If you’re launching your own newsletter in 2025 (and let’s be honest, better sooner than later), you’ll want the best platform for you, not just the most popular.
I spent way too much time digging and testing many, many platforms with different feature-sets, price points, and popularity.
And here’s my ranking for 2025.
We’ll start with the unexpected, count down, and finish at the top.
7. Gumroad
Yeah, Gumroad is a bit of a wildcard. You probably didn’t expect it to be here.
Gumroad was never meant to be a newsletter tool.
It’s a digital shop, my home base for selling templates, guides, designs, app icons, or whatever else I cook up.
But Gumroad’s email function is quietly powerful.
You can send emails to all customers (or a segment and filter by subscribers, customers of certain products, people who haven’t bought certain products, and more).
You can push new product launches and close sales. It’s not as polished as a dedicated newsletter service, but you’ll get reach and conversion baked in, without switching between platforms. And you get a lot of features that are usually reserved for higher price tiers on true email m arketing platforms, like email automation/workflows.
If your newsletter is tied to paid products or services, Gumroad is worth a look. I’ve been using it for years for products and newsletters.
Best for:
Creators who sell digital products, freelancers, or anyone with a shop-first audience.
Weakness:
No “classic” newsletter feel, somewhat limited automation options. Segmenting isn’t always ideal for pure writing. No customization options.
6. EmailOctopus
This tool flies under the radar most of time, but it was the first one I ever tried to get into email automation. Simply because it is easy to use and very affordable (with a solid free plan too).
EmailOctopus is lightweight, quick to start, and free for most casual writers. You get automated sequences, simple templates, and just enough analytics, plus, it’s cheaper than most rivals.
The minimal interface means less time fiddling and more focus on writing and sending. It’s reliable for its price point. If you hate busy dashboards, give it a whirl.
Best for:
Budget-conscious writers, solo bloggers, or anyone starting a list from scratch and anyone wanting to try email marketing and automation.
Weakness:
Design customization is basic. Integrations are fine but not deep. If you want heavy features, look elsewhere.
5. MailerLite
One of the old dogs.
MailerLite gets recommended often for a reason. The interface is easy, the price is right, and it’s made for creators who don’t want to overthink.
You get all the essentials and a bit more, like drag-and-drop builder, subscriber segmentation, A/B testing, automation, website builder, etc.
It’s enough for most people, especially if you value clear stats, quick learning, and solid customer service.
Best for:
Writers who want automation and great stats.
Weakness:
Some features (like landing pages and advanced flows) get locked behind higher paid tiers. The free plan is pretty limited.
4. Ghost
Ghost is a blogging platform with a native newsletter feature attached. It’s also open source, very trusted among writers, and has a great design and feel.
If you really care about data ownership, custom design, and having 100% control, Ghost is #1.
It runs on your domain (if you want), lets you publish full blog posts, and handles paid subscriptions. The audience segmentation, analytics, and integration with Stripe is easy.
And as an open-source tool, you get plenty of room to tweak and integrate. For indie newsletters, it’s probably the best blend of flexibility and depth.
Best for:
Small to large indie publications, privacy-minded creators, paid-content newsletters.
Weakness:
Setup can be technical in some aspects. It’s not “plug-and-play” like Substack or Beehiiv. Price is quite steep.
3. Beehiiv
Beehiiv burst onto the newsletter scene and didn’t look back.
If you’ve seen viral newsletters lately, odds are good they’re using Beehiiv. It’s one of the most popular newsletter and email marketing tools on the web right now.
The design is crisp, the signup process is painless, and it’s built for growth with referral programs, brand partnerships, custom domains, Twitter integrations, paid subscriptions, and a lot more.
Beehiiv’s “network” lets users discover and cross-promote. It’s a bit like Substack with more email marketing features, more monetization and more options.
Best for:
Growth-focused creators, digital marketers, writers who need email marketing and automation.
Weakness:
Not for the “I just want to send emails” crowd, this is a platform for scale. The free plan is limited. Tiers go up quick.
2. Kit (ConvertKit)
Since ConvertKit rebrandede to Kit, it’s done a few things right.
Most importantly, they added a great free plan to what was very limited before. Now you get max of 10K subscribers on the free plan which is the best on this list.
Also, landing pages are solid, tagging/subscriber segmentation is robust, and you can automate nearly every workflow.
If you’re building a funnel, selling products, or doing cross-promotion, Kit’s the pro choice.
Their “Creator Network” is also great: You get access to similar audiences, find new readers, and grow fast.
Integrations are everywhere: SparkLoop, Gumroad, Patreon, Shopify, and more.
Best for:
Advanced email marketers, creators who want to sell, and anyone building an audience from zero with scaling in mind.
Weakness:
Can get expensive once your list grows. The UI sometimes feels clunky. For pure writing, it might be overkill.
1. Substack
Look, I get it. Substack isn’t the best in most categories. It’s not the best newsletter tool, it’s not the best email marketing tool, and it’S not the best blogging platform.
But it has something, no other platform has: Momentum.
Substack is hot and trending. And everybody wants to be there. That#S why it’s the best newsletter tool for audience growth right now.
Substack Notes is one big reason for this. The social media network beats any other for writers and newsletter creators.
Substack is perfect for solo writers, newsletter creators, and indie journalists. You get writing, publishing, payment, and community all in one stupidly easy-to-use platform.
Substack Notes turns newsletters into social feeds, while Pledges and paid subscriptions are the easiest direct way to monetize writing online.
Substack is also mobile-friendly with its app, quick to set up, and completely focused on simplicity.
You just write, send, and get paid.
Best for:
Solo writers, bloggers, journalists, essayists, anyone who wants to build loyal paying audiences.
Weakness:
Design is limited (don’t expect fancy newsletters), and you pay a cut of your earnings. Some analytics are basic. Email marketing is non-existent.
So, Which Platform Should You Choose?
It comes down to your goals. As always.
- If you just want to write and grow, Substack, Beehiiv, or Ghost are great picks.
- Want full control and privacy? Ghost wins.
- Do you sell products? Then, Gumroad is sneakily effective.
- If budget matters most, use Substack or try EmailOctopus.
- If you need advanced automation and segmentation, Kit is pro-level, Beehiiv and MailerLite are good secondary options.
Personally, I always recommend starting with Substack. It’s free and you have nothing to loose.
Also, the barrier to entry is low, the chance to monetize is high, and your readers get a familiar, frictionless experience.
Then, as your audience or needs grow, you can migrate to Beehiiv, Kit, or Ghost if you want more power or control.