What Buttondown does
Buttondown is a newsletter platform for writers, creators, developers, and small businesses. You write in Markdown or rich text, send from your own domain, and add features such as paid subscriptions and automations as needed.
Buttondown is an email newsletter platform. You write issues in a Markdown or rich text editor, send them to your subscribers, and publish them to a hosted web archive. Emails can go out from your own custom domain, and you can schedule a send, target a custom audience by tags, or send only to the archive.
The core product stays simple, and extra features come as add-ons you turn on when you need them. Add-ons include tagging and segmentation, paid subscriptions through Stripe, comments and surveys, analytics, RSS-to-email, sponsorships, attachments, archives on a custom domain, multiple newsletters, automations, whitelabeling, and teams. Buttondown does not take a fee from your paid subscribers, and team members have no per-seat charge.
Buttondown is built with developers in mind. It has a full REST API with a public OpenAPI spec, a CLI, and webhooks, and it connects to tools such as Zapier, Discord, Memberful, and YouTube. You can post straight from your own email, and cross-post from other platforms to your list. Tracking is opt-in, and you can export or delete all of your data at any time.
Pricing starts free for your first 100 subscribers. Beyond that, you pay based on active subscribers, not all contacts, and add-ons start at $9 per month each. Registered non-profits can get a 50% discount. Prices assume at most one email a day to the whole list, and heavier senders can ask about usage-based pricing.
The company is a small, fully remote team of engineers, writers, and designers, founded in 2017. It is profitable and self-funded, with no investors. For people moving from Substack, Mailchimp, Ghost, beehiiv, MailerLite, Kit, or other tools, Buttondown offers import tools and a concierge migration service that moves your whole list within one business day.
Best for
Writers, creators, developers, non-profits, and small businesses who want a focused newsletter tool with a strong API and fair pricing.
Not for
Teams that want a full marketing suite with ad networks, growth boosts, or a large social discovery feed built in.
Questions and answers
Is Buttondown free?
Yes, for your first 100 subscribers. The free tier includes the rich text or Markdown editor, sending from a custom domain, and hosted archives.
How is pricing calculated?
You pay for active subscribers only, not all contacts. Optional add-ons such as paid subscriptions, analytics, or RSS-to-email start at $9 per month each.
Does Buttondown take a cut of paid subscriptions?
No. Buttondown does not take fees from your paid subscribers. Paid subscriptions run through Stripe.
Can I move my list from another platform?
Yes. Buttondown has import tools and offers concierge migration for your whole list, usually completed within one business day.
Does Buttondown have an API?
Yes. It has a full REST API with a public OpenAPI spec, plus webhooks and a CLI.