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Newsletter publishing platforms

22 tools evaluated · 10 top picks · Updated September 2026

Key Takeaways
  • Constant Contact is our overall pick for newsletter tools in 2026. Zetik is our free pick.
  • We analyzed 22 newsletter tools to create this ranking.
  • 8 tools offer free plans, perfect for getting started.

Newsletter platforms split between creator-monetization-first (Substack, beehiiv, ConvertKit/Kit), audience-building tools (Mailchimp, Sendinblue), and developer-focused tools (Buttondown, Resend Newsletters). The choice depends on whether monetization is the headline.

7 Top Newsletter Tools Compared

Starting price, average user rating, and our pick for each category.

ToolOur takeStarting priceRating
Constant Contact logo
Constant Contact
Best overallFree + paid4.2
Mailerlite logo
Mailerlite
Solid pickFree + paid4.7
Sender logo
Sender
Highest ratedFree + paid4.8
EmailOctopus logo
EmailOctopus
Most affordable$9/mo4.6
Aweber logo
Aweber
Solid pick$15/mo4.3
beehiiv logo
beehiiv
Solid pick$43/mo4.5
Buttondown logo
Buttondown
Solid pick$9/mo4.8

How the Top Newsletter Tools Tools Compare

The newsletter tools category is highly competitive in 2026, with Constant Contact and Mailerlite both ranking among the top choices on Toolradar's assessment, followed closely by Sender. The tight competition reflects how mature this market has become.

All top-ranked newsletter tools tools offer free or freemium plans, making this an accessible category for teams of any size. Constant Contact stands out by combining a top ranking with freemium (free tier available) pricing.

Computed from live tool ratings, review counts, and editorial scores.Editorial policy

Top Newsletter Tools tools

01
Constant Contact logo

Established email marketing for small businesses

Freemium4.2/510,413 ratings · Sep 2026

Constant Contact has done email marketing for small businesses since before most competitors existed. The platform handles the basics well-email campaigns, automation, contact management-without overwhelming complexity. Templates make creating emails straightforward. The list management is reliable. Deliverability benefits from years of sender reputation. Small businesses wanting established, reliable email marketing without learning curves choose Constant Contact for proven basics.

+Easy to use
+Good for beginners
+Event marketing
Expensive for features
Limited automation
Fair value

Constant Contact's pricing is on the higher side compared to some market alternatives, especially for the Lite tier at $12/month which offers limited features and contacts.

Watch out

Potential for increased costs with additional users on Lite.

02
Mailerlite logo

Simple, affordable email marketing for growing businesses

Freemium4.7/53,514 ratings · Sep 2026

MailerLite provides email marketing with simplicity and value. Clean interface, solid features, and pricing that works for growing lists. The interface is intuitive. The automation is capable. The pricing is friendly. Growing businesses wanting straightforward email marketing choose MailerLite for accessible email.

+Affordable email marketing
+Good free tier
+Easy to use
Less powerful automation
Basic segmentation
Great value

Mailerlite's pricing is very fair and generous, especially with its robust free tier.

03
Sender logo

Create, automate, and send emails that people want to read, without complicated setup or high costs.

Freemium4.8/51,724 ratings · Sep 2026

Sender is an email marketing platform designed to help businesses of all sizes create, automate, and send effective email campaigns. It provides a user-friendly interface with a drag-and-drop newsletter builder, a vast library of mobile-responsive templates, and tools for email automation and personalization. The platform focuses on high email deliverability through continuous monitoring of sender scores and IP reputation, ensuring emails reach inboxes efficiently. The platform is suitable for various industries including e-commerce, small businesses, B2B, events, SaaS, and non-profits. It offers features like A/B testing, an HTML email builder, auto-branded emails, and dynamic content for personalization. Sender also integrates with popular CMS, CRM, and e-commerce platforms like WordPress, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Zapier, and Shopify, making it easy to incorporate into existing workflows. With 24/7 customer support, onboarding assistance, and a free migration service, Sender aims to provide a hassle-free email marketing solution.

Sender screenshot
+Generous Free Forever plan with premium features included
+High email deliverability (99.98%) due to continuous monitoring
+User-friendly drag-and-drop editor and extensive template library
Specific limitations of the free plan (e.g., contact and email limits) might be restrictive for rapidly growing businesses.
While integrations are listed, the depth of integration with all platforms isn't fully detailed on the main page.
Good value

Sender offers a very generous 'Free Forever!' tier, providing substantial features for up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, which is excellent for startups and small businesses.

04
EmailOctopus logo

Email marketing made easy with intuitive tools and competitive pricing.

