--- title: "Buttondown Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Buttondown the right Email Marketing solution for you? Explore 114 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/10008721/Buttondown/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- Buttondown 4.8 (114) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/10008721/Buttondown/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated September 28th, 2026 # Reviews of Buttondown Ease of use 4.5 Customer Service 4.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews MC Mags C WriterWriting and Editing, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I’ve been using Buttondown to write and distribute a personal newsletter — I take paid subscriptions, but it’s essentially a small-scale, stand-alone creative project. While there are many newsletter tools that cater to users like me, I chose Buttondown because of the high degree of control it gives me over my user experience and — not unrelatedly! because it’s clearly built to be a newsletter tool, not a walled garden social network (which I’m a little wary of locking my creative work into these days).“ October 17, 2023 AK Alexander K CEO and FounderMarketing and Advertising, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “So it might be a cookie-setting issue or so, not sure. And there was incidence in August where emails were stuck in the "Draft" status and I didn’t know why.“ September 6, 2025 KM Kolawole M Engineering WriterWriting and Editing, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “The tool job is to help you craft emails and send them, it does it best.“ May 26, 2025 MS Maggie S TherapistMental Health Care, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Some of the language is a bit confusing for folks who don't have a coding background.“ January 30, 2025 EA E M A AuthorPublishing, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I was amazed to even find a page about when and how Buttondown provides information to law enforcement - all platforms have a clause in their privacy policy about providing information to law enforcement if they must, but this is the first time I've ever seen a platform describe in what situation this would happen. Since starting to use Buttondown: I like how easy it was to important everything from my old Substack.“ November 17, 2023 MT Matt T writerBroadcast Media, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “the pricing structure meant that I could not create two newsletters without paying a higher payment plan, despite both newsletters having a small audience.“ February 4, 2024 KH Kate H Productivity CoachHigher Education, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I've reached out with questions a few times and \[sensitive content hidden\] has responded promptly and with really clear instructions.“ February 20, 2025 BL Ben L WriterNewspapers, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “It doesn’t look like I’m able to use any analytics software.“ May 25, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 114 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Adriano M. Owner Internet Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "The best service I have ever received" January 20, 2025 5.0 In addition to being easy to use, the company provides personalized support: the team quickly responds to any email you send them, making the experience of using the service as close to being served by someone at the counter of a store with years of tradition as possible, rather than the cold service of a mega corporation. Those who like to be well served will love Buttondown. Pros Easy to use interface, focused on what really matters, making it easy to understand how to use it Cons The email template is customized using CSS, which is quite flexible. However, it is necessary to know how to work with this format. Nothing that requesting changes from ChatGPT can't solve. Review Source AK Alexander K. CEO and Founder Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A robust, non-fancy email newsletter tool for Indie creators - with only the features I need" September 6, 2025 5.0 My 2,5 years with Buttondown has been great overall! I sent my first Buttondown-powered email on March 25, 2023 I upgraded to the Basic plan $9/mo on Oct 10, 2024 so I can send from a custom domain I upgraded to the Standard plan $29/mo on Feb 5, 2025 so I can host my archive on a custom domain and I can access automations I’m happy where I am right now Pros The customer support is helpful, friendly, fast and actually willing to help me solve each problem I'm facing. The editor supports Markdown and feels well-developed for plain-text emails :) Cons I cannot stay logged in after my initial login. It might be a Safari problem because I have experienced issues like these with Safari too. So it might be a cookie-setting issue or so, not sure. And there was incidence in August where emails were stuck in the "Draft" status and I didn’t know why. So I contacted the customer support, they apologized and explained what was going on, see → \[sensitive content hidden\] - it was basically bug fix that was rolled out in the afternoon but introduced a new bug, and because this change was made on the weekend (and the support operates Monday-Friday), they didn’t notice customers flagging the issue to support until the evening. So, in less than 1 hour the issue was resolved, which I find to be a reasonable time. Switched from [Hey](https://www.capterra.com/p/236352/Hey/) With HEY, I didn’t like that blog posts were linked with emails. So if I want to remove just the blog post, I would also remove the email and therefore lose track of what I sent. I also