Best ConvertKit Alternative in 2026
ConvertKit Creator charges $39/month at 1k subscribers and ~$350/month at 50k. mailtani is €89 once: unlimited contacts, sequences, broadcasts, your own SES key.
14-day free trial
Key takeaway
ConvertKit (Kit) is a creator-focused email platform built around subscriber growth and monetisation. mailtani is a focused email tool built for founders and indie hackers who want to own their infrastructure and pay once.
- Pricing model: per-subscriber monthly vs mailtani's €89 one-time
- At 50k subscribers: roughly $350/month on Creator vs €89 total, forever
- Kit includes a landing page builder and visual automations -- mailtani does email only, but better
- mailtani suits founders and small SaaS teams; Kit suits creators monetising content
ConvertKit (now Kit) rebranded and raised prices in 2025. The model is still per subscriber -- the better your list performs, the bigger your monthly bill.
- Per-subscriber pricing: every new subscriber raises your monthly bill
- Prices increased roughly 35% in September 2025 with no proportional feature gains
- Free plan caps automation at 1 sequence -- useless for any real welcome flow
- No BYOS: locked to Kit's shared sending infrastructure
- Landing page builder and visual automations require paid plans
ConvertKit vs mailtani: At a Glance
| Features | ConvertKit | mailtani |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly per subscriber | One-time €89 |
| Free plan | 10k subs, 1 automation only | 14-day trial, full features |
| At 10k subscribers | ~$108/mo (Creator) | €89 one-time |
| At 50k subscribers | ~$350/mo (Creator) | €89 one-time |
| Bring your own SMTP | No | Yes (SES, Resend, Mailtrap) |
| Email warmup | No | Yes |
| Inbox rotation | No | Yes |
| Automation on free plan | 1 sequence only | Yes (trial) |
What Is ConvertKit?
The go-to email tool for creators and indie founders -- but per-subscriber costs scale against your success.
ConvertKit was built for creators -- bloggers, YouTubers, and course builders who needed more than Mailchimp without enterprise complexity. It introduced clean tagging, a visual automation builder, landing pages, and sequences that made sense for content businesses. Rebranded to Kit in 2024, it remains genuinely well-regarded among creators who sell digital products and grow paid communities.
The model is per subscriber. A founder with a 10,000-person list on Creator pays roughly $108/month -- $1,296/year. Grow to 50,000 subscribers and you're looking at around $350/month or $4,200 per year. Kit raised prices approximately 35% in September 2025, making an already steep cost curve steeper. The better your list grows, the bigger the invoice.
What Is mailtani?
A one-time purchase email platform for founders, indie hackers, and small SaaS teams.
The free plan sounds generous at 10,000 subscribers, but it caps automation at a single sequence and adds Kit branding to every email. For any founder running a real welcome flow or onboarding sequence, the free tier is a starting point, not a working tool.
mailtani is built with the same founder and indie hacker audience in mind. You get sequences, broadcasts, forms, and tagging on a flat €89 one-time payment. Connect your own AWS SES or Resend account -- your sending reputation is entirely yours, and AWS SES costs roughly $0.10 per 1,000 emails. Whether your list is 5,000 or 500,000, you pay the same amount: once.
14-day free trial
Why Users Switch from ConvertKit
The common reasons teams move on.
- The bill grows every time your list does: ConvertKit charges per subscriber, so every growth milestone is also an invoice increase. Cross 10k subscribers on Creator and you jump from $39 to $108/month. The better your email marketing works, the more you pay for the privilege.
- Prices jumped 35% in September 2025 with no major feature additions: Kit raised prices across all plans by roughly 35% in late 2025. Many longtime users found out when their next invoice arrived. The rebrand from ConvertKit to Kit added confusion without adding meaningfully to what the product does for founders.
- Free plan automation is a dead end: The free tier allows up to 10k subscribers but caps you to a single automation sequence and adds Kit branding to every email. Any real onboarding flow or welcome sequence requires more than one sequence — meaning the free plan is only useful for testing, not building.
- No bring-your-own SMTP at any tier: Kit sends through its own shared infrastructure regardless of which plan you are on. You cannot connect your own AWS SES or Resend account. Your deliverability is tied to Kit's IP reputation pool, and you have no lever to pull if inbox placement drops.
- No warmup or inbox rotation built in: Kit has no email warmup or inbox rotation features. If you are launching a new domain or recovering from a deliverability problem, you have to handle it entirely outside the platform with separate tools at additional cost.
14-day free trial
ConvertKit vs mailtani: Pricing
ConvertKit charges more as your list grows. mailtani charges once, regardless of list size.
| Plan / Scenario | ConvertKit | mailtani |
|---|---|---|
| Free (up to 10k subs) | Free, 1 automation only | 14-day trial, full features |
| Creator (1k subs) | $39/mo ($396/yr) | €89 one-time |
| Creator (10k subs) | ~$108/mo (~$1,296/yr) | €89 one-time |
| Creator (50k subs) | ~$350/mo (~$4,200/yr) | €89 one-time |
| Year 1 cost (50k list) | ~$4,200 | €89 |
| Year 3 cost (50k list) | ~$12,600 | €89 |
| Bring your own SMTP | Not available | Included |
Prefer a lower start? Try the Yearly plan from €79/year — 14-day free trial included.
