Email newsletters had a renaissance in 2020-2022. Substack made it easy. Thousands of people started newsletters. Most quit within six months because the tools were harder than expected.

I ran newsletters on six platforms over eight months. Sent 50+ emails to lists ranging from 200-5,000 subscribers. Here’s what actually works and what’s just marketing to aspiring creators.

What I Tested

Substack (Free, 10% fee on paid subscriptions) — The platform that popularized independent newsletters.

ConvertKit ($15-29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers) — Creator-focused, automations, landing pages.

Mailchimp (Free up to 500 subscribers, $13-350/month) — The incumbent, feature-rich but complex.

ButtonDown ($9/month for 1,000 subscribers) — Minimal, markdown-based.

Ghost ($9-200/month or self-hosted) — Publishing platform with email built in.

Beehiiv (Free up to 2,500 subscribers, $49-99/month) — Newsletter-specific, growth tools.

The Core Question: Deliverability

None of this matters if your emails land in spam. I tested deliverability by:

• Sending test emails to 10 accounts (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, ProtonMail, etc.)
• Checking inbox vs spam placement
• Monitoring open rates across platforms (lower open rates often mean spam placement)

Substack had excellent deliverability. Emails consistently hit inbox. Open rates averaged 42-48% across three newsletters.

Substack’s domain reputation is strong. They actively monitor and manage sender reputation. This is their core value proposition.

ConvertKit also had good deliverability. Open rates averaged 38-44%. Slightly lower than Substack, still well above industry average (around 20-25%).

Mailchimp was inconsistent. Some sends had great deliverability (40%+ opens). Others landed in spam for significant portions of the list (15-20% opens).

Mailchimp’s reputation has been hurt by spam sent through their platform. They’ve tightened policies, but the damage lingers.

ButtonDown had good deliverability. Open rates 35-40%. Smaller platform, so less spam reputation baggage.

Ghost (self-hosted) deliverability depends on your email provider. I used Mailgun (Ghost’s recommended provider). Open rates were 30-38%. Acceptable, not exceptional.

Beehiiv had strong deliverability. Open rates 40-46%. They’re newer and focused specifically on newsletters, so they care about sender reputation.

The Writing Experience

Substack has a dead-simple editor. Write in a WYSIWYG editor, add images, format text. That’s it.

No templates, no complex layouts. The constraint is the feature. You focus on writing, not design.

I wrote 20 newsletters on Substack. The simplicity was refreshing. It’s also limiting — no custom layouts, no advanced design options.

ConvertKit has a template-based editor. Drag-and-drop blocks, customize layouts, add buttons/images/dividers.

More powerful than Substack, more complex. I spent time fiddling with templates that I should have spent writing.

For newsletters that need custom layouts (product updates, event promotions), ConvertKit is better. For pure writing, Substack’s simplicity wins.

Mailchimp has the most design options. Dozens of templates, full customization, HTML editing if you want.

This is overwhelming for simple newsletters. I spent 30 minutes designing a template when I should have spent 5 minutes writing in plain text.

ButtonDown uses Markdown. You write in plain text with formatting syntax. It renders to HTML automatically.

This is perfect for technical writers (developers, bloggers familiar with Markdown). It’s terrible for non-technical users who expect WYSIWYG.

I loved ButtonDown’s writing experience. But I wouldn’t recommend it to my non-technical friends.

Ghost has a beautiful editor. Similar to Medium — focus on writing, minimal formatting options. Supports embeds (YouTube, Twitter, code blocks).

The best writing experience I tested. But Ghost is a full publishing platform (blog + newsletter), not just email. Overkill if you only want newsletters.

Beehiiv has a block-based editor. Similar to ConvertKit but cleaner. Easy to add content blocks (text, image, button, poll).

Good balance between Substack’s simplicity and Mailchimp’s complexity.

The Growth Tools

Substack has built-in discovery. New subscribers can find you through Substack’s network (recommendations, leaderboards, Substack app).

In practice, this drove maybe 5-10% of growth. Most subscribers came from external sources (social media, word of mouth).

The “Recommendations” feature (you recommend other Substacks, they recommend you back) had marginal impact. I gained 15-20 subscribers over six months from this.

ConvertKit has landing pages, forms, and automation. You can build subscriber funnels (lead magnet → email sequence → paid product).

For creators selling products (courses, ebooks, coaching), these tools matter. For simple newsletters, they’re overkill.

Beehiiv has the most growth tools: referral programs (subscribers get rewards for referring friends), polls/quizzes, recommendation network, ad network (monetize through ads, not subscriptions).

I tested the referral program. Offered a free resource to anyone who referred 3 friends. Got 40 referrals in two months. Actually worked.

The ad network is interesting. Beehiiv places ads in your newsletter, you get revenue split. For newsletters that don’t want to paywall content, this is a monetization option.

Mailchimp, ButtonDown, Ghost have basic growth tools (forms, landing pages). Nothing special.

The Monetization Options

Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions (plus Stripe fees ~3%). You set your price (monthly or annual), Substack handles billing.

