Choosing an email tool as an author is not the same job as choosing one for a store. You are not running abandoned-cart flows. You are handing over a free novella, keeping your ARC team apart from casual readers and getting a new release in front of people on launch day. This guide compares the best email marketing for authors in 2026 on exactly those jobs, with dated monthly prices at the list sizes authors actually reach: 500, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 readers.
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects our verdicts. Read our affiliate disclosure. We have run hands-on checks in our own free accounts: MailerLite (November 5 and 6, 2026, described in our MailerLite vs Kit comparison), Kit and Brevo (November 6, 2026). beehiiv and Mailchimp are not yet tested, and our GetResponse check (November 6, 2026) covered only its pricing page and trial setup.
TL;DR
- Best overall value: MailerLite. Full automation for reader-magnet delivery, ARC groups and launch sequences from $12/month at 500 readers, and a direct BookFunnel integration.
- Best free start: Kit. Free up to 10,000 subscribers, but with one sequence and one visual automation on the free plan†. Enough for one reader magnet.
- Best if the newsletter itself earns money: beehiiv. Free up to 2,500 subscribers, 0% cut of paid subscriptions.
- Best for a big list you email rarely: Brevo. You pay by emails sent, not by contacts stored.
- GetResponse fits authors who also sell courses or run webinars. Skip Mailchimp unless you already depend on it: Standard costs $20 to $135/month across these list sizes.
What authors actually need from an email tool
Three jobs drive every pick below:
- Reader-magnet delivery. An automatic email that hands over your free novella or sample chapters when someone joins from your back matter.
- Tags or groups for different readers. Your ARC team, past buyers and casual readers need different emails, without paying twice for the same person.
- A reusable launch sequence. A timed run of emails around release day that you build once and clone for every book.
A fourth point matters to many indie authors: BookFunnel. BookFunnel’s help center lists direct mailing-list integrations with ActiveCampaign, AWeber, Constant Contact, ConvertKit (now Kit), EmailOctopus, Mailchimp, MailerLite, SendFox and Sendy. Direct integration depends on your BookFunnel plan; other tools (beehiiv, Brevo, GetResponse) can still work through a CSV export or Zapier, with more manual steps.
Best email marketing for authors: price at 500, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 readers
| Tool (plan used) | 500 readers | 2,500 readers | 5,000 readers | 10,000 readers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite (Comfort) | $12 | $33 | $49 | $89 |
| Kit (Free; Creator if you need more automation) | Free | Free | Free, or $89† on Creator | Free, or $139† on Creator |
| beehiiv (Free, then Lite) | Free | Free | $109 | $139 |
| Brevo (Starter, by emails sent) | $9 | $25 | $32 | $32 to $39 |
| GetResponse (Starter) | $19 | $29 | $54 | $79 |
| Mailchimp (Standard) | $20 | $60 | $100 | $135 |
How we calculated: monthly billing, US list prices, the cheapest plan that gives an author a welcome sequence. Prices were checked between October 16 and November 5, 2026 on vendor pages and, where a vendor shows prices only on an interactive slider, on third-party trackers (marked †).
Brevo charges by emails sent, so we assumed two emails a month per reader (a regular newsletter plus one extra send). Its $9 tier (5,000 emails) stores only 500 contacts and the 10,000-email tier 1,500, per Brevo’s help center; the 15,000-email tier ($25/month) stores 2,500 contacts and the 20,000-email tier ($32/month) up to 500,000, and a launch month with extra sends can push a 10,000-reader list to the 30,000-email tier ($39/month) (Brevo’s pricing calculator, November 6, 2026). Removing the Brevo logo on Starter is a $12/month add-on.
Kit’s free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers but includes only one sequence and one visual automation†; once you need a second funnel you move to Creator ($39 at 1,000 subscribers). For Mailchimp we priced Standard; Essentials costs $13, $45, $75 and $110 at the same sizes. beehiiv’s free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers, and Lite is $59 at 1,000. GetResponse has no permanent free plan (14-day trial). Prices change often: check each vendor’s live page before you buy.
The 6 tools, one by one
1. MailerLite: best overall value for authors
MailerLite is the cheapest way we found to get a proper visual workflow (trigger, emails, delays), groups for your ARC team, landing pages for your reader magnet and a direct BookFunnel integration. Comfort starts at $12/month for 500 subscribers and reaches $89 at 10,000. Paid plans can also sell digital products and paid newsletters through Stripe.
