ChatGPT answers, unedited

For your use case, Kit looks like the strongest free option right now—especially if paid subscriptions and product launches are important.

My pick: Kit

Kit's current free Newsletter plan allows up to 10,000 active subscribers, unlimited forms and landing pages, unlimited email broadcasts, tagging/segmentation, and even selling digital products and subscriptions. Kit Kit Help Center

Its forms can be used as website popups, sticky bars, slide-ins, or inline forms, so it covers the list-growth side you're looking for. Kit

For occasional product launches, Kit is particularly attractive because you can use tags/segments to separate people based on which launch or offer they interacted with, rather than maintaining separate lists. Kit Help Center

When I'd choose MailerLite instead

If you're running a more conventional small-business marketing operation—newsletters, promotional campaigns, website forms, occasional launches—MailerLite has a very good free toolkit. It includes popups, landing pages, automation, and email campaigns. MailerLite

The catch is the current free limits: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 forms/popups, and 1 landing page. MailerLite MailerLite

Bottom line: If your list is likely to grow beyond a few hundred people and you're actually selling subscriptions/products, I'd start with Kit. If you're staying very small and want a more traditional marketing-email interface, MailerLite is worth considering.

If list growth + popups + landing pages are the priorities, I’d pick MailerLite.

Its current free plan includes:

• 1 landing page
• 3 signup forms/popups
• 250 subscribers
• 2,500 emails/month
• 3 visual automations
• Email campaigns and A/B testing
• A free hosted landing-page URL www.mailerlite.com

That combination is particularly useful for your situation because you can run a launch landing page → popup/form → automated welcome/launch sequence → paid subscription/product offer without paying initially.

How I'd compare the main options

Brevo's free plan is generous on contacts—up to 100,000—but limits you to 300 email sends/day, making it less attractive if your launches involve bursts of email. help.brevo.com

One important caveat: MailerLite tightened its free plan in 2026 to 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly sends, one landing page, and three active forms/popups. www.mailerlite.com

My recommendation: Start with MailerLite if you're below ~250 subscribers. For occasional product launches, its landing-page + popup + automation combination is probably the closest match to what you're looking for without paying.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and whether the paid subscriptions are sold through Stripe/Shopify/etc., I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 options for your exact setup.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + growing an email list with popups and landing pages—I’d pick MailerLite.

MailerLite currently offers on its free plan:

• 250 active subscribers
• 2,500 emails/month
• 1 landing page
• 3 signup forms/popups
• 3 visual automations
• Email campaigns and A/B testing
• Free hosting for the landing page
• Digital product/booking capability www.mailerlite.com

That makes it particularly good if you're doing things like:

Popup → email signup → welcome sequence → launch emails → paid offer.

One important caveat: MailerLite changed its free plan in June/August 2026, reducing the subscriber limit from 500 to 250 and the monthly sending limit from 12,000 to 2,500. www.mailerlite.com

How I'd rank the free options

For your specific workflow, I'd start with MailerLite unless you expect to blow past 250 subscribers quickly. Its landing-page and popup tools are unusually well integrated with the email/automation side. www.mailerlite.com

If you're expecting 1,000–10,000 subscribers, though, I'd choose differently—I can compare MailerLite vs Kit vs Brevo specifically for paid subscriptions and product launches and tell you which will cost least as you grow.

If your priorities are paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list growth popups + landing pages, I’d look at Kit first.

Best fit: Kit

Kit’s current free Newsletter plan is unusually generous:

• Up to 10,000 subscribers
• Unlimited landing pages
• Unlimited signup forms
• Unlimited email sends
• Basic automation/sequence
• Digital products and subscriptions
• Subscriber tagging/segmentation help.kit.com

That makes it particularly attractive if you're building an audience around paid subscriptions and launches rather than just sending conventional newsletters. Its landing pages are specifically designed for lead magnets, waitlists, product ideas, and launches. help.kit.comkit.com

One alternative: MailerLite

MailerLite is arguably better if you want a more traditional marketing-email platform with a drag-and-drop editor and broader business/marketing functionality. But its free plan is much tighter now: 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 forms/popups, and 1 landing page. www.mailerlite.com

