Mailchimp's 250-Subscriber Free Limit: The Alternatives That Actually Add Up

Mailchimp stripped automation from its free plan in June 2025, then cut the free contact cap to 250 in early 2026. Here's what MailerLite, Beehiiv and Kit actually cost at the list sizes that matter.

By Ivar Berg · Updated May 2026 · How we test

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The verdict: If you're a solo writer or small publisher hitting Mailchimp's new 250-contact wall, three platforms beat it on raw fee-math. Beehiiv's free Launch plan carries you to 2,500 subscribers at $0 and takes 0% of paid revenue — the strongest free runway if you might monetize. Kit's free Newsletter plan goes to 10,000 subscribers at $0 if you don't need its full automation yet. MailerLite is the best paid value once you outgrow free: real automation from a low base, 0% revenue cut, and flat pricing that doesn't double after 12 months the way Mailchimp's intro tiers do. The one platform that doesn't fix your problem is Substack — no flat fee, but a 10% cut of every paid dollar that quietly dwarfs a flat plan once you monetize.

What Mailchimp actually changed (and when)

Two separate cuts get blurred together, so let's be precise. In June 2025, Mailchimp removed the Classic Automation Builder from its free plan — automated welcome sequences and drip flows were no longer available without paying (groupmail.io, as of 2026-05-30). Then in early 2026, Mailchimp cut the free contact cap to 250 contacts, with a 500-emails-per-month limit and still no automation (mailchimp.com/pricing).

For a solo writer or small publisher, that combination is the problem: 250 contacts is below where most newsletters get interesting, and without automation you can't even send a welcome email automatically. The free plan went from "usable starter" to "demo."

The paid escape hatch has its own catch. Essentials starts around $11/mo and Standard around $17/mo at a small list — but those are intro rates that rise to roughly $28 and $35 after 12 months (mailchimp.com/pricing; figures localized in EUR, treat as approximate USD). So the real question isn't "upgrade or not" — it's whether a different platform gives you more for the same money, or the same for free.

The fee-math at 500, 1k, 5k and 25k subscribers

Here's where the decision is actually made. Compare flat monthly cost and any revenue cut at the list sizes a small publisher grows through. Numbers are from each vendor's pricing page or a cited secondary source as of 2026-05-30; see the table above this section for the full grid.

500 subs: Beehiiv $0, Kit $0, MailerLite $0 (free) or $10 if you want full automation now. Mailchimp can't host you free — you're already double its 250 cap.
1,000 subs: Beehiiv $0, Kit $0, MailerLite $15. Mailchimp is paid-only and climbing.
5,000 subs: MailerLite $39, Beehiiv $43, Kit $89 (beehiiv.com/pricing; emailvendorselection.com).
25,000 subs: Beehiiv $96, MailerLite $159, Kit $199.

MailerLite and Beehiiv trade the cheapest paid slot depending on tier; Kit runs higher at the larger sizes. Beehiiv and Kit win the free game at small lists. None of the three takes a cut of your paid subscription revenue — which matters enormously if you ever turn on paid subscriptions, as the next section shows.

The hidden cost nobody puts on a pricing page: Substack's 10%

Substack advertises "free" — no monthly fee at any list size. But it charges 10% of your paid subscription revenue, on top of Stripe's processing fees (beehiiv.com, as of 2026-05-30). For a free-only newsletter that's genuinely $0. The moment you monetize, the math flips.

Run it: a newsletter with 200 paid subscribers at $8/mo grosses $1,600/mo. Substack's 10% is $160/mo — about $1,920 a year, before Stripe fees. On a flat-fee platform like MailerLite, Beehiiv or Kit you'd pay the fixed monthly tier for your list size (see the table) and keep 100% of that subscription revenue. Beehiiv only passes through Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (beehiiv.com/pricing).

So Substack solves the 250-cap problem but introduces a worse one for anyone with paid subscribers. If you're switching off Mailchimp specifically to avoid being squeezed, swapping in a 10% revenue cut is a lateral move at best.

MailerLite: best paid value once you outgrow free

MailerLite is the natural landing spot for a writer who wants real automation without Mailchimp's intro-then-spike pricing. Its own free plan now caps at 500 subscribers (cut from 1,000 on 2025-09-23) with 12,000 emails/month, and paid Growing Business runs $15 at 1k, $39 at 5k, $159 at 25k — flat, 0% revenue cut, with an extra discount on annual billing (emailvendorselection.com).

"If you need a email solution with simple automation, that is free to start, Mailerlite is really the only option."
— Chris L. (Operations, Publishing), Capterra, 2026-02-22

The honest caveat: MailerLite's approval process is strict, and some users report abrupt account closures during onboarding.

