What do newsletter sponsorship platforms charge a newsletter under 5,000 subscribers?
On the median placement for a newsletter under 5,000 subscribers, $150 (68 newsletters, read 29 September 2026), Passionfroot's 15% takes $22.50, MediaPact's 10% takes $15, Hecto's 5% takes $7.50 and beehiiv's direct sponsorships take a flat $10. Book a Sponsor takes no cut of a deal: $1 card check gets 200 emails, then 10¢/email or a plan from $49/mo.
Book a Sponsor (bookasponsor.com) pitches brands to sponsor newsletters.
What each platform takes from a $150 placement
Marketplaces and booking pages take 5% to 15% of a deal, which is $7.50 to $22.50 on a $150 placement. On beehiiv, direct sponsorships take a flat $10 plus Stripe. Paved's Booker takes nothing of its own, and Kit keeps 23.5% of ad revenue. The table works each provider's own published fee on one placement at $150, the median main-slot price of 68 newsletters under 5,000 subscribers (middle half $95 to $263, read 29 September 2026), cheapest row first. A percentage fee costs nothing until a deal closes, which is why these rows sit apart from the monthly prices below.
| Platform | What it takes | Fee on $150 | You keep | Needs | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paved Booker | Nothing from Paved. Stripe adds a 2.9% processing fee. | $4.35 | $145.65 | Free, any list size. Paved's Marketplace and Ad Network need 50,000+ subscribers and publish no rate. | 8 October 2026 |
| Hecto | 5% of each booking, plus Stripe charges. | $7.50 plus Stripe | $142.50 before Stripe | Free to list, no minimum stated. | 8 October 2026 |
| SponsorCal | 5% of each booking, Stripe fees included. You bring the sponsors. | $7.50 | $142.50 | No card to start, and no monthly price on its page. | 8 October 2026 |
| beehiiv direct sponsorships | A flat $10 beehiiv service fee per booking, plus Stripe processing. You set the price. | $10 plus Stripe | $140 before Stripe | beehiiv Pro: $95 a month at 1,000 subscribers, $129 at 2,500, $169 at 5,000, yearly billing. | 8 October 2026 |
| MediaPact | 10% of each completed deal while your monthly sales stay under $100,000, lower above that. Buyers who pay by card pay 1.5% on top. | $15 | $135 | Free to list, no minimum stated. | 8 October 2026 |
| Passionfroot | 15% of deals it brings you, payment fees included. Nothing on deals you bring yourself. | $22.50 | $127.50 | Free, no minimum stated. | 8 October 2026 |
| Kit Newsletter Sponsorships | 23.5% of ad revenue. Kit pays per click, so the $150 here is what you would earn, not a slot price. | $35.25 | $114.75 | A paid Kit plan to browse campaigns, from $33 a month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers. | 8 October 2026 |
fees as each provider states them on its own pages · median placement from 321 printed prices, 29 September 2026 · Stripe's own charge is left out where a row says so
Some providers publish no share at all. beehiiv's Ad Network, Paved's Marketplace and Ad Network, and Wellput (US newsletters with 20,000+ subscribers) don't say what they keep, and the Ad Network offers show an estimated payout instead. They pay by open or click, not by slot, so a $150 placement doesn't map onto them.
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What the tools that charge a monthly price cost
These tools charge $15 to $97 a month, so one median placement of $150 pays for 1.5 to 10.0 months of them. A monthly price is paid whether or not a deal closes; the third column gives the months for each tool at the price in the second. They list sponsors, host a marketplace listing or run your booking page, and none of them sends the pitches for you on the self-serve plans.
| Tool | What it charges | Months one $150 placement pays for | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsorships.ai Starter | $15 a month, or $90 a year. 0% commission. | 10.0 | 8 October 2026 |
| SponsorGap Starter | $39 a month. No commission on its slot marketplace. | 3.8 | 8 October 2026 |
| Sponsy Pro | $49 a month for up to 10 booked slots, then $5 a slot. Its Starter plan has no monthly price: the first 5 booked slots are free, then $5 a slot. | 3.1 | 8 October 2026 |
| SponsorGap with contacts | $89 a month, the plan its FAQ says includes contact data. | 1.7 | 8 October 2026 |
| SponsorLeads | $97 a month or $970 a year; $997 once for the full archive. | 1.5 | 8 October 2026 |
Who Sponsors Stuff is free for about 10% of its database with no contacts, and quotes Sales Pro on request. SponsorGap's managed outreach is $999 a month plus 10% of results, or $2,999 a month. Prices read 8 October 2026.
When a percentage fee costs less than a monthly price
On a $150 placement, Passionfroot's $22.50 is less than SponsorGap's $39 plan until you close 1.7 matched deals a month, and Hecto's $7.50 stays below $39 until you book 5.2 a month. A percentage is the cheaper way to pay while you close fewer deals than that, and a flat price is cheaper once you close more. The two also buy different things: a marketplace can bring a buyer, and a database or a booking page only helps you reach or take one. One size up, at 5,000 to 19,999 subscribers, the median slot is $310 and Passionfroot's 15% is $46.50: a percentage grows with the deal and a monthly price doesn't.
What Book a Sponsor costs
$1 card check gets 200 emails, then 10¢/email or a plan from $49/mo, with no commission and no per-deal fee. Monthly plans start with the same free credit. The Kit plan is $49 a month for up to 500 emails across up to 2 newsletters. The Growth plan is $99 a month for up to 1,500 emails across up to 5 newsletters. Both include a media kit and a booking page.
That is a price per email sent, not per deal. At the default volume it is $150 for 30 days at the default 50 new brands a day, up to $300 with follow-ups, which is about the price of one median placement under 5,000 subscribers.
