Tool
Newsletter cost calculator
Enter your list size, how often you send and how many readers pay you. The calculator estimates what FlockStack, beehiiv, Substack, Kit and Mailchimp would charge, from each platform's own prices as read on October 20, 2026. It doesn't pick a winner: the platforms don't include the same things in the same plans, and the notes under the table say what differs.
Your numbers
What it costs to send your newsletter
| Platform | Plan used | Plan, a month | Platform fee on subscriptions | Card processing | Estimated total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlockStack | Growth | $29 | $0 | $0 | $29 |
| beehiiv | Lite | $139 | $0 | $0 | $139 |
| Substack | Free to use | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Kit | Free | $0 | $0 | Included in the fee | $0 |
| Mailchimp | Essentials | $110 | $0 | $0 | $110 |
FlockStack: Growth
- Emails past the plan's allowance cost $0.15 per 1,000, up to a monthly cap you set.
- Dedicated IP is a separate add-on from Pro.
Source: FlockStack plans, FlockStack's own plans
beehiiv: Lite
- Sends are not limited: the price follows the size of the list.
- 10 live automations and 1 paid tier on Lite.
Source: beehiiv.com/pricing, read October 20, 2026
Substack: Free to use
- Nothing to pay while nobody pays you.
- No plan to buy: Substack's charge is its share of paid subscriptions.
- Purchases made in its iOS app can go through Apple, with Apple's fee; this estimate leaves that out.
Source: substack.com/features, read October 20, 2026
Kit: Free
- Up to 10,000 subscribers.
- Automations and sequences start on the Creator plan.
Source: kit.com/pricing, read October 20, 2026
Mailchimp: Essentials
- Sends are limited to 10 times the band's contacts: 100,000 a month on Essentials.
- Priced by contacts in bands, up to 10,000.
- Essentials has up to 4 flow steps and 3 seats.
- Mailchimp advertises 15% off the first 12 months from 10,000 contacts; this is the regular rate.
Source: mailchimp.com/en/pricing/marketing, read October 20, 2026
Method
How the estimate works
- Emails a month are the issues you send times the emails in each issue. Left blank, every issue goes to every active subscriber.
- For each platform the calculator picks the lowest-priced plan that holds your list and your sends. A platform that sells subscriptions only on its paid plans is priced on one.
- Yearly billing shows a plan's price a month when paid for a year, only where the platform lists one. FlockStack's yearly plans cost 10 months instead of 12.
- Paying readers are charged the monthly price you enter, once a month. A platform's fee is its published share or its fee per transaction. Card processing is shown apart, at the rate you choose, and starts at Stripe's standard US card rate.
- Taxes, Apple's fee on in-app purchases, Stripe Billing's own fee, add-ons such as a dedicated IP, free trials and limited-time offers are not included.
- Another platform's prices are read from its pricing page and kept with the day they were read. After 90 days the calculator stops printing them. FlockStack's are its own current plans.
Newsletter platform pricing
How newsletter software charges, platform by platform
Newsletter software pricing comes in three shapes: by the size of your list, by the emails you send, and by a share of what readers pay. Read from each platform's pricing page on October 20, 2026.
| Platform | The price follows | Free plan | Cut of paid subscriptions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlockStack | The emails you send in a month, with a cap on active subscribers | Free: 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month | 0% of paid subscriptions; card fees go to Stripe | FlockStack pricing |
| beehiiv | The size of your list; sends are not limited | Free to 2,500 subscribers, without automations or paid subscriptions | 0% of paid subscriptions on Lite and Pro; card fees go to Stripe | beehiiv.com/pricing |
| Substack | A share of paid-subscription revenue, with no plan to buy | Free to use | 10% of paid subscriptions, before Stripe's fees | substack.com/features |
| Kit | The size of your list, on Creator and Pro; sends are not limited | Free to 10,000 subscribers | 3.5% + $0.30 a transaction, with card processing included | kit.com/pricing |
| Mailchimp | Contacts, in bands, and each plan has a monthly send limit | Free for fewer than 250 contacts | Paid newsletter subscriptions are not listed on its pricing page | mailchimp.com/pricing |
FlockStack's plans, in full, are on the pricing page. Side-by-side comparisons with the facts behind them: FlockStack vs beehiiv and FlockStack vs Substack, or all three at once in the comparison. If you are choosing between more platforms: Mailchimp alternatives, Substack alternatives and beehiiv alternatives.