Freemium4.6/5701 ratings · Sep 2026

EmailOctopus is an email marketing platform designed to simplify the process of creating, sending, and analyzing email campaigns. It focuses exclusively on email marketing, avoiding additional features like SMS to keep the platform streamlined and cost-effective. The tool is suitable for businesses and individuals looking for an easy-to-use solution to connect with their audience through engaging and personalized emails. The platform offers a drag-and-drop editor for quick email creation, powerful automation capabilities, effective forms for subscriber collection, and intuitive reports for performance tracking. Users can integrate EmailOctopus with over 1,000 other applications and benefit from unique, brand-aligned templates. It also includes features for subscriber segmentation, personalization, and scheduled campaigns to optimize engagement and deliverability. EmailOctopus aims to provide a robust email marketing solution without the complexity and high costs often associated with larger, multi-service platforms.

EmailOctopus screenshot
+Very competitive pricing compared to alternatives
+Easy to use and intuitive interface
+Excellent and responsive customer support, even for free users
Focuses solely on email marketing, no SMS or other marketing channels
EmailOctopus branding on emails for the free plan
Good value

EmailOctopus offers a very generous free tier for up to 2,500 subscribers, which is excellent for startups and small businesses.

05
Aweber logo

Email marketing for small business

Paid4.3/5973 ratings · Sep 2026

AWeber provides email marketing tools small businesses can actually use. Build subscriber lists, design emails with templates, and send automated sequences that turn subscribers into customers. The platform has been around long enough that deliverability is solid. Integrations connect to common business tools. The learning curve is gentle for teams new to email marketing. Small businesses wanting to get started with email marketing without enterprise complexity find AWeber does what they need without overwhelming them.

+Simple email marketing
+Good for beginners
+Reliable deliverability
Limited automation
Dated interface
Fair value

Aweber's pricing is on the expensive side, especially the 'Lite' tier at $15/month for only 500 subscribers and limited features, considering competitors offer more for less or even free.

Watch out

Done For You is an add-on, not core platform.

06
beehiiv logo

Newsletter platform for growth

Freemium4.5/556 ratings · Sep 2026

beehiiv is a newsletter platform built for growth, offering custom websites, monetization tools, recommendation network, and advanced analytics for content creators.

+Generous free tier
+Great growth features
+Built-in monetization
Learning curve
Some features need higher tiers
Good value

beehiiv's pricing is quite generous, especially with its robust free 'Launch' tier supporting up to 2,500 subscribers.

07
Buttondown logo

Minimalist newsletter platform for simplicity and privacy

Freemium4.8/5115 ratings · Sep 2026

Buttondown is a minimalist newsletter platform focused on simplicity and privacy, offering rich text editing, custom domains, and modular add-on features.

+Simple and clean
+Markdown native
+Affordable
Basic features
Less automation
Good value

Buttondown's pricing is quite generous, especially for smaller newsletters.

Watch out

Add-ons can significantly increase monthly cost

08
Sendy logo

Send newsletters 100x cheaper via Amazon SES with this self-hosted email application.

Paid4.3/542 ratings · Sep 2026

Sendy is a self-hosted email newsletter application designed to significantly reduce the cost of sending bulk emails. It leverages Amazon Simple Email Service (SES), allowing users to pay only for the emails they send, at a rate of $1 per 10,000 emails, rather than incurring increasing monthly fees based on subscriber count. This model is particularly beneficial for businesses and individuals with growing subscriber bases who want to avoid the escalating costs associated with traditional email marketing platforms. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of features for managing email campaigns, including detailed reporting, autoresponders, list segmentation, and subscriber management. It also supports white-labeled client accounts, enabling agencies or businesses to manage multiple brands and even set their own pricing and sending limits for clients. Sendy aims to provide a cost-effective and feature-rich solution for email marketing, ensuring high deliverability rates through Amazon SES and offering integrations with popular third-party applications via Zapier.

+Significantly lower email sending costs compared to traditional platforms.
+No monthly fees based on subscriber count.
+High deliverability rates through Amazon SES.
Requires technical knowledge for self-hosting and setup.
One-time purchase fee for the software itself.
Great value

Sendy's one-time purchase of $69 is incredibly fair and generous, especially considering it offers unlimited subscribers and a comprehensive feature set.

09
Substack logo

Newsletter platform for writers

Freemium2.4/5179 ratings · Sep 2026

Substack powers newsletter businesses. Writing platform for paid newsletters-where independent writers build audiences. The platform defined independent newsletters. The discovery helps growth. The business model is clear. Writers building newsletter businesses often start on Substack.

+Completely free to start
+Built-in payments
+Simple to use
10% revenue cut
Limited customization
Great value

Substack's pricing is incredibly generous, offering a full-featured free tier and only taking a 10% cut of revenue for paid newsletters.

Watch out

Stripe payment processing fees (approx. 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)

10
HeyNews logo

Create and publish your newsletter in minutes, directly from your browser.