It pays for itself only when the pitches turn into a booking, and a yes is not a booking. In our sending, 6.1 of every 1,000 pitches to brands with a sign they buy newsletter ads got a yes, and 2.6 of every 1,000 to the rest (30,902 pitches; method and limits). This data doesn't show how many yeses became paid slots. We make Book a Sponsor, so weigh our numbers against the others. The pricing page has the full terms.
What these numbers don't show
- The $150 is the median list price of 68 newsletters that print one, not what your slot will sell for. Your price and your niche will differ, and the fee scales with it.
- The median covers lists of 500 or more subscribers, and 259 of the 321 priced newsletters behind it were read from Passionfroot storefronts, so it leans toward newsletters that sell through a storefront. The rates page has the method.
- Fees are the ones providers print on their own pages on the days in the table. Providers change them, and some rates only appear inside the product after you sign up.
- A fee is only part of what a platform costs. Time, payout delays and whether anyone books you are not in these figures.
- Stripe's own processing charge is computed only where the provider states a rate (Paved's 2.9%). Where a row says "plus Stripe", the provider doesn't give a rate and the table leaves the charge out.
Questions
Which newsletter sponsorship platform has no commission?
Five take no percentage of a deal. Paved's Booker takes no fee of its own (Stripe adds 2.9%). Sponsorships.ai charges a flat membership from $15 a month with 0% commission. SponsorGap's slot marketplace takes none but comes with a plan from $39 a month. Sponsy charges $5 a booked slot after the first 5, or $49 a month for up to 10 booked slots. Book a Sponsor takes none: $1 card check gets 200 emails, then 10¢/email or a plan from $49/mo. The ones that keep a percentage are Hecto and SponsorCal (5% each), MediaPact (10%), Passionfroot (15% of deals it brings you) and Kit (23.5% of ad revenue), all read 8 October 2026. On beehiiv, direct sponsorships take a flat $10 a booking.
How much does Passionfroot take from a newsletter sponsorship?
15% of deals Passionfroot brings you, with payment fees included, and nothing from deals you bring yourself (read 8 October 2026). On a $150 placement that is $22.50. The brand also pays Passionfroot a 2% fee on every transaction, per its pricing page.
Is Paved free for a small newsletter?
Paved's Booker booking page is free for any list size, with Stripe's 2.9% processing fee on each payment. The Marketplace and the Ad Network need 50,000 subscribers in Paved's help center, and Paved doesn't publish the revenue share on either (read 8 October 2026). A newsletter under 5,000 subscribers can use Booker only.
What does a newsletter sponsor database cost?
SponsorGap starts at $39 a month and puts contact data on its $89 plan, SponsorLeads is $97 a month, and Who Sponsors Stuff is free for about 10% of its database with no contacts (read 8 October 2026). At the $150 median, one placement pays for 3.8 months of the $39 plan. You send every pitch yourself on all three.
What does Book a Sponsor cost?
$1 card check gets 200 emails, then 10¢/email or a plan from $49/mo, with no commission and no per-deal fee. Monthly plans start with the same free credit. The Kit plan is $49 a month for up to 500 emails across up to 2 newsletters. The Growth plan is $99 a month for up to 1,500 emails across up to 5 newsletters. Both include a media kit and a booking page. It is $150 for 30 days at the default 50 new brands a day, up to $300 with follow-ups, which is about the price of one median placement. We make it, so weigh our numbers against the others.
Does beehiiv take a cut of sponsorships?
Two ways, and they differ. On direct sponsorships (Pro plan) beehiiv keeps a flat $10 per booking plus Stripe's processing fee. On the Ad Network, which any paid plan can use, beehiiv's share isn't published and each offer shows an estimated payout (read 8 October 2026).
Sources
- Provider fees and plans, each read on the provider's own pages 8 October 2026: Passionfroot, MediaPact, beehiiv Ad Network, Hecto, SponsorCal, Paved, Kit Newsletter Sponsorships, Sponsorships.ai, Sponsy, SponsorGap, SponsorLeads, Who Sponsors Stuff, Wellput.
- Kit's fee and plan price, read 8 October 2026: help center, pricing.
- SponsorGap's marketplace terms and Who Sponsors Stuff's free tier, read 8 October 2026: SponsorGap FAQ, Who Sponsors Stuff plans.
- beehiiv's flat $10 direct-sponsorship fee and plan prices, read 8 October 2026: help center, pricing.
- Paved's Booker and subscriber minimums, read 8 October 2026: Booker, help center. MediaPact's commission tiers, read 8 October 2026: terms of service.
- Median main-slot price: the printed prices of 321 newsletters that state a list size, read 29 September 2026 (rates page); 68 of them have under 5,000 subscribers.
- Pitch counts: Book a Sponsor's own sending, 27 August 2026 to 6 October 2026, read 7 October 2026 (sources and method).
- Cite this page: "What do newsletter sponsorship platforms charge a newsletter under 5,000 subscribers?", Book a Sponsor, 8 October 2026, https://bookasponsor.com/newsletter-sponsorship-platform-fees.
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 10¢/email or a plan from $49/mo · first sponsor reply inside 30 days or your money back
Related
- Getting sponsors for a beehiiv newsletter
- Is SponsorGap worth it?
- How to get sponsors for your newsletter
- How to pitch brands: what our pitches got
- How many subscribers you need for a sponsor
- What newsletters charge for a sponsorship, by list size
- Newsletter sponsorship platforms compared
- Best sponsorship platforms for small newsletters
- Best newsletter sponsor databases
- SponsorGap alternatives, with prices
- beehiiv Ad Network alternatives, with fees
- What Book a Sponsor costs