MailerLite

MailerLite sits at the budget-friendly end of the email platform market — a clean drag-and-drop editor, automation workflows, and landing pages, without the price jump that comes with Mailchimp or Kit once your list grows. It's a common recommendation for newsletters past the hobby stage but not yet big enough to justify a premium platform.

It doesn't have beehiiv's built-in ad network or Substack's payments-first model, so it suits writers who plan to monetize through their own means — a course, sponsorships they book themselves, or a product — rather than relying on the platform to bring in that revenue.