# Kit Buyer's Checklist: What to Check Before You Pay

> A Kit checklist from its own help centre and terms: verification before sending, confirmed-subscriber bands, automatic upgrades, large-import suspensions, the free plan's limits, refunds, one account per audience, seats and fees.

_Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/kit-buyers-checklist — The Professional's Toolkit · updated 2026-10-09_

---


Use this checklist before you sign up for Kit, and again before you move from the free plan or trial
to a paid one. It is built from Kit's help centre, terms and pricing data, read on 9 October 2026,
and from 100 recent Trustpilot reviews.

## 1. Send the verification link early

"We ask that all new accounts send us a link to their blog before we enable email sending." [7].
You can build forms, sequences and broadcasts first, but nothing sends until Kit approves the account.
Kit may ask for historical open and click rates or your plans for email marketing [7].

**What to do:** send the link on day one, with your site, your list source and your sending plans, so
approval is not the step that delays a launch. Do it first.



> 💡 **undefined:** Export your subscribers regularly.

## 1a. Decide whether Free already covers you

Many creators never need to pay Kit. Free covers up to 10,000 subscribers and includes selling
products and subscriptions, A/B tests on broadcasts, the API and the Creator Network [6]. Pay only
when you need sequences or automations, a custom domain, branding removed, more than one seat, or the
AI Connectors.

## 2. Count confirmed subscribers, not contacts

Kit bills on confirmed subscribers: "Your bill is based on your active subscribers, not on emails sent
or features used." [4]. Unconfirmed sign-ups do not count. Every other feature is included in the
plan price.



> ⚠ **undefined:** Large imports can suspend the account temporarily.

## 3. Check which band you land in

| Up to | Creator monthly | Pro monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $39 | $79 |
| 3,000 | $59 | $99 |
| 5,000 | $89 | $139 |
| 10,000 | $139 | $189 |
| 25,000 | $199 | $279 |

From the pricing page's script [2]. A list of 1,050 pays the 3,000 band. Pruning 51 inactive
subscribers before you upgrade saves $20 a month. Prune first.

## 4. Know that growth is billed automatically

"we automatically upgrade you to the next tier." [5], with the difference prorated. On annual
plans the difference is charged immediately [5]. There is no setting to stop it, so watch the count
before a giveaway or a big launch. Watch closely.

## 5. Warn Kit before a large import

"If you are importing a new list of subscribers (from a giveaway or live event, for instance), your
account may be temporarily suspended." [5]. Tell support in advance, and import only people who
opted in to hear from you.

## 6. Decide whether Free is enough

Free covers 10,000 subscribers with forms, landing pages, broadcasts, tags, A/B tests on broadcasts,
digital products, subscriptions and the API [6]. It does not include automations or sequences. If
your plan depends on a welcome sequence or a launch sequence, budget for Creator.

## 7. Understand the trial and the free plan

The trial and the free plan are different things, and reviewers say the difference is easy to miss.
One reviewer reports that a support rep "did acknowledge the trial-versus-free-plan distinction was
unclear and refunded a charge" [9]. If you switch from a trial to Free, paid features end at once;
from a paid plan, at the end of the period [6].

## 8. Read both refund texts

The help centre: "We have a 30-day refund policy, so if you cancel, you can request any funds paid in
the last 30 days to be refunded in full." [4]. The terms: on cancellation, "we will not refund any
Paid Services Fees already paid to us" [8]. Request refunds within 30 days, in writing, citing the
help centre. Keep the email.

## 8a. Know when a paid plan ends

When you cancel, the account "will remain active until the last day of your billing period." [4].
Moving from a paid plan to Free keeps paid features to the end of the period; from a trial, they end
at once [6]. Automations and sequences built on a paid plan stay in the account but stop running on
Free, and return if you upgrade [6].

## 8b. Check sales tax and invoices

Kit adds sales tax in many US states based on your billing address, and outside the US you can add a
VAT number so it appears on invoices [4]. A temporary $1 charge appears whenever you add or change
a card; it is a Stripe verification and drops off within seven days [4].