My pick for you: Kit. The 10,000-subscriber free ceiling and unlimited landing pages/forms are hard to beat for your particular use case.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and whether the paid subscriptions are newsletters, memberships, or products, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 free options.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list growth—I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Kit

If your priority is growing an email list and occasionally selling subscriptions/products, Kit's free Newsletter plan is probably the strongest fit. It currently allows up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages and opt-in forms. Its forms can be displayed as modals/popups, sticky bars, slide-ins, or inline forms. kit.com

That's unusually generous for a free plan, especially if list growth is important.

When I'd choose MailerLite instead

Choose MailerLite if you want a more traditional all-in-one email-marketing experience with a particularly easy visual editor. Its free plan includes 1 landing page, 3 signup forms/popups, 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and automation. www.mailerlite.com

So, roughly:

• Need to grow past 250 subscribers without paying? → Kit
• Want the easiest general-purpose email marketing/launch tool? → MailerLite
• Already have a large contact database and mainly care about sending email cheaply? → Brevo; its free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts but limits sending to 300 emails/day. help.brevo.com

For your particular mix, I'd start with Kit. The 10,000-subscriber free ceiling plus unlimited landing pages/forms makes it much harder to outgrow during a launch. kit.com

For your use case, Kit is probably the strongest free option right now—especially if list growth and occasional launches are the priorities.

Kit stands out: its free Newsletter plan includes up to 10,000 active subscribers, unlimited landing pages, unlimited opt-in forms, unlimited email sends, and digital products/subscriptions. help.kit.comkit.com

Its forms can be embedded as modals/popups, sticky bars, slide-ins, or inline forms, which is particularly useful for growing a list from a website. help.kit.comkit.com

The catch for your product launches is automation. The free plan includes only one basic visual automation and one email sequence; more sophisticated launch funnels and automation are paid features. help.kit.com

MailerLite is the better alternative if you want a more conventional all-in-one email-marketing interface. Its free plan currently includes 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 1 landing page, and 3 signup forms/pop-ups. help.kit.comkit.comwww.mailerlite.comhelp.brevo.com

So I'd choose:

• Kit → if list growth + occasional product launches are your main priorities.
• MailerLite → if you're staying under 250 subscribers and want simpler email campaigns/automations.
• Brevo → if your biggest concern is sending volume rather than sophisticated list-growth funnels. Its free plan allows 300 emails/day and up to 100,000 contacts. help.brevo.com

Kit pricing/free plan
MailerLite free plan

For managing paid subscriptions + occasional product launches, you’ll want more than just newsletters. The important free features are:

• landing pages for launch waitlists
• signup forms/popups for list growth
• tagging/segmentation
• welcome sequences or basic automation
• integrations with your payment/subscription tools

My top picks:

mailchimp.comwww.brevo.com

My recommendation for your use case

1. Choose MailerLite if you run launches.
It’s probably the closest match for “collect leads → nurture → launch → convert.” You can create a landing page for a product waitlist, add a popup to your site, and build a short launch sequence. saasscored.com

2. Choose Kit if your business is creator/subscription-driven.
If you sell memberships, paid newsletters, courses, digital products, or a personal brand, Kit’s subscriber-focused tools are strong. Kit offers generous free subscriber capacity, though advanced automation features are a reason many users upgrade. mailtoolfinder.com

3. Choose Brevo if you expect a large list before you send often.
Its free model is attractive because contacts are not the main constraint; instead, sending volume is capped. mailchimp.comwww.brevo.com

For a paid subscription business, I’d probably start with MailerLite + Stripe/your payment platform integration, then move to a more advanced CRM/email stack only when segmentation and automation become complex. saasscored.com

If you tell me what you sell (SaaS, membership, newsletter, course, physical product, etc.) and your expected list size, I can narrow it down.

Yes. For your use case, I’d shortlist Kit and MailerLite.

