{"rid":"email/buttondown","card":{"rid":"email/buttondown","eid":"buttondown","topic":"email","slug":"buttondown","provider":"Buttondown","url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","domain":"buttondown.com","category":"newsletter sender with a REST API","tier":"free","verdict":"qualifies-with-caveat","vorder":1,"grp":"usable","self_hosted":0,"confidence":"documented","binding":"request-rate","identity_kind":"email","identity_basis":"stated","needs_card":0,"needs_phone":0,"needs_id":0,"needs_institution":0,"country":null,"crypto":null,"interfaces":"rest","egress_metered":0,"per_object_bytes":null,"retention_days":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-02T10:00:26.325Z","verified_basis":"live","checked_on":"2026-11-02","stale_on":"2026-12-03","n_evidence":48,"usd_month":null,"usd_per_tb_month":null,"summary":"free for the first 100 subscribers, with the price assuming at most one email a day to the whole subscriber base; API included, no card","duplicate_of":null,"n_unknown":0,"free_unit":"users"},"record":{"topic":"email","slug":"buttondown","provider":"Buttondown","url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","category":"newsletter sender with a REST API","tier":"free","free_tier":{"stated":"free for the first 100 subscribers, with the price assuming at most one email a day to the whole subscriber base; API included, no card","unit":"users","metered_on":"identity-count","source_url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","read_on":"2026-10-30","notes":"The quota counts subscribers, not messages. Sending from a custom domain is free; without one, mail goes out from the account's username at buttondown.email. Attachments, tagging and segmentation, automations and archives on a custom domain are paid add-ons. Subscribers are confirmed by double opt-in unless created through the API with type regular."},"per_object_cap":{"stated":"not applicable: email attachments are a paid add-on","bytes":null,"notes":""},"retention":{"stated":"not stated","days":null,"notes":""},"egress":{"terms":"not applicable: an outbound sender","metered":false,"free_allowance":null,"price_per_tb":null,"source_url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing"},"interface":["rest"],"interface_detail":"the REST API at https://api.buttondown.com/v1 with an OpenAPI spec: POST /v1/emails creates an email for the subscriber base; POST /v1/subscribers/{id_or_email}/emails/{email_id} takes no request body and sends an existing finalized email to one subscriber, and a draft is refused with a 400 whose code is email_invalid_status; POST /v1/emails/{id}/send-draft delivers a draft to the subscriber ids and email addresses named in its body, the documented route for sending drafts for review","tooling":"curl or any HTTP client; there is no official SDK, and typed clients are generated from the OpenAPI spec","chaining":"a list sender rather than a transactional relay: every recipient is a subscriber, so it carries a newsletter or a notification list of up to 100 people, and per-message transactional mail belongs on a relay.","limits":[{"kind":"request-rate","value":"the free price assumes at most one email a day to the whole subscriber base; more needs a contact with the vendor","source":"https://buttondown.com/pricing"},{"kind":"request-rate","value":"600 API requests per minute on every endpoint, and 100 subscriber creations per day through POST /v1/subscribers","source":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-rate-limits"},{"kind":"write-gated","value":"every new account is reviewed before it can send, most reviews within one to three business days","source":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review"},{"kind":"request-rate","value":"new senders are capped per hour until they reach a baseline of engagement and reputation; the figure is not stated","source":"https://docs.buttondown.com/sending-from-a-custom-domain"}],"limits_note":"counts of things, not rates, so no vocabulary kind names them: 100 subscribers on the free plan.","identity_cost":{"kind":"email","detail":"The register page asks for a username, an email address and a password, or Apple or Google sign-in, and states that no card is needed. Every new account is reviewed before it can send, and a verification form asks what the newsletter is about, who its audience is, where imported subscribers came from, and details of the person or organization. No domain is needed: mail goes out from the username at buttondown.email by default. A custom sending domain is free, set up either by delegating a subdomain with two NS records (managed) or by adding the records shown in settings (manual).","country":null},"reliability_note":"sending is disabled temporarily when unsubscribes, complaints or hard bounces run high on a new sender","confidence":"documented","evidence":[{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the free plan covers the first 100 subscribers","capture":"sha256:1ddcae945707d0d198b6187ff2bb96d2da5558bc26fa6f79ef4292a00bd44dc4","quote":"Absolutely nothing for your first 100 subscribers."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the free price assumes at most one email a day to the whole list","capture":"sha256:1ddcae945707d0d198b6187ff2bb96d2da5558bc26fa6f79ef4292a00bd44dc4","quote":"All of these prices assume that you're sending at most one email a day to your entire subscriber base."