didn’t like that emails I sent (blog posts I wrote) were stuck in the inbox (Imbox), because I prefer a zero-email inbox. Review Source VL Vincent L. Sommelier Wine and Spirits Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Work in progress" April 16, 2025 3.0 I've had to spend a lot of time to understand how to configure the whole thing. It's not as intuitive as Mailchimp. Pros The price is good. Most of the features you are looking for are there. Cons Lake of flexibility regarding how you can setup things. I used to work with Mailchimp which for me, is the best. It sometimes feels like it's incomplete. Alternatives considered [Substock](https://www.capterra.com/p/10027794/Substock/) Reason for choosing Buttondown Substack couldn't allow me to play with images, text and hyperlinks easily. Review Source KM Kolawole M. Engineering Writer Writing and Editing Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great for beginners and people starting to write. " May 26, 2025 5.0 Buttondown is a solid choice if you’re starting a newsletter. The pricing at scale takes a bit of reading to understand, but it’s fair. For under $100, you can cover a year and focus on writing. It’s the best email tool I’ve used so far. Simple, focused, and does the job well without unnecessary features. Customization is solid, and the writing experience is smooth. Pros I like many things about the product, but it is the first email newsletter tool. I've used some in the past, but I can say that: - Buttondown provides the best experience because of simplicity over complex features. - The tool job is to help you craft emails and send them, it does it best. - The tool has quite a lot of features for customization. Cons The pricing when scaling is a little bit obscure, but understandable after a lot of reading. This is a tool I'll recommend if you are starting to write. The starting plan is also very reasonable, so with less 100$, you can secure one year to work on your growth and content. Review Source DP Dusty P. Author E-Learning Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "An excellent newsletter service" January 25, 2025 5.0 Have been using the service for two newsletters for about a year. It is always a “friendly and delightful” experience. The developers care and it shows. Pros Simple and powerful, a rare combination. Interface stays out of the way. Free tier is generous. I recently bumped to the paid tier and felt I was getting excellent value. As a developer, I particularly like how easy the subscribe form is to set up and customize. The competitors all tried to do something dumb with an Iframe and it didn’t integrate well with my sites. In a world where social media is trying to control the message as well as the means, it is vital to have a direct way to contact those interested in my work. Cons Sometimes I think I’ve sent a message but it’s actually still in draft. The ui occasionally glitches on Safari. Alternatives considered [MailerLite](https://www.capterra.com/p/136603/MailerLite/)[Brevo Marketing Platform](https://www.capterra.com/p/132996/brevo/)[SendGrid](https://www.capterra.com/p/204113/SendGrid/) Reason for choosing Buttondown I probably looked at more than I discussed. Button down was hard to find, but once I found it and tested it on my site it was a no-brainer to keep. Everything else looked out of place or broke the layout in the subscribe form, or required a backend integration,, but my site is backendless. Switched from [Sender](https://www.capterra.com/p/139770/SENDER/) The subscribe form was designed for technically incompetent users and I’m a real developer. I wanted a form action. Review Source RPG Randall P. G. Owner Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Unparalleled Newsletter Service" February 22, 2025 5.0 I migrated from Nazi-supporting Substack, knowing that I was moving from a free service to a paid service. But I don't mind paying when I feel like the product that I'm getting is worth it. This is the program I tell my friends to go to. Pros Buttondown is the perfect solution for newsletters. I'm very happy that this was the choice I made when migrating away from the "traditional" newsletter services. It feels personal and I love supporting them. Cons Nothing. I'm not simply saying that to "fill in the blanks". It's a great service. Alternatives considered [Ghost](https://www.capterra.com/p/151947/Ghost/) Reason for choosing Buttondown I liked the personalization of Buttondown versus Ghost. Review Source MG Mackey G. Digital systems wrangler Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Buttondown is terrific" May 12, 2025 5.0 I've switched all my newsletters/clients to Buttondown. It is the best newsletter software available, IMO. Pros Excellent focus on customization and developer freedom, but not marketing feature overload. Cons I literally don't dislike anything about it. It's perfectly focused on what it does. Every time I've wanted to do something nuanced, Buttondown has made it easy. Review Source BL Ben L. Writer Newspapers Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "My current experience with Buttondown " May 25, 2025 5.0 So far, I like it. It’s quick, simple and seems to have a lot of functionality. I’m able to just produce a newsletter and enjoy it. Pros It’s easy to get started and it didn’t take too long to find some of the needed functions. I do like that price can be more open. Cons It doesn’t look like I’m able to use any analytics software. I don’t see a way to copy and paste the code. Switched from [Ghost](https://www.capterra.com/p/151947/Ghost/) Had a technical issue and support was not available. Also, availability wasn’t disclosed until I sent my email. I moved