The best newsletter platforms for creators and podcasters
Most roundups compare price tiers and automations. For video creators and podcasters, what differs is the cut on paid subscriptions, where your media actually plays, and whether paying readers can leave with you.
11 minute read
| Platform | Best for | Free plan | Cut of paid subscriptions | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Substack | Growth from a built-in network; podcasts and video | Yes, no subscriber limit | 10% plus Stripe fees | None; $50 one-time custom domain |
| Kit | A big free list and selling digital products | Up to 10,000 subscribers | 3.5% + $0.30 per sale, card fees included | $39/mo (Creator) |
| Ghost | A full website with paid memberships | No; 14-day trial, or self-host | 0% plus Stripe fees (Publisher and up) | $18/mo; $35/mo to charge readers |
| Buttondown | A low-cost newsletter that is mostly words | Up to 100 subscribers | 0% plus Stripe fees | $9/mo |
| MailerLite | Website, blog and email on a budget | Up to 250 subscribers | 0% plus Stripe fees (paid plans) | $19/mo (Comfort) |
| Mailchimp | Marketing email for a small business | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month | No paid subscriptions documented | $26.50/mo (Essentials, US) |
| Flodesk | Design-led emails and simple selling | Collects subscribers, cannot send | 0% plus Stripe fees (Everything plan) | $25/mo (Lite) |
| Kajabi | Courses, community and podcast in one | No; 14-day trial | No revenue share; 2.9% + $0.30 card fees on Basic (US) | $179/mo (Basic) |
| Patreon | Paid memberships with podcasts and video | Free to start | 10% plus processing (new creators) | None; fee on earnings only |
| LinkedIn Newsletters | Reaching your LinkedIn network | Free for every member | No paid subscriptions documented | Free |
Judge them on the five things that actually differ
For anyone making video or audio, five things separate these platforms, and templates are not one of them. The first is how you are charged once readers pay: some platforms take a share of every subscription, some charge a flat monthly fee and take nothing, and the gap between the two widens every month the list grows. The second is whether mail goes out from your own domain or one the platform lends you, which the newsletter setup guide covers in detail. The third is what happens to your media. Mailchimp's own help documentation says most email clients cannot display embedded video and strip the code out, so a video in a newsletter is in practice a thumbnail that links somewhere else, and the platform's web player, podcast feed and paywall matter more than its email editor. The fourth is whether you can leave with your paying subscribers, which comes down to whose Stripe account holds their billing. The fifth is whether the platform runs a recommendation network that sends you readers, and what it takes in return. Prices in this guide are at the time of writing (October 2026), in US dollars, billed monthly, at about 1,000 subscribers unless stated otherwise.
Substack: the network, at a 10 percent price
Substack costs nothing to publish on at any list size, with no tiers and no subscriber limits, and makes its money from a 10 percent share of every paid subscription. Stripe then takes 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per US card payment and 0.7 percent for recurring billing, so at the rates on Substack's cost page a $10 monthly subscription leaves you about $8.34. What the 10 percent buys is distribution. Substack says more than half of new subscribers come from its built-in network, and that more than 30 percent of paid subscriptions come from within it. For podcasters and video creators it is also one of the most complete options here: native video posts with automatic transcripts and captions, live video, a Recording Studio for anyone with at least 10 free subscribers, native podcast hosting, a private podcast RSS feed for every subscriber that carries the episodes they have paid for, and paid episodes on Spotify for subscribers who link their accounts. The trade-offs: a custom domain is a one-time $50, but email still goes out from a substack.com address. There is no custom CSS or HTML. Since August 2025, paid publications in supported countries also sell through Apple's in-app purchase in the iOS app. Writers cannot switch it off, and subscribers billed by Apple cannot move with you if you leave; they have to subscribe again. Notes followers are not subscribers and cannot be exported. If you are already there and weighing a move, the Substack alternatives guide covers each option and the migration itself.