## 9. One account per audience

Kit advises "A fresh account for every distinct audience" [22]. One account holds one list and one
custom domain; a subscriber in two audiences can unsubscribe from both at once [22]. Price each
account separately if you run more than one business.

## 10. Check the seats

Creator allows two team members; Pro unlimited [3]. A team of three needs Pro: $79 instead of $39
at 1,000 subscribers. Count your people.

## 10a. Compare Kit Free with Substack before choosing either

For a paid newsletter under 10,000 subscribers, Kit Free charges 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale with card
processing included [2]; Substack keeps 10% and passes on card fees [51]. On a $10 monthly
subscription that is $0.65 against $1.00 plus fees. Kit's trade-off is no discovery network of
Substack's kind and no automations on Free.

## 10b. Check what your readers see when they cancel

When a reader cancels a recurring product, they are not charged again and keep receiving the paid
newsletter until the next billing date; a confirmation email follows at the end of the period
[27]. You can ask Kit to notify you of each cancellation [27]. If you delete a subscriber, check
the subscription FAQ first: removing a paying reader from the list has billing consequences [27].

## 10c. Decide on monthly, quarterly or yearly prices

Subscriptions can bill monthly, quarterly or yearly, and one product can carry several prices [26].
Card fees weigh most on small monthly charges: on a $5 charge Kit's 3.5% plus 30 cents is 9.5%, on a
$50 yearly charge 4.1% [2]. Offering a yearly price is the simplest way to keep more of each
reader's payment.

## 11. Check the fees on what you sell

- Products and subscriptions: 3.5% plus 30 cents, processing included [2].
- Sponsorships: 23.5% of ad revenue, paid 45 days after the month ends [32].
- Paid recommendations: 20% service plus 3.5% transaction fee [31].

## 12. Connect Stripe before you sell

Kit's commerce runs on Stripe; payouts for sponsorships also go to your Stripe account [32] [30].
Paid recommendations run through SparkLoop, which must approve your account first, usually within 24
hours [31].

## 12a. Protect paid subscribers from the unsubscribe link

If a reader unsubscribes from your list, Kit stops charging them for paid subscriptions [27]. A
paying reader who only wanted fewer emails can cancel your revenue with one click. Use tags and a
preference page so readers can reduce frequency without leaving, and keep the paid newsletter as a
separate product they can manage.

## 12b. Know the refund mechanics for your own customers

Refunds for products are issued from the subscriber's profile, and "Only full refunds are supported at
this time." [29]. Purchases made on other platforms must be refunded there [29]. If you sell
courses with a partial-refund policy, process those refunds in Stripe, not in Kit.

## 12c. Turn on VAT collection before selling to Europe

Kit can calculate VAT for each EU and UK sale and send a compliant receipt once collection is enabled
and your jurisdictions are added [43]. Each product then needs a product type and tax code. Do it
before the first sale, not after.

## 12d. Offer payment plans for higher-priced products

Payment plans split a product's price into at least two instalments, monthly, quarterly or yearly
[42]. A $600 coaching package can be sold as four payments of $150. Payment plans are different
from subscriptions: the number of charges is fixed [42].

## 13. Price the annual plan honestly

Annual billing is twelve months for the price of ten [4]. The Pro first-year offer in October 2026
was 25% off up to 65,000 subscribers, ending 7 November 2026 [2]; the second year is at list
price. Switching from annual to monthly takes effect only at the end of the annual term [4].

## 13a. Check the sponsorship terms if you will sell ads

Only paid plans can express interest in sponsorship campaigns [33]. Each campaign has a window you
must send within, and pays per unique verified click [33]. Kit keeps 23.5% and pays 45 days after
the month ends, with "no minimum threshold to start receiving payouts" [32]. Plan cash flow around
a six-week delay.

## 13b. Prune twice a year

Kit's own advice: pruning about every six months keeps the list engaged "and can even lower your email
bill" [5]. After pruning, look for the *Switch to a lower tier* link in Account & Billing; Kit
does not move you down on its own [4].

