ConvertKit vs Drip
Marketing Automation pricing comparison · 2026 · Updated April 2026
ConvertKit pricing ranges from $0–$66/month, while Drip ranges from $39–$1199/month. ConvertKit is typically 88% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
Sources & confidence
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Plans at a glance
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What users say
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ConvertKit and Drip are both marketing automation platforms aimed at online businesses, but they've evolved in divergent directions: ConvertKit toward creators and Drip toward e-commerce operators. ConvertKit's free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited email sends — one of the most generous free tiers in the market — while its Creator plan starts at $25/month for 1,000 subscribers. Drip has no free plan, starts at $39/month for 2,500 contacts, and focuses exclusively on e-commerce brands who want revenue-attributed automation and social ad audience sync.
The audiences these platforms target reflect in their feature sets. ConvertKit is built for bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, course creators, and newsletter writers — its tools include digital product sales, paid newsletter subscriptions (with Stripe integration), a creator referral network, and tip jar functionality. Its automation is built around tagging subscribers based on content interests and funneling them through nurture sequences. Drip is built for Shopify and WooCommerce store owners who need to recover abandoned carts, recommend products, send post-purchase win-back sequences, and sync email segments to Facebook and Instagram retargeting audiences. These are fundamentally different automation philosophies.
The pricing structures create a specific crossover point. ConvertKit is free for up to 10,000 subscribers, making it dramatically cheaper for creators at list sizes where Drip charges $154/month (10,000 contacts). Once a list exceeds 10,000 subscribers, ConvertKit's Creator plan costs $119/month for 10,001–15,000 subscribers, which is comparable to Drip's $154/month at 10,000 contacts. The value comparison shifts at this point toward Drip for e-commerce operators who need revenue tracking, and toward ConvertKit for creators who prioritize audience monetization tools like paid subscriptions and digital product pages.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | ConvertKit | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter | Free /month | $39 /month |
| Creator | $33 /month | $89 /month |
| Pro | $66 /month | $449 /month |
| 100,000 contacts | — | $1.2K /month |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
ConvertKit
3 scenariosDrip
3 scenariosMarket Intelligence
ConvertKit
- Median annual cost
- $1,164
- Based on
- 142 deals
Drip
- Median annual cost
- $500
- Based on
- 353 deals
Continue researching
Our Verdict
Choose ConvertKit if you're a creator building an audience around content — courses, coaching, podcasting, newsletters, or blogging. The free plan for 10,000 subscribers is unmatched in the market, and native digital product pages and paid newsletter subscriptions let you monetize your audience without a separate platform. ConvertKit's creator-first design makes it the default choice for anyone whose business model is audience building.
Choose Drip if you run an e-commerce store and need revenue-attributed marketing automation, Facebook/Instagram ad audience sync, and deep Shopify or WooCommerce data integration. Drip's revenue tracking shows you which automation flows actually drive sales, and its social ad sync enables coordinated email + paid retargeting campaigns. At $39/month minimum it's more expensive, but for stores with meaningful email revenue, the attribution data and conversion-focused features justify the cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is ConvertKit free for up to 10,000 subscribers?
Yes. ConvertKit's free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited email sends, unlimited landing pages, and unlimited forms — indefinitely. Drip has no free plan, starting at $39/month for 2,500 contacts. For creators and businesses with lists under 10,000 subscribers, ConvertKit's free plan eliminates the email marketing cost entirely, which Drip cannot match at any price point.
02 Which platform is better for e-commerce automation?
Drip is purpose-built for e-commerce, with cart abandonment, browse abandonment, product recommendations, revenue attribution dashboards, and native Facebook/Instagram ad audience sync. ConvertKit supports basic e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce, Gumroad) but its automation is optimized for content-based nurture sequences rather than purchase behavior. For e-commerce stores, Drip's specialized toolset justifies its higher price.
03 Can ConvertKit sell digital products directly, like Drip cannot?
Yes. ConvertKit has native digital product pages where you can sell ebooks, courses, presets, and any downloadable product via Stripe, keeping 100% of the revenue minus payment processing fees. It also supports paid newsletter subscriptions. Drip has no native product selling functionality — it connects to your existing Shopify/WooCommerce store but cannot host product pages itself. For creator businesses selling digital goods, ConvertKit's commerce tools eliminate the need for a separate Gumroad or Podia account.
04 How does Drip's revenue attribution work and why doesn't ConvertKit have it?
Drip connects directly to your Shopify or WooCommerce order data, tagging each completed purchase with the last email or automation flow the customer interacted with. This produces revenue dashboards showing which cart abandonment sequence generated $X last month, which welcome series drives the highest LTV, and which campaigns produce the most sales. ConvertKit tracks email performance (opens, clicks, purchases on ConvertKit's own product pages) but does not track revenue attribution for external Shopify/WooCommerce sales in the same way. Drip's revenue focus makes it the better choice for e-commerce businesses optimizing for sales ROI.
05 Does Drip integrate with Facebook Ads and ConvertKit does not?
Correct. Drip syncs email segments to Facebook and Instagram custom audiences, enabling coordinated retargeting — for example, showing Instagram ads to customers who opened a campaign but didn't purchase. ConvertKit has a Facebook Custom Audience integration, but it is less tightly integrated with Drip's multi-step automation logic. For stores running simultaneous email + social campaigns, Drip's native sync is operationally simpler.
06 At what list size does ConvertKit become more expensive than Drip?
ConvertKit is free up to 10,000 subscribers. Drip at 10,000 contacts costs $154/month. Once your list exceeds 10,000 subscribers, ConvertKit Creator starts at $119/month for 10,001-15,000 — cheaper than Drip's $154/month at 10K. At 25,000 subscribers, ConvertKit Creator costs approximately $166/month versus Drip's estimated $230/month. ConvertKit generally remains cheaper than Drip at equivalent list sizes, with the tradeoff being Drip's e-commerce-specific features.