{
  "$schema": "https://tiergauge.com/api/tools.schema.json",
  "feed_version": "1",
  "generated_at": "2026-05-01T03:49:43.063Z",
  "site": "https://tiergauge.com",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to TierGauge.",
  "tool": {
    "slug": "buttondown",
    "name": "Buttondown",
    "vendor": "Buttondown",
    "homepage_url": "https://buttondown.com",
    "pricing_url": "https://buttondown.com/pricing",
    "tagline": "Privacy-first newsletter tool for creators with à la carte add-on pricing instead of stacked tiers.",
    "description": "Buttondown is a creator-focused newsletter platform that ships a free plan up to 100 subscribers and then charges flat monthly add-ons (at $9, $29, or $79) for the specific features you need, rather than forcing an upgrade across an entire bundle of features.",
    "primary_category": "email-marketing",
    "secondary_categories": [
      "content-marketing"
    ],
    "plans": [
      {
        "name": "Free",
        "slug": "free",
        "tagline": "Up to 100 subscribers with markdown editor, custom-domain sending, and hosted archives.",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "free"
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 0,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 100,
            "unit": "subscribers"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Rich text or markdown editor",
          "Custom domain sending",
          "Hosted archives",
          "Privacy-first defaults"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "Tagging and segmentation",
          "Paid subscriptions",
          "Comments and surveys",
          "Analytics",
          "RSS-to-email",
          "Email attachments",
          "Custom domain archives",
          "Multiple newsletters",
          "Automations",
          "Whitelabeling",
          "Teams"
        ],
        "is_free": true,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://buttondown.com/pricing",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Free up to 100 subscribers. Upgrades are à la carte add-ons rather than tiered bundles."
      },
      {
        "name": "$9 add-ons",
        "slug": "addons-9",
        "tagline": "Pay per feature; this bundle is illustrative of the $9 add-on tier.",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 900,
              "currency": "USD"
            }
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 900,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "custom"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Tagging and segmentation",
          "Paid subscriptions",
          "Comments and surveys",
          "Analytics",
          "RSS-to-email",
          "Email attachments",
          "Rich text or markdown editor",
          "Custom domain sending",
          "Hosted archives"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "Custom domain archives",
          "Multiple newsletters",
          "Automations",
          "Whitelabeling",
          "Teams"
        ],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://buttondown.com/pricing",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Each $9 item is a separate add-on. The price shown reflects one add-on; users mix and match. Pricing assumes at most one email per day to the full list."
      },
      {
        "name": "$29 add-ons",
        "slug": "addons-29",
        "tagline": "Pay per feature; this bundle is illustrative of the $29 add-on tier.",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 2900,
              "currency": "USD"
            }
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 2900,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "custom"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Custom domain archives",
          "Multiple newsletters",
          "Automations",
          "Tagging and segmentation",
          "Paid subscriptions",
          "Comments and surveys",
          "Analytics",
          "RSS-to-email",
          "Email attachments",
          "Rich text or markdown editor",
          "Custom domain sending",
          "Hosted archives"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "Whitelabeling",
          "Teams"
        ],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://buttondown.com/pricing",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Each $29 item is a separate add-on. The bundle here is shown for comparison only. Pricing assumes at most one email per day to the full list."
      },
      {
        "name": "$79 add-ons",
        "slug": "addons-79",
        "tagline": "Pay per feature; this bundle is illustrative of the $79 add-on tier.",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 7900,
              "currency": "USD"
            }
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 7900,
        "limits": {
          "contacts": {
            "kind": "custom"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "Whitelabeling",
          "Teams",
          "Custom domain archives",
          "Multiple newsletters",
          "Automations",
          "Tagging and segmentation",
          "Paid subscriptions",
          "Comments and surveys",
          "Analytics",
          "RSS-to-email",
          "Email attachments",
          "Rich text or markdown editor",
          "Custom domain sending",
          "Hosted archives"
        ],
        "features_missing": [],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://buttondown.com/pricing",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "Each $79 item is a separate add-on. High-volume sending beyond one email per day to the full list requires custom pricing. A 50% discount is offered to verified 501(c)(3) non-profits."
      }
    ],
    "free_plan_available": true,
    "free_trial_days": null,
    "starting_price_usd_cents": 0,
    "has_custom_enterprise": true,
    "alternatives": [
      "kit",
      "beehiiv",
      "substack",
      "mailchimp",
      "mailerlite",
      "ghost"
    ],
    "pros": [
      "Privacy-first stance with no tracking pixels by default.",
      "À la carte pricing means you only pay for the features you actually use.",
      "Both rich text and markdown editors are first-class.",
      "Custom domain sending is included on the free plan.",
      "No tier ratchet pushing you up the price ladder for one missing feature."
    ],
    "cons": [
      "Pricing assumes at most one email per day to the full list; heavier senders need a custom quote.",
      "Add-on shopping is unusual and can be harder to budget than flat tiers.",
      "Feature surface is narrower than full marketing-automation suites.",
      "Smaller integration ecosystem than Mailchimp or Kit."
    ],
    "best_for": [
      "Independent writers and indie creators running a paid newsletter.",
      "Privacy-minded operators who want to avoid tracking pixels.",
      "Markdown-native authors who prefer plain text over WYSIWYG bloat."
    ],
    "not_for": [
      "High-volume senders pushing multiple campaigns per day.",
      "E-commerce teams needing deep behavioral automation and segmentation.",
      "Marketing teams that want a single flat tier covering every feature."
    ],
    "last_verified": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
    "scraper_status": "manual-only"
  }
}