Worked examples
The cost to send a newsletter, three examples
The same rules, run on three newsletters. Open the calculator above and enter yours to see the plan each one uses.
| Platform | A free weekly newsletter2,000 subscribers, 4 issues | A weekly newsletter with some paying readers10,000 subscribers, 4 issues, 500 paying $8 a month | A larger weekly newsletter50,000 subscribers, 4 issues, 1,500 paying $10 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlockStack | $0Free | $295Growth | $944Pro |
| beehiiv | $0Free | $405Lite | $1,184Lite |
| Substack | $0Free to use | $666Free to use | $2,385Free to use |
| Kit | $0Free | $290Free | $1,354Creator |
| Mailchimp | $45Essentials | Not listedEssentials | Not listedEssentials |
Monthly billing. Plan charges and fees on subscriptions are added together; card processing is at Stripe's standard US rate. "Not listed" means the platform publishes no price for that part, which is not the same as free.
Questions
Newsletter cost, answered
- How much does it cost to send a newsletter?
- It depends on how many people you email, how often you send, and whether readers pay you. Some platforms charge for the size of your list, some for the emails you send, and some take a share of what readers pay. The calculator turns your numbers into an estimate for FlockStack, beehiiv, Substack, Kit and Mailchimp, using each platform's published prices as read on October 20, 2026.
- Which newsletter platform costs least?
- There is no one answer. It changes with your list size, how often you send and whether you charge readers, and the platforms don't include the same features in the same plans. The calculator shows every estimate and what each plan includes, and doesn't rank them or pick a winner.
- Does the price go up as my list grows?
- On beehiiv, Kit and Mailchimp the price steps up with the size of your list. FlockStack's price follows the emails you send in a month, with a cap on active subscribers, and Substack's follows what readers pay you.
- Do newsletter platforms take a cut of paid subscriptions?
- Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions before Stripe's fees. beehiiv lists a 0% take rate on Lite and Pro, and FlockStack takes 0%. Kit charges 3.5% + $0.30 a transaction, with card processing included. Mailchimp's pricing page doesn't list paid newsletter subscriptions. Where readers pay through your own Stripe account, Stripe's card fees apply on top; its standard US rate is 2.9% + $0.30.
- What happens if I send more emails than my FlockStack plan includes?
- On a paid plan, sending continues and extra emails cost $0.15 per 1,000, up to a monthly limit you set. On the Free plan, a send that would pass 10,000 emails a month is refused, and nothing is billed. The calculator includes the extra emails in FlockStack's estimate.
- Are the other platforms' prices up to date?
- They were read from each platform's own pricing page on October 20, 2026, and the calculator stops printing them after 90 days. Prices change, so check the platform's page before you decide: each result links to its source.
- What does the estimate leave out?
- Taxes, Apple's fee on in-app purchases, Stripe Billing's own fee, add-ons such as a dedicated IP, free trials and limited-time offers. It also assumes each paying reader is charged once a month, and counts the subscribers you enter, which some platforms count differently.
- Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?
- No. The calculation runs in your browser, and what you type is not sent to FlockStack or anyone else.
- How is FlockStack priced?
- FlockStack has a Free plan and paid plans priced by the emails you send in a month, with a cap on active subscribers. Yearly plans cost 10 months instead of 12, and a price increase comes with 90 days' notice by email. Every plan is on the pricing page.
More on what FlockStack does: the newsletter API, the MCP server, automations and paid newsletters.
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