The short answer: Kit is the best all-round email platform for creators who sell — strong automations plus digital products and paid newsletters in one place, with the most generous free tier. beehiiv is the best choice if your newsletter is the business — it has the strongest growth and monetization engine for publishers. Mailchimp is the safe default for small businesses that need lots of integrations, but its free plan has shrunk and creators usually outgrow it. Start with your business model, not the feature list.

Kit (formerly ConvertKit)

Kit is the creator-economy email platform: visual automation builder, landing pages, signup forms, and — crucially — built-in ways to make money: paid newsletters, digital products, and tip jars. Its free tier is the most generous in the category.

Pros: Free plan covers up to around 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends — check current pricing; visual automation builder is excellent for welcome sequences and funnels; selling digital products and paid subscriptions without a second tool.
Cons: Paid plans are pricier than they used to be, starting around the mid-$20s to $30s/mo for 1,000 subscribers — check current pricing; Kit takes a small commission on product/newsletter earnings on top of payment processing fees; design templates are functional, not beautiful.
Pricing: Free up to ~10K subscribers; paid from around $25–39/mo — check current pricing.

Best for: Creators who sell — course sellers, coaches, authors, and anyone combining email with digital products.

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beehiiv

beehiiv is built for newsletter-first publishers. Beyond sending emails, it gives you a web publication, a built-in referral program to grow your list, and multiple monetization paths — paid subscriptions, an ad network, and partner boosts — with 0% platform fees on several revenue streams.

Pros: Purpose-built for newsletter growth: referral program, recommendation network, and ad marketplace; free plan covers up to around 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends — check current pricing; clean writing and publishing experience.
Cons: It's a newsletter platform, not a general email marketing tool — automation is simpler than Kit's; paid plans start higher, around $43/mo — check current pricing; if you don't run a newsletter, most of its strengths don't apply.
Pricing: Free up to ~2,500 subscribers; paid from around $43/mo — check current pricing.

Best for: Newsletter writers and media-style publishers whose growth and revenue come from the newsletter itself.

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Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the best-known name in email marketing, with 800+ integrations and a mature template library. For small businesses that need email to plug into everything else, it's still the path of least resistance.

Pros: Massive integration ecosystem; easy drag-and-drop editor; familiar to most marketers and virtual assistants.
Cons: The free plan has been cut repeatedly — now around 500 contacts with limited monthly sends, and automation stripped from free tiers — check current pricing; pricing scales steeply as your list grows; creator-specific features (paid newsletters, digital products) lag Kit and beehiiv.
Pricing: Free up to ~500 contacts; paid from around $13/mo — check current pricing.

Best for: Small businesses that need broad integrations and a tool their team already knows.

Also worth a look: MailerLite

If budget is the top priority, MailerLite deserves a mention: simple interface, fair pricing from around $10/mo, and a free plan that still includes automation workflows — check current pricing. It's the closest thing to "what Mailchimp used to be" — straightforward email marketing without the upsell maze. It lacks Kit's creator monetization and beehiiv's growth engine, but for simple newsletters on a budget, it's excellent value.

Head-to-head: the real differences

Free tier generosity: Kit (10K subscribers) > beehiiv (2.5K subscribers) > MailerLite (500) > Mailchimp (500 contacts, heavily limited). If you're starting from zero, Kit's free tier buys you the longest runway.

Automation: Kit's visual builder is the most capable for creators. Mailchimp's is solid on paid plans. beehiiv keeps it simple by design.

Monetization: beehiiv leads for newsletter revenue (ads, boosts, paid subs at 0% fees on several streams). Kit leads for creators selling products and courses. Mailchimp trails both here.

Ease of use: All three are beginner-friendly. Mailchimp's editor is the most polished; Kit's is the most creator-oriented; beehiiv's writing experience is the cleanest.

Deliverability: All major platforms deliver well when you follow best practices (authenticated domain, engaged list, consistent sending). No platform magically fixes a cold, purchased, or neglected list.

What to watch out for

  • Contact-based pricing. Most platforms charge by subscriber count, including inactive ones. Clean your list regularly — you're paying for every address.
  • "Free" asterisks. Free plans always have limits: subscriber caps, send caps, branding, or missing automation. Read the actual limits before you invest months building on one.
  • Migration pain. Switching email platforms later is doable but annoying (rebuilding automations, re-warming your sending domain). Pick with 12–18 months of growth in mind, not just today's list size.
  • Revenue-share fees. Platforms that help you monetize sometimes take a cut. Factor Kit's commissions and Substack-style revenue shares into your math if you'll sell through the platform.

The verdict

  • Creator who sells products or courses: Kit. Best automations plus built-in monetization, and the free tier is unmatched.
  • Newsletter-first publisher: beehiiv. Best growth tools and newsletter monetization.
  • Small business needing integrations: Mailchimp. Boring, reliable, connects to everything.
  • Tightest budget, simple needs: MailerLite.

If you're still deciding between Kit and beehiiv, ask one question: is email the channel for your business, or is the newsletter the business? Channel → Kit. The business → beehiiv.

Try Kit free Try beehiiv free