# Buttondown vs Kit

## Buttondown is lighter, cheaper, and better for starting out.

Kit—formerly known as ConvertKit—should be thought of more as automation software than newsletter software; it is for businesses who have complex needs for automated workflows and analytics.

## Price

Kit's pricing model combines a monthly base fee with a 0.6% take rate on paid subscription revenue. While they advertise a generous free tier for up to 10,000 subscribers, you'll need to upgrade to their paid plans to access essential features like [RSS integrations](/content/features/rss/index.html), [third-party integrations](/content/features/integrations/index.html), and advanced automation.

Their pricing structure quickly becomes expensive as you grow:

- **Free tier:** Up to 10,000 subscribers (limited features)
- **Creator tier:** Starts at $25/month for 1,000 subscribers + 0.6% revenue
- **Higher tiers:** Costs scale significantly with subscriber count

For example, with 5,000 subscribers and 20% on a $10/month paid plan:

- **Kit:** $79/month base fee + $60/month take rate = **$139/month**
- **Buttondown:** $29/month ( **$110/month savings**)

The comparison table below shows the detailed pricing breakdown across different subscriber counts.

Buttondown allows you to customize and organize your subscribers (through [tags](https://docs.buttondown.com/tags) and analytics) while still giving you an [easy way to compose great emails](https://docs.buttondown.com/fancy-mode) and grow your audience. It offers the same [rich API](https://docs.buttondown.com/api-introduction) and easy [embeddable widgets](https://docs.buttondown.com/building-your-subscriber-base#embedding-an-html-form) that Kit does, while being a more pleasant tool.

Buttondown lets you focus on writing, rather than spending all day working on templates and automation workflows.

|     |     |     |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscribers | Kit | Buttondown |
| 1000 | $37.00 | $9.00 |
| 5000 | $126.00 | $29.00 |
| 10000 | $220.00 | $79.00 |
| 20000 | $390.00 | $139.00 |
|  |
| Features | Kit | Buttondown |
| [Privacy-first](/content/features/privacy/index.html) | — |  |
| [Write in Markdown](/content/features/markdown/index.html) | — |  |
| CSS | — |  |
| [Concierge migration](/content/features/concierge-migration/index.html) | — |  |
| Metadata | — |  |
| [Run by humans](/content/about/index.html) | — |  |
| [Command Line Interface](/content/features/cli/index.html) | — |  |
| [Comments](/content/features/comments/index.html) | — |  |
| [Attachments](/content/features/attachments/index.html) | — |  |
| Host on custom domain | — |  |
| [Sponsorships](/content/features/sponsorships/index.html) | — |  |
| [Send from Gmail (or wherever)](/content/features/smtp-endpoint/index.html) | — |  |
| [Multiple newsletters](/content/features/multiple-newsletters/index.html) | — |  |
| [Whitelabeling](/content/features/whitelabeling/index.html) | — |  |
| Dedicated IP | — |  |

Show 13 features both platforms support

### Feature comparison: Buttondown vs. Kit

Buttondown is the _last_ email platform you’ll switch to.