Kit Free Plan Review (2026): What You Get, the Limits and When to Upgrade
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💡 Pricing every plan? See our full Kit pricing guide and the email marketing cost calculator.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is free for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited broadcasts, forms and landing pages. You can even sell digital products on it.
The big catch is automation. Welcome sequences, visual automations and app integrations need the paid Creator plan, which starts at $39 a month or $33 a month billed yearly.
Will Kit’s free plan work for you?
Move the slider to your list size and tick anything you need. The checker tells you whether Free is enough or what Creator would cost.
Kit free plan checker
Based on the plan list on kit.com/pricing, 2 November 2026.
Creator prices from kit.com/pricing and our Kit pricing guide (checked 29 October and 2 November 2026). Your list is rounded up to the next price tier.
What Kit’s free plan includes
Kit’s free plan is built for people who send a regular newsletter. Everything you need to collect subscribers and email them is included.
| Feature | Kit Free |
|---|---|
| Subscribers | Up to 10,000 |
| Email broadcasts | Unlimited |
| Landing pages and forms | Unlimited |
| Newsletter feed and website | Yes |
| Tagging and segmentation | Yes |
| Email templates and custom HTML | Yes |
| Sell digital products and paid newsletters | Yes, 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale |
| Free and Smart Recommendations | Yes |
| A/B testing | 2 subject line tests |
| Users | 1 |
| Support | Email support and Kit University |
Source: kit.com/pricing, checked 2 November 2026.
Recommendations are worth a closer look. Other Kit newsletters can recommend yours after someone subscribes to them, which can bring in subscribers without ad spend.
What the free plan is missing
The gaps all sit around automation and teamwork. These are the features that move you onto Creator.
- Visual automations and sequences. You cannot send an automatic welcome series or a sales funnel. Kit’s pricing page lists these on Creator and Pro only.
- App integrations and RSS campaigns. The “100+ direct apps” and RSS to email are paid features.
- A second user. Free has one seat, while Creator gives you two.
- Kit branding. Your emails and pages keep the Kit badge until you pay.
- Paid Recommendations and sponsorships. You can recommend for free, but earning from it needs a paid plan.
- Free migration and chat support. Moving a big list from another tool is easier on Creator, which includes Kit’s migration help.
Older reviews may say the free plan includes one automation. That changed in September 2026, so check the date on anything you read.
Kit Free vs other free email plans
By subscriber count, Kit’s free plan is the most generous of the big names. The trade off is automation, which EmailOctopus includes on its free plan and Kit does not.
| Free plan | Contact limit | Sending limit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | 10,000 subscribers | Unlimited broadcasts | Newsletters that need room to grow |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers | 2,500 emails a month | Small lists that want a simple editor |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts | 500 sends a month | Testing email with a tiny list |
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 subscribers | 10,000 emails a month | Mid size lists on a budget, with 3 automations |
| HubSpot | 1,000 contacts | 2,000 emails a month | Teams already using HubSpot CRM |
Kit from kit.com/pricing (2 November 2026). Others from our free email plans comparison and Mailchimp pricing guide, checked 29 to 31 October 2026. Free plan terms change often, so check each provider before you sign up.
If automation matters more than list size, MailerLite is the usual alternative. Our MailerLite vs Kit comparison covers that choice in detail.
How to get the most from Kit Free
- Use tags instead of lists. Tag people by the form they joined from, so you can send targeted broadcasts later without automation.
- Write a pinned “start here” broadcast. Without a welcome sequence, a strong newsletter page and archive help new readers catch up.
- Clean your list before you grow. Kit counts subscribers toward the 10,000 cap, so remove people who never open.
- Turn on Recommendations. It is one of the few free growth channels inside any email tool.
- Plan your upgrade moment. Know which feature will make you money, such as a sales sequence, before you start paying.
New to list building? Our guide on how to build an email list has more growth ideas that work on any plan.
When to upgrade from Kit Free to Creator
- You send a weekly or monthly newsletter
- Your list is under 10,000
- You work alone and do not need other apps connected
- You want a welcome series or sales funnel
- You need integrations with your store or course tool
- You need a second user or Kit branding removed
Creator costs $39 a month billed monthly at 1,000 subscribers, or $390 a year. The price rises with your list, reaching $139 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
| Subscribers | Creator, billed monthly | Creator, billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $39 a month | $390 a year |
| 3,000 | $59 a month | $590 a year |
| 5,000 | $89 a month | $890 a year |
| 10,000 | $139 a month | $1,390 a year |
Source: kit.com/pricing, via our Kit pricing guide (29 October 2026).
Frequently asked questions
Is Kit really free?
Yes. Kit’s free plan costs nothing for up to 10,000 subscribers and has no time limit. You only pay when you need automations, integrations or a second user.
What is the Kit free plan subscriber limit?
The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers. Once your list passes that, you need a paid plan such as Creator.
Does the Kit free plan include automations?
No. Visual automations and automated email sequences, such as a welcome series, are only on the paid Creator and Pro plans.
Can I sell products on Kit’s free plan?
Yes. Kit lists digital products, paid newsletters, subscriptions and tip jars on the free plan, with fees of 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale.
When should I upgrade from Kit Free to Creator?
Upgrade when you want a welcome sequence, need to connect other apps, want a second user, or pass 10,000 subscribers. Creator starts at $39 a month, or $33 a month billed yearly, at 1,000 subscribers.
Sources: Kit pricing and plan comparison (2 November 2026); SoftwareStackPro pricing guides for Kit, MailerLite and Mailchimp. We have not been paid by Kit for this guide.