Simple model. The 10% fee is high compared to alternatives, but the all-in-one simplicity has value.

I ran a paid newsletter on Substack for four months. Made about $800/month. Substack took $80/month. It worked, but I wondered about alternatives.

ConvertKit doesn’t take percentage fees. You pay monthly platform fee ($29/month for 1,000 subscribers), keep all subscription revenue.

If you have 100+ paid subscribers, ConvertKit is cheaper than Substack. Below that, Substack’s 10% is lower than ConvertKit’s fixed fee.

Beehiiv also doesn’t take percentage fees (on their Scale plan, $99/month). They make money through platform fees and their ad network.

Ghost (self-hosted) doesn’t take any fees. You pay hosting ($20-50/month) and Stripe fees (~3%). Most cost-effective for large paid newsletters.

Mailchimp, ButtonDown don’t have built-in paid subscription handling. You’d need to integrate with Stripe/PayPal separately.

The Analytics

Substack shows opens, clicks, subscriber growth, paid conversion. Basic but sufficient.

ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Beehiiv have detailed analytics. Segment analysis, A/B testing, funnel tracking, link-level click tracking.

For most newsletters, Substack’s basic analytics are enough. For marketing-focused newsletters, the detailed analytics matter.

Ghost has Google Analytics integration. You get web analytics for your blog, basic email stats.

ButtonDown has minimal analytics. Opens, clicks, unsubscribes. That’s it.

The Pricing Reality

For 1,000 subscribers:

• Substack: Free (10% of paid subscriptions)
• ConvertKit: $29/month
• Mailchimp: $53/month
• ButtonDown: $9/month
• Ghost: $9-25/month (managed hosting) or ~$20/month (self-hosted)
• Beehiiv: Free (on Growth plan, up to 2,500 subscribers)

For 5,000 subscribers:

• Substack: Free (10% of paid subscriptions)
• ConvertKit: $79/month
• Mailchimp: $138/month
• ButtonDown: $29/month
• Ghost: $25-100/month
• Beehiiv: $49/month

The cheapest options: ButtonDown (if you’re okay with Markdown) or Beehiiv (if you’re under 2,500 subscribers).

Most expensive: Mailchimp. Feature-rich but overpriced for simple newsletters.

What I Actually Use

After eight months testing, I consolidated to two platforms:

Beehiiv for a free newsletter (2,200 subscribers). The free tier is generous, growth tools are useful, deliverability is strong.

Ghost (self-hosted) for a paid publication (blog + newsletter, 800 subscribers). I wanted full control, no platform fees, integrated blog + email.

I moved off Substack after four months. The 10% fee added up ($320 over four months). Ghost costs me $25/month for hosting, plus Stripe fees. Saved money, gained control.

I moved off ConvertKit because I wasn’t using the advanced features (automations, funnels). Beehiiv’s free tier did what I needed.

The Recommendation Matrix

For beginners just starting: Substack. Dead simple, good deliverability, built-in discovery.

For newsletters focused on growth: Beehiiv. Referral programs, ad network, generous free tier.

For creators selling products: ConvertKit. Automations, landing pages, integrations with course platforms.

For technical writers comfortable with Markdown: ButtonDown. Cheap, simple, minimal.

For paid publications wanting full control: Ghost (self-hosted). No platform fees, full customization.

For marketing teams with complex needs: Mailchimp or ConvertKit. Advanced segmentation, automation, integrations.

Avoid: Mailchimp for simple newsletters. It’s overkill and expensive.

Migration Tips

Switching newsletter platforms is easier than you’d think:

1. Export subscriber list from old platform (CSV file)
2. Import to new platform
3. Send an email announcing the switch (“we’re now using X, update your whitelist”)
4. Redirect old signup forms to new platform

Total time: 2-3 hours.

The biggest risk: deliverability during transition. When you switch platforms, your domain reputation resets. Some subscribers might see your first few emails as spam.

Mitigate this by:

• Sending a “we’re switching platforms” email from the old platform first
• Asking subscribers to whitelist your new sending address
• Starting slow (don’t send to entire list on day one)

The Bottom Line

Most people should start with Substack or Beehiiv. Both are free, simple, and have good deliverability.

Substack if you value simplicity and might monetize via subscriptions (10% fee).

Beehiiv if you want growth tools and might monetize via ads (no percentage fees).

If you’re already successful and paying platform fees: Consider Ghost (self-hosted) to eliminate fees and gain control.

If you’re a technical writer: ButtonDown. Cheap, Markdown-native, minimal.

If you’re a marketer with complex funnels: ConvertKit. Automations and integrations justify the cost.

Don’t use Mailchimp unless you’re already embedded in their ecosystem. It’s expensive and complex for newsletter use cases.

The platform matters less than consistency. I’ve seen successful newsletters on every platform I tested. I’ve seen failed newsletters on every platform too.

Pick one, commit to a publishing schedule, write consistently. The tool won’t make you a good writer. It just needs to get out of the way.

Newsletter platforms are infrastructure. Pick something simple, set it up once, focus on writing. That’s the goal.