Newsletter platform cost comparisons, August 2025 update

I've updated my past newsletter platform cost comparison to incorporate Ghost's recent pricing changes for Ghost Pro. (Note that past Ghost users are grandfathered in.)

Free Substack Ghost Pro Self-hosted Ghost* Beehiiv Buttondown Mailchimp** 10 subscribers $0 $15 $12 $0 $0 $0 50 subscribers $0 $15 $12 $0 $0 $0 100 subscribers $0 $15 $12 $0 $9 $0 250 subscribers $0 $15 $27 $0 $7.50 $0 500 subscribers $0 $15 $27 $0 $7.50 $20 1,000 subscribers $0 $15 $27 $0 $24.17 $45 5,000 subscribers $0 $63 $27 $78 $65.83 $100 10,000 subscribers $0 $88 $27 $96 $115.83 $135 25,000 subscribers $0 $141 $87 $149 $199.17 $310 50,000 subscribers $0 $208 $217 $219 $265.83 $450 100,000 subscribers $0 $274 $412 $290 - $800 7% paid @ $5/mo Substack Ghost Pro Self-hosted Ghost* Beehiiv Buttondown Mailchimp** 10 subscribers (1 paid) $0.50 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 50 subscribers (4 paid) $2 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 100 subscribers (7 paid) $3.50 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 250 subscribers (18 paid) $9 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 500 subscribers (35 paid) $17.50 $29 $27 $43 $7.50 $20 1,000 subscribers (70 paid) $35 $29 $27 $43 $24.17 $45 5,000 subscribers (350 paid) $175 $63 $27 $78 $65.83 $100 10,000 subscribers (700 paid) $350 $88 $27 $96 $115.83 $135 25,000 subscribers (1,750 paid) $875 $141 $87 $149 $199.17 $310 50,000 subscribers (3,500 paid) $1,750 $208 $217 $219 $265.83 $450 100,000 subscribers (7,000 paid) $3,500 $274 $412 $290 - $800 * Assuming $12 hosting fees, but you can get this number down lower. Assumes ~weekly email sending. ** There may be additional fees to monetize MailChimp newsletters since it’s not built-in. This also assumes ~weekly email sending. Flat fees are calculated based on cheapest plans, but ignoring introductory offers. Also calculated based on annual billing, if month-to-month amounts differ. All of these options have an additional payment processor fee for paid subscriptions (usually $0.30 + 2.9% for each transaction), but those fees vary based on factors including payment method/location/etc and so are challenging to accurately estimate. These fees are not reflected in this chart, but should be roughly equivalent regardless of platform choice.
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