14-day free trial
ConvertKit vs mailtani: Feature Breakdown
See all mailtani features →| Feature | ConvertKit | mailtani |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited contacts | ||
| Unlimited email sends | ||
| Bring your own SMTP (SES, Resend, Mailtrap) | ||
| Email warmup | ||
| Inbox rotation | ||
| One-time payment, no subscription | ||
| Full deliverability control (own IPs) | ||
| Automations on base / trial plan | ||
| Flat cost regardless of list size | ||
| Email sequences / drip campaigns | ✓ paid | |
| Broadcast campaigns | ||
| Contact tagging and segmentation | ||
| Signup forms | ||
| Open and click tracking | ||
| Unsubscribe handling | ||
| CSV contact import / export | ||
| Landing page builder (50+ templates) | ||
| Visual drag-and-drop automation builder | ||
| Paid newsletter subscriptions / tip jar | ||
| Creator Network (cross-promotion / referrals) | ||
| A/B subject line testing | ✓ Pro | |
| Subscriber scoring | ✓ Pro | |
| 90+ native third-party integrations | ||
| Free plan (ongoing, up to 10k subs) | ✓ 1 automation |
What You Get With mailtani
The features founders and indie hackers actually use — on your own infrastructure, for a one-time payment.
Bring Your Own SMTP
Connect your own AWS SES, Resend, or Mailtrap account and send at infrastructure cost. Your sending reputation is entirely yours — not pooled with other users on shared IPs.
Email Warmup
Automatically ramps up your sending volume over 3–6 weeks, building genuine sender reputation with Gmail and Outlook. Set it once — mailtani handles the daily schedule without a separate tool.
Inbox Rotation
Distribute sends across multiple inboxes automatically to protect deliverability and scale volume without burning a single sending address. No manual scheduling required.
Sequences and Drip Campaigns
Build multi-step email sequences with conditions, delays, and branching logic. Welcome flows, onboarding drips, and re-engagement campaigns all run on the same builder.
One-Time Flat Pricing
Pay €89 once. No monthly fees, no per-contact tiers, no price increases as your list grows. Whether you have 500 or 500,000 subscribers, the cost is the same: done.
Full Deliverability Control
Sending reputation, IP addresses, authentication records, and SMTP credentials all belong to you. Diagnose and fix deliverability issues directly rather than waiting on platform support.
14-day free trial
ConvertKit vs mailtani: Pros & Cons
ConvertKit
Pros
- Generous free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers at no cost
- Visual drag-and-drop automation builder with 28 pre-built templates
- Built-in landing page builder (50+ templates, Unsplash integration)
- Creator monetisation: paid subscriptions, tip jar, digital product sales
- Creator Network for cross-promotion and referral list growth
Cons
- Per-subscriber pricing: every growth milestone triggers a higher monthly bill
- Prices increased ~35% in September 2025 with no major feature additions
- Free plan locks automation to 1 sequence and adds Kit branding to emails
- No bring-your-own SMTP: locked to Kit's shared sending infrastructure
- No email warmup or inbox rotation available at any tier
mailtani
Pros
- One-time €89 payment: no recurring fees regardless of list size
- Bring your own AWS SES, Resend, or Mailtrap key (~€0.10/1,000 emails)
- Built-in email warmup and inbox rotation on every plan
- Unlimited sequences and automations included from the base plan
- Full deliverability control on your own dedicated sending infrastructure
Cons
- No landing page builder: you'll need a separate tool (Carrd, Framer, etc.) for signup pages
- No visual drag-and-drop automation builder: sequences are configured step-by-step, not as a flowchart canvas
- No built-in monetisation: no paid newsletter subscriptions, tip jar, or digital product sales
- No creator network: Kit's cross-promotion and referral growth tools don't exist in mailtani
- No free ongoing plan: Kit has a free tier (up to 10k subs); mailtani offers a 14-day trial
- Fewer native integrations: mailtani connects via SMTP and API; Kit has 90+ native app connections
Who Should Use ConvertKit vs mailtani?
What each product is built for and who it suits.
Optimised for creators who monetise their audience.
Choose ConvertKit if...
- You sell digital products, courses, or memberships and need Kit's built-in monetisation layer
- You rely on the landing page builder and visual drag-and-drop automation workflows
- You use Kit's Creator Network for cross-promotion and referral-based list growth
- You want a free tier to get started before committing to a paid plan
Optimised for founders, indie hackers, and small SaaS teams.
Choose mailtani if...
- You are a founder, indie hacker, or small SaaS team that wants flat email costs
- Your Kit bill grows every time your list adds a thousand subscribers
- You want sequences, warmup, and inbox rotation without a monthly subscription
- You want to own your sending infrastructure with SES, Resend, or Mailtrap
- The 2025 price increase pushed Kit out of your budget
14-day free trial
See How mailtani Compares
ConvertKit vs the Competition
What You Get with mailtani
How Founders Use mailtani
Ready to Switch from ConvertKit?
14-day free trial. No charge until the trial ends — cancel anytime. Connect your SES key and send your first campaign today.
€89 lifetime No monthly fees