Stop Paying for Ghost Subscribers: How MailCheap Works
MailCheap changes the pricing model for newsletters by charging based on emails sent rather than total subscriber count.
Traditional newsletter platforms charge based on total subscribers, including inactive ones. MailCheap charges only for emails actually sent, which can be a fraction of the cost.
The Problem with Traditional Pricing
Most newsletter platforms like beehiiv charge monthly fees based on your total subscriber list. This means you pay for every contact, even those who have not opened an email in months. For small businesses, this creates a financial penalty for having a large but inactive list. You are essentially paying for ‘ghost subscribers’ who do not engage with your content.
MailCheap addresses this by changing the billing model. Instead of a flat fee based on list size, you pay only for the emails you actually send. This aligns your costs with your actual usage. If you send four issues a month to 10,000 readers, you pay for 40,000 emails, not for the total number of people on your list.
How the Cost Model Works
The cost structure depends on how you use the service. MailCheap Cloud starts at $19 a month for 20,000 emails. If you self-host the open-source version, you pay your email provider directly. For example, Amazon SES charges between $0.10 and $0.16 per 1,000 emails. Using the previous example of 40,000 emails, the cost would be approximately $4 to $6. This is a significant reduction compared to platforms that charge based on subscriber count.
The platform also distinguishes between active and dormant subscribers. Only active subscribers count toward your plan limits. Readers marked as dormant by the list cleanup process do not increase your monthly fee. This ensures that your bill reflects only the engaged portion of your audience.
Automatic List Cleaning and Deliverability
Maintaining a healthy list is crucial for deliverability. MailCheap includes built-in tools to handle this automatically. It performs list cleanup by default, sending a confirmation email to readers who have ignored several issues. If they do not respond, they stop receiving issues. This prevents your list from bloating with inactive contacts.
The system also cleans imports by removing invalid, misspelled, spam trap, role, throwaway, and duplicate addresses. It maintains a server-wide list of addresses that do not exist or are spam traps. These protections help ensure that your emails reach the right inboxes and reduce the risk of being marked as spam.
Self-Hosting vs. Cloud
MailCheap is open source, meaning you can self-host it or use the cloud version. Self-hosting requires setting up your own Amazon SES or PostShiba account and managing your own server. This option is free, but you pay your email provider for each email sent. Setup takes about an hour, mostly waiting for DNS records and provider approval.
MailCheap Cloud runs the same code but handles the infrastructure for you. It offers a free subdomain for your newsletter website and manages sending from a shared address or your own domain. The cloud version includes support via a chat in the dashboard, whereas self-hosting does not include support. You choose based on your technical comfort and budget.
Takeaways
- Pay only for emails sent, not for total subscribers.
- Automatic list cleaning removes inactive and invalid contacts.
- Self-hosting can cost as little as $0.10 per 1,000 emails.
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