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"tagging and segmentation is listed among the add-ons at 9 per month","capture":"sha256:1ddcae945707d0d198b6187ff2bb96d2da5558bc26fa6f79ef4292a00bd44dc4","quote":"Tagging & [segmentation](/features/analytics)"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"email attachments are listed among the add-ons at 9 per month","capture":"sha256:1ddcae945707d0d198b6187ff2bb96d2da5558bc26fa6f79ef4292a00bd44dc4","quote":"Email [attachments](/features/attachments)"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/llms.txt","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the free tier is up to 100 subscribers with no stated email count","capture":"sha256:ad99d6be5570e7badcfba48189bbb928d493d4007d3208d941a9275e7d5cad81","quote":"Free tier: Up to 100 subscribers, unlimited emails"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/llms.txt","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the summary file lists API access and custom domains under the 9 per month Basic plan","capture":"sha256:ad99d6be5570e7badcfba48189bbb928d493d4007d3208d941a9275e7d5cad81","quote":"Basic ($9/month): Custom domains, API access, automations, remove Buttondown branding"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/features/api","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the API is on the free plan","capture":"sha256:dc81a6188a4ba68abb21b19b23645614e2dcd5e7d5ba2e97f3bdc404549a4ed7","quote":"Yes. The API is available on all plans, including free."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-rate-limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"every API endpoint allows 600 requests per minute","capture":"sha256:ce39f02c145e304063c49d8e5b65377339e73627009a93da2828dfa497f595d9","quote":"| All API endpoints | 600 requests per minute |"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-rate-limits","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"subscriber creation through the API is limited to 100 a day","capture":"sha256:ce39f02c145e304063c49d8e5b65377339e73627009a93da2828dfa497f595d9","quote":"| [`POST /v1/subscribers`](/api-subscribers-create) | 100 requests per day |"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/register","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"registration needs no card","capture":"sha256:319469292117f32f51ec42446aa16d8ef4c099496e12d61b25e16fe202a3cc76","quote":"Get started for free. No credit card required."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/register","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the register form asks for a username, an email address and a password, beside Apple and Google sign-in","capture":"sha256:319469292117f32f51ec42446aa16d8ef4c099496e12d61b25e16fe202a3cc76","quote":"Username Email address Password"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"every new account is reviewed before it can send","capture":"sha256:2e3878ae8596a4a369331493adf11f659ec5619859c44d361fcbae475dd79d68","quote":"All new accounts go through an initial review before they can start sending."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"most reviews finish within one to three business days","capture":"sha256:2e3878ae8596a4a369331493adf11f659ec5619859c44d361fcbae475dd79d68","quote":"Most reviews are completed within one to three business days."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the verification form asks about the newsletter, its audience, imported subscribers and the person or organization","capture":"sha256:2e3878ae8596a4a369331493adf11f659ec5619859c44d361fcbae475dd79d68","quote":"A few details about you or your organization"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/blog/sending-email-address","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"without a custom domain, mail goes out from the username at buttondown.email","capture":"sha256:8ad50d57a7588d85121651c4f55a84d74f222e98eeda57a1e90305414b3a3753","quote":"Your username at buttondown.email (the default)"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/sending-from-a-custom-domain","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a custom sending domain is free","capture":"sha256:803e3a4ae952be2311c9d28ba3601cea0aad016e2bc189e56487459570089e1b","quote":"Sending from a custom domain is available to everyone"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/sending-from-a-custom-domain","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the managed domain setup delegates a subdomain with two NS records","capture":"sha256:803e3a4ae952be2311c9d28ba3601cea0aad016e2bc189e56487459570089e1b","quote":"2. Add the two `NS` type records that are shown to you in Settings."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/sending-from-a-custom-domain","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"new senders are capped per hour","capture":"sha256:803e3a4ae952be2311c9d28ba3601cea0aad016e2bc189e56487459570089e1b","quote":"We cap the number of emails a newsletter can send in a given hour until you've reached a baseline level of engagement and reputation for your content."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/sending-from-a-custom-domain","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"sending is disabled temporarily on high unsubscribes, complaints or hard bounces","capture":"sha256:803e3a4ae952be2311c9d28ba3601cea0aad016e2bc189e56487459570089e1b","quote":"we will temporarily disable your sending capability and reach out to help resolve the issue."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/double-opt-in","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"subscribers are confirmed by double opt-in by default","capture":"sha256:510e8cbce4ce6df0f948e74fc9ad1b9219e7fb3c2e83cc6143d75137c67e089f","quote":"Buttondown requires double opt-in for all newsletters by default."