Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the default nobody gets fired for picking, and the reason is that whatever else you run already connects to it. The editor and the reporting are fine rather than good. Its pricing counts contacts rather than sends, so a large list you mail once a month costs the same as one you mail daily, which is the wrong shape for most creators.

The price moves on a contact slider rather than on sends. At the smallest band, Standard starts at $20 a month after a 14-day trial that needs no card, and Essentials sits below it. A free plan exists for a small list. Because billing counts contacts, a big list mailed rarely costs the same as one mailed daily, which is the wrong shape for most creators and the usual reason people leave.

Someone whose email needs to talk to a shop, a booking tool and a CRM that were all chosen before the newsletter existed. A writer sending one letter a week is overpaying for machinery.