Convertkit was the second email tool I tried after using Mailchimp to run my newsletter.
Back in 2021, I really didn’t enjoy using Mailchimp. It felt clunky and frustrating. So, I started looking for other options and came across Convertkit. It looked promising, especially with its automation features. I ended up using it for years to grow my newsletter, build landing pages, run campaigns, and collect email signups. You can check out my Convertkit review if you’re curious.
Overall, I liked Kit. In 2024, I even gave their Creator Network a try. It’s a free tool that lets you cross-promote with other creators. It actually worked well and helped me grow my list faster.
I’ve always felt that Convertkit is one of the best platforms out there for creators. I didn’t really have a reason to switch. I liked how it looked and worked. But the thing is, I didn’t have a clear way to make money from my newsletter unless I was selling my own products or services.
And that was a problem.
Since I was putting a lot of time and effort into growing my email list, I wanted to find a way to monetize it. Without that, it was hard to stay motivated. So I started checking out other email tools that might help me better with monetization.
Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. Around the same time, I saw a Reddit user asking about free and paid Convertkit alternatives, mostly because the cost can really add up when your list grows.
So, in this post, I’ll walk you through the paid and free ConvertKit alternatives I’ve tried myself, plus a few others recommended by fellow content creators.
5 best Kit alternatives
| Free plan | Free trial | Pricing | Top features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | For up to 2,500 subscribers | 30-day free trial | Starts at $49 for 1,000 subscribers | Boosts Paid subscriptions Recommendations 3D Analytics Website builder |
| Omnisend | You can send up to 500 emails/month to up to 250 subscribers | Not available | Starts at $16 for up to 500 subscribers | SMS marketing Drag & drop email builder Dynamic discount codes Workflows for ecommerce |
| MailerLite | For up to 1,000 subscribers | 30-day free trial | Starts at $10 for up to 500 subscribers | Paid subscriptions Website builder Blog creation Email verifier Sell digital products |
| Ghost | Not available | 14-day free trial | Starts at $11 for up to 500 subscribers | Website builder Design themes Paid subscriptions Referral programs |
| Substack | Available | It’s a free tool | Paid subscriptions Substack App Podcasting Analytics |
1. beehiiv
- Best for: An all-in-one platform to run, publish, grow and monetize your content.
- Pricing: Starting at $49/month for 1,000 subscribers.
- Free trial: 30-day trial for the beehiiv Scale; you can register here.
beehiiv is a pretty new newsletter platform, which launched in 2021. I tried a few tools before, and honestly, beehiiv has been the best alternative to Kit I’ve come across.
I made the switch from Kit to beehiiv in January 2024, and since then, I’ve been slowly growing and monetizing my newsletter there.
Here’s what my 2024 looks like on beehiiv:
- Email list: 1,100 subscribers
- Boosts and sponsored ads: $940.32 earned
- Partner Program earnings: $1,583.75
- Monthly cost: $69
Not bad at all, especially since my newsletter is just a side hustle. Most of my time goes into running my website and working with clients.
What I like about beehiiv is how much you can do in one place. You can group your audience, track how your email campaigns perform, offer paid subscriptions, earn from ads, even build your own website with their drag-and-drop builder.
One feature I’ve really enjoyed is Boosts. It lets you pay to get new subscribers, but also earn money when you help promote other newsletters.
beehiiv says the average cost per subscriber is around $2.25. From my own experience, I’ve been earning between $1 and $3 for every subscriber I refer through Boosts.
Pretty cool for a side project, right?
I’ve shared my experience and learnings in my beehiiv review.
There’s also a video that explains well how Boosts work.
Is beehiiv better than ConvertKit? For me, absolutely yes!
My main goal was to find good monetization tools to support what I do, and beehiiv delivered. I’ve been trying out features like Boosts, the Ad Network, and Paid Subscriptions.
Even though I’m still just testing the waters with paid content, I’ve already gotten a few paying subscribers and they’ve stuck around! beehiiv doesn’t take a cut from what you earn! You keep 100% of your income, which you can cash out through Stripe.
