# Curated review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Newsletter platform for link-based, editorial issues Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Curated is a newsletter platform built around collecting links and adding commentary to assemble each issue. It also offers an optional public site with searchable back issues, sponsorship handling and paid subscriptions. Pricing follows the total subscriber count across all of a customer's publications. - **Category:** Email Marketing & Newsletters - **Made by:** Curated - **Website:** https://www.curated.co - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a card-free start, as a card is added before the first send. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Curated has a free plan, and paid plans start at $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed monthly. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free up to 1,500 subscribers with every feature included, including sending. A card is added before the first issue is sent. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 per month for up to 1,500 subscribers | All features included. You add a card before sending your first issue but are not charged while at or under 1,500 subscribers. | | Up to 2,500 subscribers | $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed monthly | Price rises with the list: $69 up to 5,000, $129 up to 10,000 subscribers, and $189 up to 15,000. | | Up to 25,000 subscribers | $299 per month for up to 25,000 subscribers, billed monthly | Steps continue at $399 for 25,001 to 50,000 subscribers; above 50,000 the vendor asks you to get in touch. | Read from https://www.curated.co/pages/pricing.html on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Curated before buying. ## Key features - **Link collection:** Save links with a bookmarklet or by emailing them to a private address, with team members able to contribute. - **Issue assembly:** Import saved links into the next scheduled issue and add an intro, summaries and commentary. - **Web archive:** An optional publication site with searchable back issues, usable on your own domain at no extra fee. - **Sponsorships:** Handles sponsorship inquiries and a bookings calendar for the publication. - **Paid subscriptions:** Paid newsletters through a connected Stripe account; Curated says it takes 0% commission. - **Analytics:** Subscriber-level stats and per-issue reports on who read what and which links were clicked. ## Good for - Curators who write a newsletter built from links they gather during the week - Teams where several people collect and edit content, since extra users are not charged for - People running more than one publication under a single subscriber-based price ## Worth knowing - Price is set by subscriber count across all publications, and the page lists a $399 a month tier at up to 50,000 subscribers. - Above 50,000 subscribers there is no published price; you contact the vendor. - Monthly email quota is 31 times the plan's subscriber limit. - Paying by invoice requires a minimum commitment of $1,000. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Curated is a newsletter tool built around collecting links and assembling issues, free up to 1,500 subscribers with every feature. A card is needed before the first send, the next step is $39 a month for 2,500, and above 50,000 there's no published price. - **Value for money: C.** $39 a month for 2,500 subscribers, $69 for 5,000 and $129 for 10,000. Ordinary at first, and in the dearer quarter from 5,000. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Free up to 1,500 subscribers with every feature, sending included, though a card is added before the first issue. - **Features: C.** Link collection, issue assembly, archive, sponsorships, paid subscriptions and analytics. It does that one job fully, which is a smaller job than general email. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. A web app where you build issues yourself. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web with Stripe for payments. No other integrations are listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Curated's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among email marketing and newsletter tools - Curated's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 42 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 24. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 83 of 102) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $39 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 53 of the 78 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 47 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email-marketing ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Curated you would be making newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $468 a year. - You could make: Paid newsletters and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Stripe **Tags:** Email campaigns, Paid newsletters, Reports ## Alternatives - [Substack](https://toolgpa.com/tools/substack): Newsletter, podcast and video publishing with paid subscriptions. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/curated-vs-substack) - [beehiiv](https://toolgpa.com/tools/beehiiv): Newsletter platform with paid subscriptions, ads, website and podcast. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/beehiiv-vs-curated) - [Buttondown](https://toolgpa.com/tools/buttondown): Newsletter software priced by active subscribers, with add-ons. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/buttondown-vs-curated) - [Kit](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kit): Email marketing and paid newsletters for creators. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/curated-vs-kit) - [Ghost](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ghost): Open source publishing with newsletters and paid memberships. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/curated-vs-ghost) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.curated.co/pages/pricing.html - https://www.curated.co/ - https://www.curated.co/pages/features.html Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/curated Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).