Kit vs Systeme.io vs MailerLite: Newsletter and Digital Product Sales Compared

The short version: if you want to sell a digital guide, template, or course alongside your emails without paying a monthly subscription, Systeme.io gives you the most complete free toolkit. If your primary focus is writing a newsletter to a large audience, Kit lets you keep up to 10,000 subscribers on its free plan. If you want simple automated email sequences on a modest budget, MailerLite offers low entry pricing starting at $12 a month.

All three platforms handle email broadcasts and digital product sales, but their limits, transaction charges, and automation rules differ significantly. The worked example below shows exactly what each platform costs you each month when selling a digital download to an audience of 1,000 subscribers. All prices and platform rules are US list figures checked on 2026-10-04.

The three in one table

Worked example: selling 40 copies of a $19 guide with 1,000 subscribers

This hypothetical creator sells a $19 digital PDF guide to an email list of 1,000 subscribers. Each month, the store generates 40 orders, totaling $760 in gross revenue (40 × $19). The creator sends a weekly newsletter and wants to deliver downloads automatically.

Because this store sells a digital file, product inventory cost is $0 and postage is $0. We compare the net cash left over after software subscriptions and transaction fees across all three platforms.

For card processing on Systeme.io and MailerLite, Stripe connects directly to your account. Standard US Stripe card processing is 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. For 40 orders of $19 ($760 sales), Stripe card processing is: 2.9% of $760 ($22.04) plus 30¢ × 40 orders ($12.00) = $34.04.

On Kit Commerce, digital sales incur Kit’s stated fee of 3.5% + 30¢ (which includes Kit’s 0.6% cut plus card processing): 3.5% of $760 ($26.60) plus 30¢ × 40 orders ($12.00) = $38.60.

Here is how the monthly profit compares across the three platforms at 1,000 subscribers on entry tiers:

Systeme.io leaves the most cash in your pocket ($725.96) because its free plan covers up to 2,000 contacts, requires no monthly fee, and takes 0% platform transaction fees.

Kit’s Free tier is a strong contender ($721.40 left), but it does not include visual automations. If you want automated email funnels triggered upon purchase or signup, Kit requires the Creator plan at $33 a month, leaving you with $688.40.

MailerLite’s Free plan limits you to 250 subscribers, so at 1,000 subscribers you must choose a paid plan like Comfort ($12 a month), netting $713.96.

Run it with your own numbers: your gross product sales − your platform subscription − your transaction fees = your take-home pay. Check the profit per order calculator to calculate your unit margins when factoring in digital delivery fees. For a wider breakdown of business operational costs, see our monthly cost of running an online store guide.

Systeme.io: for when you want a complete sales funnel for $0

Systeme.io is built around sales funnels and digital product delivery rather than simple newsletter publishing.

Its Free plan offers generous allowances:

• Up to 2,000 contacts with unlimited emails and unlimited file storage.
• 3 sales funnels and 1 course with unlimited students.
• 1 custom domain and 1 blog.
• 1 affiliate program to pay commissions to affiliates.
• A drag-and-drop editor with A/B split testing, one-click upsells, order bumps, and countdown timers.
• 0% transaction fees charged by Systeme.io on all plans.

All features are available on every plan, including the free tier, and signup requires no credit card. If your list passes 2,000 contacts, the Startup plan is $17 a month for up to 5,000 contacts, the Webinar plan is $47 a month for 10,000 contacts, and the Unlimited plan is $97 a month for unlimited contacts (with annual billing offering 2 months free). The Unlimited plan also includes a free migration service.

Systeme.io fits creators who want a checkout page, an order bump, an upsell funnel, and course hosting in a single dashboard without cobbling together separate plugins.

Kit: for when newsletter publishing is your core focus

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is designed specifically for writers, podcasters, and content creators building a personal brand.

Its standout feature is its generous subscriber ceiling on the free tier:

• Free plan at $0 a month for up to 10,000 subscribers.
• Unlimited email broadcasts and unlimited landing pages and forms.
• Built-in Kit Commerce to sell ebooks, paid newsletter subscriptions, memberships, presets, coaching sessions, or add a tip jar with automatic digital product delivery.
• A 14-day free trial on paid features with no credit card required.

However, Kit’s Free plan holds back visual automations. To send multi-step automated email sequences, you must upgrade to the Creator plan, which starts at $33 a month on monthly billing (or $390 billed yearly, saving $78 per year) for 1,000 subscribers. The Pro plan starts at $66 a month monthly ($790 billed yearly, saving $158) for 1,000 subscribers, adding 24/7 priority email and chat support and subscriber scoring. Kit also offers free migrations from other platforms.

On product sales, Kit Commerce charges 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction, emphasizing that Kit takes 0.6% on top of payment processing. Kit also operates a Paid Recommendations network with a 23.5% fee.

