Campaign Monitor alternatives
At 10k subs, Campaign Monitor costs $117 a month. 8 newsletter platforms cost less, from $4.30 (Sendy + SES). Ranked by price at the size you pick, with free plans, price hikes and how to switch.
Alternatives to Campaign Monitor at 10k subs, cheapest first
- Substack: free +10% of paid subs (No plan fee). Free plan: unlimited subscribers.
- Sendy + SES: $4.30/mo +$69 license, own server (Self-hosted, SES à la carte at $0.10 per 1k). Free plan: none.
- MailCheap: $39/mo, $936 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Plan for one issue a week (~4.3 emails per subscriber)). Free plan: none.
- Flodesk: $72/mo, $540 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Lite plan (Pro above 25k)). Free plan: none. Last price hike: Dec 2025.
- Bento: $79/mo, $456 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Marketing Platform). Free plan: none.
- Buttondown: $79/mo, $456 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Base plan, no add-ons). Free plan: up to 100 subscribers. Last price hike: Mar 2023.
- MailerLite: $89/mo, $336 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Comfort plan). Free plan: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo. Last price hike: Jun 2026.
- Ghost(Pro): $105/mo, $144 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Starter (Publisher above 1k)). Free plan: none. Last price hike: Jul 2025.
- Mailchimp: $110/mo, $84 a year less than Campaign Monitor (Essentials (Standard above 50k)). Free plan: 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo. Last price hike: Apr 2026.
- beehiiv: $139/mo (Lite plan). Free plan: up to 2,500 subscribers, 1 publication. Last price hike: Oct 2026.
- Kit: $139/mo (Creator plan). Free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers, no automations. Last price hike: Sep 2025.
- Klaviyo: $150/mo Billed on all active profiles, not just emailed (Email). Free plan: Free: up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends/month and $5 of mobile messages/month. Last price hike: Feb 2025.
- ActiveCampaign: $189/mo Starter capped at 25,000 contacts (Starter). Free plan: none.
Prices at every size
- Campaign Monitor: 1k subs $47/mo, 5k subs $75/mo, 10k subs $117/mo, 25k subs $241/mo, 50k subs $397/mo, 100k subs custom pricing (Lite caps sends at 5x contacts per month)
- Substack: 1k subs free, 5k subs free, 10k subs free, 25k subs free, 50k subs free, 100k subs free (+10% of paid subs)
- Sendy + SES: 1k subs $0.43/mo, 5k subs $2.15/mo, 10k subs $4.30/mo, 25k subs $10.75/mo, 50k subs $21.50/mo, 100k subs $43/mo (+$69 license, own server)
- MailCheap: 1k subs $19/mo, 5k subs $39/mo, 10k subs $39/mo, 25k subs $79/mo, 50k subs $149/mo, 100k subs $149/mo
- Flodesk: 1k subs $25/mo, 5k subs $52/mo, 10k subs $72/mo, 25k subs $162/mo, 50k subs $389/mo, 100k subs $689/mo
- Bento: 1k subs $29/mo, 5k subs $29/mo, 10k subs $79/mo, 25k subs $229/mo, 50k subs $479/mo, 100k subs $929/mo
- Buttondown: 1k subs $9/mo, 5k subs $29/mo, 10k subs $79/mo, 25k subs $239/mo, 50k subs $319/mo, 100k subs custom pricing
- MailerLite: 1k subs $19/mo, 5k subs $49/mo, 10k subs $89/mo, 25k subs $179/mo, 50k subs $319/mo, 100k subs $439/mo
- Ghost(Pro): 1k subs $18/mo, 5k subs $75/mo, 10k subs $105/mo, 25k subs $169/mo, 50k subs $249/mo, 100k subs $329/mo
- Mailchimp: 1k subs $26.50/mo, 5k subs $75/mo, 10k subs $110/mo, 25k subs $270/mo, 50k subs $385/mo, 100k subs $800/mo
- beehiiv: 1k subs $59/mo, 5k subs $109/mo, 10k subs $139/mo, 25k subs $199/mo, 50k subs $299/mo, 100k subs $469/mo
- Kit: 1k subs $39/mo, 5k subs $89/mo, 10k subs $139/mo, 25k subs $199/mo, 50k subs $379/mo, 100k subs $679/mo
- Klaviyo: 1k subs $30/mo, 5k subs $100/mo, 10k subs $150/mo, 25k subs $400/mo, 50k subs $720/mo, 100k subs $1,380/mo (Billed on all active profiles, not just emailed)
- ActiveCampaign: 1k subs $19/mo, 5k subs $99/mo, 10k subs $189/mo, 25k subs $489/mo, 50k subs $759/mo, 100k subs $1,499/mo (Starter capped at 25,000 contacts)
Cheapest paid plan that can send a weekly newsletter to the whole list, billed monthly. Plans priced by emails sent assume one issue a week, about 4.3 emails per subscriber a month.
How to move from Campaign Monitor to Substack
- 1. Export your subscribers from Campaign Monitor. Look for Export in Campaign Monitor's settings.
- 2. Import them into Substack. Substack imports a subscriber CSV from its dashboard (Settings → Import). Paid subscribers need their Stripe data moved too; Substack's support helps with that.
- 3. Move paid subscriptions. Check how Substack handles existing paid subscribers before you cancel anything.
- 4. Point your domain and authenticate sending. Move your custom domain to Substack and add its SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so the first issue lands in inboxes. Delete Campaign Monitor's old DNS records at your DNS host.
- 5. Keep old links working. Add redirects from your old post URLs to the new ones so links and search rankings survive the move.
- 6. Send a test, then a short 'we moved' issue. Send to yourself first. A few unsubscribes after the first send from a new platform is normal.
- 7. Cancel Campaign Monitor after one clean send. Keep Campaign Monitor until the first issue from Substack has landed, download any invoices you need, then downgrade or cancel.
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Everything about Campaign Monitor's own prices and price hikes: Campaign Monitor.