Buttondown

Minimal markdown newsletter tool

Free tier + paidSEO, growth & newsletterbuttondown.com

What it is

Buttondown is a small, independently run newsletter tool centred on markdown writing, a clean API and privacy-respecting defaults. It bills on active subscribers rather than total contacts, with optional feature bundles layered on top of the base price.

Why it earns a slot

The API and markdown-first workflow let you publish from a repo or CMS instead of a web editor — the closest thing to newsletters as code. No forced tracking pixels on readers.

Know before you commit

Core features are unbundled: segmentation, paid subscriptions and RSS-to-email need the +$9/mo tier, automations the +$29/mo tier. It is a very small company, so expect fewer integrations than beehiiv or Kit.

Getting started

Import an existing list by CSV or through the API.

Field notes

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Field check

Unverified

Pricing snapshot

Free for your first 100 subscribers. Beyond that pricing scales by active subscriber count, plus feature bundles: +$9/mo (segmentation, paid subscriptions, analytics, RSS-to-email, sponsorships), +$29/mo (custom-domain archives, multiple newsletters, automations), +$79/mo (whitelabel, teams).

Snapshots move fast — verify at checkout, and post a field note if it changed.

Drop into your Lovable chat

Evaluate Buttondown (https://buttondown.com) for this project, then use it only if it fits what we are already building.
Context: Minimal markdown newsletter tool. Buttondown is a small, independently run newsletter tool centred on markdown writing, a clean API and privacy-respecting defaults. It bills on active subscribers rather than total contacts, with optional feature bundles layered on top of the base price.
Reviewer notes (general, not written for this codebase): The API and markdown-first workflow let you publish from a repo or CMS instead of a web editor — the closest thing to newsletters as code. No forced tracking pixels on readers.
Watch out for: Core features are unbundled: segmentation, paid subscriptions and RSS-to-email need the +$9/mo tier, automations the +$29/mo tier. It is a very small company, so expect fewer integrations than beehiiv or Kit.
Pricing: Free for your first 100 subscribers. Beyond that pricing scales by active subscriber count, plus feature bundles: +$9/mo (segmentation, paid subscriptions, analytics, RSS-to-email, sponsorships), +$29/mo (custom-domain archives, multiple newsletters, automations), +$79/mo (whitelabel, teams).
Setup: Import an existing list by CSV or through the API.
Rules: treat the notes above as background only. Do not assume a theme, style, layout or feature that is not already in this project — inspect the existing code first and ask me before changing visual direction.

/api/public/tools/buttondown

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