Kit Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Kit alternatives: listmonk, Buttondown, MailerLite, Brevo and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Email Marketing & Newsletters
Verdict:Leave ConvertKit, now called Kit, when your list outgrows its free tier or when you need cheaper email at scale. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, and Creator is $33 a month billed yearly, or $390 for the year. The closest free swap is Listmonk, which is open source and self-hosted, so you pay only for your server and sending service, but you must maintain it. Buttondown is free for the first 100 subscribers and suits a plain-text newsletter with a small audience. MailerLite's free plan is smaller at 250 subscribers, but its paid entry is cheaper than Kit's Creator. Brevo offers a free allowance of 300 emails a day with no time limit, which fits bursts of sends rather than a stable list. Systeme.io bundles funnels with email on a free plan of 2,000 contacts. Stay with Kit if its landing pages and digital product sales matter to you; move when the list cost becomes the main issue.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| listmonk | Free (Self-hosted and free; needs Postgres and your own SMTP or sending service) | Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, Docker | Developers who want email on their own server | Docs only |
| Buttondown | Free (Free for your first 100 subscribers) | Web | Plain-text newsletters with a small list | Docs only |
| MailerLite | Free (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month); paid from $12 per month, billed monthly (stated as starting price in the pricing FAQ) | Web browser | Small lists on a low paid tier | Docs only |
| Brevo | Free (300 emails per day, no time limit) | Web API | Sending many emails on a free plan | Docs only |
| Systeme.io | Free (2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, unlimited emails); paid from $17 per month, billed monthly (Startup) | Web browser | Funnels and email in one tool | Docs only |
| ActiveCampaign | See pricing page | Web browser | Email Marketing & Automation | Docs only |
| Constant Contact | Paid from $12 per month (Lite, from; price rises with contact count) | Web browser | Email Marketing | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want email on your own server and accept running it (listmonk is the pick)
- You want a plain-text newsletter for a small list (Buttondown is the pick)
- You want the cheapest paid entry for a small list (MailerLite is the pick)
- You send many emails and want a free daily allowance (Brevo is the pick)
- You want funnels and email in one tool (Systeme.io is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Kit features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Kit today: Free (Free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers); paid from $33 per month (Creator, based on 1,000 subscribers; $390 billed yearly) (Kit pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Kit alternatives
Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, but visual automations, automated sequences, integrations, SMS, RSS campaigns and removal of Kit branding need a paid plan. Creator is listed at $33 per month ($390 billed yearly), priced for 1,000 subscribers with 2 users. Pro is $66 per month list and adds engagement scoring and deliverability reporting. Selling digital products or subscriptions carries a 3.5% + 30 cents fee.
listmonk
Compared with Kit: Free and self-hosted, so you run the server and bring your own SMTP or sending service. You give up Kit's creator-focused landing pages and automations, but pay no monthly fee as your list grows.
Price: Free (Self-hosted and free; needs Postgres and your own SMTP or sending service) (listmonk pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, Docker. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 24k GitHub stars · latest release v7.0.0-beta.1 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Developers who want email on their own server.
Worth knowing: Sending costs depend on the SMTP provider you connect.
Buttondown
Compared with Kit: Free for your first 100 subscribers, then paid. It is a plain-text newsletter tool, so you lose Kit's creator storefronts and visual automations, but get a simpler sender for a small list.
Price: Free (Free for your first 100 subscribers) (Buttondown pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Plain-text newsletters with a small list.
MailerLite
Compared with Kit: Free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and the paid plan starts at $12 a month. Kit's free plan holds up to 10,000 subscribers, so MailerLite's free list is much smaller, but its paid entry is lower than Kit's $33 Creator.
Price: Free (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month); paid from $12 per month, billed monthly (stated as starting price in the pricing FAQ) (MailerLite pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Small lists on a low paid tier.
Worth knowing: Yearly billing saves 10%.
Brevo
Compared with Kit: Free plan allows 300 emails a day with no time limit. You gain a daily sending allowance rather than Kit's subscriber cap, but you lose Kit's creator-oriented landing pages and digital product sales.
Price: Free (300 emails per day, no time limit) (Brevo pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web API. Proprietary.
Best for: Sending many emails on a free plan.
Systeme.io
Compared with Kit: Free plan includes 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels and unlimited emails. Startup is $17 a month billed monthly. It bundles funnels and email, which Kit covers with its own landing pages, but its free list is smaller than Kit's 10,000.
Price: Free (2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, unlimited emails); paid from $17 per month, billed monthly (Startup) (Systeme.io pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Funnels and email in one tool.
Other popular options (paid)
ActiveCampaign
Compared with Kit: Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise tiers are priced by contact count, with prices not shown as numbers on the page and a 14-day trial. Heavier on automation and CRM features than Kit.
Price: See pricing page (ActiveCampaign pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Constant Contact
Compared with Kit: Lite starts from $12 per month and rises with contact count, per its pricing FAQ. A conventional email-marketing suite with no free plan listed.
Price: Paid from $12 per month (Lite, from; price rises with contact count) (Constant Contact pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You want email on your own server and accept running it: listmonk
- You want a plain-text newsletter for a small list: Buttondown
- You want the cheapest paid entry for a small list: MailerLite
- You send many emails and want a free daily allowance: Brevo
- You want funnels and email in one tool: Systeme.io
Limits of this review
Docs-only for listmonk, Buttondown, MailerLite, Brevo, Systeme.io: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Kit. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
More in Email Marketing & Newsletters
All Email Marketing & Newsletters alternatives →Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Kit, listmonk, Buttondown, MailerLite, Brevo, Systeme.io, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.