Quick Picks (TL;DR)
- Best free forever alternative: MailerLite — free up to 1,000 subscribers with automations and landing pages included
- Best all-in-one platform: Kajabi — email, courses, memberships, and checkout under one roof starting at $69/mo
- Best for pure email deliverability: ActiveCampaign — most powerful automation engine in its price range, starts at $15/mo
- Best flat-rate pricing: Flodesk — $38/mo regardless of list size, best-looking templates in the category
- Best for paid newsletter monetization: Beehiiv — built-in ad network, referral tools, free up to 2,500 subscribers
MailerLite is the default replacement for most ConvertKit users — especially those under 5,000 subscribers growing an audience rather than selling products. For a 3,000-subscriber list, the difference between ConvertKit's $49/mo tier and MailerLite's $9/mo entry price is immediate, and the migration typically takes 2–4 hours with a CSV export. The critical caveat: if you've built a complex tagging and segmentation system inside ConvertKit, no alternative on this list maps to it cleanly — factor in workflow re-architecture time, not just migration time.
Comparison Table
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Creators wanting solid free tier | Yes (1,000 subs) | $9/mo | Automation + landing pages included |
| Kajabi | Selling courses + email together | No (trial only) | $69/mo | Full creator business stack, no transaction fees |
| ActiveCampaign | Complex email automations | No (trial only) | $15/mo | Best-in-class automation engine, CRM included |
| Flodesk | Beautiful emails on a budget | Yes (limited trial) | $38/mo flat | Flat rate regardless of list size |
| Beehiiv | Paid newsletters + monetization | Yes (2,500 subs) | $29/mo | Built-in ad network + referral program |
MailerLite
Best for: Solo creators and freelancers who want a ConvertKit-like experience without the price jump at mid-sized lists
The $9/mo starting price versus ConvertKit's $49/mo at 3,000 subscribers is the most common trigger for this switch — and MailerLite's free plan is substantive enough to test before committing. Up to 1,000 subscribers, you get automation workflows, a landing page builder, and pop-ups included — features ConvertKit gates behind paid tiers. The migration path is well-documented, and a clean list under 5,000 subscribers typically moves in 2–4 hours via CSV export.
Pros:
- Free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers with automations included
- Landing page and pop-up builder handles most creator use cases without a separate tool
- Visual automation builder is intuitive for anyone already comfortable in ConvertKit
- Clean email editor with reliable mobile preview
Cons:
- Deliverability doesn't match ConvertKit at larger list sizes
- Fewer native integrations with creator tools like Teachable or Podia
- Segmentation and tagging are less granular than ConvertKit's tag system
Who should skip it: Creators with multi-tag segmentation systems or complex subscriber journeys built into ConvertKit. The friction isn't just the CSV export — it's re-mapping behavioral logic that MailerLite handles differently.
Kajabi
Best for: Creators who sell online courses, memberships, or digital products and want one dashboard for everything
The typical Kajabi migration path is ConvertKit + Teachable → Kajabi. The consolidation costs more upfront — Kajabi starts at $69/mo — but eliminates the two-platform sync problem entirely. Email automations trigger directly off course completions, failed payments, and membership activity without a Zapier step. There are no transaction fees on sales, and community features are available on higher plans.
Pros:
- Courses, memberships, coaching, email, landing pages, and checkout all native
- Email automations tied directly to product events — no integration required
- No transaction fees on sales
- Strong community features on higher plans
Cons:
- $69/mo entry price is significantly higher than ConvertKit alone
- Email deliverability is solid but not ActiveCampaign-level
- No free plan — trial only
Who should skip it: Newsletter writers and content creators who aren't actively selling products. Kajabi's value compounds with product revenue; pure email use cases overpay badly at $69/mo.
Common mistake: Switching to Kajabi during audience-building mode, before product revenue exists to justify the cost. Kajabi is a business consolidation tool, not a cheaper email sender — if you're not actively selling something, you're subsidizing features you won't use.
ActiveCampaign
Best for: Creators and small teams who've hit the ceiling on ConvertKit's automations and need enterprise-level conditional logic
ActiveCampaign is where ConvertKit power users go when funnels get complicated. The automation builder handles nested conditional logic, lead scoring, CRM deal pipelines, SMS follow-ups, and behavioral site tracking — capabilities ConvertKit's automation engine isn't built to support at scale. The CRM with deal pipelines is included on the Plus plan.
Pros:
- Automation builder is the most powerful in its price range
- CRM with deal pipelines on Plus plan
- Site and event tracking for behavioral targeting
- Strong deliverability reputation
Cons:
- No free plan — trial only
- Steep learning curve; the interface is dense for straightforward campaigns
- Starting at $15/mo, costs escalate quickly with list size
Who should skip it: Early-stage creators under 1,000 subscribers. ActiveCampaign's power doesn't become cost-efficient until you have the list size and funnel complexity that actually uses it. Starting here before that point adds interface overhead with no payoff.
