How much does a newsletter sponsorship cost?

Short answer: among tech and startup newsletters that publish a price, the middle half start between about $200 and $1,000 per placement, and about half start under $400. Big lists cost a lot more.

These numbers come from the published sponsor pages and media kits in our Sponsor Sheet, verified on Oct 26, 2026. We only counted newsletters that publish a price in US dollars, and we used each one's cheapest listed option.

Typical starting prices

• About a quarter start under $200. These are usually smaller or niche lists, often booked self-serve through Passionfroot or a sponsor page.
• About half start under $400.
• About three quarters start under $1,000.
• A small group of large lists start at $2,500 or more.

Price per 1,000 subscribers

Dividing the starting price by the stated audience gives a rough cost per 1,000 subscribers (CPM). The middle of the range is around $14, but it varies a lot: the middle half of newsletters sit between roughly $4 and $50. Stated audience is the publisher's own number, and opens and clicks matter more than list size, so treat this as a starting point, not a verdict.

By topic

Samples per topic are small, so these are rough. Developer and marketing newsletters had the highest typical starting prices of the bigger groups, around $500. AI newsletters were lower, around $200, and startup newsletters were in between, around $350. Marketing newsletters also tended to charge more per subscriber.

How to budget a first test

• Pick two or three newsletters whose readers match your buyer, rather than one big one.
• Ask for open and click rates from recent issues before you pay.
• Ask about last-minute or remnant slots, which are sometimes cheaper.
• Track every placement: date, price, clicks and signups, so you know which to rebook.

Prices change, so always confirm the current rate with the publisher before you book.

Want the shortlist?

The Newsletter Ad Buyer Kit ($29) has tech and AI newsletters you can book under $1,000, a planner that picks the cheapest set for your budget, and ten outreach email templates. The full Sponsor Sheet has every newsletter we track, with sources.