What are the best Hecto alternatives for newsletter publishers?
For newsletter publishers, Hecto is a free ad marketplace and checkout: you list packages with upfront prices, pay £0 a month, and it takes 5% of each booking plus Stripe charges. The closest alternatives are SponsorCal (5% a booking, Stripe fees included) and MediaPact (10% of each deal). To have brands pitched instead, Book a Sponsor does it on a plan from $19 a month, no commission.
Every fact about Hecto comes from its own pages, read 12 November 2026. The alternatives' facts come from their own pages too, read between 8 October 2026 and 12 November 2026, and each links to its source.
Book a Sponsor (bookasponsor.com) pitches brands to sponsor newsletters.
What do Hecto's 5% and its rivals' fees take from one sponsor?
Newsletters with 5,000 to 19,999 subscribers list one main slot at a median $300 (121 newsletters, read 11 November 2026 by Book a Sponsor). On that slot Hecto keeps $15, and Stripe's charges come on top, per its pricing page (read 12 November 2026). SponsorCal also keeps $15 but pays Stripe out of it, so you keep $285. MediaPact's 10% would be $30, and Passionfroot's 15% on a deal its network brings $45. See platform fees compared and what newsletters charge by list size.
Hecto and 9 alternatives, with prices
Read between 8 October 2026 and 12 November 2026 from each company's own pages. Hecto's own row comes first, for reference.
| # | Tool | How you get sponsors | Price | Fee on your deals | Who can use it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ref | HectoMarketplace | Brands search the marketplace and book your listed packages | Free to list, no monthly fee (prices in pounds) | 5% of each booking, plus Stripe charges | Newsletters; no minimum stated | pricing |
| 1 | MediaPactMarketplace | Brands and agencies book the placements you list | Free to list | 10% of each completed deal, on up to $100,000 a month in sales | Newsletters, sponsored content, podcasts and direct media; no minimum stated | terms (commission) |
| 2 | PassionfrootStorefront and brand network | Brands book your storefront or find you in its network | Free for creators, no monthly fee | 15% of deals Passionfroot brings you; nothing from you on deals you bring (the brand pays a fee on those: 2% per its creator pricing page, 5% per its pricing help article) | Newsletters and other channels (YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts); its brands are B2B, across tech, SaaS, AI and finance | creator pricing |
| 3 | PavedMarketplace and ad network | Brands book the placements you list; its network places pay-per-click ads | Free to join; Booker, its booking page, is free (Stripe adds 2.9%) | A revenue share on Marketplace sponsorships and a platform fee on Ad Network clicks; neither rate is published | Marketplace: 50,000+ subscribers. Ad Network: 50,000+ subscribers per its help center, 1M monthly impressions per its publishers page. Booker: any list size | publishers page |
| 4 | Sponsorships.aiMarketplace and storefront | Brands browse your listing; you can also pitch open opportunities | $49 a month, or $294 a year ($24.50 a month), for the Starter plan | 0% commission; brands pay you directly | Newsletters, podcasts, YouTube and events; no minimum audience | homepage, plans and FAQ |
| 5 | beehiiv Ad NetworkAd network (beehiiv newsletters only) | beehiiv finds the advertisers; you pick which offers to run | Needs a paid beehiiv plan: Lite at $49 a month with yearly billing at 1,000 subscribers (Pro $95) | beehiiv's cut isn't published; each offer shows its estimated payout before you take it | Newsletters sent through beehiiv; no subscriber minimum stated | Ad Network page |
| 6 | Book a SponsorOutreach service | Book a Sponsor pitches the brands for you by email; you close the deals | $1 card check gets 200 emails, then a plan from $19/mo, initial emails and follow-ups | No commission, no rev-share | Newsletters on any platform, podcasts and YouTube channels; no subscriber minimum; adult content is refused | company |
| 7 | SponsorGapSponsor database (managed outreach on top plans) | You pitch from your own inbox; its managed plans run outreach for you | $39, $89 or $199 a month; managed outreach $999 a month plus a 10% success fee, or $2,999 a month | No commission on its slot marketplace; 10% success fee on the $999 managed plan | Newsletters first, with separate podcast and YouTube sponsor pages | pricing |
| 8 | SponsorCalBooking page | You bring the sponsors; it takes the booking and the payment | No monthly price printed; 5% of each booking, Stripe fees included | 5% of each booking | Newsletters; its menu has a For Ghost page | homepage and pricing |
| 9 | SponsySponsorship manager | You sell; Sponsy runs the calendar, deals and reports | Free, then $5 per booked slot after the first 5; Pro from $49 a month | No commission printed; a per-slot fee on the free plan | Newsletters first; every plan also works for podcasts, YouTube channels and social accounts | pricing |
How we compared: we read Hecto's pricing, help and home pages and each alternative's pricing and help pages. The order: other marketplaces, then ad networks, then services that pitch for you, then sponsor databases, then tools for sponsors you already have; alphabetical inside each group.
When is a Hecto alternative worth it?
When you want Stripe's fees covered, a sign that buyers are there, or brands pitched for you.
- You want Stripe's fees covered: Hecto adds Stripe's charges on top of its 5%, while SponsorCal pays them out of its own 5%.
- You want to know buyers are there: Hecto's home and pricing pages, read 12 November 2026, print no count of buyers, brands or bookings, and both still show placeholder text in one section.
