What happened to Revue
Revue was a newsletter platform that Twitter acquired in January 2021, competing with services such as Substack and Medium. On December 14, 2022, TechCrunch reported the company's message: "We've made the difficult decision to shut down Revue." [1]
The same report gave the deadline that mattered to writers: they had until January 18, 2023 to retrieve their data before it all got deleted. [1] That date has passed, so there is no Revue account to log back into and no export button left to press.
Start from what you saved
Your restart depends on one question: do you still have the subscriber export you downloaded before January 18, 2023? If you do, that file is your list. If you do not, the reporting says the data was deleted, so plan to rebuild with a new signup form rather than hoping to recover it. [1]
Before importing an old file, check its age honestly. A list that has not received mail for years will include changed and abandoned addresses. Both Kit and MailerLite put the consent burden on you: Kit says each person must have provided permission to receive your marketing emails and tells you to stop if you are not certain, and MailerLite says to be sure every subscriber has given consent. [8] [5] A short re-introduction email that reminds readers who you are and makes unsubscribing easy is the safer first send.
- Open the CSV in a spreadsheet and save it with UTF-8 encoding, which MailerLite asks for when a list contains non-English characters. [5]
- Delete obvious role addresses such as admin@ or support@; MailerLite bans them on import. [5]
- Keep a column for the signup source or date so you can show where consent came from.
- Save an untouched copy of the original file before cleaning it.
Where to move a free newsletter
For a free newsletter the main question is which free tier holds your list. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited forms and landing pages, but it excludes email sequences and visual automations. [6] [7] beehiiv's free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers and has no live custom automations. [2] MailerLite's free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with up to 3 active automations. [3]
So a 4,000-reader free weekly fits Kit Free, would need a paid beehiiv plan, and would need a paid MailerLite plan. A 200-reader list fits all three for free.
| Platform | Free plan list limit | Automations on free | Paid newsletter option |
|---|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | Up to 2,500 subscribers [2] | No live custom automations [2] | Lite and Pro (not Free), 0% take rate outside a trial plus Stripe 2.9% + 30 cents [2] |
| MailerLite | Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month [3] | Up to 3 active automations [3] | Through Stripe on Comfort or Power [4] |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers [7] | No sequences or visual automations [7] | Digital products and subscriptions on Free; listed 3.5% + 30 cents [6] [7] |
Where to move a paid newsletter
beehiiv lists paid subscriptions on its Lite and Pro plans (not on Free) with a 0% take rate outside a trial, while Stripe's standard 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction still applies. Lite starts at $59 a month (or $588 a year) for up to 1,000 subscribers. [2]
Kit lets free and paid accounts sell digital products and subscriptions. Its pricing page lists 3.5% plus 30 cents per digital product or subscription sale, which it says is inclusive of credit card processing fees, with Kit taking 0.6%. [6] [7]
MailerLite says accounts on Comfort or Power can sell digital products, recurring subscriptions and paid newsletters with Stripe. The product must be created in Stripe first, the minimum price is $0.50, and recurring purchases accept cards only. [4]
Worked example: 100 paying readers at $5 a month is $500 in monthly charges. Under beehiiv's stated terms, Stripe's fee is 100 times ($0.145 plus $0.30), or $44.50, with no beehiiv cut, plus the Lite plan price. Under Kit's listed 3.5% plus 30 cents, fees are 100 times ($0.175 plus $0.30), or $47.50, and you could stay on Kit Free if you need no sequences. [2] [6] Check each checkout for currency and tax differences before you choose.
What each import requires
Free subscribers move by CSV on all three platforms. Kit asks you to select at least one form, sequence or tag when importing, and subscribers imported into a form are confirmed automatically even if that form uses double opt-in. [8] MailerLite accepts CSV, TXT or pasted Excel data, removes duplicate addresses automatically, and reports how many subscribers were added and how many failed. [5]
Paying subscribers are harder because the billing relationship lives in Stripe. beehiiv's paid-subscriber import works on paid plans and needs a connected Stripe account plus access to the source Stripe account. Stripe copies customer payment data between accounts, which beehiiv says can take up to 72 hours. Migrated subscribers keep their price, access and billing schedule and sit on a temporary trial to prevent double billing; cancelling billing on the old platform is your job. [9] Because Revue's systems are gone, this route only applies if you still control the Stripe account that held your subscriptions.
| Requirement | beehiiv | MailerLite | Kit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consent rule stated | Not covered in the paid-import article [9] | Every subscriber must have consented [5] | Every person must have given permission [8] |
| Free-list import | Settings, Subscribers import; free-list steps are not covered in the paid-import article [9] | CSV, TXT, paste or API [5] | CSV into a form, sequence or tag [8] |
| Paid-subscriber migration | Stripe-to-Stripe import on paid plans [9] | Not covered by the import article [5] | Not covered by the import FAQ [8] |
Who fits each, and who should skip
- beehiiv fits writers who want a paid newsletter with no platform take rate and a growth toolkit. Skip it if your free list is over 2,500 and you do not want to pay yet. [2]
- MailerLite fits writers who also want automations, landing pages and digital products in one account. Skip its free plan if your list is over 250 subscribers. [3]
- Kit fits large free newsletters and creators who sell products, since the free plan holds 10,000 subscribers. Skip the free plan if you need a welcome sequence, because sequences and visual automations are paid. [7]
- Whatever you choose, set up a custom sending domain before your first send and keep the old Revue URL out of your new signup links.
Questions before you decide
When did Revue shut down?
TechCrunch reported on December 14, 2022 that Revue was shutting down and that writers had until January 18, 2023 to retrieve their data before it all got deleted.
Can I still export my Revue subscribers?
Not from Revue. The retrieval window ended on January 18, 2023, and the TechCrunch report says the data was to be deleted after that. Start from any CSV you saved before the deadline.
Which alternative is cheapest for a paid newsletter?
On published terms, beehiiv Lite and Pro take 0% of paid subscriptions, with Stripe charging 2.9% plus 30 cents. Kit lists 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale and lets you sell on its free plan. Compare those fees with each plan price at your list size.
Do imported subscribers have to confirm again?
Not in Kit when you import into a form: Kit says those subscribers are confirmed automatically even if the form uses double opt-in. Kit and MailerLite both require that every imported person gave permission to receive your marketing email.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- TechCrunch: Twitter shuts down Revue, its newsletter platform (December 14, 2022) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to sell digital products through MailerLite using Stripe Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to import subscribers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kit pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: The Kit Free plan Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: Importing subscribers into Kit, what to know (FAQs) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: How to import paid subscribers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.