The 6 Best Newsletter Platforms for Creators in 2025: And how they help you monetize your content

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About six years ago, I hit send on my very first newsletter. I still remember that first amateur issue—sent to maybe 150 subscribers, mostly friends and family—and how awkward it felt. But looking back, it was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made.

Writing a newsletter has allowed me to connect with thousands of like-minded people, build an engaged audience in my niche and make some extra money (through a paid book club).

Creating quality content takes time, and it’s frustrating to see it quickly fade into social media feeds and their messy algorithms. That’s why newsletters are growing in popularity: they put you in control, help you monetize your hard work, and open the door to real, meaningful conversations.

Over 500 unique emails later, I’m still hitting send.

If you’re thinking about launching your own newsletter, I get it—and I’m here to help.

In this article, I’ve rounded up my favorite newsletter platforms and broken down their standout features to help you get started, grow a list, and monetize your content.

By the time you finish reading, I hope you’ll not only have found the right one, but also feel excited to hit send on your first issue!

And, if you’re still unsure, feel free to drop a comment with your questions—I’m happy to keep the conversation going!

The Best Newsletter Platforms for Your Needs

1. Beehiiv – 🏆 Best for Monetizing a Newsletter
2. Kit – 🏆 Best for Selling Digital Products
3. Substack – 🏆 Best for Building a Community
4. MailerLite – 🏆 Best Value for Money
5. Flodesk – 🏆 Best for Visual Branding
6. GetResponse – 🏆 Best for Memberships and Online Courses

Starting a newsletter is exciting, but choosing the right platform can be overwhelming. Each comes with its own strengths, making the decision less about what’s “best” and more about what works best for you.

All these platforms give you a nice set of tools to kick things off. But to make your decision easier, I’ve ranked them based on ease of use, pricing, monetization, growth, and community-building features, so you can quickly compare their strengths (and limitations!) and find the best one for your goals.

Take Substack, for example. It’s free, easy to use, and has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to its focus on community building and simple paid subscriptions. It clearly works well for many! But if you need advanced email features, an all-in-one platform like Kit might be a smarter pick.

Now, let’s take a closer look at our favorites, and find the best one for you.

1. Beehiiv – Best for Monetizing a Newsletter

Beehiiv claims to be the most powerful newsletter platform on the planet.  While it’s a bold statement, we can't deny it’s an impressive platform. In fact, we’ve awarded them our 2025 Best Newsletter Tool badge—so naturally, it takes the top spot on this list too.

But what makes it stand out?

Well, Beehiiv is very easy-to-use and packed with powerful growth and monetization features. One standout is its unique range of paid subscription options (including “Pay what you want” and “Lifetime subscriptions”), which are nice alternatives from the standard monthly or yearly plans.

On top of that, it offers Boosts, a paid recommendation feature that lets you earn passive income by promoting other newsletters, or pay to have yours recommended. There’s also a Referral Program (so readers can spread the word to help you grow) and a native Ad Network that helps you find the best ad deals for your newsletter.

The Boost Marketplace in Beehiiv’s dashboard

With Beehiiv, your newsletter also functions as a webpage that displays all your past issues, making them easily accessible to your audience. Beehiiv comes with valuable extras like SEO-optimized web pages and detailed, advanced analytics.

They seem to take user feedback seriously, rolling out updates at an impressive pace. Just in the past few months, they’ve introduced gift subscriptions, a mobile app builder (yes, so your newsletter can have its own real custom app instead of a Beehiiv-branded one), and a new website builder with premade templates (currently still in beta). Beehiiv also integrates with Zapier, giving you access to thousands of third-party apps.

The free plan allows you to grow up to 2,500 subscribers, which is pretty generous. But at some point, you’ll likely want to monetize and unlock Beehiiv’s full potential, which means upgrading to a paid plan. That upgrade isn’t cheap, starting at $34 per month for just 1,000 subscribers.

The great news? Beehiiv won’t take any cut of your earnings. Ever. So if your newsletter takes off, it could be totally worth the investment in the long run!

Pricing:

• Free plan: up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited emails
• No platform fees on your earnings
• Scale Plan:
  – $39/month for 1,000 subscribers
  – $79/month for 5,000 subscribers
  – $99/month for 10,000 subscribers

See Beehiiv prices and plans in detail here.