Kit: a 10,000-subscriber free plan, with a network attached
Among platforms that charge by list size, Kit has the largest free plan that can actually send: up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, and the ability to sell paid newsletters, subscriptions and digital products. Selling costs 3.5 percent plus $0.30 per transaction on every plan, and Kit says that figure already includes card processing, which on a $10 subscription comes to $0.65 against roughly $1.66 in combined fees on Substack. Every plan, free included, can also join Kit's Creator Network, where you recommend other creators and get recommended back, and on a paid plan you can earn per referred subscriber through Paid Recommendations, where Kit keeps a 20 percent service fee plus a 3.5 percent transaction fee. Brand sponsorships matched by Kit are open to paid-plan users, with Kit taking 23.5 percent of ad revenue. The free plan's limits are real: no visual automations or email sequences, and the Kit badge stays on. Creator, the plan that adds them, is $39 a month at 1,000 subscribers and $139 at 10,000. Kit's help documents sending from your own verified domain on any plan. For video, Kit's email video block shows a clickable preview for YouTube, Vimeo or Wistia links, and videos you upload yourself can play inline in Apple Mail, Thunderbird and Outlook.com. There is no podcast hosting. Payments run through a new Kit-managed Stripe Express account rather than a Stripe account you already have.
Ghost: your own site, your own Stripe, no cut
Ghost is the pick when you want a real website with a newsletter attached and want to keep everything readers pay after Stripe's fees. It takes 0 percent of subscription revenue, payments go through your own Stripe account via Stripe Connect, and there is no Ghost branding on your site or emails on any plan. The catch is where the plans start. There is no free hosted plan, only a 14-day trial, and the $18-a-month Starter plan for up to 1,000 members cannot take paid subscriptions, cannot send from your own domain, and caps uploads at 5 MB, which rules out video. Publisher, the plan most creators actually need, is $35 a month at 1,000 members and $105 at 10,000, and adds paid subscriptions, a custom sending domain and 100 MB uploads. Ghost's editor has native video cards for .mp4, WebM and .ogg files and audio cards for .mp3, .wav and .ogg, and YouTube and Vimeo embeds turn into clickable links in the email version. Ghost has no built-in podcast feed for Apple or Spotify (its own guide has you build one with custom routes and templates), but its official Transistor integration, launched in March 2026, gives each member a private podcast feed matched to their tier, through a separate Transistor account. The growth tools are newer and more modest than Substack's: recommendations between sites, the Ghost Explore directory launched in November 2025, and a social web feature, still in beta, that lets people follow and reply to your posts from Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon. Self-hosting the open-source version is free under the MIT licence, though you then bring your own bulk email through Mailgun.
Patreon: memberships for podcasts and video
Patreon is the strongest fit for podcasters and video creators who think of their paid tier as a membership rather than a newsletter. It costs nothing until you earn, sends posts and emails to unlimited contacts, and gives each member a private podcast RSS link that works in apps like Apple Podcasts and Overcast and shows only the episodes their tier includes. You can host a public show there too, and upload native video, up to 100 hours a month once you have had a paying member in the last 90 days. The cost is higher than it first looks. Creators whose pages go live after 4 August 2025 pay a standard 10 percent of income, plus processing of 2.9 percent plus $0.30 on a US card, so a $5 monthly membership costs you about $0.95, close to 19 percent, before payout fees. Outside the US, memberships bought in the iOS app go through Apple's in-app purchase, which takes 30 percent, and Patreon's fee still applies. Patreon also runs the payment account itself. That spares you Stripe setup and tax paperwork, but there is no creator-owned Stripe account to take with you, and Patreon documents no tool for moving paying members elsewhere. Post emails come from a shared Patreon address, a custom domain covers only your web page, and video or audio in a newsletter email shows a play icon that sends fans to Patreon to play it. You can export members as a CSV, though fans can choose not to share their email address with you.
The short version, by job
For the best free start on a list you expect to grow, Kit's free plan carries you to 10,000 subscribers and still lets you sell, while Substack is free at any size but keeps 10 percent the moment readers pay. For paid subscriptions without a revenue cut, choose Ghost on Publisher if you want a full website and native media, Buttondown if you mostly write and want the smallest bill, and MailerLite if you want a site builder and email in one tool. All three put paying readers in your own Stripe account, which is the precondition for taking them with you later. For podcasters, Substack covers hosting, a private feed for every subscriber and paid episodes on Spotify, if the 10 percent is acceptable. Patreon fits a membership model, with private per-member feeds and native video. Ghost with Transistor gives you private feeds on a platform that takes nothing from your revenue, though it needs a separate Transistor account. For courses, coaching and community on one bill, Kajabi is built for it and priced accordingly. Flodesk suits design-led creators selling a handful of products. If your audience already lives on LinkedIn, a LinkedIn Newsletter is the quickest reach, best used to send people to a list you control. Whichever you choose, the setup guide covers the sending domain and the law, and repurposing a podcast into a newsletter covers what to put in each issue.