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-subscribers-create","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"a subscriber created through the API with type regular skips the confirmation","capture":"sha256:38e96c74ef9e594f97cfc1f05b74e9dcd6516b4302076e8115e97d0079ab22b2","quote":"You can't disable this behavior globally, but you can disable it on a per-subscriber basis by providing a `type` of `regular` in the request body."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-10-31","proved":"the API sends a specific email to a specific subscriber","capture":"sha256:9ca7959104eb65645ce333a1dcf4ff50fafd086456221ad9d01d3dbbe5a3d0e0","quote":"\"description\": \"Send a specific email to a specific subscriber\","},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/blog/safer-email-api-defaults","date":"2026-10-30","proved":"the first API send of a key needs a one-time confirmation header","capture":"sha256:b702da17bdbc53f0dcf821a521dd00b88ac3c277f6e6c717f6f46c69a09b9cc7","quote":"To confirm, pass the `X-Buttondown-Live-Dangerously: true` header."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/blog/2025-pricing-update","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the January 2025 pricing post states that API access became available to everyone, down from USD 9 a month","capture":"sha256:0f81ff98c20737498b7035b463ad479eb088c8307bfabdaee23c57579eb37057","quote":"API access is now available to everyone (down from $9/month)."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/blog/api-send-draft-status","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"a draft sent through the per-subscriber endpoint is refused with the error code email_invalid_status","capture":"sha256:ccaafca5a299ba88c273890d5001b07b716e8a30d9bb94c3946a955f1caf16f5","quote":"\"code\": \"email_invalid_status\","},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-subscribers-send-email","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the endpoint guide limits the per-subscriber endpoint to finalized emails and names the send-draft endpoint for drafts","capture":"sha256:a57fc72936221e7a7440a476ccca47a3f12e7c6111bac5a245097cb8c7cd5249","quote":"This endpoint should only be used for sending finalized emails. If you're interested in programmatically sending drafts for review, you'll want to use the [send-drafts endpoint](https://docs.buttondown.com/api-emails-send-draft) instead."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the pricing page still prices the first 100 subscribers at nothing","capture":"sha256:598ba854174e927b3d17aa847a05f64d8dad25b3db3634c456f6ff564b99b387","quote":"Absolutely nothing for your first 100 subscribers."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/features/api","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the API page answers that the API is available on all plans, including free","capture":"sha256:dc81a6188a4ba68abb21b19b23645614e2dcd5e7d5ba2e97f3bdc404549a4ed7","quote":"Yes. The API is available on all plans, including free."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/drafting-emails-via-the-api","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the API guide for drafting emails carries the plan badge Available on the Free plan","capture":"sha256:48aa7de169f4422fecf02ae5932ec5f34918467fdea478ff108db3613e55398a","quote":"Available on the[Free plan.](https://buttondown.com/pricing?plan=free)"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/buttondown/archive/updates-from-january-9711/","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the vendor's update dated February 10, 2025 states that everyone on the free plan has API access","capture":"sha256:d8b9302620e396cbaa86d851cd25c9dbd25a2096a0b6fb54f0e05ef4c5fa3a20","quote":"Starting this month, everyone on the free plan has [API access](https://docs.buttondown.com/api-introduction?utm_source=buttondown&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=updates-from-january-9711)."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the prices assume at most one email a day to the whole subscriber base, and a higher volume needs a contact with the vendor","capture":"sha256:598ba854174e927b3d17aa847a05f64d8dad25b3db3634c456f6ff564b99b387","quote":"All of these prices assume that you're sending at most one email a day to your entire subscriber base. If you're sending more than that, you'll need to contact us and we can talk about what usage-based pricing would look like for you."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/pricing","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"sending from a custom domain is listed in what the free price includes","capture":"sha256:598ba854174e927b3d17aa847a05f64d8dad25b3db3634c456f6ff564b99b387","quote":"Send from a [custom domain](https://docs.buttondown.com/sending-from-a-custom-domain)"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/register","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"registration needs no card","capture":"sha256:319469292117f32f51ec42446aa16d8ef4c099496e12d61b25e16fe202a3cc76","quote":"Get started for free. No credit card required."