What we like about Beehiiv:

Where Beehiiv can improve:

Who is Beehiiv for?

Beehiiv is a powerful newsletter platform for writers, podcasters and journalists looking to grow their audience and monetize content. The free plan helps beginners build an email list and set up a website, while the paid plans unlock powerful monetization features, including a variety of paid subscriptions and ads, without taking a cut of earnings.

> Try Beehiiv for free

> Full Beehiiv review

> Read our interview with the writer of Ultimate Tools, a newsletter hosted on Beehiiv.

2. Kit – Best for Creators Selling Digital Products

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) might have begun as a simple text-only newsletter platform, but it’s now an all-in-one platform designed “for creators who mean business”. It goes beyond the typical email features you’d expect in a powerful email service —like segmentation, automation, and landing page editing—to offer unique options for users to grow a list and monetize a newsletter.

Kit’s free plan lets you send unlimited emails to up to 10,000 subscribers, so it’s no surprise we’ve awarded Kit the Best Free Email Marketing Tool badge!

A standout bonus is that even on the free plan, you can start charging for your newsletter by offering paid subscriptions. This comes with a small transaction fee of 3.5% + $0.30 (hey, that’s significantly lower than Substack’s 10% cut).

For additional monetization options and other advanced features, you'll need to upgrade. Paid plans start at $15 per month for the Creator plan, for up to 300 contacts. For 1,000 subscribers, it’s $29 per month. As you can see, prices can increase quickly as your list grows, which might be a bit painful for your budget.

With Kit’s monetization tools, you can create multiple subscription tiers for your paid newsletter and take advantage of the Tip Jar, which allows readers to contribute with any amount they choose.

You can also add your newsletter issues to your Creator Profile, making it easy to showcase and share past editions with your audience.

There’s also a handy commerce feature that lets you sell digital products like e-books or courses directly to your audience, something perfect for those who want to keep things in the same place, without juggling multiple platforms.

Kit allows users to sell digital products directly within the platform

And there’s more. Kit also gives you access to a native Sponsor Network to find ad opportunities, along with a Paid Recommendations feature and a Creator Network to help you grow your audience and collaborate with other creators.

Kit’s Recommendation Feature

Pricing:

• Free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited emails
• 3.5% + $0.30 transaction fee on paid subscriptions
• Creator Plan:
  – $29/month for 1,000 subscribers
  – $79/month for 5,000 subscribers
  – $119/month for 10,000 subscribers

See all Kit prices and plans in detail here.

What we like about Kit:

Where Kit can improve:

Who is Kit for?

Kit is ideal for creators who want a powerful yet easy-to-use email marketing platform that keeps everything in one place. It’s great for selling digital products, offering paid subscriptions, and building connections with other creators and sponsors. Whether you're an artist, writer, or solopreneur, Kit helps you grow your audience, automate campaigns, and monetize in multiple ways.

> Try Kit for free

> See our detailed Kit Review

> Read our interview with creator Lizzie Davey, who uses Kit for her newsletter!

3. Substack – Best for Building a Community

Substack started as a minimalist, writer-first newsletter platform that made writing and monetization effortless. It brought back the nostalgic feel of old-school blogging, drawing in a passionate community of writers who loved its simplicity and focus on content.

While Substack has grown rapidly in recent years (and changed a lot), it still keeps things quite easy. You can sign up, start writing and automatically have a newsletter webpage displaying your issues. If you want, you can introduce paid subscriptions whenever you’re ready. However, once you start monetizing, Substack takes a 10% cut of your earnings, plus additional fees, which can add up quickly.

But wait, what do I mean by “changed a lot”? With features like Direct Messaging, Follows, Likes, and Comments, some might say Substack is starting to feel more like a social media platform, which isn’t exactly a compliment.

Features like Notes have a Twitter-like aspect, with short posts and quick shares. But they also help build community, just like Chats, where writers can actually talk with their audience instead of just broadcasting to them; or Recommendations, that help users get discovered and support each other.