Your clips are where the list grows
Apart from the networks above, no platform grows the list for you, and for video creators the growth happens in the video itself, on Shorts, Reels and TikTok rather than in the inbox. The practical version is to cut each long recording into a handful of vertical clips, save a specific ask for the strongest of them rather than every one, and make sure the profile those viewers land on points to a sign-up page you own. FrameOS handles that cutting step, turning a long recording into captioned vertical clips. For when and how to ask, see how to turn viewers into subscribers and growing a podcast audience with clips.
FAQ
Which newsletter platform is best for podcasters?
Substack and Patreon do the most out of the box. Substack hosts the podcast, gives every subscriber a private RSS feed with the episodes they have paid for, and can deliver paid episodes on Spotify, in exchange for 10 percent of paid revenue plus Stripe's fees. Patreon gives each member a private feed and adds native video, at 10 percent plus processing for new creators. If you want no revenue cut, Ghost's official Transistor integration gives each member a private feed, through a separate Transistor account.
Is there a free newsletter platform with no revenue cut?
Not if you want to charge readers. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers and lets you sell, but takes 3.5 percent plus $0.30 per transaction, card fees included, and Substack is free at any size but keeps 10 percent of paid revenue. The cheapest platforms that take 0 percent of paid subscriptions, Buttondown, MailerLite and Ghost, charge a monthly fee once payments are on: $9, $19 and $35 a month respectively at about 1,000 subscribers, billed monthly, plus Stripe's own fees.
Can I move my subscribers to another platform later?
Your free list, yes: every platform in this guide except LinkedIn Newsletters documents a CSV export of subscribers, though Patreon's can miss fans who chose not to share their email. Paying subscribers are harder, and it comes down to whose payment account holds their billing. Ghost, Buttondown and MailerLite connect your own Stripe account, Kit sets up a separate Kit-managed Stripe Express account, and Patreon runs payments itself. If you are leaving Substack, the Substack alternatives guide covers which platforms import paid subscribers and what cannot come with you.
Can you put a video in a newsletter?
Not in a way most readers will see play. Mailchimp's help documentation says most email clients cannot display embedded video and strip the code, so platforms show a thumbnail that links to the video instead. Kit is a partial exception, because videos you upload can play inline in Apple Mail, Thunderbird and Outlook.com. Everywhere else the player that matters is on the web post, which is why native video on Substack, Ghost, Patreon or Kajabi counts for more than an email video block.
Is Substack really free?
It is free to publish on at any list size, with no tiers or subscriber limits. Substack charges only when readers pay: 10 percent of each subscription, plus Stripe's 2.9 percent and $0.30 per US card payment and 0.7 percent for recurring billing, which leaves about $8.34 from a $10 monthly subscription. A custom domain is an optional one-time $50, though email still sends from a substack.com address.
Sources
- How much does Substack cost? · Substack
- Can my subscribers pay on the Substack iOS app? · Substack
- Pricing and plans · Kit
- Setting up Payments · Kit
- Ghost(Pro): Official managed hosting for Ghost · Ghost
- Manage your Ghost(Pro) subscription · Ghost
- Members-only podcasts · Ghost
- Buttondown: Pricing · Buttondown
- Stripe integration support · Buttondown
- Simple, Transparent Pricing · MailerLite
- Free Substack Alternative · MailerLite
- Mailchimp Pricing Plans · Mailchimp
- About Mailchimp Pricing Plans · Mailchimp
- Flodesk Pricing: Plans for Every Stage of Growth · Flodesk
- How to set up a subscription product in Flodesk Checkout · Flodesk
- Transparent Pricing for Expert Businesses · Kajabi
- Kajabi trial information · Kajabi
- A standard platform fee for new creators, effective after August 4, 2025 · Patreon
- Patreon Pricing Plans · Patreon
- LinkedIn Newsletters · LinkedIn
- About Substack · Substack
- What is following on Substack? · Substack
- Kit Newsletter Sponsorships · Kit
- How to embed a video into an email · Kit
- Add video to an email · Mailchimp