my email list here and am using Ghost with another provider (not Ghost Pro) for a homepage. Review Source AD Anil D. Publisher Internet Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Easy to configure and get started " March 31, 2025 5.0 Very easy overall, especially compared to the alternatives with less customization. Pros Great support, very customizable. And message delivery is very reliable. Cons Took a minute to understand all the different settings. Reason for choosing Buttondown Substack management are unprofessional and not suitable for any business Review Source SN Sophie N. Musician Music Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "First impressions of Buttondown " April 6, 2025 5.0 I am very satisfied with my experience with Buttondown; I find it useful and it makes sending my weekly newsletter an efficient and enjoyable experience. Pros I like the simplicity of the interface and how easy it is to use. It feels intuitive, and it does everything I need it to do without overcomplicating things. Cons I wish I could customize the emails a bit better, but it might just be because I am not good at coding. Review Source EMA E M A. Author Publishing Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great team, transparency, customization, and end product" November 17, 2023 5.0 Pros The first three things that drew me to Buttondown when a friend suggested it as a possible alternative to Substack: (1) Free tier that includes unlimited customer service. Many newsletter platforms are doing away with free tiers entirely, and those that still have them typically limit free customer service to the first 30 days, which is basically useless to someone like me who only sends out one newsletter per month. (2) Ability to important subscribers and past issues from Substack, as I was looking specifically to move away from Substack for a variety of reasons. (3) The transparency! Going through the pages about Buttondown and its use really impressed me. I was amazed to even find a page about when and how Buttondown provides information to law enforcement - all platforms have a clause in their privacy policy about providing information to law enforcement if they must, but this is the first time I've ever seen a platform describe in what situation this would happen. Since starting to use Buttondown: I like how easy it was to important everything from my old Substack. I love that I've been able to customize my newsletter's look more than I could on Substack. I love that there's built-in alt text and that alt text is included in the "are you really ready to publish" checklist! And I've had a great experience with \[sensitive content hidden\] and the customer service team. Cons It's not very intuitive, which does create more of a learning curve for me as someone who isn't tech savvy than I might have on other platforms. However, this is offset by the pages and pages of resources and guides to using Buttondown (as well as the fantastic customer service). Alternatives considered [MailerLite](https://www.capterra.com/p/136603/MailerLite/) Reason for choosing Buttondown I wasn't happy with any of the major platforms. Some of them had no free tier, while others had a free tier with laughably limited customer service. I was also concerned that I might switch, quickly find out something terrible about the company, and immediately want to switch again. When a friend found Buttondown while helping me search for additional options, I really liked Buttondown's transparency and pricing options. I was a little apprehensive about trying it because it seemed like it might be harder for me to use, but it's actually been just about as easy as Substack! There's been a little bit of a learning curve, but in some cases that applies to things I couldn't do on Substack anyway (like create a custom header and footer for my newsletter). Review Source AW Aaron W. NA Writing and Editing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simple yet powerful email marketing with many tech-savvy options" July 26, 2024 4.0 My experience has been great; it's like a breath of fresh air compared to most of the bloated, overpriced email products out there, and there are no ethical qualms either. I love being able to support handmade software that is built by people who care about quality and service. Pros Buttondown is easy to set up and start using and has a lot of powerful features out of the box. The customer service is excellent and Justin is always adding new stuff to the product; he's very transparent about future plans and his organization and attention to detail is impressive. As a developer myself, I know good software when I see it, and Buttondown is it. Cons Buttondown doesn't always have all of the fancy ease-of-use and design-customization features that much larger products have. Alternatives considered [Kit](https://www.capterra.com/p/175000/ConvertKit/) Reason for choosing Buttondown It's much slimmer, easier to use, and it had a feature-ful free option. Review Source PI Paul I. owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Powerful, flexible, dev-friendly newsletter service with awesome support" June 9, 2023 4.0 I look forward to working with Buttondown. There aren't many services I can say that about. Plenty of "ick" with a lot of the tech I have to deal with. When it’s time to work with Buttondown, it’s a relief, because it’s so thoughtfully designed. I can also clearly see Pros The most important quality of Buttondown for me is that it plays nicely with my own CMS, which existed for many years before I started a newsletter. Even though I’m happy to give credit to Buttondown for powering my newsletter, I am very happy to be able to publish