Starting an email newsletter seems simple until you look at platform options. There are dozens of services, all with different pricing, features, and limitations.

I’ve used several over the years for different projects. Here’s what matters and what you can ignore.

The Major Players

Mailchimp is the biggest and most feature-rich. It does email marketing, automation, landing pages, and more. Also the most complicated and gets expensive fast as your list grows.

Substack is designed specifically for paid newsletters. Simple interface, built-in payment processing, no monthly fees (they take 10% of paid subscriptions). Good for writers, limited for businesses.

ConvertKit focuses on creators - bloggers, podcasters, course creators. More features than Substack, less overwhelming than Mailchimp. Pricing is middle-of-the-road.

Beehiiv is newer, growing fast. Similar to Substack but with more customization and lower fees (2.9% instead of 10%). Better for people who want to own their brand.

Ghost is open source and can be self-hosted or use their managed service. More control, more technical setup required.

Pricing Realities

Most platforms charge based on subscriber count. A few hundred subscribers is cheap everywhere. Once you hit 2,000-5,000 subscribers, prices jump significantly.

Mailchimp charges $20-80/month for 2,000 subscribers depending on features. ConvertKit is similar. Substack is free until you do paid subscriptions, then they take 10%.

For large lists (50,000+), you’re looking at hundreds of dollars monthly on most platforms. At that scale, deliverability and features matter more than saving $50/month.

Deliverability is Everything

The best newsletter platform is worthless if emails land in spam. Deliverability rates vary dramatically between platforms.

Mailchimp and SendGrid have good deliverability because they’ve spent years building sender reputation. Newer platforms sometimes struggle with spam filters.

Your content affects deliverability too. Too many links, certain trigger words, inconsistent sending schedules - all can hurt inbox placement. No platform can overcome terrible email practices.

Feature Differences

Mailchimp offers extensive automation: welcome sequences, behavior-based triggers, complex segmentation. More than most people need, but powerful if you use it.

Substack is deliberately simple: write, send, get paid. No fancy automation or complex segmentation. That’s a feature for writers who want to focus on content, not email marketing.

ConvertKit sits in the middle with good automation, visual workflows, and creator-focused features like landing pages and forms.

The Paid Newsletter Question

If you want readers to pay for your newsletter, Substack or Beehiiv make it easy. Built-in payment processing, subscriber management, everything integrated.

Other platforms can do paid newsletters by integrating with Stripe or PayPal, but it requires more setup. If monetization is your primary goal, use a platform built for it.

Design and Customization

Mailchimp offers extensive template customization. You can make emails look however you want, though their editor is clunky.

Substack gives you almost no design control. It’s deliberately plain, which some readers appreciate and others find boring.

Beehiiv and ConvertKit fall in the middle - reasonable customization without overwhelming options.

Data and Portability

Can you export your subscriber list and move to another platform? Most services allow exports, but check before committing.

Some platforms make it deliberately hard to leave. Substack has received criticism for making migration difficult, though they’ve improved somewhat.

Your email list is valuable. Don’t lock it into a platform that won’t let you export clean data.

Integration Ecosystem

Mailchimp integrates with everything - e-commerce platforms, CRMs, analytics tools, you name it. It’s part of why businesses use it despite higher costs.

Substack has limited integrations because it’s designed to be standalone. Fine if you just want to write and send, limiting if you need complex workflows.

ConvertKit and Beehiiv have decent integration options through Zapier and native connections to popular tools.

Technical Considerations

Self-hosting with Ghost or similar gives you complete control but requires technical skills. You’re responsible for updates, security, deliverability management.

Managed platforms handle technical details but limit customization. For most people, that trade-off is worth it.

If you’re running newsletters for business and need reliability, one firm we talked to mentioned that custom AI development can help with automated content workflows and subscriber analytics. Though for most individual creators, platform tools are sufficient.

What Actually Matters

For writers starting a personal newsletter: Substack or Beehiiv. Simple, no upfront costs, easy monetization.

For businesses doing email marketing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or ActiveCampaign. More features, better automation, justified cost.

For creators building a brand: Beehiiv or ConvertKit. Good balance of simplicity and features.

For maximum control: Self-hosted Ghost. More work, more flexibility.

Common Mistakes

Don’t pick a platform based on price alone. Deliverability and ease of use matter more than saving $10/month.

Don’t get overwhelmed by features you won’t use. Most newsletters don’t need complex automation or A/B testing.

Don’t ignore analytics. Open rates, click rates, and subscriber growth patterns help you understand what’s working.

The Bottom Line

Most platforms work fine for basic newsletters. Pick one that matches your goals, start sending, and switch later if you need to.

The platform matters less than writing consistently and building an engaged audience. Focus on content first, optimization second.

For detailed feature comparisons and current pricing, check EmailToolTester. They regularly update reviews based on actual testing.