Starting a Newsletter in 2026 — an Honest Tool Guide for Beginners

Updated July 2026

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If “start that newsletter” has survived three consecutive weekly reviews, this guide is for you. The good news: the tools are the easy part, and most advice overcomplicates the choice.

Here’s the honest version, written for someone starting from zero subscribers — because the right tool at 10,000 readers is often the wrong tool at 0.

First, the decision that actually matters

Before comparing buttons: what is this newsletter for?

• A hobby / writing practice / audience someday → you want zero friction and zero cost. Substack.
• A side project you hope will earn (selling something eventually, growing an email list you own) → you want automation and a real email platform. Kit or AWeber.

That single question eliminates most of the comparison table. Now, the tools.

Substack — the “just start writing” option

Free forever, takes 10 minutes, has built-in discovery. Substack is a publishing platform first and an email tool second. Readers can find you through recommendations from other newsletters — which matters enormously at zero subscribers.

Where it bites later: you can’t build automated sequences (like a welcome series), design control is minimal, and if you ever sell paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10%. It’s a town square, not a machine.

Pick it if: you mainly want to write and see who shows up.

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) — the creator’s machine

The default choice for creators who plan to sell something eventually — a course, a template, a book. Automations (welcome sequences, tagging readers by interest), landing pages without a website, and clean integrations with basically every creator tool.

The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers — genuinely enough runway to know whether your newsletter has legs — with paid plans starting at $39/month (as of July 2026) when you need advanced automations.

Where it bites: it’s a tool, not a platform — no built-in discovery. Growth is on you (which, if you’re driving readers from Pinterest or a blog, is fine — that traffic is yours anyway). And if the tool you’re weighing it against is Mailchimp, that head-to-head has a clear answer.

Pick it if: the newsletter is part of a plan, not just a diary.

Try Kit free — up to 10,000 subscribers →

AWeber — the unglamorous workhorse

Nobody makes YouTube videos about AWeber, which is almost a recommendation. It’s been running since 1998, does automation solidly, has phone/chat support beginners actually get to use, and its free plan (up to 500 subscribers) includes features others paywall.

Where it bites: templates look dated next to Kit, and the interface feels its age. It’s the Toyota Corolla of email tools.

Pick it if: you want dependable and cheap with real support, and don’t care about looking fashionable. (Torn between the two serious options? AWeber vs Kit, decided in one minute.)

Try AWeber free — up to 500 subscribers →

The comparison, compressed

What I’d actually do at zero subscribers

1. Unsure you’ll stick with it? Start on Substack today. Migration later is a 30-minute export/import — the “wrong platform” costs you almost nothing at small scale.
2. Know you’re building toward selling something? Start on Kit’s free plan — here’s our hands-on review and the step-by-step weekend setup. Ignore every advanced feature for three months.
3. Either way: put the signup link somewhere people actually pass by — your blog, your Pinterest profile, your email signature. The tool never grows the list; the habit does.

And schedule the send day in your weekly plan — a newsletter is just a weekly review someone else gets to read.

Part of SortedWeek’s weekly planning series. New guides added every week.