a newsletter that looks like a product of my business. Another critical integration factor: with just a handful of API calls, my premium subscribers can also be in my bespoke membership program on my own website. Noice. Cons It is a little bit rough around the edges, as you would expect from any small shop with a complex product. But don’t get me wrong, this barely qualifies as a not-liking: all products have issues, and I would much rather spar with bugs with a responsive and thoughtful developer any day of the week. Alternatives considered [Mailcoach](https://www.capterra.com/p/204077/Mailcoach/)[Memberful](https://www.capterra.com/p/10004360/Memberful/)[Patreon](https://www.capterra.com/p/230186/Patreon/) Reason for choosing Buttondown Smaller shop, thoughtful and flexible features, developer friendly, nice API. And I liked the values advertised (e.g. passing on some revenue to open source projects). Review Source nT nicholas T. Owner Publishing Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great choice for power users" November 12, 2023 4.0 Love it! Couldn’t be happier with the support and overall experience. Exactly what i was looking for coming from the monkey software. Pros I like that i can write campaigns in Markdown and focus on simple emails instead of lots of templates and drag and drop formatting. Cons Campaign management is minimal. It would be nice to be able to tag, filter, and sort campaigns better. Review Source AR Alis R. author Writing and Editing Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "So Far So Good" January 21, 2024 5.0 Overall positive. I've just barely started, and have only sent out one newsletter so far, but it seems to have worked fairly seamlessly and I will continue to expand my knowledge base for the platform as I use it more. I particularly appreciate \[sensitive content hidden\] helpful support and his cheerful and incredibly patient disposition. Pros I very much appreciate the support. I was able to schedule a half hour call with \[sensitive content hidden\] where he answered my questions. He seamlessly migrated my subscribers and archives over to Buttondown. Overall, once the DNS Records were switched, sending an email has been fairly straightforward, which I appreciate, as well as being able to choose between Markdown, HTML, or a mode in which it's done for me. The look is clean, and the archives page is easy to scan. The pricing (Standard) is reasonable. Cons I found it difficult to set up in large part because much of the "language" is foreign to me. My hosting server's help desk ended up switching the DNS Records for me because I didn't understand the directions. As well, I don't have the settings fully set up because I don't understand some of them. A lot of this is my own ignorance; some of it might be helped with a little more explanatory text or even "explain it to me like I'm a five year old" text. I very much hope comments are enabled when that is possible. Reason for choosing Buttondown Testimonials by people like Charlie Jane Anders and Ed Yong. Promised ease of use. Praise for it having good support. Price point (using the annual payment, it was affordable for me). Review Source CT Carolann T. Grant Writer Fund-Raising Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Somewhat satisfied" March 25, 2024 5.0 I’m still a relatively new user, but so far I’m underwhelmed with the analytics side of things. With my previous platform, I was able to easily track number of opens by email and by subscriber (for free). I now pay for analytics that are not as good. The Buttondown platform is easy to use, which is great, but may not make up for the analytics. Pros I like how easy Buttondown was to set up and start sending emails. Cons Tracking engagement was pretty much nonexistent until I upgraded my account. Even now, the analytics aren’t great. Reason for choosing Buttondown I wanted to try something new. I’ve used MailChimp before and didn’t love it. Switched from [HyperWrite](https://www.capterra.com/p/10015123/HyperWrite/) Tinyletter dissolved and someone recommended this platform. Review Source NO Nadia O. Founder and CEO Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "So glad to have moved over from Mailchimp!" September 18, 2024 5.0 Pros I love the clean, functional simplicity of it, with smart defaults. It's competitively priced and has great built-in subscription functionality. The \[sensitive content hidden\], has been incredible with my onboarding. He personally helped me move over from Mailchimp and has been on hand to answer any questions I have regarding getting used to the new platform. I'm so happy to be with Buttondown now. Cons It wasn't always clear how to adjust certain default settings, especially ones related to design, but Justin has been on hand with prompt responses whenever I've had a query. Review Source EL Elly L. Web Designer Internet Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I love small products that care" April 9, 2025 5.0 Pros Its small, and it cares, aka it’s not a huge company. Cons It can feel a lil janky sometimes, but it’s really not that bad. Review Source CA Cass A. Head Writer for Non-fiction Entertainment Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Review for Buttondown from Semiurge " November 17, 2024 5.0 It's good as a no frills, does what it says on the tin service. I'm not looking for more, so I can't say if that's a problem if you want more. Pros It's simplicity makes it easy to use and quick to figure out. Cons There could be a little more explanation at account creation of what each field filled out will look like practically when you're finished. I accidentally misnamed the newsletter at first because