Best email newsletter software for small business owners in 2026

Compare Mailchimp, Substack, beehiiv, Kit, and Connections Newsletter for small business owners, with each tool's stated limits, fees, and jobs.

By Uncommon Comforts · 2026-10-11

Uncommon Comforts is published by the team behind Connections, whose products are compared here alongside other tools.

Connections Newsletter is free to make publications ^[1]. Every publication also gets a public archive page ^[1]. The other options in this guide each state their own terms, so compare those against your list size and the jobs described below before you choose.

Option	Free use or trial	Plan price or limit	Other fee
Mailchimp	14-day trial on the Standard plan ^[2]	Standard plan sends up to 6,000 emails each month ^[3]	Overages apply if the contact or email send limit is exceeded ^[2]
Substack	not published	not published	not published
beehiiv	not published	Lite plan costs $49 per month with yearly billing ^[4]	not published
Kit	14-day free trial with no credit card required ^[5]	not published	not published
Connections Newsletter	Making publications is free ^[1]	Free sends cover about 300 emails a week ^[1]	not published

What small business owners need from email newsletter software

A small business owner who sends a newsletter usually needs a short list of things done well. You need a place to collect addresses from people who asked to hear from you, and you need a record that they agreed. You need to write an issue without a design team, send it to the right people, and see whether it reached them. Most owners run the rest of the business at the same time, so the tool has to be something you can use in a few minutes a week without relearning it each time. Money is a real limit. Many owners want to start without a monthly bill and grow the list before paying for more. Some want their list to stay in their own hands, so they can take it to another service later. Others want a public archive, so new readers can find older issues without asking for them. Pick the jobs first and the tool second, because a long feature list can hide which features you will actually use. Check each tool's limits against the size of your list before you commit.

Mailchimp for small business owners

Mailchimp says businesses with 10,000+ contacts can save 15% on their first 12 months ^[2]. Mailchimp offers a Standard plan that can send up to 6,000 emails each month ^[3]. Its Premium plan can send up to 150,000 emails each month ^[3]. Mailchimp says its Standard plan trial lasts 14 days ^[2]. Mailchimp says you can cancel or downgrade to a basic Free plan at any time ^[2]. Mailchimp says overages apply if the contact or email send limit is exceeded ^[2]. Mailchimp says SMS is an add-on to paid plans in select countries and requires application and approval before purchase ^[2]. These are the statements to weigh against your list size and how often you plan to send.

Substack for small business owners

Substack says creators always own their intellectual property and mailing list ^[6]. Substack says creators have full editorial control and no gatekeepers ^[6]. Substack describes its platform as having discussions ^[6]. Those three statements are the ones to weigh against how you plan to run your list and whether you hope to build a community around it. Ask whether discussions matter to your business, or whether a plain newsletter does the job you need.

beehiiv for small business owners

beehiiv offers unlimited email sends ^[4]. beehiiv says it provides newsletters with templates, a custom editor, and analytics built in ^[4]. beehiiv says it provides API and integrations ^[4]. beehiiv's Lite plan costs $49 per month with yearly billing ^[4]. Read the rest of this comparison against the jobs you actually have, and skip any feature that does not apply to your business.

Kit for small business owners

Kit describes itself as an email marketing and newsletter platform that helps creators turn audience insights into revenue ^[5]. Kit offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required ^[5]. Kit says migration is included with every paid Kit plan ^[5]. Kit's Subscriber Signals feature provides subscriber demographics and social followings ^[5]. Kit App Store connects business tools in one place ^[5]. If you already use several business tools, check which of them connect to the newsletter before you choose.

