--- 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 July 31st, 2026 # Reviews of Buttondown Ease of use 4.5 Customer Service 4.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews DR David R Towering FigureArts and Crafts, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The interface is beautiful and IT WORKS, the free analytics provided are just what I want, and the personal service is unmatched.“ August 29, 2024 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 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 SK Scott K Owner, EngineerComputer Software, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “One of the only things I've found missing so far is that I'd like an option to go back and schedule posts that were published before setting up Buttondown. With the current feature set, I'd have to set up separate emails manually for those "ignored" emails from before I used the service.“ September 14, 2023 DR David R Towering FigureArts and Crafts, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I am not a huge user but I use it to sell artwork and promote shows, and it works.“ August 29, 2024 DR David R Towering FigureArts and Crafts, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “If a person signs up twice, the sign-up is simply ignored and I don't think the signer-upper gets notice either.“ August 29, 2024 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 ## 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. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) The cost was very high, for many features that I didn't use, making it a complicated tool to use. 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. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) I use to pay 2 200 $ CAD per year for a "free" newsletter. I save more than 50 % of that cost with Buttondown. 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](https://www.capterra.com/p/132996/brevo/)[SendGrid](https://www.capterra.com/p/204113/SendGrid/)[Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) 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 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 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. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) I originally switched to Substack from Mailchimp. Then, I left Substack because of Nazis. I don't like the way that Substack did business. 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. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Buttondown was more focused on my core needs. 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. Alternatives considered [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) 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. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) I didn't like the Mailchimp interface, it felt like it was always trying to sell me stuff I didn't need and introducing a million new features 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/)[Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) 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). Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Okay, I actually switched from SUBSTACK, but it's not coming up as an option in the dropdown. Anyway, I switched away from Substack for a number of reasons, the top of which were anti-trans rhetoric being heavily monetized on and by the platform and concerns over privacy and intellectual ownership. 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/)[Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Reason for choosing Buttondown It's much slimmer, easier to use, and it had a feature-ful free option. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) I was making a new email list and wanted to start fresh. I heard about Buttondown via another newsletter I'm subscribed to—written by another software developer—and wanted to try it out. Review Source SV Sylvia V. Owner Retail Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Excellent value" September 6, 2024 5.0 So far, so good. Easy to use and definitely better costing. We moved to buttondown after our website guys recommended them. Pros Easy to use and cost effective. Very happy. Cons A bit slower than our previous newsletter subscription co. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Too costly. More Complicated to use. More than we needed. Review Source EB Eivind B. Consultant Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "A clear and effective newsletter service!" August 5, 2024 5.0 The support is amazing and the UI is simple, yet full of features and details to help you create an effective e-mail to provide your readers. Pros For people looking for a straight forward way to communicate with their audience, I think Buttondown gives the most straight forward way of doing so. Respecting both the writer, sender and reader. Cons Not a lot of translated languages as of yet, so that UI and generated content is not natively fit for some audiences. Alternatives considered [Campaign Monitor by Marigold](https://www.capterra.com/p/76928/Campaign-Monitor/)[Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Reason for choosing Buttondown Simple, clear, and to the point. Other major actors in this space are built for huge orgs doing large marketing campaigns. Review Source AO Aderson O. Founder E-Learning Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A simple yet delightful email newsletter experience" August 15, 2024 5.0 I have been using Buttondown for almost 2 years now and it has been a great experience. They are very welcoming about suggestions for features and act very quickly when we report a problem. It has been a delight to use the product. Price is way more affordable than its big name competitors, and it is way more straightforward to use it as compared to competitors as well. Highly recommend it! Pros It is very simple to use. Very driven to one goal only: to create newsletters as fast as possible. Cons I think I would like it to have some basic layout templates that I could use out-of-the-box. Alternatives considered [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Reason for choosing Buttondown It is way simpler to use than other similar and more complex products. Lower price is also a factor. Review Source IC Isabel C. Author Writing and Editing Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Easy migration from Tinyletter and Substack" February 6, 2024 5.0 Pros I really like how easy it was to migrate my newsletter content to Buttondown from Substack and TinyLetter. Cons I wish I could look at the list of my sent emails in descending order from email last sent to oldest email, but perhaps I have not figured out how yet. Reason for choosing Buttondown Ghost was too difficult for me too set up, honestly. Beehiiv, once paid subscriptions were in the mixed, looked prohibitively expensive. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) MailChimp decided to kill TinyLetter, my previous newsletter host, and so I switched to Substrack. Within a week of making that switch, more news broke out about Substack. Substack's content moderation policy (or lack thereof, specifically concerning Nazis) really irked me. I did not want them to receive traffic and/or payments through my newsletter. Review Source EG Eric G. Author Entertainment Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Perfect Tool for Authors" January 26, 2024 5.0 Pros Buttondown is easy to get started with and supports the integrations an author needs to be a successful indie publisher. Cons Setting up a custom domain could have been simpler, but I got it working quickly. Reason for choosing Buttondown Better interface, more features, better support. Switched from [Substly](https://www.capterra.com/p/211769/Substly/) Substack (not Substly, but I was forced to select someone!) is a closed system, with no integration support. 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 MS Maggie S. Therapist Mental Health Care Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Simple and lovely!" January 30, 2025 5.0 I am enjoying the ease of buttondown! I am excited to use it to connect with people in meaningful ways. Pros It's simple! It's easy to get your questions answersed. Cons Some of the language is a bit confusing for folks who don't have a coding background. Review Source JZ Joseph Z. Editor Publishing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Exactly what I need" January 5, 2024 5.0 I started using Buttondown in 2020. I had had a daily blog that had run its course, so I wanted to switch to something that would reach people weekly. Buttondown fit the bill. I think (though I'm not sure) that I encountered \[sensitive content hidden\] on social media, and we discussed it before I deployed Pros It's easy to use. I like Markdown, so that's a natural way for me to do things. The interface is mostly quite friendly, and I know that they have things in the roadmap that will make it even better. And for me, the best thing about Buttondown is the tech support. The people are great, helpful, and welcoming. The bottom line: I started on the free tier, and I'm not actually using any features that would require payment -- but I recently upgraded to a paid tier because Buttondown and its team are so useful and helpful that I figure that I should chip in at least something to the endeavour. Cons Hmm. The editor could be a tad better. I'd like to have a dark mode. But with the standardization on Markdown, I can write in a different tool and easily drop what I've written into the Buttondown editor window. Reason for choosing Buttondown It does exactly what I need it to do. I can easily handle subscribers and content. Review Source AM Andrew M. Owner Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Enjoying buttondown!" September 11, 2024 4.0 Pros Clean design, but fully featured for all my email needs. Cons Some of the settings have been slightly confusing! 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. Alternatives considered [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Review Source RC Raymond C. Senior Developer Evangelist Information Technology and Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Painless migration from Mailchimp for my campaign" August 7, 2023 5.0 I was honestly shocked how easy the migration and setup was. Seriously - I thought maybe I had missed something or had done something wrong for it to be so simple. Painless, little effort, and well worth the price. Pros I was a Mailchimp user for sometime, but hit the limits of their free tier. Buttondown was affordable for me, but what interested me even more was the support (both in product and documentation) for migrating both my existing list as well as my RSS-based campaign. Cons Honestly "it just worked". I'm sure they are as perfect as any other company, but I've had no issues. Switched from [Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) I wanted a cheaper solution. 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