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/register","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the register form asks for a username, an email address and a password, beside Apple and Google sign-in","capture":"sha256:319469292117f32f51ec42446aa16d8ef4c099496e12d61b25e16fe202a3cc76","quote":"Username Email address Password"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the OpenAPI spec names https://api.buttondown.com/v1 as the API server","capture":"sha256:24ccbf67753739ad4dc85b28b14b03ff7ed1151122d057ea193464509f59a0c8","quote":"\"url\": \"https://api.buttondown.com/v1\""},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the spec describes POST /emails as creating a new email","capture":"sha256:24ccbf67753739ad4dc85b28b14b03ff7ed1151122d057ea193464509f59a0c8","quote":"\"description\": \"Create a new email\","},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the spec describes POST /subscribers/{id_or_email}/emails/{email_id} as sending a specific email to a specific subscriber","capture":"sha256:24ccbf67753739ad4dc85b28b14b03ff7ed1151122d057ea193464509f59a0c8","quote":"\"description\": \"Send a specific email to a specific subscriber\","},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the spec describes POST /emails/{id}/send-draft as sending a draft email to specific recipients","capture":"sha256:24ccbf67753739ad4dc85b28b14b03ff7ed1151122d057ea193464509f59a0c8","quote":"\"description\": \"Send a draft email to specific recipients\","},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the send-draft body takes a list of subscriber ids","capture":"sha256:24ccbf67753739ad4dc85b28b14b03ff7ed1151122d057ea193464509f59a0c8","quote":"\"description\": \"A list of subscriber ids to which to send the email.\","},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/openapi.json","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the send-draft body takes a list of email addresses","capture":"sha256:24ccbf67753739ad4dc85b28b14b03ff7ed1151122d057ea193464509f59a0c8","quote":"\"description\": \"A list of email addresses to send the email to.\","},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-subscribers-send-email","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the sample request for the per-subscriber endpoint sends no request body","capture":"sha256:a57fc72936221e7a7440a476ccca47a3f12e7c6111bac5a245097cb8c7cd5249","quote":"response = requests.request(\"POST\", url, headers=headers)"},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/blog/api-send-draft-status","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"the per-subscriber endpoint no longer sends non-final emails such as drafts","capture":"sha256:ccaafca5a299ba88c273890d5001b07b716e8a30d9bb94c3946a955f1caf16f5","quote":"Breaking change: we've removed the ability to send non-final emails like [drafts](https://docs.buttondown.com/api-emails-introduction#EmailStatus-draft) from [`/v1/subscribers/{id}/emails`](https://docs.buttondown.com/api-subscribers-send-email)."},{"url":"https://buttondown.com/blog/api-send-draft-status","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"a draft sent through the per-subscriber endpoint gets a 400 response","capture":"sha256:ccaafca5a299ba88c273890d5001b07b716e8a30d9bb94c3946a955f1caf16f5","quote":"This is a breaking change, and apologies if you suddenly started getting 400s as a result of it"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-rate-limits","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"every API endpoint allows 600 requests per minute","capture":"sha256:ce39f02c145e304063c49d8e5b65377339e73627009a93da2828dfa497f595d9","quote":"| All API endpoints | 600 requests per minute |"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/api-rate-limits","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"subscriber creation through the API is limited to 100 requests a day","capture":"sha256:ce39f02c145e304063c49d8e5b65377339e73627009a93da2828dfa497f595d9","quote":"| [`POST /v1/subscribers`](/api-subscribers-create) | 100 requests per day |"},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"every new account is reviewed before it can send","capture":"sha256:2e3878ae8596a4a369331493adf11f659ec5619859c44d361fcbae475dd79d68","quote":"All new accounts go through an initial review before they can start sending."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"most reviews finish within one to three business days","capture":"sha256:2e3878ae8596a4a369331493adf11f659ec5619859c44d361fcbae475dd79d68","quote":"Most reviews are completed within one to three business days."},{"url":"https://docs.buttondown.com/account-review","date":"2026-11-02","proved":"an account under review cannot send emails, though it can draft them","capture":"sha256:2e3878ae8596a4a369331493adf11f659ec5619859c44d361fcbae475dd79d68","quote":"| Send emails | No |"}],"verdict":"qualifies-with-caveat","verified_at":"2026-11-02T10:00:26.325Z","notes":"The vendor's summary file (llms.txt) lists API access and custom domains under a USD 9 Basic plan, while the API page, the plan badge on the API guides and the January 2025 pricing post place API access on the free plan, and the sending-domain page and the pricing page place custom-domain sending there; the summary file is out of date.","extras":{"stale_after_days":90},"binding":"request-rate","binding_note":"one email a day to at most 100 subscribers: the subscriber ceiling caps the recipients and the daily assumption caps the sends.","confidence_note":"no message was sent and no authenticated request was made; the free plan, the API on the free plan, the finalized-only rule of the per-subscriber send endpoint and the rate limits are documented, while the response a free account's key gets from that endpoint, whether an email can reach a final status without a send to the list, and the account review with its verification form are unverified: behind a sign-up."},"claims":[{"path":"$.free_tier","kind":"has-free-tier","num":1,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.free_tier.stated","kind":"free-quota","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[0].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[1].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[2].value","kind":"limit:write-gated","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[3].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"}],"unknown":[],"history":[],"drift":[]}