What we saw ourselves (November 5 and 6, 2026): a new free account shows 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month on its Plan and Billing page, and starts a 14-day trial of paid features automatically, without a card. The “Simple welcome email” automation template was available; building a three-step workflow (subscriber joins a group, email, two-day delay) took us about six minutes.
On November 6 we also sent a test email to a Gmail inbox: it arrived in the inbox within seconds and passed SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Because our sender was a Gmail address, MailerLite rewrote the From address to its own sending domain, so send from your own author domain if you can. One test email is not proof of deliverability for a real list.
The catch: the free plan is now small, after a cut reported for June 2026†, so treat it as a trial rather than a home. New accounts also go through an approval review, the most repeated complaint in user reviews.
2. Kit (formerly ConvertKit): best free starting point
Kit was built for creators, and its tag-based model suits authors: tag readers by series, by magnet or by ARC status, and a person carrying several tags still counts once. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, which no other tool here matches.
The catch: the free plan includes only one email sequence and one visual automation†, and third-party integrations are reported to need a paid plan†, which matters if you rely on BookFunnel’s direct connection. Creator is $39/month at 1,000 subscribers, or $390 a year (about $32.50/month) on annual billing, both confirmed in our own Kit account on November 6, 2026. Larger lists cost $89 at 5,000† and $139 at 10,000†. Kit is cheap to start on and expensive to grow into. If you sell books or bonuses through Kit, its commerce fee is about 3.5% + $0.30 per sale.
3. beehiiv: best if your newsletter is the product
beehiiv is a newsletter platform first. If you serialize fiction, publish a craft newsletter or want paid subscriptions, it takes 0% of subscription revenue (Stripe fees still apply). Plans were renamed on October 1, 2026: the free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers, and Lite costs $59/month at 1,000 subscribers ($49 billed annually), $109 at 5,000 and $139 at 10,000. Paid subscriptions require Lite.
The catch: beehiiv is not on BookFunnel’s list of direct integrations, so magnet sign-ups need a CSV import or Zapier. For a classic “magnet, welcome sequence, launch” funnel, MailerLite and Kit are closer to what authors need.
4. Brevo: best for a big, rarely mailed backlist
Brevo bills by emails sent, not by contacts stored. Its free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts with a limit of 300 emails a day (both confirmed in our own Brevo account on November 6, 2026). If you have a large list of past buyers that you email only at launch time, the paid Starter plan can undercut everyone here.
The catch: the 300-a-day limit means a free account cannot send one newsletter to more than 300 readers on the same day. Automation on the Free and Starter plans is limited to 2,000 contacts; unlimited automation starts on Standard (confirmed November 6, 2026). Brevo is also not on BookFunnel’s direct-integration list.
5. GetResponse: for authors who also sell courses or webinars
GetResponse bundles email automation, landing pages and webinar and course tools on higher plans†. If you sell a writing course alongside your books, that breadth can save a second subscription. Starter costs $19 a month for 1,000 contacts, $29 at 2,500, $54 at 5,000 and $79 at 10,000 (read on GetResponse’s pricing slider, November 6, 2026).
The catch: Starter includes only one custom automation workflow, so a welcome sequence plus a launch sequence already needs Marketer ($59 at 1,000, $69 at 2,500). There is no permanent free plan (only a 14-day trial without a card), and you pay for features most fiction authors never touch. In our own test (November 6, 2026), a GetResponse test email sent from a Gmail address landed in spam with DMARC failing, so send from an address on your own domain. One test is not a deliverability study.
6. Mailchimp: only if you are already locked in
Mailchimp’s free plan is limited to 250 contacts and about 500 sends a month†. Standard costs $20, $60, $100 and $135 at 500, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts, the highest prices in this comparison.
The catch: unsubscribed contacts still count toward your bill unless you archive them, and keeping readers in separate audiences instead of tags is reported to bill the same person more than once†. For a solo author, it is hard to justify. Already on Mailchimp? See our Mailchimp pricing breakdown before your next renewal.
Author workflows, step by step
Reader-magnet delivery
- Create a landing page with a short pitch and one email field, and link it from your book’s back matter.
- Build one automation: trigger = subscriber joins your magnet group or form; email 1 delivers the download link right away. Use a link (BookFunnel or your own hosting), not an attachment.
- Add two follow-ups: around day 3 (“did you start it? here is book one”) and around day 7 (a review request or series pitch).
- Tag or group every new reader by magnet, so you know which hook brought them in.
This fits MailerLite’s Comfort plan. On Kit’s free plan it can work as your single sequence†; a second magnet needs Creator.
