For creators, AWeber ranks first among newsletter platforms with 85 out of 100, ahead of MailerLite by 0 points. The gap is small, so decide on the three things that change a creator's bill: the fee on paid subscriptions, the subscriber limit on the plan you need, and whether you can export your list.
How we picked
A creator's newsletter is an asset, so the scorecard looks at what it costs to keep growing, not just the first month. It checks the price at the tier a working newsletter needs, how generous the free plan is, whether the platform takes a cut of paid subscriptions, and whether it states a way to export your subscribers. The audience filter shows tools that list creators as a target. Details are on the methodology page.
Every one of the 35 newsletter platforms we looked at is scored by the same 8 criteria (scorecard version 2), each from the vendor's own pricing page, docs or changelog. 27 had enough verified data to be ranked. A criterion without verified data is left out and the remaining weights are re-normalised; under 60% of the weight covered means the tool is not ranked.
| Criterion | Weight | Type | What we measure and how |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 25% | Core | Price per month of the cheapest paid plan, against the prices of other newsletter platforms on the same billing basis (monthly-billed prices against monthly, annual-billed against annual).Formula: Log scale. Billed monthly: $9/month or less = 100, $100 or more = 0. Only billed annually: $9/month or less = 100, $159 or more = 0. Only free plans = 100. Usage-priced and one-time plans are not scored. |
| Free plan or trial | 15% | Core | Whether you can use the tool before paying: a free plan, or failing that a free trial, as shown on the vendor's pricing page.Formula: Free plan = 100. No free plan but a free trial = 60. The pricing page lists plans but shows neither = 0. No plans read = not scored. |
| Pricing transparency | 10% | Core | How much of the pricing is public: the share of plans with a published price ("contact sales" counts against), and whether there are at least 3 published tiers.Formula: 80 x (plans with a public price / plans listed) + 20 x (public plans, up to 3) / 3. No plans read = not scored. |
| Verified features | 15% | Core | How many of the 9 features we track for this category the vendor's own pages verifiably show (paid subscriptions, automations / sequences, custom domain, referral programme, a/b testing, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, newsletter website, open and click analytics). This counts verified features only: a tool that documents less scores lower here, and only here.Formula: Linear: verified features / 5 (half the tracked list) x 100, capped at 100. No tracked feature verified = not scored. |
| API, integrations and export | 10% | Core | Whether a public API exists, how many integrations the vendor states, and whether the vendor documents a way to export your data.Formula: Average of the parts with data: public API yes = 100, no = 0; integrations on a log scale (100 or more = 100); a documented data export = 100. None verified = not scored. |
| Cost at 1,000 subscribers | 10% | Category | Monthly price of the cheapest paid plan that allows at least 1,000 subscribers.Formula: Log scale: $5/month or less = 100, $100 or more = 0. Plans that do not state a subscriber limit are not used. |
| Free plan limits | 10% | Category | What the free plan allows: subscribers (full marks at 2,500), emails per month (full marks at 10,000).Formula: Each stated limit linear up to its full mark (unlimited = 100), averaged. Tools without a free plan, or whose free plan states none of these limits, are not scored here. |
| Paid subscriptions | 5% | Category | Whether writers can charge for subscriptions, and the platform's fee on that revenue.Formula: No paid subscriptions (verified) = 0; paid subscriptions: linear, 0% fee = 100, 15% or more = 0. Fee not stated = not scored. |
Newsletter platforms for creators compared
Rank and score come first, then coverage. A tool with low coverage was checked on fewer criteria, so treat a high score there as a prompt to read the vendor's page. The full set, including tools built for brands and stores, is on the newsletter platforms category page.