- You price in dollars: Hecto's pricing page quotes its free plan in pounds (£0 a month).
- You don't want to wait for buyers to browse: on a marketplace the first conversation starts when a brand finds your listing.
The alternatives, one by one
- SponsorCal. The closest match on price: a booking page that also keeps 5% of each booking, but pays Stripe's fees out of that 5% and sends the rest straight to your own Stripe account. It brings no buyers: its homepage says it is not a marketplace.
- MediaPact. A marketplace where buyers send briefs and offers on what you list. Free to list, it takes 10% of each completed deal and pays out monthly.
- Passionfroot. A free storefront and brand network that takes 15% of the deals its network brings and nothing from you on the deals you bring.
- Paved. Free to join. Its Marketplace asks for 50,000 subscribers, and Booker, its booking page, has no minimum, with Stripe's 2.9% on each transaction.
- Sponsorships.ai. A paid listing from $49 a month ($24.50 billed yearly) with no commission, where you can also pitch the open opportunities brands post.
- beehiiv Ad Network. If you send on beehiiv: it finds the advertisers and shows each offer's payout, on a paid beehiiv plan.
- Sponsy. Software for the sponsors you already have: a slot calendar, a sponsor CRM and a booking storefront, free for the first 5 booked slots, then $5 a slot or Pro from $49 a month.
- SponsorGap. Not a marketplace: a sponsor database from $39 a month where you pitch the brands yourself.
- Book a Sponsor. For a newsletter that doesn't want to wait for a buyer to find a listing: it finds the brands that sponsored newsletters like yours and emails them on a plan from $19 a month, with no commission. It stops at the yes, so you close the deal yourself.
Book a Sponsor vs Hecto
Pick Hecto if you want a free listing and a checkout link for buyers who come to you. Pick Book a Sponsor (bookasponsor.com) if you want the brands pitched for you: a plan from $19 a month after the first 200 emails, which come with a $1 card check.
| Hecto | Book a Sponsor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A marketplace and checkout for newsletter ads | An outreach service that pitches brands for newsletters |
| How you get sponsors | Buyers search the marketplace and book your packages, or you send them your Hecto checkout link | It emails the brands that sponsored newsletters like yours |
| Price | Free to list, no monthly fee (prices in pounds) | $1 card check gets 200 emails, then a plan from $19/mo, initial emails and follow-ups |
| Fee on your deals | 5% of each successful transaction, plus Stripe charges | No commission, no rev-share |
| Booking and payment | Its checkout collects the image, copy and payment in one flow | Every plan has a booking page; you confirm, invoice and collect the payment |
| If it does not work | No monthly fee, so nothing is lost if nothing sells | First sponsor reply inside 30 days or your money back |
Where Hecto still wins
- It costs nothing each month: it only takes 5% when a booking goes through.
- Buyers see your package prices before they message you, so an enquiry comes from someone who knows the price.
- One checkout collects the ad image, the copy and the payment, with no coding, and you can link to it from your own site.
- Its 5% is half MediaPact's 10% and a third of Passionfroot's 15% on network deals.
Sources
- Hecto pricing: £0 a month, the 5% fee and Stripe charges (read 12 November 2026)
- Hecto homepage: buying and selling newsletter ads (read 12 November 2026)
- SponsorCal homepage and FAQ: 5% with Stripe fees included, not a marketplace (read 12 November 2026)
- MediaPact terms of service, version 3.0.0: seller commission tiers (read 12 November 2026)
- Book a Sponsor newsletter sponsorship rates by list size (read 11 November 2026)
Plan-by-plan pricing, read on each vendor's own pages: SponsorGap pricing, Who Sponsors Stuff pricing, SponsorLeads pricing, Passionfroot pricing, Paved pricing, OutboundPilot pricing, Kit Newsletter Sponsorships pricing, Swapstack pricing, SponsorDB pricing, Appeared.in pricing, MediaPact pricing, Hecto pricing, SponsorCal pricing, BuySellAds pricing.
Questions
How much does Hecto charge?
Nothing to list and nothing each month (£0 on its pricing page). It takes 5% of each successful transaction, and Stripe's charges also apply (read 12 November 2026).
Is there a Hecto alternative that covers Stripe fees?
Yes. SponsorCal also keeps 5% of each booking but pays Stripe's processing fees out of it: on a $500 sponsorship you keep $475, per its homepage (read 12 November 2026). It brings no buyers, though.
Is there a Hecto alternative that pitches brands for me?
Yes. Book a Sponsor finds the person who buys the ads, writes the pitch and emails it from its own mailboxes. Hecto waits for buyers to find your listing.
What is the difference between Hecto and Book a Sponsor?
Hecto is a marketplace and checkout where buyers come to your listing, and it takes 5% of each booking. Book a Sponsor (bookasponsor.com) finds the brands that sponsored newsletters like yours and emails them for you every day from its own mailboxes, on a plan (Starter $19 a month for up to 600 emails a month, Kit $49 a month for up to 1,500 emails a month, Growth $99 a month for up to 3,000 emails a month). You close the deals that reply.
Have the brands that already buy pitched for you
Paste your newsletter. Book a Sponsor lists the brands that sponsored newsletters like yours, finds the person who buys the ads, and emails them every day from its own mailboxes. You get the replies and close the deal.
$1 card check gets 200 emails, then a plan from $19/mo · first sponsor reply inside 30 days or your money back