Newsletter software can look inexpensive at launch and materially different after a list grows. This guide compares confirmed plan prices for Kit, beehiiv Scale, and GetResponse Starter at 1,000, 10,000, and 50,000 subscribers. It also keeps three figures separate: Monthly billing, Annual total, and Annual monthly equivalent.
Pricing and plan details were checked on September 2, 2026. All dollar figures below preserve the USD symbols shown in the researched official sources. Reproduce a current quote before buying because subscriber counts, billing terms, location, currency, taxes, promotions, and optional services can change the amount due.
How to read the comparison
Official fact: A monthly price is the price for a monthly billing selection shown by the provider. An annual total is the confirmed amount charged for a year. An annual monthly equivalent is the annual total divided by 12; it is a comparison aid, not a promise that the provider will collect that smaller amount each month.
Calculated result: Kit Creator’s confirmed $390 annual total equals $32.50 per month. beehiiv Scale’s confirmed $517 annual total equals $43.08 per month after rounding to the nearest cent. The GetResponse annual monthly equivalents below are reproduced from the verified snapshot and reconcile to their stated annual totals.
Editorial guidance: Compare cash flow and required features before comparing headline numbers. Choosing annual billing can mean a larger payment in advance. A plan with the lowest verified subscription fee is not necessarily the least expensive workable option if it omits automation, collaboration, monetization, or migration capabilities that your workflow requires.
Unknown means the price was not directly verified for that plan, list size, and billing term. Do not substitute $0 for an Unknown price.
Cost snapshot
| List size | Platform and plan | Monthly billing | Annual total | Annual monthly equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 subscribers | Kit Newsletter | $0/month | $0, with no annual commitment | $0/month |
| 1,000 subscribers | Kit Creator | $39/month | $390/year | $32.50/month |
| 1,000 subscribers | beehiiv Scale | $49/month | $517/year | $43.08/month |
| 1,000 subscribers | GetResponse Starter | $19/month | $186.96/year | $15.58/month |
| 10,000 subscribers | Kit Newsletter | $0/month | $0, with no annual commitment | $0/month |
| 10,000 subscribers | Kit paid plans | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| 10,000 subscribers | beehiiv Scale | $109/month | Unknown | Unknown |
| 10,000 subscribers | GetResponse Starter | $79/month | $777.36/year | $64.78/month |
| 50,000 subscribers | Kit free plan | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 50,000 subscribers | Kit paid plans | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| 50,000 subscribers | beehiiv Scale | $249/month | Unknown | Unknown |
| 50,000 subscribers | GetResponse Starter | $299/month | $2,942.16/year | $245.18/month |
For quick auditing, the three scenarios can be restated without mixing billing terms:
- 1,000 subscribers — Kit: Newsletter: $0/month; Creator: $39/month, $390/year ($32.50/month annual equivalent).
- 1,000 subscribers — beehiiv: Scale: $49/month; $517/year; $43.08/month annual equivalent.
- 1,000 subscribers — GetResponse: Starter: $19/month; $186.96/year; $15.58/month annual equivalent.
- 10,000 subscribers — Kit: Newsletter: $0/month; paid plans: Unknown.
- 10,000 subscribers — beehiiv: Scale: $109/month; annual total: Unknown; annual monthly equivalent: Unknown.
- 10,000 subscribers — GetResponse: Starter: $79/month; $777.36/year; $64.78/month annual equivalent.
- 50,000 subscribers — Kit: Free plan: not applicable; paid plans: Unknown.
- 50,000 subscribers — beehiiv: Scale: $249/month; annual total: Unknown; annual monthly equivalent: Unknown.
- 50,000 subscribers — GetResponse: Starter: $299/month; $2,942.16/year; $245.18/month annual equivalent.
Scenario: 1,000 subscribers
Official fact: Kit’s Newsletter plan supports up to 10,000 email subscribers at $0 per month. At 1,000 subscribers, Kit Creator was confirmed at $39 with monthly billing or $390 for a year. Kit documents Visual Automations, email sequences, Rules, and RSS Campaigns as paid capabilities, so a $0 baseline should only be used for a workflow that fits Newsletter’s current limits.
Official fact: beehiiv Scale was confirmed at $49 with monthly billing or $517 for a year at this list size. The official plan information lists email automations, Recommendations, Digital Products, and up to three team seats among Scale’s capabilities.
Official fact: GetResponse Starter was confirmed at $19 with monthly billing or $186.96 for a year. Starter includes one automation workflow. GetResponse counts contacts across lists for billing, and the same email address on multiple lists can be counted more than once.
Calculated result: Among these specific verified 1,000-subscriber options, the annual monthly equivalents are $0 for Kit Newsletter, $32.50 for Kit Creator, $43.08 for beehiiv Scale, and $15.58 for GetResponse Starter. These numbers do not make the plans functionally interchangeable.
Editorial guidance: A broadcast-first solo newsletter may be able to use Kit Newsletter without a subscription fee. If the operating requirement includes a paid Kit automation capability, compare Kit Creator instead. Choose between beehiiv Scale and GetResponse Starter based on the publishing, growth, automation, and team tools you will actually use—not merely the first-year arithmetic.
Scenario: 10,000 subscribers
Official fact: A list at exactly 10,000 subscribers remains within Kit Newsletter’s documented free-plan ceiling. The research did not directly verify paid Kit quotes at this list size, so every paid-plan billing figure remains Unknown.
Official fact: beehiiv’s official pricing FAQ directly lists Scale at $109 per month for 10,000 subscribers. This research did not directly confirm an annual total or annual monthly equivalent for that tier.
Official fact: GetResponse Starter was confirmed at $79 with monthly billing, $777.36 for a year, and a $64.78 annual monthly equivalent at 10,000 contacts. GetResponse says sending is unlimited during the subscription term, but exceeding the purchased list-size tier can move the account to a higher charge.
