Best Creator
Platforms

The best newsletter platforms in 2026

Newsletter platforms send your writing by email and can charge readers for it. The big split is a percentage of paid subscriptions versus a flat monthly bill.

Short answer. Kit is the best pick for most creators who want paid newsletters, at 7.9 out of 10. Ghost comes second (7.8).

What each platform takes from $1,000 of monthly sales
  1. Kit$65 taken, you keep $935
  2. Ghost$94 taken, you keep $906
  3. beehiiv$118 taken, you keep $882
  4. Substack$166 taken, you keep $834

Cheapest plan for that volume, $10 average sale, US card processing added where the platform charges it separately, at 2.9% + 30¢ or the platform's documented rate. Taxes, currency conversion and app store fees not included. Try your own numbers.

Rankings

  1. 1

    Kit

    7.9 / 10

    Best for: Creators who sell products and need serious email automation. You keep $935 of $1,000.

    Email marketing platform for creators, formerly ConvertKit, with a free plan to 10,000 subscribers plus paid newsletters and digital product sales.

  2. 2

    Ghost

    7.8 / 10

    Best for: Independent publishers who want 0% fees and full ownership. You keep $906 of $1,000.

    Open source publishing platform for paid newsletters and membership sites, run by a non-profit. Use Ghost(Pro) hosting or self-host it free.

  3. 3

    beehiiv

    7.5 / 10

    Best for: Growth-focused newsletters that want ad and referral income. You keep $882 of $1,000.

    Newsletter platform with a website builder, ad network and paid recommendations. Takes 0% of subscriptions and charges a monthly plan fee instead.

  4. 4

    Substack

    6.1 / 10

    Best for: Writers starting a paid newsletter with no upfront cost. You keep $834 of $1,000.

    Free newsletter, podcast and video publishing platform that takes 10% of paid subscriptions and runs its own reader app.

Side by side

PlatformScoreWhat it costsKeep from $1,000
Kit7.9Kit charges 3.5% + 30¢ per sale on every plan with card processing included, and paid plans start at $39 a month billed monthly for 1,000 subscribers.$935
Ghost7.8Ghost takes 0% of subscription revenue, so you pay a flat Ghost(Pro) fee from $35 a month billed monthly for paid features, or nothing for self-hosting, plus Stripe's card fees.$906
beehiiv7.5beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscriptions and digital products, so you pay the plan price, $59 a month billed monthly for Lite at 1,000 subscribers, plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.$882
Substack6.1Publishing is free, and on paid subscriptions Substack keeps 10% while Stripe adds 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment and 0.7% on recurring charges.$834

How to choose

  • Do the break-even before you accept a percentage. Substack's 10%, plus the 0.7% Stripe adds on renewals, passes Ghost Publisher's $35 plan at about $330 a month in paid revenue, and beehiiv Lite's $59 plan at about $550.
  • Check whether the free plan can sell. Kit Free sells to up to 10,000 subscribers, while beehiiv's free plan and Ghost's $18 Starter plan can't take paid subscriptions.
  • Plan prices climb with your list, free readers included. Ghost Publisher costs $35 a month at 1,000 members and $105 at 10,000, and beehiiv Lite rises with list size too.
  • Watch Substack's iOS payments. They're on by default, can't be switched off while payments are connected, and lose 15 to 30% to Apple. Those subscribers can't follow you if you leave.
  • Kit's 3.5% + 30¢ per sale already includes card processing. Against Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ on Ghost or beehiiv, Kit's own share works out to about 0.6% per sale.
  • Keep billing in your own Stripe account. Ghost, beehiiv and Substack web subscriptions all use one, but Kit Commerce makes you open a new Stripe account through Kit.

Head-to-head comparisons

Questions people ask

Which newsletter platform has the lowest fees?

On $1,000 of monthly sales at $10 each, Kit costs the least: about $65 in platform and card fees on its Free plan, so you keep $935. At higher volume, flat-fee plans usually win.

Can I move my paid subscribers off Substack?

Web subscribers, yes. They bill through your own Stripe account, so you connect the same account to Ghost and they keep paying, and Ghost imports members from a CSV. Subscribers who pay through Substack's iOS app can't move, because Apple holds those billing relationships. You keep only their emails.

Do I need a paid plan to charge for a newsletter?

Depends on the platform. Substack and Kit let you charge without a plan fee, Substack for 10% of revenue and Kit for 3.5% + 30¢ per sale. beehiiv needs Lite at $59 a month at 1,000 subscribers, and Ghost needs Publisher at $35. Self-hosted Ghost costs nothing for the software, but hosting and email sending are on you.

Can a newsletter earn money without paid subscriptions?

Yes. beehiiv's ad network pays into your beehiiv Wallet on the 20th of each month on paid plans, and its paid recommendations carry a 20% fee built into the price. Kit has Paid Recommendations, which keep 23.5% of what you earn, plus sponsorship matching and tip jars. Ghost takes tips and one-time payments but has no ad network.

Scores use our published method. Fees were checked against each platform's own pricing pages; every review lists its sources.