ARC team management
- Tag, don’t split lists. Add an
ARCtag or group on top of normal subscriber data. Separate lists or audiences can double-count people on some tools. - Invite engaged readers. Send your ARC call (“want an early copy of book 4?”) to readers who opened recent emails, if your tool lets you filter by engagement.
- Clean up after each launch. Send one reminder to ARC readers who have not reviewed, then remove the tag from inactive members so the team stays small and real.
Launch-week sequence
Here is a four-email launch sequence you can build once and reuse for every release:
- Day -3, announce: cover, pre-order or buy link, one line of hook, to your engaged list.
- Day 0, launch: short, one call to action. Tag people who click the buy link so they can skip the rest.
- Day 2, reminder: early reader reactions (real ones, with permission), bonus content and a second nudge, to non-buyers only.
- Day 5, last call or review ask: a “launch price ends tonight” email only if that is true, or a review request to your ARC team.
Trigger it with a tag such as launch-book-4; for the next release, clone it and swap the links.
Which tool should you pick?
| Your situation | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Self-published, want magnet + launch automation at the lowest cost | MailerLite | $12 to $89/month across these sizes, BookFunnel direct integration |
| Starting out, want to pay $0 for as long as possible | Kit Free | Free up to 10,000 subscribers; one sequence† |
| Serialized fiction or a paid newsletter | beehiiv | 0% cut of subscriptions; free to 2,500 |
| Big backlist list, emails only at launch | Brevo | Pay per email sent, not per contact |
| Books plus courses or webinars | GetResponse | Webinar and course tools in one account† |
| Already on Mailchimp with working automations | Stay, but price the switch | Moving costs time; compare at your next renewal |
FAQ
What is the best email marketing for authors on a zero budget?
Kit’s free plan, because it covers up to 10,000 subscribers. Plan for its limit of one sequence and one visual automation†. MailerLite’s free plan stops at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month.
Do I need BookFunnel?
No. You can host your magnet file yourself and send the link in your welcome email. BookFunnel helps with delivery to e-readers and reader support; check which of its plans includes direct integration.
When should I move from Kit Free to a paid plan?
When you need a second sequence or automation (a second magnet, or a launch sequence alongside your welcome sequence). At that point, compare Kit Creator with MailerLite Comfort at your list size, using the table above.
Did you test these tools?
Partly. In our own accounts we checked MailerLite’s free plan limits, trial, welcome-automation builder and a test send (November 5 and 6, 2026), Kit’s Creator price (November 6) and Brevo’s free and Starter limits (November 6). beehiiv and Mailchimp are not yet tested, and our GetResponse check (November 6, 2026) covered only its pricing page and trial setup; for them we rely on vendor pages and third-party trackers.
Keep reading
- MailerLite vs Kit: an honest 2026 comparison
- The best Kit (ConvertKit) alternatives
- beehiiv vs Substack: fees and features
- 7 cheaper Mailchimp alternatives
† Price or detail reported by third-party trackers or not published as static text on the vendor’s page (many vendors show prices on an interactive slider). Confirm on the vendor’s live page before you buy.
Sources and method
- MailerLite pricing: Comfort plan by subscriber count (checked 2026-10-29).
- Hands-on checks: new MailerLite free account, plan limits, trial, automation builder (2026-11-05) and a test send with SPF/DKIM/DMARC results (2026-11-06). Screenshots are in our MailerLite vs Kit article.
- Hands-on checks: Kit billing page (Creator $39/month or $390/year at 1,000 subscribers) and Brevo plan table (free and Starter limits), both in our own accounts (2026-11-06).
- Kit Help Center: free plan up to 10,000 subscribers (checked 2026-10-29).
- Email Vendor Selection, Kit pricing: free plan sequence and automation limits, Creator prices (third-party, page updated 2026-08-09, accessed 2026-11-05).
- beehiiv pricing: Free and Lite plans after the October 1, 2026 renaming (checked 2026-10-25).
- Brevo pricing and EmailToolTester, Brevo pricing: free plan and Starter tiers by emails sent (third-party, page updated 2026-08-05, accessed 2026-11-05).
- GetResponse pricing: Starter and Marketer prices by list size, read on the pricing slider, and plan features (checked 2026-11-06).
- Mailchimp pricing: Free, Essentials and Standard by contact count, confirmed against several trackers (checked 2026-10-29).
- BookFunnel help center: list of direct mailing-list integrations (accessed 2026-11-05).
Method: we compare published monthly prices at fixed list sizes and mark anything we could not read as static text on the vendor’s page with †. Hands-on results are dated; untested tools are labeled as such.