4 things to check in newsletter software

What to take away

This article covers business systems, not individualized commercial-email, privacy, tax or contract advice. Duties depend on message purpose, audience, location and payment model. Verify current law and platform terms, and take contract questions to a licensed attorney.

Why the four checks beat a feature list

Every platform demo looks the same after twenty minutes. Drag-and-drop editors work. Templates load. The dashboard is clean.

The differences that cost money sit outside the demo. They show up in month three, when a sponsor pays late, a subscriber asks to be forgotten, or you try to move 4,000 addresses somewhere else.

Four checks cover those differences. Run them in order, because a platform that fails the first one is not worth testing on the others.

Mailchimp, Kit (formerly ConvertKit), beehiiv, Substack, Ghost and Buttondown all run clean demos. Their public terms differ. Mailchimp and Kit sell by contact count. Substack takes a share of paid subscription revenue. beehiiv, Buttondown and Ghost publish tier limits.

Check 1: list ownership and export

Ask what you can export, in what format, and how often. Subscribers, tags, open and click history, and suppression records should all come out in a file you can open in a spreadsheet.

Suppression records matter most. That is the list of addresses that unsubscribed, bounced or complained. Losing it means mailing people who already opted out.

Test the export before you sign. Run it on a trial account with a few hundred test addresses and open the file. If the platform will not let you export until you upgrade, that is your answer.

Check 2: deliverability and sending reputation

Deliverability is whether your email reaches the inbox or the spam folder. It depends on your sending domain, your authentication records, and how clean your list is.

Two DNS records do most of the work. SPF lists the servers allowed to send for your domain. DKIM signs each message so receivers can confirm it came from you. DMARC tells receivers what to do when either check fails.

Ask the platform how it handles authentication on your own domain, and whether that requires a paid tier. Some platforms only authenticate on higher plans.

Then ask how it handles bounces and complaints. A platform that keeps mailing hard bounces will damage your domain, and the damage follows the domain, not the platform.

Check 3: fees and payout terms

Most platforms charge by contact count, so the price rises as your list grows. Model the plan at your next tier, not your current one.

Write the arithmetic in your own numbers:

If the break-even number is larger than the list you can realistically build in a year, the plan is wrong, not the platform.

Payout timing is the second half. Ask when subscription revenue reaches your bank, what the minimum payout is, and whether the platform holds a reserve. Get the answer from the platform's published terms, not from a call.

Substack's public terms take a share of paid subscription revenue. Mailchimp, Kit, beehiiv, Buttondown and Ghost price by contacts, subscribers or a flat monthly tier. Compare the plan you would need at 12 months, not today.

Check 4: sponsor and consent controls

Sponsor fulfillment needs a record of what ran, when, and to how many people. Ask whether the platform stores that per send or whether you keep it yourself.

Consent needs the same treatment. FTC guidance on the CAN-SPAM Act sets the commercial-email rules: accurate sender identity, honest subject lines, a postal address, a working opt-out, and prompt suppression once someone opts out. The sender is responsible even when a vendor sends on its behalf.

That last point decides a lot. If a platform sends on your behalf, its failures become your compliance problem.

Security and access for a small list

A newsletter platform holds your subscriber list, which is the asset. Treat access to it the way you would treat access to a bank account.

Give each person their own login. Use multifactor authentication where the platform offers it. Remove access the day a contractor stops working for you, not at the end of the month.

Cybersecurity guidance for small and medium businesses from CISA covers the basics in plain terms. The NIST small business quick-start guides go further, including the Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, if a sponsor asks how you protect their campaign data.

Records to keep outside the platform

Keep your own copy of consent and suppression records. If you switch platforms, that file is the only thing that travels cleanly.

The IRS recordkeeping page explains the general standard: a system that clearly shows income and expenses, with documents supporting purchases, sales and payments. See what kind of records to keep. Sponsorship income lands on Schedule C, and payments to contract writers generally go out on Form 1099-NEC. Ask a CPA or enrolled agent how those apply to you.

Worked example: a 2,000-subscriber list

Suppose the platform charges $0.02 per contact per month at your tier, so the platform fee is $40. Payment processing on paid subscriptions runs 3% plus $0.30 per transaction. You spend four hours a month on list work at $30 an hour, so $120.

Your monthly cost before processing is $160. At a $6 subscription price, each paying subscriber nets about $5.52 after processing. You need roughly 29 paying subscribers to cover the platform and your time, before any sponsorship.

Those are illustrative figures, not quotes. Substitute your own tier price, processing rate and hourly rate. The point is that the arithmetic is short enough to do before you sign.

How the four checks rank in practice

Rank them in that order. A platform that fails check one is not worth a trial. A platform that passes one through three but keeps no sponsor records is workable if you keep those records yourself.

Common questions

What is the single fastest check?

Ask for a full export of subscribers, tags and suppression records on a trial account. If the file opens and contains what you expect, the platform passes the check that matters most. If it does not, stop there.

Does the platform choice affect deliverability more than my own list?

Your list quality and your authentication records matter more. A platform that signs your mail with SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your own domain gives you the tools. What you send to a stale list is still your problem.

Should I compare platforms before I have a list?

No. Size the list first, because every fee scales with it. Once you know the number you can build in a year, compare plans at that tier. Our review of newsletter software for 2027 lists current options with their pricing models.

Who owns the subscriber relationship?

You do, if the export works and you keep your own consent records. Check the platform's terms on data use before you sign, and have an attorney read anything about how your list can be used.