Curious if beehiiv is the right fit for you? Try it free for 30 days! If you enjoy it, use my code TRYBEEHIIV to get 20% off your first three months! 🚀
2. Omnisend
- Best for: Online stores that also send texts to their customers
- Pricing: Starts at just $16/month for up to 500 subscribers and 6,000 emails. If you want to save some cash, you can go with the 3-month plan and get 30% off.
- Free trial: There’s a free plan you can use for as long as you like! It gives you access to all Omnisend features and lets you send up to 500 emails a month.
Omnisend is an email marketing software specifically for ecommerce businesses. It launched in 2014 in Lithuania under the name Soundest. Since then, it’s come a long way. Today, more than 125,000 brands use it, and the team has grown to over 250 people. Clearly, they’ve found what works.
When it comes to pricing, Omnisend offers three plans:
Free Plan – A solid option if you’re just getting started. You can try out most of the features without the need to add a credit card.
Standard Plan – Starts at $16/month. It’s a good fit for growing stores. You can send emails up to 12 times the size of your list each month, use unlimited web push notifications, and get live chat support.
Pro Plan – Starts at $59/month and is designed for larger businesses or those who want to use SMS marketing. It includes unlimited emails, some free SMS credits, advanced reporting, and priority support. You also get a 30% discount if you pay for three months upfront.
No matter which plan you pick, you’ll get:
- 24/7 live chat and email support
- 250+ pre-made email templates
- Ready-to-use automation workflows and audience segments
- 160+ integrations (like Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, and WordPress)
- Tools to clean your email list
- Performance and sales tracking
- And more useful features to help you grow
One thing that makes Omnisend different from tools like Convertkit is its Email Builder. It lets you easily drop products from your online store straight into your emails, which saves a lot of time.
One thing I really liked about Omnisend is how many prebuilt templates it comes with for email automation. You don’t need to build everything from scratch. There are templates for workflows like abandoned carts, product suggestions based on what someone has shopped for before, post-purchase emails, and follow-ups after a sale. It’s a solid tool if you’re running an online store.
While digging into Omnisend for this article, I found an important difference between Omnisend and Kit that stood out to me:
Kit charges you based on how many subscribers you have, including people who’ve unsubscribed. Omnisend doesn’t do that.
Additionally, Omnisend gives you tools to clean your email list, so your emails are more likely to land in inboxes instead of spam folders.
I also looked into what people are saying about Omnisend on LinkedIn, Capterra, and Reddit.
Reddit was especially interesting. I went through posts from the last few years. At first, some users had complaints about slow customer support and a few glitches. But the more recent feedback is much more positive. A lot of people now see Omnisend as a strong alternative to Kit and even Klaviyo.
A couple of reviews really stood out, especially from people with large email lists. One person said they had 150,000 contacts, and Omnisend’s team helped them move everything from Klaviyo, including their automations. That kind of hands-on help is a big time-saver for busy newsletter creators.
One more thing to mention, especially now that AI is everywhere, is Omnisend AI.
It’s like a helpful assistant for your email marketing needs. It can come up with subject lines, write product descriptions and emails, and even suggest the best time to send them, all based on what works for your audience.
You can control your message and tone of voice, but it gives you a solid starting point. So instead of staring at a blank screen, you get ideas and drafts you can easily tweak. It saves time and makes the whole process less stressful.
If you run an online store or plan to start one, Omnisend is definitely worth checking out.
3. MailerLite
- Best for: Anyone from solo creators to growing businesses looking for a budget-friendly email marketing tool.
- Pricing: Starts at just $10 a month for up to 500 subscribers.
- Free trial: You can use the free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers, and there’s a 30-day free trial if you want to try out MailerLite’s advanced features.
Which is better, MailerLite or Convertkit?
If you’re looking for an easy way to manage your email list and keep in touch with your audience, MailerLite is worth checking out.
Like Convertkit, it’s a user-friendly platform that lets you design emails, set up automations, and organize your subscribers into segments to customize your email campaigns.
It’s a great choice for both businesses and creators who want to stay connected with their audience without getting overwhelmed. Overall, MailerLite is one of the best alternatives to Convertkit, with solid email features and even a built-in website builder.
You’ll find all MailerLite features listed below, grouped by what they do from email marketing tools to website, blog, and ecommerce features.
