What’s the best free email marketing platform for a new travel newsletter?

Hi! If you want an opt-in travel newsletter that also feels like a simple blog (posts + email + a basic site), I’d start with Kit (formerly ConvertKit) or beehiiv—they’re both built around “publish content, grow subscribers, then monetize later,” and their free tiers are much more usable for a new creator-style newsletter than the classic small-business tools.

If you want my single best pick for your use case: beehiiv is usually the easiest “newsletter + blog/website” combo to get live quickly (clean publishing, good growth tools, and it stays simple). If you care more about email marketing automation and segmentation (welcome sequence, tagging people by destination interest, lead magnets), Kit tends to be stronger.

Here’s how I’d choose between the top options:

1) beehiiv (best “newsletter that doubles as a blog”)

• Great if you want your destination guides and trip updates to live on a simple site automatically, and you’ll mostly send broadcast newsletters.
• Strong built-in growth features (referrals/recommendations-style growth is a big part of the platform).
• Less “traditional marketing automation” feeling than a full email marketing platform (though it’s improving over time).

2) Kit (best for segmentation + lightweight automations while you grow)

• Great if you want to treat this like real email marketing: tags/segments (Japan vs. Italy lovers), a welcome series, and basic automation to nurture leads toward concierge inquiries.
• Also gives you a simple publishable presence (creator profile / newsletter feed), but it’s not as “blog-first” as beehiiv.

3) Substack (best if you want the simplest writing/publishing experience)

• Very easy to start, and publishing is straightforward.
• But it’s not ideal if you want “marketing” capabilities like deeper segmentation, automations, and flexible subscriber journeys. It’s more “writer platform” than “email marketing platform.”

4) Brevo (best if you want a more classic small-business marketing tool + CRM)

• Solid deliverability foundations and a very business-y toolset (lists, templates, basic automation).
• The catch: its free plan is limited by daily sending volume, so it can get annoying once your list grows and you want to email everyone at once.

Features to prioritize (so you don’t regret the platform later)

If you’re building a travel newsletter to grow a concierge business, these matter most:

1. Subscriber capture + consent

• Good signup forms/landing pages, double opt-in option, and clear consent language.
• Easy unsubscribe management (this is also deliverability protection, not just compliance).

1. Deliverability basics

• Support for domain authentication (SPF/DKIM, ideally DMARC guidance).
• A solid sending reputation and clear policies against sketchy list practices (good platforms will be strict).

1. Segmentation and tagging

• At minimum: tags/segments by interest (budget travel, luxury, cruises, Japan, Paris, etc.).
• This becomes your unfair advantage later: more relevant emails = better open rate/click-through rate and fewer unsubscribes.

1. A simple automation starter set

• A welcome email (or short welcome series).
• An “interest” step (e.g., “What destinations are you planning?”) that tags subscribers automatically.

1. Publishing workflow

• The ability to reuse your content: write once → publish as a post → email it (or vice versa).
• A clean archive page so new followers can binge-read your destination guides.

1. Portability

• Easy export of subscribers and content. You don’t want to feel trapped when you outgrow the free tier.

Quick recommendation based on what you wrote

• If your priority is “simple blog + newsletter + growth”: choose beehiiv.
• If your priority is “turn readers into leads with segmentation + a welcome flow”: choose Kit.

If you tell me (1) roughly how often you’ll email (weekly? 2x/month?) and (2) whether you want a welcome series and destination-interest tagging on day one, I’ll point you to the better fit between beehiiv and Kit for your exact workflow.