| # | Tool | Score | Coverage | From, billed monthly | Free plan | Integrations | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  AWeber | 85/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | $15/mo | Yes, 500 subscribers | 750 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 2 |  MailerLite | 85/100 | 85%6 of 8 criteria | $12/mo | Yes, 250 subscribers | 100 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 3 |  ActiveCampaign | 82/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | Not offered | No | 1,000 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 4 |  Ghost | 71/100 | 80%6 of 8 criteria | Not offered | No | 8,000 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 5 |  NotesIQ | 63/100 | 75%5 of 8 criteria | $9/mo | No | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 6 |  Astro Send | 58/100 | 80%6 of 8 criteria | $20/mo | No | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 7 |  Memberful | 51/100 | 80%6 of 8 criteria | $49/mo | No | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  HeyNews | Not ranked | 50%3 of 8 criteria | $39/mo | No | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  Buttondown | Not ranked | 25%2 of 8 criteria | – | – | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  Mailcoach | Not ranked | 25%2 of 8 criteria | – | – | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  NoteStack | Not ranked | 25%2 of 8 criteria | – | – | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
Each value links the vendor page it was read from (hover for the check date). Coverage is the share of the scorecard's weight with verified data, and "N of M criteria" how many criteria the score is based on; a tool is ranked at 60% or more.
Score is 0 to 100 on the category scorecard; coverage is the share of scorecard weight with verified data. Prices are list prices in US dollars from each vendor's pricing page; the Checked column is the newest date any fact of that tool was verified. 4 listed without a score because under 60% of the weight has verified data. How the score works: methodology.
How creators should read fees, limits and export
There are three ways a newsletter platform charges a creator, and they behave differently as you grow. A subscriber-based plan, such as Astro Send with its 2500-subscriber starter tier, rises as the list rises. A flat price with a member cap, such as Ghost, moves you up a tier at each threshold. A percentage fee, such as the 4.9 percent that Memberful lists, grows with revenue instead of list size.
That is why a free plan is only half the story. A free plan with a subscriber cap, like the one AWeber lists (500 subscribers, 3000 emails per month), is a trial of the product with a built-in upgrade date. Work out when your list will reach the cap and what the next plan costs, and compare that with a paid-only platform that has no cap to hit.
Export is the last check. Your subscriber list is the part you cannot rebuild, so a stated export matters more than most features. Where the listed export covers something other than your subscribers, as with MailerLite (reports), ask support how to export the list before you commit.
The tools
AWeber
AWeberRank 7 with a score of 85/100 (based on 6 of 8 criteria, 85% of the scorecard weight verified). Pricing checked Oct 14, 2026.
Scores highest on
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 5 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, automations / sequences, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, open and click analytics
Scores lowest on
- Free plan limits (25/100): Free plan: 500 subscribers, 3,000 emails per month
- Entry price (79/100): $15/month billed monthly on Lite; $12.49/month billed annually on Lite (scored on the monthly price)
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: no published data, left out of the total
- Paid subscriptions: no published data, left out of the total
Full score breakdown with sources
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 29% | 79 | $15/month billed monthly on Lite; $12.49/month billed annually on Lite (scored on the monthly price) source |
| Free plan or trial | 18% | 100 | Free plan (Free) source |
| Pricing transparency | 12% | 100 | 3 of 3 plans have a public price source |
| Verified features | 18% | 100 | 5 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, automations / sequences, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, open and click analytics source 1source 2 |
| API, integrations and export | 12% | 100 | 750 integrations source |
| Cost at 1,000 subscriberscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Free plan limitscategory criterion | 12% | 25 | Free plan: 500 subscribers, 3,000 emails per month source |
| Paid subscriptionscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Total | 85% covered6 of 8 criteria | 85/100 | Rank #7 in this category, based on 6 of 8 criteria |
AWeber is a general-purpose pick for a creator who wants email and paid subscriptions in one account. It lists a free plan with a small subscriber cap, which is enough to start and not enough to stay on.
- Free plan: 500 subscribers, 3000 emails per month.
- Paid plans: $15 per month and $30 per month.
- Paid subscriptions: Yes; landing pages: Yes.
- Trial: 14-day free trial.
MailerLite
MailerLiteRank 8 with a score of 85/100 (based on 6 of 8 criteria, 85% of the scorecard weight verified). Pricing checked Oct 14, 2026.