Substack also supports podcasts and videos, giving creators even more ways to connect with their audience. Considering all of that, there’s no denying that they aim to be more than the simple, laid-back newsletter platform it once was.

The Time Foragers Club newsletter is an example of a best-selling Substack newsletter

One of Substack’s biggest strengths is its community aspect and supportive network. Many writers credit their growth to fellow Substack writers and readers, so it feels more collaborative than competitive. Plenty of users are happy writing for a small but engaged audience, rather than chasing big numbers.

Pricing

• No paid plans. Substack is free to use with unlimited subscribers.
• Takes a 10% fee on paid subscriptions.

What we like about Substack:

Where Substack can improve:

Who is Substack for?

Substack is a great choice for writers looking for a free, straightforward way to publish, build a community, and monetize through subscriptions. While it was originally designed for writers, it has expanded to accommodate podcasters and other creators who center their work around a newsletter.

> Try Substack for free

> See how Substack compares to Beehiiv

> See how Substack compares to Kit

> Read our interview with creator Lucy Werner, who is on Substack.

4. MailerLite – Best for Ease of Use with Advanced Email Features

MailerLite keeps things simple and affordable. It’s so easy to use that we’ve awarded it the Best Email Marketing Tool for Ease of Use three years in a row (2023, 2024, and 2025).

While MailerLite hasn’t traditionally focused on creators, it’s quickly become a strong option for newsletter writers looking to monetize their audience.

A big reason we love MailerLite is the Free Forever plan, which lets you have up to 1,000 subscribers, send 12,000 emails a month and even landing pages and automations. Once you need to upgrade to a paid plan, you will find prices are still among the most affordable options, starting at just $10/month for 500 subscribers.

With the Growing Business plan, you can sell digital products or set up paid subscriptions quite easily. You’ll also have many professional templates available, unlimited emails, landing pages, advanced automation, plus a handy website builder—everything you need to create a professional-looking home for your newsletter, all in one place.

MailerLite Website Builder: a standout feature

Mailerlite offers a Newsletter Archive section in the Landing Page Builder that allows you to showcase past newsletters on your landing page for easy visitor access.

While automations are not too advanced, they’re still enough to help you welcome new subscribers and send exclusive content to paying members, keeping your audience engaged.

Pricing

• Free plan: up to 1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails
• Growing Business Plan:
  – $15/month for 1,000 subscribers
  – $39/month for 500 subscribers
  – $73/month for 10,000 subscribers

See all MailerLite prices and plans in detail here.

What We Like About MailerLite

Where MailerLite Can Improve

Who is MailerLite for?

MailerLite is a great choice for creators looking for a simple, affordable way to send newsletters and monetize their audience. With built-in support for paid subscriptions, landing pages, and a website builder, it provides what you need to manage your content in one place and turn your audience into a source of income. Just keep in mind it still doesn’t offer any dedicated community-building features.

> Try MailerLite for Free

> Read our detailed MailerLite review

> See how MailerLite compares to Flodesk

5. Flodesk – Best for Visual Branding and Digital Sales

Flodesk isn’t a newsletter-first platform. It doesn’t have any community-building features or even paid subscriptions. But it does offer something special for creators looking to launch a newsletter and make money from it.

First, it keeps things simple. Flodesk is super easy to use, and it comes with just two plans. The Email Plan includes unlimited emails and subscribers, plus a variety of stunning templates to make your newsletter stand out. For monetization, the Flodesk Checkout Plan lets you do all that and also sell digital products with no extra platform fees (just the standard Stripe processing charges). That’s it.

The cherry on top? Both plans have flat-rate pricing that stays the same, no matter how much you grow or sell.

One of the greatest things about Flodesk is its form builder, packed with beautiful templates that follow Flodesk’s minimalist and cool aesthetic.

You can create full-page opt-ins, interactive spinner forms, video-powered or countdown sign-ups, and even a Link in Bio form to capture subscribers directly from social media. Everything is mobile-friendly, fully customizable, and designed to look amazing.

Flodesk may not be the most advanced tool out there, but it covers the essentials effectively. Features like Link Actions help you segment subscribers and trigger workflows based on clicks, while its workflows makes it easy to send welcome sequences or nurture emails when someone joins a segment.

