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How to Choose Your First Newsletter Platform: A Checklist for Solo Creators

Prices and terms checked against official pages on November 7, 2026. Confirm on the official pricing page before you pay.

Disclosure: I may receive a commission if you sign up through links in this article, at no extra cost to you. Substack, compared below, has no affiliate program. I am not a paying user of the paid plans reviewed here; this is a decision checklist built from official documentation, not a hands-on test.

The two numbers most people never check

Most comparisons focus on feature lists. In practice, the choice goes wrong at two points: the free-plan ceiling, and the moment you charge money — what percentage disappears before revenue reaches your account.

Three questions first

  1. What will you actually sell — a paid newsletter only, or also a course, a community, a funnel?
  2. How big will your list realistically be in 12 months? Pricing is tied to subscriber count.
  3. Do you need discovery from a built-in network, or do you already have an audience?

Kit — email-first, for creators who will automate

Free up to 10,000 subscribers. Creator from $39/month at up to 1,000 subscribers ($390/year). Takes 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction on paid products (confirm before publishing). Good fit: email automation is core. Poor fit: you want a reader network. Link: none — no affiliate link (our application was not approved, so Kit is included purely on its merits); go to kit.com directly.

beehiiv — growth features, 0% taken from paid subscriptions

Free up to 2,500 subscribers. Plans renamed and repriced October 1, 2026: Lite from $59/month at 1,000 subscribers ($49/month billed yearly). 0% of paid subscription revenue (Stripe fees apply), but monetization requires a paid plan. Link: beehiiv (affiliate link)

systeme.io — the all-in-one at the lowest entry price

Free with 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, 1 community. Startup $17/month, Unlimited $97/month. 0% transaction fees (gateway fees apply). Good fit: you need email + funnels + course + community in one cheap stack. Link: systeme.io (affiliate link)

Substack — no affiliate program, still worth considering

Free to publish at any size. Keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue plus Stripe fees. Good fit while paid revenue is small; the 10% overtakes a ~$49/month flat fee at roughly $490/month of paid revenue. Link: none — go to substack.com directly.

A 10-minute decision procedure

  1. Write down what you will sell in the next 12 months.
  2. Write down your realistic (pessimistic) subscriber count and paid revenue in 12 months.
  3. Compute 12-month cost per platform: subscription at that list size + the platform's take on that revenue.
  4. Delete any platform that cannot do the one thing you will sell.
  5. Pick the cheapest of what remains. Re-run when your list doubles.

Last updated: November 8, 2026.