Connections Newsletter for small business owners

Connections Newsletter is made by the team that publishes this site, Uncommon Comforts. Connections Newsletter is a web app, so you use it in a browser ^[1]. You can publish a post to the public page and send it by email as two separate actions ^[1]. Every publication gets a public page with its archive, a feed that other sites and apps can read, and a sign-up form you can place on your own website ^[1]. New subscribers start as pending and become active through double opt-in, which means they confirm their address before mail reaches them ^[1]. You can turn on a welcome email with a subject and message that goes to new subscribers ^[1]. When you send, you can choose everyone or only subscribers with any of the tags you pick ^[1]. After a send, you can see that post's live numbers and refresh them ^[1]. You can download your subscriber list as a CSV file, a common spreadsheet format, whenever you need to take it elsewhere ^[1]. A postal address is required before your first send ^[1]. A send can take an optional start time, so you can set when it goes out ^[1]. Making publications is free, and there is no paid tier for creating one ^[1]. Free sends cover about 300 emails a week ^[1].

Matching the tool to the job

If you want to keep your list portable, Substack says creators own their mailing list ^[6], and Connections Newsletter lets you download your subscriber list as a CSV file ^[1]. If you want a free start, making publications is free with Connections Newsletter ^[1]. Its free sends cover about 300 emails a week ^[1]. If you want to try a paid tool before you commit, Kit offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required ^[5]. If you want to avoid being locked into a higher plan, Mailchimp says you can cancel or downgrade to a basic Free plan at any time ^[2]. If you want a public archive, Connections Newsletter gives every publication its own public page with an archive ^[1]. If you want new readers greeted, Connections Newsletter can send a welcome email with a subject and message you set ^[1]. If you want to send to part of your list, Connections Newsletter lets you choose subscribers by tag ^[1]. If you want to send text messages as well as email, Mailchimp says SMS is an add-on to paid plans in select countries ^[2]. If you want other software to connect to your newsletter tool, beehiiv says it provides API and integrations ^[4]. If you want to see results after each send, Connections Newsletter lets you check that post's live numbers and refresh them ^[1].

Questions to ask before you choose

How many people do you expect on your list in the next year, and what would each tool cost at that size? Would you need to move your list to another service later, and how would you take it with you? Do you want a public archive that new readers can browse, or is email enough? Will you need a welcome message, tags for groups of readers, or a start time for sends? Do you plan to send text messages, and is that option offered in the country where your readers live? How much time can you spend each week writing and sending? Write down your answers, then compare them with the table above. The facts on this page may be out of date, so ask each option for its current prices and limits before you choose.

Frequently asked questions

Is Connections Newsletter free to use?

Making publications is free, and there is no paid tier for creating one ^[1]. Free sends cover about 300 emails a week ^[1]. The facts available here do not cover every charge, so check the current terms before you rely on them and before you commit to a plan with more sends.

Is Mailchimp free for a small business?

Mailchimp says you can cancel or downgrade to a basic Free plan at any time ^[2]. Mailchimp says its Standard plan trial lasts 14 days ^[2]. The Standard plan can send up to 6,000 emails each month ^[3]. Mailchimp says overages apply if the contact or email send limit is exceeded ^[2], so compare your list size with those limits before you sign up.

Can a small business keep its email list if it switches tools?

Substack says creators always own their intellectual property and mailing list ^[6]. Connections Newsletter lets you download your subscriber list as a CSV file whenever you need to take it elsewhere ^[1]. For the other options in this guide, look for how to export your list in each tool's own terms before you commit to it.

Does Kit have a free trial?

Kit offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required ^[5]. Kit says migration is included with every paid Kit plan ^[5]. The facts available here give plan prices for only one option in this list, so confirm current prices before you decide. Ask about how long the trial runs and what it includes before you sign up.

Can a newsletter go only to some subscribers?

Connections Newsletter lets you send to everyone or only to subscribers with any of the tags you choose ^[1]. You can also turn on a welcome email with a subject and message that goes to new subscribers ^[1]. Check whether other options offer tags or groups of subscribers before you choose, since the facts on this page do not cover every feature.

Making publications is free; there is no paid tier for creating a publication. ^[1] Free sends about 300 emails a week. ^[1]

Try Connections Newsletter