🥇 My pick: Kit

Kit's free Newsletter plan is unusually generous: 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages, unlimited forms, unlimited email broadcasts, tagging/segmentation, and the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions. Its forms can be displayed as modals/popups, sticky bars, slide-ins, or inline forms. help.kit.com

That's particularly attractive if you're managing paid subscriptions and product launches, because you won't immediately hit a tiny subscriber ceiling while you're growing your list.

Kit pricing / free plan

🥈 MailerLite

MailerLite is arguably the better choice if you want a more conventional email-marketing/business toolkit. Its current free plan includes 2,500 emails/month, 250 subscribers, 3 signup forms/popups, and 1 landing page, plus automations. help.kit.comwww.mailerlite.com

The big catch is the 250-subscriber limit, which is quite restrictive for a list-growth strategy. That limit was reduced in June 2026. www.mailerlite.com

MailerLite free plan

Bottom line: If list growth is a major priority, I'd choose Kit. If you're expecting to stay under ~250 subscribers for a while and want more traditional marketing features, MailerLite is worth considering.

For your use case, Kit is probably the strongest free option—especially if list growth and occasional launches are the priorities.

Kit: Its free Newsletter plan currently includes up to 10,000 active subscribers, unlimited forms and landing pages, unlimited email sends, tagging/segmentation, and one basic visual automation. Its forms can be used as modal/pop-up, sticky-bar, slide-in, or inline forms. help.kit.com

Kit pricing / free plan

MailerLite: Also a very good choice, and arguably better if you want a more traditional small-business email-marketing interface. But as of August 2026, its free plan is capped at 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 1 landing page, and 3 signup forms/pop-ups. www.mailerlite.com

MailerLite free plan

Brevo: I'd skip it for your particular requirement. Although its free plan allows up to 100,000 contacts, landing pages and popups aren't included. help.brevo.com

My pick

Go with Kit if you're building an audience and occasionally launching products. The huge advantage is that you don't immediately hit a 250/500-subscriber ceiling just as your popup starts working.

The main catch: the free Kit plan has only one basic automation/sequence, so if your launches eventually need sophisticated multi-step funnels, you'll likely need the paid Creator plan. help.kit.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and what you're selling, I can also recommend the best free setup between Kit, MailerLite, and a couple of less-obvious alternatives.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list growth—I’d shortlist these:

My pick: MailerLite. Its free tier specifically includes pop-up signup forms, a landing page, email automation, A/B testing, and 2,500 monthly emails. That's a particularly good combination for building a list and then running launch sequences. www.mailerlite.comhelp.kit.comwww.mailerlite.com

The catch is the 250-subscriber limit on the current free plan. Once your list grows beyond that, you'll need to upgrade. www.mailerlite.com

Kit is the interesting alternative if subscriber count is your biggest concern: its free Newsletter plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages/forms, and unlimited email sends, although its free automation capabilities are more limited. help.kit.com

So I'd choose:

• MailerLite → best if you're running actual product launches and want easy marketing automation.
• Kit → best if you're primarily a creator/newsletter business and expect the list to grow past 250 quickly.
• Brevo → best if you already have a large contact database but don't email everyone frequently. Its free plan allows up to 100,000 stored contacts, but only 300 email sends/day. help.brevo.com

If paid subscriptions means you're selling a recurring subscription/newsletter rather than simply managing subscribers, MailerLite becomes especially interesting because it supports paid newsletter subscriptions and digital products. www.mailerlite.com

For your use case, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Kit.

My pick for you: Kit. Its free Newsletter plan currently supports up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited broadcasts, tagging/segmentation, and digital product/subscription sales. kit.com

That's particularly attractive if you manage paid subscriptions and occasional launches, because you can have separate opt-in pages/forms for different campaigns without immediately hitting a landing-page limit.