Flodesk
Best for: Visual-first creators who want the best-looking emails in the category and a predictable monthly bill
Flodesk's value proposition is unusual: $38/mo flat, whether you have 1,000 or 50,000 subscribers. For a creator with 8,000 subscribers, that's a significant saving over ConvertKit's tiered pricing. The template library consistently earns recognition as the highest-quality design set in this category. The tradeoff is automation depth — Flodesk is built for simplicity, not complex sequences.
Pros:
- $38/mo flat regardless of list size
- Template library with the best-looking designs in this comparison
- Checkout pages for selling digital products
- Focused interface that doesn't overwhelm
Cons:
- Automation capabilities are more limited than ConvertKit
- No free plan — short trial only
- Segmentation and tagging are less powerful than competitors
- Limited third-party integrations
Who should skip it: Anyone running complex drip sequences, behavioral automations, or advanced segmentation. Flodesk's flat pricing makes financial sense above roughly 5,000 subscribers; below that, MailerLite's free tier is a stronger starting point.
Beehiiv
Best for: Creators building newsletter-first businesses who want paid subscriptions, sponsorship revenue, and growth tools in one place
Beehiiv is purpose-built for the newsletter-as-media-company model, which makes it an outlier in this list. The platform handles paid subscription management natively (no manual Stripe configuration), surfaces sponsorship opportunities through a built-in ad network, and includes referral and boosts growth tools that general-purpose email platforms don't offer. The free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers with a clean web and email reading experience.
The useful distinction: Beehiiv is a newsletter platform that does email. ConvertKit is an email platform that does newsletters. That difference shapes every decision around content architecture and monetization flow.
Pros:
- Built-in paid subscription management
- Native ad network for sponsorship opportunities
- Referral and boosts growth tools included
- Free plan up to 2,500 subscribers
- Clean reading experience on web and email
Cons:
- Not a general-purpose email marketing tool — course creators and coaches using email for sales nurture will hit its limits quickly
- Automation is basic compared to ActiveCampaign or ConvertKit
- Monetization tooling is the draw; the email builder UX is secondary
Who should skip it: Anyone using email primarily as a sales channel rather than a publishing medium. If your goal is product launches, behavioral triggers, and nurture sequences, Beehiiv isn't the right fit regardless of subscriber count.
How to Choose: A Decision Checklist
Work through these in order — the first "yes" answer is your platform:
Are you actively selling a course, membership, or digital product, and managing it across two tools that sync imperfectly? → Kajabi at $69/mo. The consolidation justifies the cost once product revenue exists.
Is paid newsletter monetization — subscriptions, sponsorships — the core outcome? → Beehiiv. Free up to 2,500 subscribers. Better toolset than Substack if you're bringing an existing audience; Substack's discovery network matters more if you're starting from zero.
Do you need complex automations — nested logic, lead scoring, CRM pipelines, site tracking? → ActiveCampaign. Migrate when you've confirmed ConvertKit can't support the workflow you need. Don't start here early.
Is your list above ~5,000 subscribers and do you want predictable monthly costs with excellent design? → Flodesk at $38/mo flat. Below 5,000, the math doesn't consistently beat tiered alternatives.
Everything else — especially lists under 5,000, audience-building focus, or tight budget? → MailerLite. Free up to 1,000 subscribers, $9/mo above that. Closest experience to ConvertKit at the lowest cost.
FAQ
Is MailerLite really comparable to ConvertKit? For most solo creators and lists under 5,000 subscribers, yes. MailerLite's free plan includes automations, landing pages, and pop-ups — features ConvertKit charges for. The main gaps are ConvertKit's native creator integrations (Teachable, Podia) and its more granular tag-based segmentation depth.
Can I migrate from ConvertKit without losing subscribers? Yes. MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, and Flodesk all support CSV imports or direct migration tools. Export your tags and segments as separate lists and map them manually on import. Budget 2–4 hours for a clean list under 5,000 subscribers — longer if your tagging architecture is complex.
Is Beehiiv better than Substack for paid newsletters? Beehiiv gives you more control: custom domain, broader layout options, better analytics, and the ad network. Substack has built-in content discovery. Starting from zero, Substack's network effect matters. Bringing an existing audience, Beehiiv's toolset is superior.
What's the cheapest ConvertKit alternative? MailerLite is free up to 1,000 subscribers. Beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers. Both are legitimate starting points for early-stage creators who want full email functionality without an immediate monthly cost.