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THE SHORT ANSWER
If you send promotional emails to a customer list → Mailchimp
If you are a creator, coach, or solopreneur building an audience → ConvertKit
If you are a newsletter-first publisher monetising paid subscriptions → Beehiiv
Most people on Mailchimp should be on ConvertKit. Most ConvertKit users running paid newsletters should be on Beehiiv. The wrong platform costs you subscribers and money — so the only question is which audience is yours.
AT A GLANCE
| Mailchimp Essentials | ConvertKit Free | ConvertKit Creator | Beehiiv Launch | Beehiiv Grow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $13/mo | Free | $29/mo ($25 annual) | Free | $49/mo ($42 annual) |
| Subscribers | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 10,000 |
| Sends/month | 5,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Paid newsletters | No | No | Yes (3.5% fee) | Yes (0% fee) | Yes (0% fee) |
| Best for | SMB promo email | Creators <1K | Creators 1K–10K | Newsletter start | Newsletter growth |
| OperDrive deal | Standard | Start free → | Start free → | Start free → | Start free → |
Mailchimp — for promotional email
If you run an ecommerce store or send promotional campaigns to a customer list, Mailchimp is the answer. Mailchimp Essentials costs $13/month for 500 contacts and 5,000 sends, with branding removed and basic automations. Standard at $20/month keeps the same 500-contact limit but adds behavioural targeting — a price increase for the same list size that catches many people. Mailchimp's pricing scales by contact count and becomes expensive quickly. At 10,000 contacts, Standard costs around $100/month — the same as ConvertKit Creator at that size, but with weaker automation.
ConvertKit — for creators
If you are a creator, coach, or course creator, ConvertKit is the answer. It is free for up to 1,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, landing pages, and forms — the strongest free tier for creators. Creator at $29/month ($25 annual) adds full automation and sequences, scaling to around $100/month at 10,000 subscribers. ConvertKit rebranded to Kit in 2024; the product is unchanged and most people still call it ConvertKit. It charges 3.5% + 30¢ on paid newsletter transactions — the key number when comparing against Beehiiv.
Beehiiv — for paid newsletters
If your primary goal is a paid newsletter, Beehiiv is the answer. It is free for up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and 0% transaction fees on paid subscriptions — the most generous free tier here. Grow at $49/month ($42 annual) covers 10,000 subscribers with custom domains and paid-subscriber acquisition tools. The number that decides newsletter monetisation: Beehiiv charges 0% on paid subscription revenue. ConvertKit charges 3.5%. On $5,000/month in subscription revenue, that is $175/month Beehiiv does not take.
When it actually pays off
5,000 subscribers + $5K/mo newsletter revenue:
| Platform | Monthly cost | Transaction fee on $5K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Standard | $75/mo | no paid newsletter | $75/mo |
| ConvertKit Creator | $79/mo | 3.5% = $175/mo | $254/mo |
| Beehiiv Grow | $49/mo | 0% = $0 | $49/mo |
For newsletter publishers monetising through paid subscriptions, Beehiiv is dramatically cheaper — ConvertKit's transaction fee becomes a significant cost at any real paid-subscriber base. For promotional email with no paid subscriptions, Mailchimp and ConvertKit are comparable; Mailchimp edges ahead on ecommerce integration, ConvertKit on automation.
What nobody else mentions
Mailchimp's contact limit counts unsubscribed contacts too. 400 active subscribers plus 100 unsubscribed puts you at the 500 limit — forcing upgrades faster than expected. Most comparisons miss this.
ConvertKit's free plan is genuinely usable for creators under 1,000 subscribers — full landing pages, forms, unlimited sends. The upgrade is only necessary when automations and sequences are needed.
Beehiiv's boosts feature lets you pay to acquire paid subscribers from other Beehiiv newsletters — a growth lever no other platform offers. Cost per paid subscriber via boosts is often lower than paid social.
Mailchimp's ecommerce integrations remain the most mature — bidirectional Shopify and WooCommerce sync with purchase-triggered automations. For product businesses, Mailchimp is the most capable of the three.
FAQ
What is the cheapest email platform for a paid newsletter?
Beehiiv. It charges 0% on paid subscription revenue and is free up to 2,500 subscribers, versus ConvertKit's 3.5% transaction fee.
Is Mailchimp good for creators?
Less so than ConvertKit. Mailchimp's list-based model and transaction fees on digital products make it weaker for creators than ConvertKit's tagging and sequence system.
Does ConvertKit have a free plan?
Yes. ConvertKit is free for up to 1,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, landing pages, and forms. Automations require the Creator plan.
How much does Beehiiv cost at 10,000 subscribers?
Beehiiv Grow covers 10,000 subscribers at $49/month ($42/month on annual billing), with 0% fees on any paid subscriptions.
Email is the highest-ROI channel in your stack.
If you want to know which email platform belongs in your specific business — that is what OperDrive does. Your Stack. Precisely.
What remains is not a suggestion.