MailerLite is the better alternative if you want a more traditional small-business email-marketing interface. Its free plan includes 2,500 emails/month, 1 landing page, and 3 signup forms/pop-ups, but the subscriber ceiling is only 250 as of the August 2026 changes. www.mailerlite.com

So, in short:

• Want the most generous free list-building setup → Kit
• Want a polished marketing/automation platform and expect to stay under 250 subscribers initially → MailerLite
• Don't choose Brevo specifically for this requirement: its free plan currently excludes landing pages and popups. help.brevo.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and whether the paid subscriptions are newsletters, memberships, or products, I can recommend the best free setup for your exact funnel.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list growth popups + landing pages—I’d shortlist these:

🥇 My pick: MailerLite

MailerLite is probably the closest match to what you're describing. Its current free plan includes pop-up signup forms, landing pages, and basic automation, so you can run a lead magnet → welcome sequence → launch campaign without stitching together several services. www.mailerlite.com

The catch is important: MailerLite's free plan was reduced to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month in 2026, so it's excellent for getting started but you'll hit the ceiling fairly quickly if your list grows. www.mailerlite.com

🥈 If you expect the list to grow quickly: Brevo

Brevo is attractive because the free tier is contact-based rather than subscriber-based: you can have a very large contact database, with the main constraint being roughly 300 emails/day. It also supports signup forms and landing pages. www.stackfyi.com

That's particularly useful if you might have, say, 5,000 subscribers but only email them occasionally around launches.

🥉 If you're primarily a creator: Kit

Kit is worth considering if your "paid subscriptions" means paid newsletters/content subscriptions. It has unlimited landing pages and is built around creator audience growth. kit.com

Its downside for your use case is that the free tier is more broadcast/newsletter-oriented; more sophisticated automation is a paid feature. help.kit.com

Bottom line:

• Small/early list + launches: MailerLite
• Potentially large list + occasional sends: Brevo
• Creator/newsletter subscription business: Kit
• Want unusually generous free automation: Sender www.brevo.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and what you're selling, I can narrow this to the best 1–2 options, including which has the best free popup/landing-page funnel.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list growth—I’d pick MailerLite.

Best fit: MailerLite

MailerLite

Its current free plan includes:

• Up to 250 active subscribers
• 2,500 emails/month
• 1 landing page
• 3 signup forms/pop-ups
• Email automations
• A/B testing
• Website/landing-page hosting
• No time limit on the free plan www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.comkit.com

That combination is particularly useful for you because you can have, for example, a launch landing page + popup on your site + automated welcome/launch sequence without paying initially.

One important caveat

MailerLite's free tier was changed in June 2026, so the 250-subscriber limit is quite a bit tighter than what older reviews may tell you. www.mailerlite.com

What about the alternatives?

Kit is probably the better choice if you're primarily a creator/newsletter business: it offers unlimited landing pages and is very focused on audience growth, sequences, and creator monetization. kit.com

Brevo has a much larger contact allowance, but its current free plan doesn't include landing pages or popups, so it doesn't meet your specific requirement. help.brevo.com

Bottom line: MailerLite is the strongest match if free popups + landing pages are non-negotiable. If you're expecting to grow past ~250 subscribers quickly, I'd seriously consider Kit instead.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and whether the paid subscription is a newsletter, membership, or SaaS/product, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 options.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list growth—I’d pick MailerLite if you want the simplest all-around free option.

Best free options

MailerLite: The free plan gives you 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, one landing page, and three signup forms/popups. It also includes basic automation, so you can build a lead magnet → welcome sequence → launch funnel without paying initially. www.mailerlite.comkit.comhelp.kit.com

Kit: If list growth is your priority, Kit is particularly compelling. Its current free Newsletter plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages and opt-in forms—including modal, sticky-bar, slide-in, and inline forms. kit.com

My recommendation:

• Choose Kit if you're primarily a creator/newsletter business and expect the list to grow substantially.
• Choose MailerLite if you want a more traditional marketing platform with straightforward campaigns, automations, landing pages, popups, and occasional product launches.

One caveat for your paid subscriptions: Kit's free plan is excellent for growing the list, but some advanced automation/subscription features are paid. MailerLite's free plan is similarly constrained at 250 subscribers. www.mailerlite.comkit.comhelp.kit.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and whether you're selling the subscription through Stripe, Shopify, Patreon, etc., I can tell you which one I'd choose specifically.