You can also integrate your MailerLite account with many web applications, including
- Stripe (my go-to solution to process payments)
- Make and Zapier (both are good for setting up advanced automations)
- Shopify
- WordPress (my go-to content management system)
- WooCommerce
- Hubspot
- Canva
- And more!
Overall, you can connect MailerLite to over 130 popular web and marketing SaaS applications.
If you’ve already tried MailerLite and want to explore other options, I’ve put together a post with some of my favorite MailerLite alternatives.
4. Ghost
- Best for: Businesses and creators who need a content management system
- Pricing: $11/month for up to 500 subscribers
- Free trial: 14-day trial available
Ghost is a blogging platform that is kind of like Medium, but it gives you a lot more control and features. It’s a great option if you want your own space to publish content and manage everything yourself.
While Kit mainly focuses on email marketing, Ghost is made for blogging and building an online audience. You get access to tools like customizable themes, built-in SEO features, and an easy-to-use content editor.
With Ghost, you can send both free and paid newsletters, set up memberships, and even run everything on your own servers if you want full control. So, it’s much more than just email software.
For creators: Ghost can help you share your ideas through blogs, newsletters, or membership.
For publishers: It’s built for speed and SEO, so you can create optimized websites that rank in search results.
For developers: Ghost is open-source and flexible, making it easy to customize and build on.
For businesses: You can grow your audience, offer paid subscriptions, and track performance—all in one place.
Whether you write, code, or build a brand, Ghost gives you the tools to grow your platform your way.
One of the best things is that Ghost doesn’t take a cut from what you earn, and plans start at just $9 a month.
One thing to note, though, you’ll need to link your credit card to test the tool within 14 days. If you choose to keep using it after the trial, a monthly subscription fee will apply. Unlike Kit and the other newsletter platforms mentioned in this article, Ghost doesn’t have a free plan for its toolkit.
5. Substack
- Best for: Startups, small businesses, and solo creators who want an easy way to combine blogging and email newsletters in one place.
- Pricing: Substack is free to use. If you charge for your content, Substack takes a 10% cut, and Stripe adds a processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. There’s also a small extra fee for ongoing subscriptions.
- Free trial: Not needed. Substack is free by default.
I’ve seen quite a few people go back and forth on which is better, Substack vs. Convertkit.
But these two tools are pretty different platforms in how they work and what features they offer to their users.
Convertkit is mainly built for email marketing and automation. Substack, on the other hand, is more like a full content platform. Since launching in 2017, it’s grown into a place where you can publish newsletters, podcasts, videos, blog posts, and even offer paid memberships.
Is Substack really better than Convertkit?
If you’re just starting out and don’t want to invest in email tools right away, Substack can be a great free option to test your ideas. The free plan does come with a few limits, but it gives you enough to get going without paying anything.
You can build a simple website, collect email signups, and even sell subscriptions—all in one place. And with its mobile app, you can keep things running smoothly right from your phone, which is pretty handy.
But if you’ve already tried Substack and want to explore other options, I’ve put together a post with some of my favorite Substack alternatives.
How to choose the best Convertkit alternative
At the end of 2024, I found myself at a crossroads, trying to pick a new email platform to replace Kit. With so many tools out there, I honestly didn’t know where to start. All I knew was that I didn’t want to waste time setting everything up on one platform, only to end up switching later.
So instead of testing tool after tool, I took a step back and got clear on what I actually wanted from my newsletter.
Back then, and still today, my goals were pretty simple:
- Grow my email list
- Keep my newsletter low-maintenance (2–3 weeks of work max)
- Find a way to make money from it
I knew I needed a tool that was easy to use, something I could pick up quickly without spending hours figuring it out. I also wanted a place where I could host my newsletters, so I could keep sharing past issues with my audience.
And above all, I needed a way to monetize. I couldn’t afford to pour time into something that wasn’t generating at least some income. My mindset was: if this doesn’t start paying off, I need to rethink the entire approach to email marketing.
That’s when beehiiv caught my attention. It’s not just another email tool. They position the tool as an audience growth and monetization platform, which was exactly what I was looking for.
If you’re in a similar spot, trying to grow your audience and turn your efforts into income, beehiiv might be a good fit for you, too. And since beehiiv offers a 30-day free trial, why not give it a try?
