Send-based vs subscriber-based newsletter pricing
Short answer
- List-size: MailerLite Comfort $19/mo ($17.10 yearly) at 1,000 subscribers. Send-based: MailCheap Starter $19/mo for 20,000 emails.
- A weekly issue to 4,000 is about 17,333 emails/mo — inside $19; twice weekly needs $39. Our arithmetic.
- MailCheap is excluded from the take-rate calculator (no revenue share on its page); MailerLite is modeled at $17.10/mo yearly on an assumed 0% share.
Some tools charge for the size of your list; others charge for the emails you send. They answer different questions, which is why they are explained here instead of being ranked in the revenue calculator. Read on October 25, 2026.
The two models
Subscriber-based
Price steps up with list size. Examples from the saved pages: MailerLite Comfort ($19/mo monthly or $17.10 yearly at 1,000 subscribers), Buttondown (charges for active subscribers), Mailchimp (contact tiers). Dormant subscribers can raise the bill unless you clean them out, depending on how the vendor counts them.
Send-based
Price steps up with emails sent per month. Example: MailCheap Starter, $19/mo for 20,000 emails. A bigger list that you email rarely can cost less; a frequent sender with a big list can cost more.
MailCheap, as its page states it
| Emails per month | Price per month |
|---|---|
| 20K | $19 |
| 75K | $39 |
| 200K | $79 |
| 500K | $149 |
| 2M | $349 |
| 5M | $799 |
| Vendor / plan | Source summary | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MailCheap plans | Plans are priced on emails sent per month, not on list size: Starter $19/mo for 20,000 emails (page: for up to 10,000 subscribers, $0.95 per 1,000 emails), then $39 / 75K, $79 / 200K, $149 / 500K, $349 / 2M and $799 / 5M a month, with a yearly option that says 2 months free. The page says there is no free trial, and that over-limit sends wait until you upgrade or the next month. The code is open source and can be run on your own server; the page gives no self-hosting cost. Exact wording: “Plans grow with the emails you send, not the size of your list.” “Is there a free trial? No. Plans start at $19 a month, and you can cancel anytime.” | mailcheap.ai checked October 25, 2026 |
Worked example (our arithmetic, illustrative)
The example uses the page’s own tier sizes and ignores welcome emails and other automated sends, which the page says also draw on the monthly allowance. It is not a quote.
FAQ
Why is MailCheap not in the calculator?
The calculator compares what a platform keeps from the money you earn. MailCheap’s saved page lists email plans and no revenue share or paid-subscription price, so it has no take rate to compare. To charge subscribers you would use separate payment tools whose cost is not on this page.
Is send-based pricing cheaper?
Not always. The vendor claims large savings against list-priced tools at 4,000 subscribers and one email a week (a vendor claim, not verified here). The math flips if you send often: cost follows emails, not subscribers.
What about self-hosting?
MailCheap’s page says the code is open source and can be run on your own server. It gives no self-hosting cost, and none is claimed here.
Which numbers here are the vendors’ and which are ours?
Plan prices and tier sizes are read from the vendors’ pages. The worked example and the per-month conversion are our arithmetic and are labeled that way.