I thought I was just filling out a username for the website, although I haven't used one of these sites before. Also, I changed my email but continued to receive messages at my old one rather than the new one. Review Source GA Geoffrey A. Proprietor Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Simple, Flexible, and well built" December 28, 2023 5.0 Positive, refreshing, and effective. It does what it says with no drama. Plus the notification emails are fun. \[sensitive content hidden\] clearly has a sense of humor and pours his being into the efforts Pros It was easy to set up, and when I upgraded to the basic tier, it was clear what would be included, and what performance to expect. It is easy to work with, I use the RSS feed to trigger the creation of a newsletter email, have it sit in my drafts (so I can tweak it if need be) and then send when I am ready. It does the job, quietly, competently, and without any drama. No surprises. Also, the few questions I had, \[sensitive content hidden\] was super responsive in answering and helping out. Cons Not really a Buttondown issue, but it is disappointing that most email clients trash carefully created CSS formatting tweaks. Reason for choosing Buttondown I am moving from Substack, and I chose Buttondown as a lightweight delivery vehicle for the newsletter. I am pairing it with a Wordpress blog to serve as my CMS. So far it is great Review Source SR Sara R. Founder Commercial Real Estate Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Starting my new business with Buttondown" March 25, 2024 5.0 Pros After evaluating options for hosting my paid newsletter, I chose Buttondown for its flexibility (design, formatting for email/web, incorporating my logo and branding), payment integration, subscriber analytics, affordability, and flat fee-for-service as opposed to paying a share of subscription revenue. Cons Set-up was more complicated than expected, but many of my obstacles were easy to overcome via the online documentation and knowledge gained during set-up means an easier path going forward. I did have a couple items warrenting additional support and was amazed at how quick and helpful the Buttondown can be. I was sold on the service itself by the support I received during setup and sending my first newsletter. One item flagged by me is now a update for all users. That is fantastic customer service! Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Owner Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Service; Sincere Company" July 25, 2024 5.0 A great tool that doesn't get in the way. Simple authoring a newsletter to end users reading with no obstacles/complexities. Pros I like the small personalized feel of the service, the \[sensitive content hidden\] and the communications. It's not a large company with sales reps calling/emailing constantly. Cons I haven't found anything I'm unhappy with yet. After hitting 100 subscribers, I was gently invited to upgrade from the free account which was appropriate. Review Source NH Nate H. inapplicable Writing and Editing Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Buttondown is great for writing a newsletter/blog" June 14, 2024 4.0 It's fantastic for me as a writer. Other sites have been harder to use and included bells and whistles that are a distraction from the main thing that interests me and the only thing I have to offer, namely doing the actual writing. This site is so straightforward and easy to use, it's just as easy as many word processors and better than some, and then I hit a button and my stuff is online and sent to people's email. Perfect. Plus the look of the site is super clean and distraction-free, it just says 'this is about the writing.' Pros The site is very easy to use and set up so I can just focus on writing. Cons I have no complaints. I would like it if the archive of old posts was easier to navigate but that's very, very minor. Reason for choosing Buttondown It's a superior product for the reasons I mentioned above. I've used a variety of blogging sites and newsletter sites since the early 2000s and this is my favorite so far. Review Source JA Janell A. Master of all Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Buttondown is easy to use with all the right features." June 12, 2023 5.0 Pros I love that Buttondown is simple -- easy to get in and see data, easy to write an email, easy to checkout subscribers details. Unlike other platforms that provide the kitchen sink, and even the whole dang house sometimes -- AKA overwhelming -- Buttondown is focused and sleek. It lets me get in, do what I need quickly, without distractions. Cons On first logging in, I'm directed to the "Emails" page. I normally check subscriber count, so it would be nice if the top nav bar had text saying "You have x subscribers and x% open rate". It is only a few clicks to get to those details though. Reason for choosing Buttondown Simplicity Review Source MK Matthew K. Strategy Partner Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Buttondown combines simplicity and powerful features to be a powerful email marketing platform" October 2, 2023 5.0 Fantastic tool, I'm slowly migrating all of my email marketing needs over to this platform, and it's been great to see it grow and develop over the years. Pros \+ Easy to implement+ Simple yet powerful features like automation+ Wide range of subscription methods, including API+ Amazing support from the team Cons \+ No a 'block builder' type interface for creating your content (but to be honest, I prefer this, as it keeps things really simple!, and it does support HTML and Markdown if you want to create something detailed!) Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.