Buttondown vs Kit (formerly ConvertKit): which newsletter tool fits you?

Short answer

Pick Kit if your list is large and you do not need automations yet: its pricing page lists a Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms. Pick Buttondown if you want a writing-first tool and are happy to pay only for the features you switch on: its pricing page says "Absolutely nothing for your first 100 subscribers", then groups extra features into add-ons of +$9, +$29 and +$79 a month. The catch is that Kit's automations and sequences start on Creator ($33 a month at 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly), and Buttondown's price above 100 subscribers sits behind a slider we could not read, so we do not quote a per-subscriber figure for it.

Kit is the new name of ConvertKit; this page covers the same product. All prices are in US dollars, read from the vendors' pricing pages on 7 October 2026.

The two plan structures side by side

Sources: buttondown.com/pricing and kit.com/pricing, read on 7 October 2026.

How Buttondown prices things

Buttondown used to publish Free, Basic ($9) and Standard ($29) tiers. The live page no longer does. It asks how many subscribers you have, shows the first 100 at no charge with the editor, a custom sending domain and hosted archives included, and then lists features as add-ons. The +$9 group on the page covers tagging and segmentation, paid subscriptions, comments and surveys, analytics, RSS-to-email, sponsorships and email attachments. The +$29 group covers archives on a custom domain, multiple newsletters and automations. The +$79 group covers white-labeling and teams. The page adds that Buttondown charges for active subscribers, so people who are not actively receiving your emails do not count.

Two things we cannot tell you. First, what the slider charges once you pass 100 subscribers; the readout did not capture it, so anything quoting a Buttondown "starting price" of $9 is describing an add-on, not a plan. Second, whether picking two features from the same group costs one add-on or two. Move the slider and tick the features you need on the page before you budget.

How Kit prices things

Kit's ladder is simpler to read because each paid plan is quoted per subscriber tier:

Creator adds unlimited Visual Automations and email sequences, subject-line A/B tests, removal of Kit branding and 24/7 support. Pro adds Subscriber Signals, engagement analytics, deliverability reporting, a newsletter referral system and unlimited users. For Creator at 1,000 subscribers, Kit says yearly billing saves $78 a year.

Three lists, three answers

You have 80 subscribers and write a weekly essay. Both tools cost nothing. Buttondown's free tier already includes a custom sending domain and hosted archives, and you write in rich text or Markdown. Kit's free plan adds landing pages and forms. At this size the choice is about where you want to write.

You have 8,000 subscribers and a plain weekly newsletter. Kit Free covers 8,000, because the cap is 10,000, so your software bill is $0 as long as you do not need sequences. On Buttondown the same list is past the free 100 and prices through the slider, which we did not read. This is where Kit's number is the only one you can write down.

You have 10,000 subscribers and need a welcome sequence. Sequences start on Kit Creator, which is $116 a month at that size on the page's yearly-billing rate, so $1,392 across twelve months. On Buttondown the automations add-on is +$29 a month on top of whatever the slider charges for 10,000, and we cannot give you the total. The comparison only becomes possible once you have read that slider.

Paid newsletters and products

Kit lists selling digital products and subscriptions on its Free plan, so a creator who sells a PDF or a paid tier can start there. Buttondown puts paid subscriptions behind the +$9 add-on. If revenue comes from reader subscriptions, add that add-on to your Buttondown estimate from day one; if it comes from product sales, Kit's free plan covers more of the job.

Moving between them

Kit's pricing page lists free migrations and a 14-day trial with no credit card, which is a reason to test a real slice of your list before moving. We did not check how Buttondown exports a list or how it imports one, so look at both help centres before you commit. Whichever way you go, keep the old account active until the first issue from the new one has landed in real inboxes, and authenticate your sending domain before that first send.

Who should choose which

Choose Buttondown if you write in Markdown, want a custom sending domain from the first subscriber, and would rather switch features on one at a time than move up a plan ladder. Choose Kit if your list is already in the thousands, if you sell products or want landing pages without paying, or if you expect to build sequences and are fine paying Creator rates for them.

If you are weighing a growth-focused platform instead, see Buttondown vs beehiiv and beehiiv vs Substack. For a publishing site with a built-in newsletter, Ghost vs Substack covers that trade-off, and the full email broadcast service comparison lists fifteen options.

FAQ

Is Kit the same as ConvertKit?

Yes. ConvertKit is now called Kit, and its pricing page lives at kit.com/pricing.

Does Buttondown still have a $9 plan?

Not as a plan. Its pricing page now shows the first 100 subscribers free and lists add-ons at +$9, +$29 and +$79 a month. The slider price above 100 subscribers was not available when we read the page.

Can I run automations on Kit's free plan?

No. Kit's pricing page lists unlimited Visual Automations and email sequences from the Creator plan, which is $33 a month at 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing.

Which is cheaper for a list of 5,000?

Kit Free covers 5,000 subscribers without sequences; Creator is $75 a month at that size. We cannot give a Buttondown figure, because its price above 100 subscribers comes from a slider we did not read. Check both pages at your own list size.