Mailpiece vs Buttondown
Still free after your hundredth reader.
We think a newsletter should be small, quiet and yours. Buttondown gets the first two right, and leaves tracking off unless you ask for it, but your list still lives on their service and the bill follows it as it grows.
With Buttondown
A newsletter, on their service
- Write in their editor, in Markdown if you like
- Send from their servers
- Turn tracking on if you want it
- Pay more as the list grows, plus add-ons
With Mailpiece
A newsletter, on your server
- Ask your agent to write it, or write it yourself
- Mail through the provider you choose
- No tracking at all. Readers say if they liked it
- Free, with everything in it
A week with each
open their editor and write the issue
tell your agent what this week's issue is about
send it from Buttondown's servers
send it through the mail provider you already use
decide whether to switch tracking on
never think about it: there is none to switch on
add on what your plan doesn't include
get journeys, your domain and your feed with the install
pay more as the list grows
keep the list on your own server
Side by side
- Buttondown is built to be quiet, and its bill grows with your list. In Mailpiece, you keep that calm, and the list is yours, on your server.
- On Buttondown, you write in its editor, or script it through its API. In Mailpiece, your agent does all you can do on screen, on every install, for free.
- On Buttondown, your list lives on Buttondown. In Mailpiece, it lives on your server.
- On Buttondown, your readers are untracked by default. In Mailpiece, they're left alone.
- As your list grows, Buttondown's bill grows. In Mailpiece, nothing changes.
- On Buttondown, you write, then send. In Mailpiece, you write, test and send.
Moving from Buttondown
Install Mailpiece, export your subscribers from Buttondown and import them, then connect the mail provider you want to send with. Your next issue goes out from Mailpiece. Your archive, paid subscriptions and settings stay with Buttondown: keep the account open for as long as you need it.
Who should stay on Buttondown?
A writer who wants paid subscriptions and would rather nobody on their side ever runs a server. Buttondown is a good, quiet newsletter service, and Mailpiece is something you install.
Buttondown doesn't track readers either. What's different?
Where it lives and how you write it. Mailpiece runs on your own server, sends through the provider you pick, and is built to be written from your agent. It has no tracking to turn on at all; readers tell you if they liked an issue.
Move your newsletter this afternoon
Install Mailpiece on a server, import your list, connect your sender, and send your next issue from it.