Substack takes 10% of everything your paid subscribers pay you. Mailchimp and MailerLite just halved their free plans. We do the real take-home math at your subscriber count — so you switch on numbers, not vibes.
| Platform | Free up to | Paid / mo | Cut of revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beehiivgrowth tools, recommendations | 2,500 | ~$89 | 0% | Review → |
| MailerLitecheapest paid tiers | 500 | ~$39 | 0% | Review → |
| Kitcreator automation | 10,000 | ~$89 | 0% | Review → |
| Substackbuilt-in network | unlimited | $0 | 10% | Alternatives → |
| Mailchimplegacy, post-cut | 250 | scales | 0% | Alternatives → |
Paid figures are list-price at 5,000 subscribers, from each platform's pricing page (May 2026). Beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers and Kit up to 10,000, so smaller lists may pay $0. Substack is free to use but keeps 10% of paid-subscription revenue; the flat-fee platforms keep none of it. Mailchimp's price scales with contact count rather than a flat tier. Your real cost depends on whether you charge readers — run your own number in the cost calculator.
If your paid subscriptions bring in $2,500 a month, Substack's 10% takes $250 of it — $3,000 a year, forever. Beehiiv, Kit and MailerLite charge a flat fee (tens of dollars a month) and keep 0% of your revenue.
Below a few hundred paid subscribers, Substack's simplicity can still win. Past that, the math flips hard — and most writers never run it.
See Beehiiv vs Substack, with the math →Run the math at your list size5001,0005,00025,000
For a paid newsletter past a few hundred subscribers, a flat-fee platform that takes 0% of your revenue almost always beats Substack's 10% — Beehiiv if you want growth tools, Kit if you live in automations, MailerLite if you want the cheapest reliable send. Switch on the take-home number, not the brand.
Start with Beehiiv vs Substack →Newsletter Switch is an independent comparison site. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Beehiiv, Substack, Kit, ConvertKit, MailerLite, Mailchimp, Ghost, Buttondown, or any platform mentioned. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners, used for descriptive comparison (nominative fair use). We earn commissions on some outbound links — see our full disclosure.