## 14. Plan the exit

Subscribers export as CSV [25]. Account deletion is requested from Account & Billing, done within
24 to 48 hours, and only the account owner can request it [24]. When you cancel a paid plan, it
"will remain active until the last day of your billing period." [4].

## 14a. Migrating in? Read the guide for your old platform

Kit publishes migration guides for beehiiv, Substack, Mailchimp, MailerLite and others [35]
[36] [37] [38], and advertises free migrations on its pricing page [2]. The beehiiv guide
starts with a vocabulary table: beehiiv posts are Kit broadcasts, beehiiv automations are Kit visual
automations or rules, and beehiiv paid subscriptions are a Kit paid newsletter [35]. Map those
first; the rest of the move follows.

## 15. Check the AI Connectors if you use AI tools

AI Connectors, Kit's connection to AI assistants, need a paid plan [6]. Every tool is annotated as
read-only, destructive, idempotent or open-world, so your AI client can ask before acting [40]. Review every proposed change before approving it, as Kit itself advises, because AI assistants can misunderstand a request and some tools are destructive [39].

## 16. Weigh what recent reviewers report

Our 100 most recent Trustpilot reviews of Kit average 4.17, above the 4.0 badge [9]. Support is the
largest theme, in 38 reviews, 26 positive and 12 negative. The negative ones describe long exchanges on
technical questions after the 2025 price rise; one reviewer writes that the price "increased nearly 3x
for me" while service went the other way [9]. Lists and contacts come up in 14 reviews, billing in
8, and an account closed as not the right fit in 3, all negative.

**What to do:** test support during the trial with one real technical question, such as triggering a
sequence from a tag, and judge the answer before paying annually.



## FAQ

**What should I check before choosing Kit?**

Verification timing, your confirmed subscriber band, automatic upgrades, whether Free covers what you need, the refund window, seats, and whether your audiences need separate accounts.

## The checklist in one table

| Check | Where |
|---|---|
| Verification link sent | Support |
| Confirmed subscriber count and band | Subscribers, pricing page |
| Automatic upgrades understood | Billing article |
| Large import announced | Support |
| Free versus Creator features | Free plan article |
| Refund window noted | Billing article and terms |
| One account per audience | Help centre |
| Seats needed | Plan comparison |
| Stripe connected | Settings |
| Export habit | Subscribers |




