May 15, 2025 5 min read

Which Newsletter Platform Should You Use?

It's an important question. You need to get this right.

Image created using Canva

We’ve been talking about newsletters and why starting a newsletter of your own is one of the best moves you can make as a writer.

For example:

And if you’ve taken our advice to heart, the next question you should be asking is “which platform should I host my newsletter on?

There are so many potential tools you could use. So which one is the best one?

The answer is … it depends.

In this post I’m going to help you come up with a way to review the options out there and then decide for yourself. Because you need to choose the platform that’s right for YOUR newsletter.

The Truth About Choosing a Platform

The thing is, there isn’t one universal "best" platform. The “best” platform is going to completely depend on your unique needs and goals.

So let’s take a look at what those unique needs and goals are. And then ask “will this platform meet my needs and help me achieve my goals?”

Critical Questions to Ask Yourself

Newsletters are a special kind of beast. In terms of what kind of technology they need, they don’t need “fancy”. They just need some solid functionality that will make it easy for you to sign people up and ship your emails consistently. Preferably in a way that’s not super manual.

Here are some questions you should be asking yourself as you look through the pricing/functionality page each platform is using to sell its services.

You can use this as a checklist to help you decide the best newsletter platform for your needs.

☐ Does the newsletter platform make it easy for me to recommend other newsletters and have them recommend mine?

☐ Who is my newsletter audience, and where do they typically engage?

☐ What can I afford to pay for the platform? Do I need a free or paid plan?

☐ Is accessibility important for my audience?

☐ How will I monetize my newsletter (now or eventually)?

☐ Will I ever introduce a paid subscription?

☐ How easy will it be to get the newsletter set up and ready to go?

☐ How easy will it be to maintain all the forms and templates?

☐ Will I be able to see easy-to-understand statistics about send, open, and link click rates?

☐ Will I have someone else helping me with the newsletter who will need access to my newsletter platform account?

☐ How does pricing evolve with increased subscriber numbers?

☐ Can the platform easily scale as my newsletter grows?

It’s important to answer these questions as best you can now, even if you’re still a bit uncertain about things as you get started.

Because your understanding of what you want and need from a newsletter platform is going to change as your newsletter grows and changes.

So you need to apply the 80/20 rule in your newsletter platform selection process.

The 80/20 Rule in Platform Selection

And the 80/20 rule as applied here is …

Choose a platform that meets 80% of your immediate requirements.

You can always move to a better suited platform later as your newsletter evolves.

This has been my experience. I started out on MailChimp, quickly moved to AWeber, then to ActiveCampaign as my list numbers grew and I needed more functionality. And I finally ended up using Kit (affiliate link), which I am very happy with.

Kit is the best fit for my needs and my budget. It may or may not be the best fit for you. So here is a list of potential newsletter platforms that might work, depending on what you need.

And yes, I got ChatGPT to help me pull the table together in a way that made sense. You can do the same once you’ve got answers for the questions above. ChatGPT (and other AI tools) are really good at helping with reviewing stuff.

Platform	Best For	Free Plan	Subscriber Limit (Free)	Monetize With	Ease of Use	Has a Recommendation Network
Kit	Digital products & creators	✅ Yes	Up to 10,000	Paid newsletter, digital products	User-friendly	✅ Yes
Beehiiv	Growth-driven newsletters	✅ Yes	Up to 2,500	Paid newsletter, ad network	Moderate	✅ Yes
Substack	Writers wanting simplicity	✅ Yes	Unlimited	Paid newsletter	Very easy	✅ Yes
MailerLite	Small businesses, agencies	✅ Yes	Up to 1,000	Paid newsletters, e-commerce	User-friendly	❌ No
Ghost	Highly customizable/self-hosted	❌ No	500 ($9/mo)	Paid newsletter	Requires setup	❌ No

Note: “Paid newsletter" means you can allow readers to subscribe to your content for a regular fee. These platforms enable you to monetize directly by setting subscription prices, giving you built-in revenue opportunities through your newsletter itself.

Platform Highlights

Here is a bit more information about each of these platforms.

Kit (was ConvertKit) (affiliate link):
- Perfect for monetizing through digital products with a generous free plan and a built-in recommendation feature.
ActiveCampaign: (affiliate link)
- Great for complex automations and deep CRM integration, ideal for detailed tracking and customization. More expensive than most of the other options.
Beehiiv:
- Built explicitly for growth, offers an integrated ad network and audience recommendation system.
Substack: Simple and streamlined; unlimited subscribers on the free plan and easy monetization.
MailerLite: (affiliate link)
- Ideal for small businesses needing straightforward email marketing and basic monetization.
Ghost:
- Best suited for those comfortable managing technical setups and wanting high customizability. You’ll need the budget for this one. It’s not cheap.

I made you a video to help you quickly start your newsletter with Kit

Recommendations for Common Use Cases

Now that you’ve asked and answered those questions I shared above and have a bit more idea about what each platform can do, here’s a quick summary.

If you need:

Monetization from the Start: Go with Kit.
Detailed Automation Needs: Opt for ActiveCampaign.
Rapid Growth Goals: Choose Beehiiv.
Ease & Simplicity: Pick Substack.
Small Business Marketing: Consider MailerLite.
Customization and have Tech Savvy people to help you: Select Ghost.

Of course, what you need is likely to be more complex than a one-sentence summary of one piece of functionality. So go do your due diligence.

8. Final Thoughts

And remember, picking a platform that gets you started now is better than waiting for the "perfect" solution. That 80/20 rule is going to be your friend here.

So don’t wait. Get started answering those questions now.

And please note, even though I’m an affiliate for Kit, ActiveCampaign and MailerLite, all the tools in the list are good tools. They will work, if you’ve done your homework and picked the one that’s the right fit for you.

If you do choose to buy through one of these affiliate links we will get a small commission, for which we thank you. Every little bit helps Treasa and me continue to provide you with free content and advice.