Freemium

HeyNews is a browser-based tool designed to simplify newsletter creation and publishing. It allows users to quickly draft and send newsletters without needing complex software or extensive technical knowledge. The platform focuses on speed and ease of use, enabling individuals and small businesses to maintain regular communication with their audience. It's ideal for content creators, small businesses, bloggers, and anyone looking to share updates, news, or curated content with their subscribers efficiently. The primary benefit is the ability to publish a professional-looking newsletter in a very short amount of time, freeing up users to focus on content rather than technical setup.

+Extremely fast publishing process (5 minutes)
+Simple and intuitive to use, no technical skills required
+Accessible directly from a web browser
Limited information on advanced features or integrations
No explicit mention of a free tier or trial
Good value

HeyNews offers a fair pricing structure, especially with its generous Free tier and affordable Basic plan at $10/month.

Watch out

No clear overage fees for storage

Popular newsletter tools comparisons

See how the leading newsletter tools tools stack up head-to-head.

Newsletter Tools pricing, compared

Real plans and the hidden costs for each tool.

Browse all newsletter tools

22 tools

All 22 newsletter tools are ranked above. Use the filters to narrow by pricing, platform, or industry.

In-depth: why these tools made the cut

beehiiv logo

beehiiv is the Substack alternative built specifically for newsletter operators who treat newsletters as a business. The product has ad/sponsor marketplaces, referral programs, premium subscription support, and analytics depth Substack lacks. For serious newsletter publishers, beehiiv is increasingly the right pick.

beehiiv's free tier is generous; paid tiers price reasonably for the feature depth. Substack's network effect (discovery, recommendations) is its main remaining advantage. For pure operations and revenue control, beehiiv wins.

How to choose newsletter tools software

  1. Decide on monetization path

    Paid subscriptions (Substack-style): Substack, beehiiv, Ghost Newsletter. Sponsorships in free newsletter: beehiiv (built-in marketplace), or any tool + manual sponsor ops. Lead gen (newsletter as funnel): ConvertKit, Mailchimp. Each tier optimizes for different revenue models.

  2. Audit deliverability + open rates

    Newsletter deliverability is the most-underrated criterion. Substack and beehiiv handle this well at scale; smaller tools vary. Use a deliverability test (Mail-Tester) on the platform's IP reputation before committing.

  3. Plan for platform vs portability

    Substack is platform-first — your subscribers live on Substack and you cross-promote with other Substacks. Self-hosted (Ghost, Buttondown) keeps the list portable. The trade-off is reach vs ownership.

Honorable mentions

Tools that didn't crack the headline list but deserve a look depending on what you optimize for.

  • Loops logo
    LoopsBest for transactional + marketing email combined

    Loops is the modern email platform that handles both transactional emails (signup confirmations, password resets) and marketing campaigns. Useful for SaaS where the same user gets both flavors.

Best Newsletter Tools for

How we ranked these newsletter tools tools

We rank by real-world signal: verified user ratings aggregated from G2, Capterra, and our own community, the volume and recency of media coverage, and hands-on editorial review for the tools we cover in depth. Pricing is re-checked and the ranking refreshed monthly. We do not sell placement in this list.

Tools reviewed
22
With free tier
82%
Last updated
September 2026

Toolradar Research

The data behind newsletter tools

First-party analyses built from our full catalog, methodology published.

All Toolradar research

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best newsletter tool in 2026?

Based on our analysis of 22 newsletter tools, Constant Contact is our overall pick. The next tools on the list are Mailerlite, Sender, EmailOctopus. Rankings use G2/Capterra review strength, media mentions, and editor-featured picks — the same verdict as /best/free/newsletter-tools and our comparison pages.

What are the top 3 newsletter tools?

The top 3 newsletter tools in 2026, ranked by Toolradar, are: 1) Constant Contact, Established email marketing for small businesses. 2) Mailerlite, Simple, affordable email marketing for growing businesses. 3) Sender, Create, automate, and send emails that people want to read, without complicated setup or high costs.. Our named overall pick is Constant Contact.

Are there free newsletter tools?

Yes. Zetik is our free pick (100% free, no paid upgrade path). 8 of the tools on this page offer a free or freemium plan.

How do I choose the right newsletter tool?

Start by defining your team size, budget, and must-have features. Constant Contact is our overall pick. Zetik is our free pick. Compare all 22 options side-by-side on Toolradar.
Newsletter Tools statisticscatalog size, ratings and pricing data, updated monthly

For newsletter vendors

Selling a newsletter product? Reach 720K+ buyers through Toolradar & Dupple.

Newsletter ads and directory listings: the same surfaces buyers use to shortlist. Max 2 sponsors per issue, done-for-you creative.