What Is Kit (ConvertKit)?
Kit — formerly ConvertKit — is an email marketing platform built specifically for creators: bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, course sellers, and newsletter writers. Founded by Nathan Barry in 2013, it was one of the first platforms to treat subscribers as people with interests and behaviors, rather than entries in a spreadsheet.
The 2024 rebrand to "Kit" reflects the company's evolution from a newsletter tool into a creator commerce platform — one where you can build an audience, nurture them with email, and sell products directly, all in one system.
Who Is Kit For?
Kit is purpose-built for:
- Content creators — YouTubers, podcasters, bloggers with email lists
- Course sellers — anyone selling digital products to an email list
- Newsletter writers — especially those monetizing with paid tiers
- Coaches and consultants — relationship-driven selling via email
It's not ideal for:
- E-commerce brands (Klaviyo's behavioral segmentation is better)
- B2B sales teams (HubSpot's CRM integration is more appropriate)
- Designers who want visually rich email templates (Kit's aesthetic is intentionally minimal)
Core Features
Subscriber-First Model
Kit treats every subscriber as a person with tags, custom fields, and behaviors — not a row in a database. This matters for segmentation.
Instead of putting people in lists, Kit uses tags: a subscriber can have tags like purchased-course, interested-email, came-from-youtube simultaneously. Sequences and broadcasts are then targeted to specific tag combinations. This flexibility is more powerful than list-based systems for creators with diverse audience segments.
Automation Builder
Kit's visual automation builder is genuinely approachable. You create flows that trigger on:
- New subscriber (from any form or landing page)
- Tag applied
- Link clicked in an email
- Product purchased
- Date-based triggers
From each trigger, you can send emails, apply/remove tags, add to/remove from sequences, or set custom fields. For typical creator use cases — welcome sequence → nurture sequence → product pitch — Kit's builder handles everything without complexity.
Creator Commerce
Kit's commerce features let you sell digital products (courses, ebooks, templates, coaching calls) directly without Gumroad, Teachable, or a separate cart. Sell in two clicks: create a product, share the payment link, and Kit handles the checkout, delivery, and subscriber tagging automatically.
For creators starting out, this is significant — you can monetize your list without a separate tool.
Paid Newsletter (Recommendations)
Kit integrates with paid newsletters through Stripe. Set a monthly or annual subscription price, and Kit gates content for paying subscribers. The Recommendations feature (similar to Beehiiv's) suggests your newsletter to readers of similar newsletters, driving organic subscriber growth.
Kit Pricing
| Plan | Price | Subscribers | Features | |------|-------|-------------|---------| | Newsletter | $0 | Up to 10,000 | Basic sends, 1 automation | | Creator | $25/month | 1,000 | Full automations, paid subs | | Creator Pro | $50/month | 1,000 | Priority support, subscriber scoring |
Pricing scales with subscriber count — at 10,000 subscribers, Creator costs $100/month, Creator Pro $200/month.
The free plan is genuinely usable: 10,000 subscribers with basic broadcasts and one automation sequence is enough to run a real newsletter and sell products.
Kit vs. Beehiiv
This is the most common comparison for creator-economy newsletters.
Choose Kit if:
- You're selling digital products and want commerce built in
- You need sophisticated automation logic
- You want to tag and segment a diverse audience by behavior
Choose Beehiiv if:
- The newsletter itself is your primary product
- You want the Boost passive income network
- You care about growth tools (referral program, recommendations)
- You want every issue published as a web page (SEO)
Many creators use both — Kit for the email side and automation, with content cross-posted. This isn't necessary but does happen.
The Affiliate Program: 30% for 24 Months
Kit's affiliate program is the best duration in the email marketing category: 30% commission for 24 months on any paying plan.
At $25/month (Creator with 1,000 subscribers), that's $7.50/month for 2 years = $180 per referral. At $100/month (Creator with 10,000 subscribers), that's $30/month for 2 years = $720 per referral.
The 90-day cookie window is strong. For creator-economy content — newsletters about newsletters, YouTubers reviewing tools — Kit converts naturally because the audience is already creator-oriented.
Verdict
Kit earns a 4.5/5 for creators and newsletter writers.
The free plan at 10,000 subscribers is remarkable — you can run a real business before paying anything. The automations are creator-friendly, the commerce features eliminate a separate tool, and the 24-month affiliate commission is genuinely exceptional.
The limitation: Kit doesn't have Beehiiv's growth flywheel (Boost, recommendations network) or Beehiiv's publishing features. If newsletter growth is the primary goal, Beehiiv has more built-in leverage. If you're selling products to an email list and need segmentation, Kit is the better fit.