Writer-first stacks: Kit free to 10k, beehiiv free to 2.5k then Lite, Substack $0 ESP cost (takes a cut of paid), Ghost for owned audience, MailerLite as cheap paid.
| # | Tool | Free contacts | At 1k | At 10k | Note | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kit | 10k | $0 | $0 | Creator email OS (formerly ConvertKit) — generous free broadcasts | Visit |
| 2 |  beehiiv | 2.5k | $0 | $139 | Newsletter platform with monetization, website, and ad network | Visit |
| 3 |  Substack | unlimited | $0 | $0 | Writer platform; 10% of paid sub revenue, no monthly ESP fee | Visit |
| 4 |  Ghost | — | $18 | $105 | Open-source publishing + newsletters; hosted from $50/mo | Visit |
| 5 |  MailerLite | 250 | $19 | $89 | Full-featured email + sites; Comfort is the value paid plan | Visit |
Free up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts; no visual automations or sequences; branding stays.
Free up to 2,500 subscribers; unlimited sends; no automations or paid-sub tools; branding stays.
Free to publish. Monetization: Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue + Stripe fees. Not a traditional ESP.
Self-host free (software); Ghost(Pro) hosted Starter from $50/mo. No contact-based ESP free tier.
Free: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo, 3 automations (5 steps), branding stays. Sending locks if you exceed 250.
ListCost’s research shortlist leads with Kit, beehiiv, Substack. Order reflects free headroom and verified price ladders — not lab tests or star ratings.
Commission never fills an unknown cell or changes order. beehiiv CTAs are plain official links (affiliate dropped). Other outbound CTAs use /go redirects when applicable.