Kit alternatives
Top Email Marketing & Newsletters like Kit
The most popular alternative to Kit is MailerLite, which has a free version. Other great alternatives to Kit are beehiiv, Mailchimp, Substack, and ActiveCampaign.
Most alternatives to Kit are in the Email Marketing & Newsletters category, compared here by price, platform and features.
All Kit alternatives
MailerLite is an email marketing tool with an uncluttered drag-and-drop editor and an approachable automation builder. Besides campaigns, it can create landing pages, signup forms and simple websites, sell digital products and paid newsletter subscriptions, and run A/B tests. Small businesses and creators often choose it as a lighter alternative to larger marketing suites.
11 MailerLite alternativesPros
- Clean drag-and-drop editor that is easy to learn
- Landing pages, websites and paid newsletters included
- Approachable automation builder for small businesses
Cons
- Account approval process can delay your first campaigns
- Fewer advanced automation and reporting options than larger suites
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesPlatformsbeehiiv is a newsletter platform created by former Morning Brew team members, combining an editor, a hosted website and email delivery. It focuses on growth and monetization, with a referral program, recommendations between newsletters, an ad network and paid subscriptions. Publishers also get detailed analytics, A/B testing of subject lines and AI writing tools.
6 beehiiv alternativesPros
- Growth tools like referrals and cross-newsletter recommendations
- Monetization through an ad network and paid subscriptions
- Hosted website and detailed analytics included
Cons
- Most monetization and growth features sit on paid plans
- Less suited to advanced marketing automation or e-commerce
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesPlatformsMailchimp, owned by Intuit, is an email marketing platform for designing campaigns, building automated customer journeys and organizing an audience with tags and segments. It also offers landing pages, signup forms, SMS in some countries and AI tools for content and send times. Its many integrations, including e-commerce platforms, make it easy to connect to an existing stack.
10 Mailchimp alternativesPros
- Familiar, well-documented platform with many templates
- Large integration library, including e-commerce platforms
- Free plan for getting started with a small list
Cons
- Prices rise steeply as your audience grows
- Unsubscribed contacts can still count toward billing
- Free plan is restrictive, and key features require paid tiers
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesSubstack lets writers start a newsletter with a web archive, podcast and video hosting, and turn on paid subscriptions when they are ready. Publishing is free: Substack takes a share of subscription revenue instead of charging for a plan. Its reader app, Notes feed and cross-recommendations connect publications into a network that helps writers find readers.
7 Substack alternativesPros
- Free to publish, with no setup or hosting to manage
- Built-in paid subscriptions, podcasts and video
- Notes and cross-recommendations help writers find readers
Cons
- Takes a share of revenue from paid subscriptions
- Limited design and branding customization
- Your audience lives inside Substack’s network rather than your own brand
Cost / LicenseFreeProprietaryCategoriesActiveCampaign is a customer experience automation platform that combines email marketing, a visual automation builder, lead scoring and a sales CRM with deal pipelines. Automations can branch on behavior, site visits and custom data across email, SMS and connected apps. It is aimed at small and mid-sized businesses that need more advanced automation than basic newsletter tools provide.
8 ActiveCampaign alternativesPros
- Powerful visual automation builder with behavior-based branching
- Built-in CRM with deal pipelines and lead scoring
- Many integrations with e-commerce and business apps
Cons
- Complex automations come with a real learning curve
- Costs rise quickly as the contact list grows
- No free plan beyond the trial
Cost / LicenseFree trialProprietaryCategoriesButtondown is a small, independent newsletter service for writers and developers who prefer a lightweight tool. You write in Markdown or a rich text editor, publish an archive on the web and can charge for subscriptions through Stripe. It offers a complete API, custom domains and RSS-to-email, and is built by a very small team.
6 Buttondown alternativesPros
- Write in Markdown or a rich text editor
- Complete API and RSS-to-email for developers
- Paid subscriptions through Stripe and custom domains
Cons
- Templates and design options are minimal
- Few audience growth tools compared with beehiiv or Substack
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesPlatformsGumroad lets creators sell digital downloads, courses, memberships and physical items from a simple storefront or checkout links. There is no monthly subscription: Gumroad takes a percentage of each sale instead. It also includes email updates and automated workflows for customers, discount codes and affiliate features, which suits independent writers, artists and developers.