## Sources

[1] Kit vendor pricing page — https://kit.com/pricing (2026-10)
[2] Kit help: creator vs pro choose the right plan — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/4494683-creator-vs-pro-choose-the-right-plan (2026-10)
[3] Kit help: billing at kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502679-billing-at-kit (2026-10)
[4] Kit help: account upgrade downgrade faqs — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2537095-account-upgrade-downgrade-faqs (2026-10)
[5] Kit help: the kit free plan — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/16627071-the-kit-free-plan (2026-10)
[6] Kit help: why do i need to get my account verified — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502678-why-do-i-need-to-get-my-account-verified (2026-10)
[7] Kit Terms of Service — https://kit.com/terms (2026-10)
[8] Trustpilot aggregate and review corpus for Kit — https://www.trustpilot.com/review/kit.com?languages=all (2026-10)
[9] Kit page: /pricing-updates-2025 — https://kit.com/pricing-updates-2025 (2026-10)
[10] Kit page: /pro — https://kit.com/pro (2026-10)
[11] Kit page: /ai — https://kit.com/ai (2026-10)
[12] Kit page: /ai/mcp — https://kit.com/ai/mcp (2026-10)
[13] Kit page: /features/commerce — https://kit.com/features/commerce (2026-10)
[14] Kit page: /features/commerce/paid-newsletter — https://kit.com/features/commerce/paid-newsletter (2026-10)
[15] Kit page: /features/newsletter-sponsorships — https://kit.com/features/newsletter-sponsorships (2026-10)
[16] Kit page: /features/paid-recommendations — https://kit.com/features/paid-recommendations (2026-10)
[17] Kit page: /features/recommendations — https://kit.com/features/recommendations (2026-10)
[18] Kit page: /features/automations — https://kit.com/features/automations (2026-10)
[19] Kit page: /features/deliverability — https://kit.com/features/deliverability (2026-10)
[20] Kit help: acceptable use policy — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/3038130-acceptable-use-policy (2026-10)
[21] Kit help: can i use one kit account for multiple domains or businesses — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502514-can-i-use-one-kit-account-for-multiple-domains-or-businesses (2026-10)
[22] Kit help: what type of affiliate marketing is and isn t allowed at kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/4881296-what-type-of-affiliate-marketing-is-and-isn-t-allowed-at-kit (2026-10)
[23] Kit help: how to delete your kit account — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/11621148-how-to-delete-your-kit-account (2026-10)
[24] Kit help: how to export subscribers in kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502489-how-to-export-subscribers-in-kit (2026-10)
[25] Kit help: creating a paid newsletter — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/4587009-creating-a-paid-newsletter (2026-10)
[26] Kit help: subscription product faqs — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/6027690-subscription-product-faqs (2026-10)
[27] Kit help: purchases feature setup and faq — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502675-purchases-feature-setup-and-faq (2026-10)
[28] Kit help: how to refund a purchase — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/4833813-how-to-refund-a-purchase (2026-10)
[29] Kit help: kit stripe — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2632323-kit-stripe (2026-10)
[30] Kit help: how to enable paid recommendations in the creator network — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/7973490-how-to-enable-paid-recommendations-in-the-creator-network (2026-10)
[31] Kit help: monetizing your emails with kit newsletter sponsorships — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/8532157-monetizing-your-emails-with-kit-newsletter-sponsorships (2026-10)
[32] Kit help: how to run kit newsletter sponsorships — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/11645396-how-to-run-kit-newsletter-sponsorships (2026-10)
[33] Kit help: viewing your programmatic ads performance and payout reports — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/8532151-viewing-your-programmatic-ads-performance-and-payout-reports (2026-10)
[34] Kit help: migrating from beehiiv to kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/10248340-migrating-from-beehiiv-to-kit (2026-10)
[35] Kit help: migrating from substack to kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/6393834-migrating-from-substack-to-kit (2026-10)
[36] Kit help: migrating from mailchimp to kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502565-migrating-from-mailchimp-to-kit (2026-10)
[37] Kit help: migrating from mailerlite to kit — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/6980365-migrating-from-mailerlite-to-kit (2026-10)
[38] Kit help: how to connect the ai connectors to your ai tools — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/14827557-how-to-connect-the-ai-connectors-to-your-ai-tools (2026-10)
[39] Kit help: ai connector tools — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/15072804-ai-connector-tools (2026-10)
[40] Kit help: kit glossary key terms explained — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/16125614-kit-glossary-key-terms-explained (2026-10)
[41] Kit help: payment plans — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/6060884-payment-plans (2026-10)
[42] Kit help: how to collect vat on product and tips purchases — https://help.kit.com/en/articles/6631323-how-to-collect-vat-on-product-and-tips-purchases (2026-10)
[43] beehiiv help or pricing file — https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing.md (2026-10)
[44] beehiiv help or pricing file — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/13092031997847.md (2026-10)
[45] beehiiv help or pricing file — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/13092084756631.md (2026-10)
[46] beehiiv help or pricing file — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/22435253930519.md (2026-10)
[47] beehiiv help or pricing file — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/14194737991319.md (2026-10)
[48] Mailchimp vendor pricing page — https://mailchimp.com/pricing/ (2026-09)
[49] MailerLite vendor pricing page — https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing (2026-10)
[50] Substack, going paid — https://substack.com/going-paid (2026-10)
[51] Klaviyo vendor pricing page — https://www.klaviyo.com/pricing (2026-10)
[52] Brevo machine-readable pricing reference — https://www.brevo.com/pricing.md (2026-10)
[53] Constant Contact vendor pricing page — https://www.constantcontact.com/pricing (2026-10)