One thing to note is that Flodesk doesn't offer an archive feature to list past newsletters for easy sharing. Instead, you can only get a shareable link for each edition, which would require manual effort to list them somewhere.

I personally have been using Flodesk for years and it always served my basic email needs well!

I first heard about it from a friend back when I was (wrongly) using Mailchimp for my newsletter. As my list grew, so did my bill, and I realized I needed a much more affordable option if I wanted to keep scaling. With her referral link and a generous discount, I made the switch and never looked back.

Like me, I bet many creators will appreciate its beautiful aesthetic and simplicity.

Pricing

• No free plan, only a 14-day free trial
• Email Plan: $38/month (unlimited subscribers and emails)
• Email + Checkout: $64/month (unlimited subscribers, emails and sales)

See Flodesk prices and plans in detail here.

What we like about Flodesk

Where Flodesk could improve:

Who is Flodesk for?

Flodesk can feel like a dream come true for creators who prioritize stunning visual branding and want an easy way to sell digital products. Thanks to their flatrate pricing model, you don’t need to worry about constantly increasing costs as you grow. But it’s only a fit for newsletter writers who don't need paid subscriptions and are not looking for advanced email features like multi-step automations.

> Try Flodesk for free

> Read our detailed Flodesk review

> See how Flodesk compares to Kit

6. GetResponse: Best for Memberships and Online Courses

GetResponse has long been one of our top recommendations for email marketing. With powerful automations, landing pages, and a wide range of marketing features, they’ve consistently been a great fit for different kinds of businesses.

But when it comes to newsletter creators looking for a platform built specifically for them? Well… that’s new ground for GetResponse. So new, in fact, that they only launched the Creator Plan in September 2024, in an attempt to attract content creators, educators, and solopreneurs looking to monetize their audience.

The Creator Plan is an interesting addition, shifting GetResponse from being just a newsletter platform to more of a content monetization suite. But if your main focus is simply writing and growing a newsletter, this might not be the best fit.

It is primarily designed for creators looking to sell courses, manage memberships, and offer paid subscriptions. The Creator Plan includes an AI-powered course builder, interactive quizzes, and membership dashboard— all reinforcing that the platform is not focusing on newsletters first. Within the website builder, you also have the ability to lock specific website pages for “members only”, something you don’t often see in email platforms.

With the GetResponse Creator Plan, users can create and sell courses directly on the platform

GetResponse comes with a newsletter directory for users to display a collection of all past newsletters.

The bad news? At $69 per month for just 1,000 subscribers, it can be quite pricey. If your main goal is to send a newsletter and monetize your audience through sponsorships, ads, or paid subscriptions, you might find yourself paying for a lot of extras you don’t need with GetResponse Creator’s plan.

However, if you need all of this along with powerful email features (like advanced automation) and a way to sell digital courses, then you’re in good hands and this might just be the perfect fit.

Pricing

• Free plan: up to 500 subscribers, 2,000 emails/month
• Creator Plan:
  – $69/month for 1,000 subscribers
  – $109/month for 5,000 subscribers
  – $134/month for 10,000 subscribers

See all GetResponse prices and plans in detail here.

What We Like About GetResponse

Where GetResponse Could Improve For Creators

Who Is GetResponse For?

GetResponse’s Creator Plan is ideal for course creators, online educators, and solopreneurs looking to monetize through subscriptions—but who need more than just a newsletter platform. With an AI-powered course builder, interactive quizzes, and webinars, it’s a great fit for those who want to share their knowledge in multiple formats beyond newsletters.

> Try GetResponse for free

> Read our detailed GetResponse review

Inspiring Newsletter Examples

One of the best ways to figure out what will work best for your newsletter is by looking at what successful creators are doing — and which newsletter platforms they're using to get it right.

These real-world examples can give you a clearer idea of what aligns with your vision. Whether you're aiming to monetize in a specific way, connect directly with your audience, or craft beautiful content that drives sales, each platform has something unique to offer.