Calculated result: The confirmed monthly-billing snapshot is $0 for a Kit Newsletter-compatible workflow, $109 for beehiiv Scale, and $79 for GetResponse Starter. A complete paid Kit comparison and an annual beehiiv comparison cannot be calculated from the retained evidence.
Editorial guidance: At this threshold, test both list-size headroom and functional fit. Kit Newsletter may still fit a manual broadcast workflow, but being at the ceiling leaves no room for growth before a paid move. Get a live Kit paid quote and a live beehiiv annual quote if either is part of the shortlist.
Scenario: 50,000 subscribers
Official fact: Kit Newsletter does not apply at 50,000 subscribers because its documented ceiling is 10,000. Kit’s paid price at 50,000 depends on its dynamic subscriber selector and was not directly confirmed in the research snapshot, so the paid amount remains Unknown.
Official fact: beehiiv Scale was directly listed at $249 per month for 50,000 subscribers. Its annual total and annual monthly equivalent were not directly confirmed and remain Unknown.
Official fact: GetResponse Starter was confirmed at $299 with monthly billing, $2,942.16 for a year, and a $245.18 annual monthly equivalent. Starter does not include GetResponse’s more advanced automation, courses, or paid-newsletter capabilities.
Calculated result: Only two monthly-billing prices are directly comparable in this snapshot at 50,000: beehiiv Scale at $249 and GetResponse Starter at $299. Only GetResponse has a retained, directly verified annual total at this size. A three-provider ranking would invent the missing Kit amount, so this guide does not publish one.
Editorial guidance: Treat a 50,000-subscriber decision as a workflow and procurement comparison, not just a $50 monthly spread between two visible figures. Obtain live quotes, check included seats and automation, model migration effort, and confirm whether the plan can support the next growth tier.
Why features can change the result
The cost table is a subscription-price snapshot, not a statement that every row buys the same outcome.
Official fact: Kit’s free plan covers forms, landing pages, broadcasts, digital products, and subscriptions through its subscriber limit, while the current help article places Visual Automations, sequences, Rules, and RSS Campaigns on paid plans. beehiiv Scale includes newsletter growth and monetization features that are not represented by subscriber count alone. GetResponse Starter includes one automation workflow, while more advanced automation and other product lines require a different plan.
Editorial guidance: Write a short must-have checklist before choosing a row. Include automated onboarding, behavior-based branching, team access, recommendations or referral tooling, digital products, paid newsletters, and migration help where relevant. Then compare the lowest plan on each platform that satisfies the list. This avoids treating a lower but unsuitable tier as a saving.
What these estimates exclude
Official fact: GetResponse states that displayed prices are net of tax; applicable VAT can be added based on location and tax status. It also explains that list billing can include duplicate contacts across different lists and that crossing a purchased list-size threshold can create additional charges.
Editorial guidance: The estimates exclude taxes, paid add-ons, overages or higher-tier adjustments, transaction and payment-processing fees, migration services outside an included offer, extra tools, regional currency conversion, and temporary promotions. Checkout currency and local pricing may differ from this USD snapshot. Confirm all of these items on the final order screen.
An annual total should be budgeted as an annual commitment even when this guide also shows a monthly equivalent. Conversely, a monthly price should not be multiplied by 12 and labeled an official annual price when a provider’s annual quote was not verified.
Reproduce the comparison
Use the site’s newsletter cost calculator to explore subscriber size, billing cycle, and broad feature filters. Then review the platform summaries for Kit, beehiiv, and GetResponse.
The calculator is a structured snapshot, not a replacement for live checkout. If it does not contain a directly verified price, keep that result Unknown and open the provider’s official pricing page. Do not infer a missing annual discount from another subscriber tier.
For product-level trade-offs, read Kit vs beehiiv, Kit vs GetResponse, and beehiiv vs GetResponse.
Conditional recommendation
Editorial guidance: At 1,000 subscribers, Kit Newsletter is the verified no-subscription-fee baseline for a compatible broadcast-first workflow; GetResponse Starter has the lowest confirmed paid annual total among the paid rows shown. At 10,000, Kit Newsletter still has a confirmed $0 baseline but sits at its subscriber ceiling, while feature requirements may force a paid plan. At 50,000, collect a live Kit quote and compare actual required capabilities before deciding between it, beehiiv Scale, and GetResponse Starter.
There is no unconditional “cheapest platform” conclusion here. The defensible choice is the least expensive currently verified plan that fits your subscriber count, billing preference, region, and required workflow.
Kit is not an affiliate partner of this site, and Kit’s status does not influence the editorial conclusion. The Kit source links below are direct official links. The shared commercial action area following this article provides the site’s existing disclosures for beehiiv and GetResponse calls to action.
Official sources
- Kit free-plan help article, checked September 2, 2026: the $0 price, 10,000-subscriber ceiling, included publishing and commerce tools, and paid automation boundary.
- Kit pricing, checked September 2, 2026: plan structure, the 1,000-subscriber Creator quote, and the dynamic subscriber selector.
- beehiiv pricing, checked September 2, 2026: the 1,000-subscriber Scale annual total, plan features, and supported subscriber range.
- beehiiv pricing FAQ, checked September 2, 2026: Scale monthly prices at 1,000, 10,000, and 50,000 subscribers.
- GetResponse pricing, checked September 2, 2026: the Starter price snapshot.
- GetResponse plan descriptions, checked September 2, 2026: Starter list-size tiers and feature boundaries.
- GetResponse pricing mechanics, checked September 2, 2026: contact counting, sending, list-size charges, add-ons, currency, and tax treatment.
Check current platform pricing
Reproduce the final quote on each provider's website before purchasing.
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