Kit Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, forms and landing pages. We explain what it includes, what it blocks, and when to upgrade.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-12T13:26:15+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-12T13:26:15+00:00
Kit Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Kit, formerly ConvertKit, offers one of the most generous free plans in email marketing. The free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers at $0. It includes unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, and forms. The catch is automation. This guide explains exactly what the Kit free plan includes, what it blocks, and when paying starts to make sense.
What the Kit free plan includes
The free plan is called the Newsletter plan. It costs $0 forever, up to 10,000 subscribers. Kit charges only for confirmed subscribers. Unconfirmed signups do not count against the limit.
What you get at $0 is substantial. You can send unlimited email broadcasts. You can build unlimited landing pages and forms. You can tag subscribers and segment your audience. You can sell digital products through Kit Commerce. You can run one basic automation. You also get API access.
That package covers a real newsletter. A creator can grow a list to 10,000 people, send weekly emails, capture signups with forms, and sell a digital product, all without paying Kit anything. No credit card is required to start.
Kit plans at a glance
| Plan | Price (1,000 subscribers) | Subscriber limit | Key additions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter (Free) | $0 | Up to 10,000 | Unlimited broadcasts, forms, landing pages, tagging, 1 basic automation |
| Creator | $39 a month, or $33 billed yearly | From 1,000, scales with list size | Unlimited sequences, visual automations, integrations, no Kit branding |
| Creator Pro | $79 a month, or $66 billed yearly | From 1,000, scales with list size | Everything in Creator plus referral system, sponsor network, advanced reporting |
Prices scale with subscriber count. At 10,000 subscribers, Creator costs about $100 a month billed yearly. Paid plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
What the Kit free plan blocks
The free plan has clear limits. It allows only one basic automation. It does not include email sequences. That means no automatic welcome series. A new subscriber gets nothing until you send a broadcast by hand.
It also blocks third-party integrations. Zapier, Make, and outgoing webhooks need a paid plan. Kit branding appears in the footer of free-plan emails. You get one login only, with no extra team seats.
These limits bite at a specific moment. Most creators hit them when they want a welcome email. A welcome sequence is the most common first automation. It greets new subscribers, delivers a lead magnet, and introduces the creator. On the free plan, that workflow is not possible. You either send it by hand or upgrade.
The commerce fee on every plan
Kit Commerce lets you sell digital products without a second tool. Every sale carries a fee of 3.5% plus $0.30 per transaction. That fee applies on all plans, including free. It sits on top of the payment processor's own fee.
Do the math before you rely on it. A $20 product sale costs $1.00 in Kit fees. A $100 product costs $3.80. Selling through Kit is convenient. It is not free. Compare it with selling through a dedicated store or payment link if volume grows.
How Kit changed in September 2025
Kit raised prices in September 2025. The Creator entry price more than doubled, from roughly $15 a month to $33 a month billed yearly at the 1,000-subscriber band. The monthly rate is $39. At the same time, Kit raised the free plan ceiling from 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers.
That change reshaped the value of the free plan. Before the reprice, a creator outgrew free at 1,000 subscribers. Now the free plan lasts ten times longer. The trade-off is a steeper upgrade cliff. Crossing 10,000 subscribers forces a paid plan, and the entry price is higher than it used to be.
Kit rebranded from ConvertKit in October 2024. The product did not change. Only the name changed. Older guides that say ConvertKit refer to the same tool.
Kit free plan vs the rivals
Kit's free plan is the largest in its category by subscriber count. Beehiiv's free plan covers 2,500 subscribers. MailerLite's free tier covers far fewer. Buttondown's free plan covers about 100 subscribers. Kit covers 10,000.
Size is not the whole story. Beehiiv's free plan includes more automation options. MailerLite's free plan includes a website builder and more templates. Kit's edge is the combination of a huge free ceiling and built-in commerce. A creator who sells digital products gets the most from Kit free.
The weakness is the upgrade price. Creator starts at $39 a month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed monthly. That is the highest paid starting price among the major free newsletter platforms. A creator who needs sequences early pays more on Kit than on most rivals.
When to stay free, and when to upgrade
Stay on the Kit free plan if you send a newsletter by hand. Stay free if your list is under 10,000 subscribers. Stay free if you do not need welcome emails, sequences, or third-party integrations. The free plan handles that workload well.
Upgrade to Creator when you need a welcome sequence. Upgrade when you want visual automations. Upgrade when you need Zapier or Make connections. Upgrade when Kit branding in your emails starts to matter. Creator costs $33 a month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers, or $390 a year.
Upgrade to Creator Pro when you want the referral system and sponsor network. Pro costs $66 a month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers. It adds subscriber signals, deliverability reporting, and unlimited users. Most solo creators never need it. Small teams with a referral program do.
Kit free plan checklist
- Confirm your list stays under 10,000 confirmed subscribers.
- Check that one basic automation covers your needs.
- Accept that welcome emails and sequences need a paid plan.
- Accept Kit branding in the footer of free emails.
- Budget 3.5% plus $0.30 per sale if you sell digital products.
- Know the upgrade price before you depend on the tool: Creator starts at $39 a month, or $33 billed yearly.
- Use the 14-day paid trial to test automations before you commit.
Bottom line
The Kit free plan is genuinely generous. It covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, forms, and landing pages. It is the best free starting point for a creator who sells digital products. Its limits are specific: one basic automation, no sequences, no third-party integrations, and Kit branding.
Most creators upgrade within a few months, not because the list grows, but because they want a welcome email. That upgrade costs $33 a month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers. Know that price before you build your list on Kit. If you only send a newsletter by hand, stay free. It costs $0, and it stays free until 10,000 subscribers.