Kit (ConvertKit) Subscriber Tier Calculator
Model when you can stay on Kit Free (up to 10k subscribers) versus upgrading to Creator for full visual automations.
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MailerLite
Growing Business Plan
$73 /mo
$876/yr bill
beehiiv
Launch (Free) & Scale Plan
$79 /mo
$948/yr bill
Kit (ConvertKit)
Newsletter (Free) & Creator Plan
$154 /mo
$1,848/yr bill
ActiveCampaign
Plus / Pro Marketing Automation
$239 /mo
$2,868/yr bill
tier_takeaway.note
Kit Creator at 10,000 subscribers costs $119/mo (or ~$99/mo billed annually), sitting below Mailchimp ($135) and ActiveCampaign ($239).
Subscriber tier price curve (1,000 to 100,000 contacts)
Monthly base subscription rates as your email list grows—check steep bracket jumps before migrating.
| Platform | 1,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit (ConvertKit) +3.5% paid rev cut | $29/mo | $79/mo | $119/mo | $199/mo | $319/mo | $579/mo |
| beehiiv | $0/mo | $49/mo | $79/mo | $119/mo | $199/mo | $299/mo |
| MailerLite | $0/mo | $39/mo | $73/mo | $159/mo | $289/mo | $550/mo |
| ActiveCampaign | $49/mo | $149/mo | $239/mo | $399/mo | $619/mo | $1059/mo |
Kit (ConvertKit) billing details
Best for: Course creators, authors, and coaches needing multi-sequence automations and digital product sales
Newsletter plan is $0 up to 10,000 subscribers (limited to 1 basic sequence); multi-step automations require the Creator plan above.
beehiiv billing details
Best for: Media brands and paid newsletters scaling via ad network, boosts, and 0% subscription cuts
0% cut on paid memberships (only standard Stripe fees apply), making it thousands cheaper than Substack once paid subs grow.
MailerLite billing details
Best for: Small businesses and bloggers wanting clean automations at roughly half of Mailchimp rates
Free 1,000-subscriber tier caps monthly sends at 12,000 emails; Growing Business unlocks unlimited monthly emails.
ActiveCampaign billing details
Best for: B2B SaaS and sales-led funnels needing conditional workflows, lead scoring, and CRM deals
No free forever plan (14-day trial only), yet still saves 60%–75% compared to HubSpot Marketing Professional.
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Common questions
What is the cheapest email platform here at 10,000 subscribers?
At 10,000 contacts (100 paid members at $10/mo), MailerLite costs $73.00/month compared to $239.00/month on ActiveCampaign—saving $1992/year.
Why do some email tools bill for unsubscribed contacts?
Audience-based tools like Mailchimp and Klaviyo count active or unarchived profiles toward your tier bracket, whereas send-volume tools like Brevo store contacts free and bill only for monthly emails sent.
When does Substack 10% become more expensive than beehiiv or Ghost?
Once gross paid subscription revenue crosses ~$490/month (49 subscribers paying $10/mo), Substack's 10% platform fee exceeds a flat $49/month beehiiv Scale subscription—and the gap widens with every new paid reader.