Scores highest on
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 7 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, automations / sequences, a/b testing, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, newsletter website, open and click analytics
Scores lowest on
- Free plan limits (18/100): Free plan: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month
- Pricing transparency (80/100): 3 of 4 plans have a public price (1 "contact sales")
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: no published data, left out of the total
- Paid subscriptions: no published data, left out of the total
Full score breakdown with sources
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 29% | 88 | $12/month billed monthly on Comfort; $10.80/month billed annually on Comfort (scored on the monthly price) source |
| Free plan or trial | 18% | 100 | Free plan (Free) source |
| Pricing transparency | 12% | 80 | 3 of 4 plans have a public price (1 "contact sales") source |
| Verified features | 18% | 100 | 7 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, automations / sequences, a/b testing, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, newsletter website, open and click analytics source 1source 2 |
| API, integrations and export | 12% | 100 | public API, 100 integrations, documented data export source |
| Cost at 1,000 subscriberscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Free plan limitscategory criterion | 12% | 18 | Free plan: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month source |
| Paid subscriptionscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Total | 85% covered6 of 8 criteria | 85/100 | Rank #8 in this category, based on 6 of 8 criteria |
MailerLite is a good fit for a creator who wants to start free and still have automation, landing pages and A/B testing. Its free plan lists two users, which helps if an editor or assistant helps with the issues. The trade-off is the subscriber cap on the free plan, which a growing list will reach.
- Free plan: 250 subscribers, 2500 emails per month, 2 users.
- Paid plans: $12 per month and $25 per month.
- Paid subscriptions: Yes; landing pages: Yes.
- Export: reports.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaignRank 11 with a score of 82/100 (based on 5 of 8 criteria, 75% of the scorecard weight verified). Pricing checked Oct 14, 2026.
Scores highest on
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 4 of 4 plans have a public price
- API, integrations and export (100/100): 1,000 integrations
Scores lowest on
- Free plan or trial (60/100): Free trial (14 days), no free plan
- Verified features (80/100): 4 of 9 tracked features verified: automations / sequences, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, open and click analytics
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: no published data, left out of the total
- Free plan limits: no published data, left out of the total
- Paid subscriptions: no published data, left out of the total
Full score breakdown with sources
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 33% | 82 | $15/month billed annually on Starter; no monthly-billed price published (scored against annual-billed prices) source |
| Free plan or trial | 20% | 60 | Free trial (14 days), no free plan source |
| Pricing transparency | 13% | 100 | 4 of 4 plans have a public price source |
| Verified features | 20% | 80 | 4 of 9 tracked features verified: automations / sequences, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, open and click analytics source |
| API, integrations and export | 13% | 100 | 1,000 integrations source |
| Cost at 1,000 subscriberscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Free plan limitscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Paid subscriptionscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Total | 75% covered5 of 8 criteria | 82/100 | Rank #11 in this category, based on 5 of 8 criteria |
ActiveCampaign is built around automation, so it suits a creator who sells courses or products and wants emails to react to what subscribers do. It has no free plan and its tiers rise quickly, so it is more tool than a simple weekly newsletter needs.
- Free plan: No; trial: 14-day free trial.
- Paid plans: $15 per month, $49 per month and $79 per month.
- Automations: Yes.
Ghost
GhostRank 18 with a score of 71/100 (based on 6 of 8 criteria, 80% of the scorecard weight verified). Pricing checked Oct 14, 2026.