"I signed up for the service, carried out only 2 campaign sends, and before even completing a week, my account was closed."
— Erika C. (Director, HR), Capterra, 2026-04-29

Fill out your profile completely on signup and you'll usually clear review. See MailerLite's current plans (affiliate link — we may earn a commission, see disclosure).

Beehiiv and Kit: the strongest free runways

If you want to delay paying entirely, Beehiiv and Kit both beat Mailchimp's 250 cap by a wide margin on free. Beehiiv's free Launch plan goes to 2,500 subscribers at $0, and takes 0% of paid subscription revenue (beehiiv.com/pricing). It's built for newsletter monetization, which makes it the pick if growing-and-earning is the plan.

"It's one of the easiest platforms I've used for creating, growing, and monetizing a newsletter."
— Gabby W. (Founder, E-Learning), Capterra, 2026-04-09

The balancing note: some users have flagged deliverability problems.

"Beehiiv has serious deliverability issues. We had to move off the platform as readers were no longer getting our emails."
— Alexander Z. (Owner, Media Production), Capterra, 2024-12-03

Kit (ConvertKit) takes the free cap even further — its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers at $0 (emailvendorselection.com). The trade-off is that full automation lives on the Creator plan ($39/mo at 1k), so free Kit is best for straightforward broadcasts, not complex sequences. Try Beehiiv free or start on Kit's free plan (affiliate links — see disclosure).

Which one should you actually pick

You'll monetize and want the longest $0 runway: Beehiiv. 2,500-sub free cap, 0% revenue cut, built for paid newsletters.
You're under 10k subs and don't need heavy automation yet: Kit's free Newsletter plan. $0 to 10,000 subscribers is hard to beat.
You want real automation now and cheap, flat paid plans as you scale: MailerLite. $15/$39/$159 at 1k/5k/25k, flat, no revenue cut.
You're staying on Mailchimp: only if you specifically need its ecosystem and accept the intro-to-spike pricing — otherwise the 250 cap plus automation paywall makes it the weakest option here for small publishers.
Avoid for paid newsletters: Substack's 10% revenue cut grows with your success and overtakes any flat plan once you have meaningful paid subscribers.

What real users say

If you need a email solution with simple automation, that is free to start, Mailerlite is really the only option.
— Chris L. (Operations, Publishing), 2026-02-22, via Capterra

I signed up for the service, carried out only 2 campaign sends, and before even completing a week, my account was closed.
— Erika C. (Director, Human Resources), 2026-04-29, via Capterra

It's one of the easiest platforms I've used for creating, growing, and monetizing a newsletter.
— Gabby W. (Founder, E-Learning), 2026-04-09, via Capterra

Beehiiv has serious deliverability issues. We had to move off the platform as readers were no longer getting our emails.
— Alexander Z. (Owner, Media Production), 2024-12-03, via Capterra

FAQ

Did Mailchimp really cut its free plan to 250 subscribers?

Yes. Mailchimp's free plan now caps at 250 contacts with 500 emails per month and no automation (mailchimp.com/pricing, as of 2026-05-30). Note the timeline: automation was removed from the free plan in June 2025, and the contact cap was cut to 250 in early 2026 — two separate changes that often get described as one.

What's the closest free alternative to Mailchimp for a small list?

Kit's free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers at $0, and Beehiiv's free Launch plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers at $0 with 0% of paid revenue taken. Both clear Mailchimp's 250-contact cap by a wide margin. Beehiiv is the stronger pick if you plan to monetize; Kit if you want the highest free subscriber ceiling for plain broadcasts (emailvendorselection.com and beehiiv.com/pricing, as of 2026-05-30).

Does Substack cost more than a flat-fee platform?

It depends on whether you monetize. Substack has no monthly fee, but it takes 10% of paid subscription revenue plus Stripe fees (beehiiv.com, as of 2026-05-30). A newsletter grossing $1,600/mo from paid subscribers pays Substack roughly $160/mo, where a flat-fee platform charges a fixed tier and takes 0% of that revenue. For a free-only newsletter, Substack is genuinely $0.

What does MailerLite cost as you grow?

MailerLite's Growing Business plan is $15/mo at 1,000 subscribers, $39/mo at 5,000, and $159/mo at 25,000 — flat pricing with a 0% revenue cut and an additional discount on annual billing (emailvendorselection.com, as of 2026-05-30). Its free plan caps at 500 subscribers.

Which platforms here have an affiliate program?

Beehiiv, Kit and MailerLite run affiliate programs, and links to them on this page are affiliate links — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. Substack and Mailchimp are covered editorially only; we have no affiliate relationship with them. See our disclosure for details.