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Buttondown
by Buttondown
What Buttondown is
Buttondown is web software for email, with tools for automation, audience segmentation, and landing pages. It also offers 45 native integrations. The maker is Buttondown, founded in 2017. The service has a free plan for up to 100 subscribers and a paid tier priced at $9 a month for up to 1,000 subscribers. Its listed pricing note describes the free plan as covering the first 100 subscribers and the paid tier as $9/month at 1,000 subscribers. This gives newsletter publishers two stated subscriber allowances to consider: the free plan covers a smaller audience, while the paid tier raises the limit to 1,000 for a monthly fee. Buttondown is available on the web. Its combination of email automation, segmentation, landing pages, and native integrations may suit publishers who want those capabilities alongside subscriber management. The listed plans make the subscriber limits and paid price clear for buyers choosing between the free and paid options.
Who it suits
Buttondown may suit newsletter publishers who need email automation, audience segmentation, or landing pages. Its free plan covers up to 100 subscribers, while its paid tier covers up to 1,000.
What it does well
- Free plan covers up to 100 subscribers.
- Paid tier covers up to 1,000 subscribers.
- Includes email automation and audience segmentation.
- Includes landing pages.
- Offers 45 native integrations.
What to know first
- Free plan is capped at 100 subscribers.
- The listed paid tier costs $9 a month.
- Available on the web platform.
Limits
The free plan covers up to 100 subscribers. The listed $9 a month paid tier covers up to 1,000 subscribers.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Paid tier | Buttondown shows $9/month at 1,000 subscribers. · 1,000 subscribers | $9 a month |
| Free | first 100 subscribers · rich text or Markdown editor · custom sending domain · hosted archives · privacy-first | Free |
| Advanced | per user per month · plan tier reported by GetApp | $139 a month |
| Standard | per month · plan tier reported by GetApp | $29 a month |
| Professional | per month · plan tier reported by GetApp | $79 a month |
| Basic | per month · plan tier reported by GetApp | $9 a month |
As buttondown.com lists them, read 20 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Choose Buttondown if you need email automation, audience segmentation, landing pages, and a subscriber allowance of up to 100 on its free plan or 1,000 on its paid tier. Look elsewhere if those subscriber limits or the $9.00 USD monthly paid tier do not fit your needs.
Questions
Is Buttondown free?
Yes. Its free plan covers up to 100 subscribers.
How much does Buttondown cost?
The listed paid tier costs $9 a month and covers up to 1,000 subscribers.
What platform is Buttondown available on?
Buttondown is available on the web.
What features does Buttondown include?
It includes email automation, audience segmentation, landing pages, and 45 native integrations.
Who makes Buttondown, and when was it founded?
Its maker is Buttondown, founded in 2017.
Facts from Buttondown's own pages
- Analytics privacy
- Analytics and tracking are optional, and the product says it is GDPR compliant. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- API availability
- API access is available on every plan, including the free plan. · marketing.buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- API keys
- Users can create multiple keys with separate read, write or no-access permissions for subscribers, emails, sending, settings, automations, forms, styling and surveys. · docs.buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Automations
- Automations can create sequences for new or tagged subscribers and schedule messages based on survey responses. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Browser requirements
- The service runs in a browser with cookies, JavaScript and pop-ups enabled; the documentation says there is nothing to install. · docs.buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Company address
- The legal contact address listed by Buttondown is 406 W Franklin St. #201, Richmond, Virginia 23221, United States. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Company funding
- Buttondown says it is customer-funded, profitable and not financed by investors or venture capital. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Company legal name
- The support policy identifies the contracting entity as Buttondown, LLC. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Company profile
- LinkedIn lists Buttondown as privately held, headquartered in Seattle, with 2–10 employees and a 2016 founding year. · linkedin.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Compliance limit
- Buttondown says it is not SOC 2 certified, although its infrastructure providers are SOC 2 certified. · marketing.buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Email automation
- Yes · buttondown.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Founded
- 2017 · buttondown.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Founder and team
- Indie Bites describes Justin Duke as Buttondown's founder, launching it in 2017, and says the team had grown to eight people by February 2025. · indiebites.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · buttondown.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Free-plan limit
- The pricing page states that the first 100 subscribers cost nothing; optional features are separately priced at $9, $29 or $79 per month depending on the add-on. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Independent product classification
- FAUN.dev describes Buttondown as hosted-only, closed-source software with a REST API, CLI and pricing based on active subscribers. · faun.dev, 21 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The integrations directory lists services including Stripe, Zapier, WordPress, Ghost, Discord, Mastodon, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Medium, YouTube, Spotify and many others. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Landing pages
- Yes · buttondown.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Limit: design depth
- Capterra reviews mention that the editor and campaign management are more minimal than larger marketing platforms, with limited visual-building tools. · capterra.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Limit: service complaint
- The sole Trustpilot reviewer alleged an unexpected charge connected with subscribing to a paid newsletter. · trustpilot.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Limit: setup complexity
- Capterra reviewers report confusion around technical language and DNS setup during onboarding. · capterra.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Limit: subscriber ceiling
- GetApp reviewers say the free plan's subscriber ceiling can be restrictive and that price jumps between tiers are noticeable. · getapp.com, 21 Oct 2026
- Markdown editor
- The editor supports native Markdown alongside rich-text writing. · buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
- MCP server
- Buttondown says it does not provide an official MCP server. · marketing.buttondown.com, 21 Oct 2026
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