Kit is ideal if you publish regular broadcast newsletters to thousands of readers and want to sell an occasional digital file or coaching package without paying monthly software fees until you need complex automated funnels.

MailerLite: for when you want clean email automations on a budget

MailerLite is a traditional email service provider designed for creating professional email campaigns and automated onboarding sequences.

MailerLite structures its tiers as follows:

• Free plan at $0 a month, limited to 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, 2 user seats, 3 automations, 1 website, 1 landing page, 3 signup forms, and 1 digital product or booking.
• Comfort plan starting at $12 a month (or save 10% when billed yearly), providing 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, and 5 digital products or bookings.
• Power plan starting at $25 a month, adding unlimited monthly emails, unlimited user seats, 24/7 live chat and email support, and unlimited digital products and bookings.
• Free trial with no credit card required.

Monetization features include selling digital products, selling bookings, sending paid newsletters, and selling recurring subscriptions via Stripe integration.

MailerLite suits store owners who want automated welcome sequences, cart follow-ups, and clean landing pages without paying the higher monthly minimums charged by specialized creator tools. For broader context on selecting email software, see our guide to best email marketing for a new online store and email marketing basics for an online store.

Who should pick something else

• Stores selling physical inventory with shipping labels: None of these platforms replaces an ecommerce store builder. If you sell physical shirts, ceramics, or packaged goods, look at Shopify pricing explained, Squarespace pricing explained, or Wix pricing explained.
• Ecommerce brands wanting deep store integrations: If you run an active store on Shopify or WooCommerce and need advanced purchase triggers, predictive segments, and SMS, review dedicated ecommerce marketing tools like Klaviyo pricing explained or Mailchimp pricing explained.
• Merchants already running WordPress: If you already operate a self-hosted WordPress site, you can keep your content on your own server. Compare your options in our Shopify vs WooCommerce guide.

Common mistakes when choosing

1. Paying for Kit Creator just to send a weekly newsletter. Kit lets you broadcast to up to 10,000 subscribers completely free. Do not pay $33 a month until you actually need multi-step visual automations.
2. Overlooking transaction fees on digital downloads. If you sell $2,000 worth of courses a month, Kit’s 3.5% + 30¢ fee takes $70 plus order charges. On Systeme.io, the 0% platform fee means you only pay your underlying card processor.
3. Assuming MailerLite’s free tier scales with your audience. MailerLite caps its free tier at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. If you gather 500 subscribers from a product launch, you must move to a paid plan ($12 a month or more).
4. Ignoring course and funnel limits. Systeme.io gives you 1 course and 3 funnels free. If you plan to launch three courses immediately, you will need the $17 a month Startup plan.
5. Forgetting annual billing savings. If you know your platform choice will last the year, annual discounts save real money. MailerLite gives a 10% discount, Kit Creator saves $78 a year ($390 billed yearly vs $396 paid monthly), and Systeme.io gives 2 months free on yearly billing.

How to decide in 10 minutes

Follow this sequence to pick the right platform:

1. Count your current subscribers. If you have zero subscribers and zero budget, sign up for Systeme.io Free (if you want sales funnels and a course) or Kit Free (if you want broadcast newsletters to a large audience).
2. Decide if you need automated welcome funnels. If you need automated drip sequences right away on a small budget, pick MailerLite Comfort ($12 a month) or use Systeme.io’s free funnels. If you only send one-off weekly newsletters, Kit Free covers you up to 10,000 subscribers.
3. Check your product type. If you are selling an online course with video lessons, student access, and order bumps, pick Systeme.io. If you are selling a single downloadable PDF guide or newsletter subscription, both Kit and MailerLite handle delivery easily.
4. Evaluate platform fees. If you anticipate high digital sales volume, Systeme.io’s 0% platform transaction fee protects your margins.
5. Connect your custom domain. Review our domain and business email setup and legal pages and policies guides before emailing your list to ensure high deliverability and compliance. This guide is for informational purposes and is not legal or tax advice.

Sources (checked 2026-10-04)

• Kit: Pricing Plans and Limits, supports Free plan limits up to 10,000 subscribers, Creator plan pricing ($33/mo, $390/yr), Pro plan pricing ($66/mo, $790/yr), and 3.5% + 30¢ commerce fee
• Kit: Commerce Features, supports digital product delivery, paid subscriptions, coaching, and 0.6% fee messaging
• Systeme.io: Pricing and Plan Limits, supports Free plan limits (2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course), 0% transaction fees, and Startup ($17/mo), Webinar ($47/mo), Unlimited ($97/mo) plans
• Systeme.io: Features Overview, supports drag-and-drop funnel builder, website builder, course hosting, and affiliate program
• MailerLite: Pricing and Plans, supports Free plan limits (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails), Comfort ($12/mo) and Power ($25/mo) pricing, Stripe integration, and 10% annual discount
• Stripe: Pricing, supports the US card processing rate of 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction used in the worked example