Affiliate disclosure · Transparent
How OwnLetter makes money
OwnLetter earns commissions when readers sign up to newsletter platforms through our links. This page tells you exactly which programs we participate in, what they pay us, and the firewall we maintain between commission rates and editorial recommendations.
The headline
Many links on OwnLetter are paid affiliate links. When you sign up to a newsletter platform through one of our links, OwnLetter earns a commission. You do not pay extra. The platform pays us out of their existing acquisition budget.
This is required disclosure under the FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) and we add it on every page that contains affiliate links — not just buried in a footer.
Commission rates per vendor
These are the affiliate program terms as of May 2026. We re-verify each program quarterly because vendors change terms regularly. The variation in commission rates is significant, which makes editorial independence more important — not less.
| Vendor | Commission | Duration | Cookie | Reader promo via our link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv | 50–60% | 12 months max | 60 days | 14-day trial + 20% off 3 months (Scale/Max annual) |
| Kit (ex-ConvertKit) | 50% | 12 months + 10–20% beyond if ≥10 clients/yr | — | 2 months free (annual plan) |
| Mailerlite | 30% | Lifetime | 45 days | — |
| AWeber | 30–50% | Lifetime | — | — |
| GetResponse | 40–60% | 12 months max | 90 days | — |
| ActiveCampaign | 20–30% | 12 months + conditional continuation | — | — |
| Ghost (M3-M6 application) | 30% | Lifetime | 90 days | 10% off first purchase (new users) |
| Buttondown (optional) | 25% | Lifetime | — | — |
Rates verified 2026-05-14 on each vendor's affiliate program page. Reader promo column verified 2026-05-25 (Beehiiv Partner FAQ + Kit annual billing terms + Ghost partners page). Next re-verification : August 2026 or sooner if a vendor announces program changes.
Note on Substack
Substack does not run an affiliate program. We cover Substack extensively on this site — including the "Substack vs X" comparison pages — and earn zero commission whether readers stay on Substack or migrate elsewhere. We cover Substack because creators researching alternatives need honest comparison, not because it pays us. If anything, our incentive runs the other way : a reader who migrates to Beehiiv or Kit through our links earns us a commission, whereas a reader who stays on Substack earns us nothing.
Editorial firewall — what does NOT influence rankings
The commission table above shows real variation : Beehiiv pays up to 60% for 12 months, Mailerlite pays 30% lifetime. A reader signing up to a Beehiiv paid plan earns OwnLetter substantially more than the same reader on a comparable Mailerlite plan. That math could distort rankings if we let it.
We do not let it. Our editorial process explicitly excludes commission rates from ranking decisions :
- Rankings are driven by data — pricing per persona, feature fit, deliverability features, cross-vendor review sentiment, first-hand workflow testing.
- Recommendations are persona-bound — "best for paid writers above $500/mo paid revenue" reflects the math, not the commission.
- Honest limitations sections appear on every vendor we cover — including vendors that pay us the highest commissions.
- When a lower-paying vendor wins for a persona, we recommend the lower-paying vendor.
If you ever read an OwnLetter recommendation and it feels off — like the math does not support the verdict — email us. Editorial drift is a real risk in affiliate-funded media and we want to catch it.
What we do NOT accept
- Paid product placement. No vendor can pay us to feature their product in a top-3 spot, win a comparison verdict, or appear in a "recommended" section.
- Sponsored content disguised as editorial. If we ever publish sponsored content (we currently do not), it will be labeled "Sponsored" in large type at the top.
- Negative reviews of competitors-of-affiliates. A vendor that pays us commission cannot ask us to write negative content about a competing vendor.
- Email list rentals. Your email address, if you sign up to OwnLetter updates, will never be sold or rented to vendors.
- Fake testimonials or fake credentials. Every quote on OwnLetter is attributed to a real source. Every author byline is a real person or the "OwnLetter editorial" collective byline. No stock-photo experts.
When you spot a problem
If a recommendation feels biased toward the higher-commission vendor — or a comparison conveniently omits a competing platform — tell us : contact@ownletter.com.
We treat this kind of feedback seriously. The whole point of the site is to be the comparison resource that creators can actually trust, and that trust collapses fast if the editorial firewall is anything other than real.