Here are a few standout newsletter examples (one from each newsletter platform we list here) to spark inspiration:

Freelance Opportunities

Freelance Opportunities is a Beehiiv newsletter that helps freelance creatives find job opportunities across different fields. Every Friday, award-winning freelance journalist Kaitlyn Arford sends her emails to 12,000+ subscribers with a curated list of gigs for journalists, copywriters, designers, and web developers. The newsletter is monetized through sponsored ads and a paid subscriber option, which unlocks exclusive content.

You can see a round-up of the best Beehiiv newsletters here.

Danny’s Essays

Artist, best-selling author, and Sketchbook Skool co-founder Danny Gregory has spent decades helping people reconnect with art and creativity. In his weekly Kit newsletter, Danny’s Essays, he shares personal reflections on art and the creative process with over 20,000 subscribers. Some of his most popular newsletter essays have even been compiled into a book!

Although he ran a paid newsletter with Kit for a while too, Danny ultimately chose to focus on free content, leveraging Kit’s features to engage his audience while promoting his books, courses, and other creative projects.

Neoseed.io

Founded by Yvan Derogis, Neoseed.io is a weekly newsletter run on MailerLite, helping entrepreneurs and investors discover successful business ideas from abroad that could be replicated in their own countries. It has grown to 21,000+ subscribers, including hundreds of paid members who gain access to exclusive content and deeper insights.

Downtime

Writer and creator Alisha Ramos built a thriving newsletter business with Girls’ Night In, launched on Mailchimp. After fostering a loyal community, she reimagined her project and moved to Substack, creating Downtime to build a more personal connection with her readers. Now a Substack best-seller with over 130,000 subscribers, including thousands of paying members, Downtime is a “curated collection of cozy delights,” where Alisha shares her favorite finds in books, fashion, and personal reflections on lifestyle and motherhood.

Your Parenting Method

Parenting expert and mentor Jeanne-Marie Paynel uses GetResponse to connect with parents through her weekly newsletter, offering Montessori-inspired guidance. She also leverages autoresponders and marketing automation to streamline her workflow, making it easier to promote events, sales, and resources while keeping her audience engaged.

Secret Owl Society

Founded by creator YouTuber Michelle Rohr, the Secret O.W.L. Society newsletter is a nice example of a Flodesk-powered newsletter. With a strong focus on using planners and journals to organize life and business, Michelle shares business tips, personal development insights, and passive income strategies in her monthly issues with over 12,000 readers. With Flodesk’s Checkout Plan, she seamlessly markets and sells her various digital products within the same platform.

Conclusion: What’s the Best Newsletter Platform For You?

As you can see, there are plenty of great newsletter platforms available today!

It’s an exciting time for writers and creators to build real communities in the ever-chaotic online space. Just remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and finding the right platform often requires some trial and error. Ultimately, the right platform depends on your budget, unique needs, and growth and monetization goals.

If monetization is your goal from the start, Beehiiv and Kit offer strong options for earning through subscriptions, ads, and sponsorships.

MailerLite and GetResponse provide all you need for selling subscriptions and digital products, with GetResponse going a step further by offering an AI-powered course creator for creating and selling online courses. However, both platforms fall short in terms of community features.

For easy publishing, direct reader connections, and a built-in community, Substack is a great choice. And if aesthetics and digital product sales are your priority, Flodesk could be the better fit.

Starting with a free plan or free trial is a low-risk way to explore your options and see what works best for you.

Hopefully, this guide has helped you weigh the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision! However, if you are still unsure, just leave a comment and I’d be glad to help!

The authors

Learn more about us

Paula Medeiros

Content Manager

Olá! I'm Paula, a bilingual writer passionate about newsletters and the face behind our Portuguese website. My love for books and tech inspired me to create my own newsletter and an online book club. After tirelessly searching the web for the best tools for my projects (I've used Mailchimp, Flodesk, Substack, and Beehiiv!), I'm excited to help you find the perfect ones for yours at EmailTooltester.

Robert Brandl

Founder and CEO

Hello! I'm Robert, an email marketing expert with over 15 years of experience. After honing my skills at an agency by serving major corporations, I founded EmailTooltester as a passion project to help small and medium-sized businesses. Connect with me on LinkedIn where I regularly share my best email marketing knowledge. And feel free to ask me which ESP I'd recommend for your specific needs - I have plenty of experience with tools like ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, Mailchimp, and Brevo.

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