommendations network, where other creators pay you for sign-ups, is on Creator and Pro, and Kit keeps a 23.5% fee on those.
beehiiv: built for growth
beehiiv was made by people from the newsletter world, and it shows. The editor feels like a blogging tool, every newsletter gets a website, and growth features (referral programs, recommendations, an ad network) are the centre of the product.
The free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers and one custom page on the website. You can't charge for subscriptions or join the ad network on free, and automations are not included. beehiiv's own pricing page contradicts itself on whether free includes a custom domain, so check before you rely on it.
Paid plans. Lite costs $49 a month on yearly billing or $59 month to month, at the 1,000-subscriber level. It unlocks paid subscriptions, the ad network, 5 custom pages, 10 live automations and redirects. Pro costs $95 a month yearly or $109 monthly and adds unlimited automations, unlimited pages and branding removal. Both prices rise with list size.
Money side. beehiiv says it takes 0% of your subscription revenue. You still pay Stripe's processing fee of 2.9% plus 30¢. If you plan to charge $5 a month to thousands of readers, that difference with Kit adds up.
The weak spot is selling products. beehiiv can sell digital products now, but its automations are simpler than Kit's, and the free plan has none.
MailerLite: built for small businesses
MailerLite is the practical choice: a clean drag-and-drop editor, automations, forms, landing pages and a basic website builder, at low prices. It suits a salon, a studio, a local shop or a freelancer who sends a monthly update and a few automated emails.
The free plan is small: up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. It includes 2 user seats, 3 active automations (5 steps each), 3 forms, 1 landing page and 1 website. If you go over 250 active subscribers, sending gets locked until you upgrade. That limit is much lower than it used to be, so older reviews quoting 1,000 or 500 are out of date.
Paid plans. MailerLite has renamed its tiers to Comfort and Power. Comfort starts at $12 a month and gives 50 automations, 10 forms, 10 landing pages, email support and no MailerLite logo. Emails are capped at 10 times your subscriber tier, so a 1,000-subscriber list gets 10,000 sends a month. Power starts at $25 a month with unlimited automations, unlimited sends (fair use) and live chat. Yearly billing saves 10%.
Money side. MailerLite is the cheapest of the three at every small list size. It doesn't have an ad network, and its paid newsletter feature is less central than on Kit or beehiiv.
Which one costs less
At 1,000 subscribers, with automations and no branding:
- MailerLite Comfort: from $12 a month.
- Kit Creator: about $33 a month, billed yearly.
- beehiiv Pro: $95 a month billed yearly (Lite at $49 keeps beehiiv branding).
If you just want to send, without automations, the order changes. Kit free handles up to 10,000 subscribers and beehiiv free up to 2,500. MailerLite free stops at 250.
For paid subscriptions, look at the fee, not just the plan. On $10,000 a year of subscription revenue, Kit's 3.5% adds about $350 on top of Stripe's fees. beehiiv adds nothing on top of Stripe.
Which one to pick
- You sell a course, ebook, templates or coaching: Kit. Sequences and tags are why people pay for it.
- The newsletter is the business (ads, paid tiers, growth): beehiiv.
- Small business, monthly newsletter, tight budget: MailerLite.
- Big list, zero budget, broadcasts only: Kit free, up to 10,000 subscribers.
- You also need a funnel builder and course host: look at Systeme.io, covered in our Systeme.io review.
All three connect to sites built in Framer, WordPress, Webflow or plain HTML through an embed form. If you need more than an email box, like a quiz or an application form, see Tally vs Typeform. For the full free-tier picture, our guide to the best free email marketing tools compares Brevo, Systeme.io and Hostinger Reach too. More tools for forms and email live on our email and forms page.
FAQ
Is Kit better than beehiiv?
Kit is better if you sell digital products, because its paid plans include unlimited automations, sequences and tags for sales funnels. beehiiv is better if the newsletter is the product: it takes 0% of subscription revenue, has an ad network on paid plans, and gives every newsletter a website. Kit's free plan is bigger, at up to 10,000 subscribers.
Which newsletter platform has the best free plan?
For list size, Kit wins: its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages and forms, but no automations or sequences. beehiiv free allows 2,500 subscribers and a website. MailerLite free allows only 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, though it includes 3 active automations, as of November 2026.
How much does MailerLite cost in 2026?
MailerLite has a free plan for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Paid plans are now called Comfort and Power. Comfort starts at $12 a month and Power at $25 a month, and both rise with list size. Yearly billing saves 10%. Check the calculator on mailerlite.com for your exact list size.
Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?
No. As of November 2026, beehiiv says it takes 0% of paid subscription revenue. You still pay Stripe's processing fee of 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction. Paid subscriptions require a paid plan, starting with Lite at $49 a month billed yearly or $59 month to month at the 1,000-subscriber level.
What fees does Kit charge on paid newsletters?
Kit charges 3.5% plus 30¢ per transaction on paid newsletter subscriptions, on every plan including free. Its Paid Recommendations network, where other creators pay you for sign-ups, is available on the Creator and Pro plans, and Kit keeps a 23.5% fee on that income, as listed on its pricing page in November 2026.
Is ConvertKit the same as Kit?
Yes. ConvertKit renamed itself Kit and moved to kit.com. The product is the same email platform for creators, with forms, landing pages, sequences, visual automations and paid newsletters. Its free plan now covers up to 10,000 subscribers, and the Creator plan costs about $33 a month at 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing.
Bottom line
Choose by what pays your bills. Kit is for selling products through email, beehiiv is for building a newsletter business, and MailerLite is for small businesses that want the lowest bill. Start on the free plan of the one that fits, import a small list, and upgrade only when you need automations or paid subscriptions.