7 Gumroad alternativesPros
- No monthly fee, since you only pay a share of each sale
- Very quick to start selling with a simple checkout link
- Handles memberships, courses, discount codes and affiliates
Cons
- Per-sale fees take a noticeable cut as revenue grows
- Limited storefront customization and branding
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesPlatformsPayhip is an e-commerce platform for creators selling digital downloads, online courses, coaching, memberships and physical products. It provides a hosted store or embeddable buy buttons, handles EU and UK VAT on digital sales, and includes email marketing, coupons and affiliate tools. The free plan charges a fee on each sale, which paid plans reduce or remove.
7 Payhip alternativesPros
- Free plan to start selling digital products, with fees per sale
- Handles EU and UK VAT on digital sales
- Courses, coaching, memberships and coupons in one storefront
Cons
- Store design options are fairly limited
- Transaction fees on the free plan cut into margins
- Marketing tools are basic compared with dedicated email platforms
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesPlatformsGhost is an open source platform for independent publishers that combines a website, a newsletter and paid memberships in one product. Writers publish in a clean editor, send posts by email and charge for subscriptions through Stripe, with no revenue share taken by Ghost. It can be self-hosted for free or run on the managed Ghost(Pro) service, and is maintained by a non-profit foundation.
9 Ghost alternativesPros
- Website, newsletter and paid memberships in one product
- No revenue share taken on subscriptions
- Open source and free to self-host
Cons
- Fewer themes and integrations than WordPress
- Self-hosting needs technical skills and an email delivery service
- Ghost(Pro) gets expensive as your member list grows
Cost / LicenseFreemiumOpen sourcePlatformsBrevo, formerly Sendinblue, is a French marketing platform covering email campaigns, transactional email, SMS, WhatsApp messages and marketing automation, plus a sales CRM and live chat. Its plans are based mainly on the volume of emails sent rather than the number of contacts, which suits large lists that are mailed occasionally. Data is hosted in the EU, a plus for GDPR-conscious teams.
9 Brevo alternativesPros
- Pricing based on emails sent rather than contacts stored
- Email, SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email in one platform
- EU data hosting suits GDPR-conscious teams
Cons
- Free plan has a daily sending limit and Brevo branding
- Automation builder is less advanced than specialist tools
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesLemon Squeezy is a payments and storefront platform for software companies and creators. It acts as merchant of record, so it handles international sales tax and VAT, fraud and chargebacks on your behalf. It supports one-time products, subscriptions, software license keys, affiliate programs and email marketing. Stripe acquired it in 2024, and it charges a fee per transaction rather than a monthly plan.
6 Lemon Squeezy alternativesPros
- Acts as merchant of record and handles global sales tax and VAT for you
- Built-in license keys and subscriptions for software sellers
- No monthly plan, only fees per transaction
Cons
- Fees are higher than using a payment processor directly
- Product direction is less clear since the Stripe acquisition
- Storefront customization is fairly limited
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesPlatformsKlaviyo is a marketing automation platform for online stores that connects to Shopify, WooCommerce and other platforms to use order and browsing data in email and SMS campaigns. Merchants build flows such as abandoned cart or post-purchase sequences, segment customers by behavior and predicted value, and measure revenue per message. AI features help generate content and segments.
7 Klaviyo alternativesPros
- Uses order and browsing data from Shopify and other platforms
- Prebuilt flows for abandoned carts and post-purchase emails
- Revenue attribution per message and predictive segments
Cons
- Becomes expensive as the number of active profiles grows
- Overkill for businesses that don’t sell online
- Advanced segmentation and reporting take time to master
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategories
Kit vs its alternatives at a glance
Pricing, platforms and the key features of Kit, compared with its most popular alternatives.
| App | Pricing | Platforms | Audience segmentation | Digital products | Email automation | Integrations | Landing pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kit | Freemium | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 MailerLite | Freemium | Web | |||||
 beehiiv | Freemium | Web | |||||
 Mailchimp | Freemium | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 Substack | Free | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 ActiveCampaign | Free trial | Web, iPhone, Android |
Kit alternatives: frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Kit?
The most popular alternative to Kit is MailerLite: Straightforward email marketing with automations and landing pages. Other great alternatives are beehiiv, Mailchimp, Substack, and ActiveCampaign.
Is there a free alternative to Kit?
Yes, 11 alternatives are free or have a free plan, including MailerLite, beehiiv, Mailchimp, and Substack.
Is there an open source alternative to Kit?
Yes, one open source alternative is listed: Ghost.
Is Kit free?
Kit has a free plan, with paid plans that unlock more features.
Compare Kit with its alternatives
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