Scores highest on
- Verified features (100/100): 6 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, custom domain, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, newsletter website, open and click analytics
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API, 8,000 integrations, documented data export
Scores lowest on
- Free plan or trial (0/100): No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page
- Entry price (76/100): $18/month billed annually on Starter; no monthly-billed price published (scored against annual-billed prices)
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: no published data, left out of the total
- Free plan limits: no published data, left out of the total
Full score breakdown with sources
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 31% | 76 | $18/month billed annually on Starter; no monthly-billed price published (scored against annual-billed prices) source |
| Free plan or trial | 19% | 0 | No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page source |
| Pricing transparency | 13% | 80 | 3 of 4 plans have a public price (1 "contact sales") source |
| Verified features | 19% | 100 | 6 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, custom domain, landing pages and forms, segmentation and tags, newsletter website, open and click analytics source 1source 2 |
| API, integrations and export | 13% | 100 | public API, 8,000 integrations, documented data export source |
| Cost at 1,000 subscriberscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Free plan limitscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Paid subscriptionscategory criterion | 6% | 100 | Paid subscriptions with a 0% platform fee source 1source 2 |
| Total | 80% covered6 of 8 criteria | 71/100 | Rank #18 in this category, based on 6 of 8 criteria |
Ghost combines a publishing site with paid memberships, and it states no fee on subscription revenue. That makes the monthly price the number to plan around. The price is tied to the member count of the plan, so a larger list moves you up a tier.
- Entry plan: $18 per month, up to 1000 members.
- Transaction fee: 0 percent.
- Export: Member list in CSV format.
- Free plan: No.
Memberful
MemberfulRank 26 with a score of 51/100 (based on 6 of 8 criteria, 80% of the scorecard weight verified). Pricing checked Oct 14, 2026.
Scores highest on
- Verified features (100/100): 6 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, custom domain, referral programme, landing pages and forms, newsletter website, open and click analytics
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API
Scores lowest on
- Free plan or trial (0/100): No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page
- Entry price (30/100): $49/month billed monthly on Standard (scored on the monthly price)
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: no published data, left out of the total
- Free plan limits: no published data, left out of the total
Full score breakdown with sources
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 31% | 30 | $49/month billed monthly on Standard (scored on the monthly price) source |
| Free plan or trial | 19% | 0 | No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page source |
| Pricing transparency | 13% | 47 | 1 of 2 plans have a public price (1 "contact sales") source |
| Verified features | 19% | 100 | 6 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, custom domain, referral programme, landing pages and forms, newsletter website, open and click analytics source 1source 2 |
| API, integrations and export | 13% | 100 | public API source |
| Cost at 1,000 subscriberscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Free plan limitscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Paid subscriptionscategory criterion | 6% | 67 | Paid subscriptions with a 4.9% platform fee source 1source 2 |
| Total | 80% covered6 of 8 criteria | 51/100 | Rank #26 in this category, based on 6 of 8 criteria |
Memberful sells memberships on your own site through your own payment account, so it suits a creator who already has a site and an audience. It adds a platform fee on each sale on top of the monthly price, which matters more as revenue grows.
- Entry plan: $49 per month, with unlimited members.
- Transaction fee: 4.9 percent.
- Referral program: Yes.
Astro Send
Astro SendRank 21 with a score of 58/100 (based on 6 of 8 criteria, 80% of the scorecard weight verified). Pricing checked Oct 14, 2026.
Scores highest on
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 8 of 8 plans have a public price
- Paid subscriptions (100/100): Paid subscriptions with a 0% platform fee
Scores lowest on
- Free plan or trial (0/100): No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers (54/100): $20 per month for 1,000 subscribers on Starter (billed monthly)
- API, integrations and export: no published data, left out of the total
- Free plan limits: no published data, left out of the total
Full score breakdown with sources
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 31% | 67 | $20/month billed monthly on Starter (scored on the monthly price) source |
| Free plan or trial | 19% | 0 | No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page source |
| Pricing transparency | 13% | 100 | 8 of 8 plans have a public price source |
| Verified features | 19% | 60 | 3 of 9 tracked features verified: paid subscriptions, newsletter website, open and click analytics source 1source 2 |
| API, integrations and export | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Cost at 1,000 subscriberscategory criterion | 13% | 54 | $20 per month for 1,000 subscribers on Starter (billed monthly) source |
| Free plan limitscategory criterion | – | Excluded | No published data: left out, the other criteria are re-weighted. |
| Paid subscriptionscategory criterion | 6% | 100 | Paid subscriptions with a 0% platform fee source 1source 2 |
| Total | 80% covered6 of 8 criteria | 58/100 | Rank #21 in this category, based on 6 of 8 criteria |
Astro Send is an AI-assisted newsletter platform that lists no transaction fee and prices by subscriber count. The entry plan covers a modest list, and each step up in size is a step up in price, so check the plan that matches your list today.
- Entry plan: $20 per month, up to 2500 subscribers.
- Next plan: $40 per month, up to 5000 subscribers.
- Transaction fee: 0 percent.
Options outside the creators filter
Three platforms rank well in the full category but are not tagged for creators. Flodesk lists Audience data exports in CSV format and paid subscriptions as Yes. Sender lists 2500 subscribers, 15000 emails per month, 1 user on its free plan, which gives a new list room to grow. Brevo starts at $9 per month. Read their profile pages for plan details before you choose.
Who should not pick it
- A creator who needs a free plan should skip Ghost, ActiveCampaign and Memberful: their free plans are listed as No, No and No.
- A creator with a large paid membership should price the fee on Memberful before signing up: it lists 4.9 percent on each sale.
- A creator who wants simple weekly emails should not pay for the automation tiers of ActiveCampaign, whose plans start at $15 per month.
- A creator who needs to export subscribers should not assume it from MailerLite: our catalogue lists its export as reports.
- A list that is growing quickly should check the tiers of Astro Send: its starter plan stops at 2500 subscribers.
What we did not test
We did not send a newsletter from any of these platforms. The scores come from vendor pricing and feature pages, so they cannot tell you how well emails reach inboxes, how good the editor is, how reliable payouts are or how fast support responds. Export is scored only where the vendor states it, and a missing statement means we could not verify it, not that the feature is absent. Read what we leave out for the full list.
– = not published by the vendor, or not verified yet.
Frequently asked questions
Which newsletter platforms take a fee on paid subscriptions?
Some charge a percentage and some do not. Memberful lists a transaction fee of 4.9 percent on its $49 per month plan, while Ghost lists 0 percent. Payment processors usually charge their own fees on top, so check the vendor's page.
Can I export my subscribers if I leave a newsletter platform?
Only some vendors state it. Ghost lists Member list in CSV format, and Flodesk lists Audience data exports in CSV format. If a platform states no export, ask support before you grow a list there.
Is there a free newsletter platform?
Several list a free plan with a cap. Sender lists 2500 subscribers, 15000 emails per month, 1 user, EmailOctopus lists 2500 subscribers, 10000 emails per month, 1 user, 1 page, and MailerLite lists 250 subscribers, 2500 emails per month, 2 users. The cap that matters most for a growing list is the subscriber limit.
What does a newsletter platform cost per month?
It varies with the plan you need. AWeber starts at $15 per month and Ghost at $18 per month, while Memberful starts at $49 per month. The prices were read from vendor pricing pages on Oct 14, 2026.
Which of the newsletter platforms for creators ranks first on SaaSHunter?
AWeber has the highest score, 85 out of 100, among the 7 newsletter platforms for creators with enough verified data to be ranked. Its facts were last checked Oct 14, 2026. Scores are computed from the published scorecard and change when the underlying facts change.
Which newsletter platforms for creators have a free plan?
2 of the 7 ranked newsletter platforms for creators list a free plan: AWeber, MailerLite. What the free plan allows differs, so check the limits column before choosing.
What is the lowest starting price among newsletter platforms for creators?
Among the ranked newsletter platforms for creators, NotesIQ has the lowest paid starting price at $9 per month. Tools charge per seat, per connected account or per workspace, so the units differ and the lowest sticker price is not always the lowest bill for your setup.
How are the newsletter platforms for creators scored?
Each tool is scored from 0 to 100 on 8 weighted criteria taken from the same scorecard for every tool: entry price, free plan or trial, pricing transparency, verified features, api, integrations and export, cost at 1,000 subscribers, free plan limits, paid subscriptions. Criteria without verified data are left out and the weights re-normalised; a tool with under 60% of the weight covered is listed as not ranked.