Jetpack

Jetpack Newsletter is the email newsletter feature of Jetpack, the WordPress plugin suite made by Automattic. It turns WordPress posts into emails: you publish on your site and subscribers get the post in their inbox, without a separate email tool. The newsletter page puts it as "Write once, reach all" and "Turn each WordPress post into an email newsletter without adding another publishing tool to your workflow." It is aimed at WordPress site owners, from bloggers to publications and agencies, and the FAQ says it "is free to use and is automatically included with every Jetpack install through the Subscriptions module." Paid bundles add paid subscription tiers, subscriber import and lower transaction fees.

How the newsletter works

Sending is tied to publishing. "Newsletter is integrated into the WordPress publishing process, so your fans receive new content as soon as it is ready." The page lists what that means in practice: deliver blog posts to email instantly, reach subscribers "without repeating your work," and "choose who receives each newsletter email." Subscriptions and newsletters are managed "from the editor," in the words of the pricing page, so there is no second dashboard to learn.

Readers control their own delivery. Under "Subscriber controls" the page says subscribers can "choose instant, daily, or weekly delivery," control "the day and time for daily or weekly digests," and "pause emails or unsubscribe completely." For a blog that publishes often, the digest options keep frequent posters from flooding inboxes.

Volume is not capped for now. The page advertises "Unlimited everything" with "unlimited sends and subscribers," and the FAQ adds the condition: "As an introductory offer, Jetpack does not limit or charge you based on the size of your email list. This may change in the future. A fair usage policy applies."

Growing a list

Signups come from two places. You can "add the Newsletter signup form anywhere on your site," and you can "show your content to millions of people through the WordPress.com Reader." The FAQ explains that "the WordPress.com Reader brings together WordPress.com sites and self-hosted sites connected through Jetpack," so posts from a self-hosted site can reach readers who follow sites there. Subscriber growth shows up in the Jetpack Stats dashboard.

Moving an existing list is supported: "Import existing email subscribers from a CSV file or enter addresses manually one at a time." The pricing page lists "Import unlimited subscribers" as part of the Growth bundle, and the free versus paid comparison shows subscriptions and newsletters "Included" on Free and "Paid tiers + import" on the paid bundles.

Paid newsletters

Jetpack can charge readers. "Set up paid subscriptions for exclusive content," the page says, and "choose whether a post goes to everyone or paid subscribers only." Payments go through Stripe and are "available in countries where Stripe is supported." The Growth bundle also lists paid content gating, a paywall, and "Pay with PayPal."

Jetpack takes a fee on paid subscription revenue that depends on the plan: "Fees are collected only when you accept payments. They are based on your Jetpack plan and range from 10% of revenue on the Free plan to 2% on the Complete plan, plus Stripe fees." The Growth bundle lists "2% transaction fees." The newsletter page shows worked totals for a paid newsletter on the Growth plan, assuming a $10 monthly subscription and the first-year cost of the plan, with Stripe fees excluded: $13 a month at 15 paid subscribers, $16 at 30, $30 at 100, $210 at 1K and $2,010 at 10K.

The rest of the Jetpack suite

Newsletter sits in the Growth group of Jetpack products next to Stats, Social and Blaze. The Growth bundle adds all Stats and Social features, display ads with WordAds and 40+ Jetpack blocks. Jetpack Social shares posts to Facebook, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Tumblr and more (30 shares a month on Free, unlimited on paid bundles). Other Jetpack products cover security (VaultPress Backup, Scan, Akismet Anti-spam), performance (Boost, Site Search, VideoPress, an image CDN) and a CRM. Jetpack AI Assistant generates post drafts, titles, translations and summaries in the editor, with free credits monthly on Free and unlimited prompts on paid bundles.

Setup requires a WordPress.com account: "Install the Jetpack plugin from WordPress.org, connect a free WordPress.com account, and choose the plan that fits your site." The pricing FAQ explains that "many of Jetpack's core features make use of the WordPress.com cloud," and lists the hosting requirements as the latest version of WordPress and "a publicly-accessible site with XML-RPC enabled."

Plans and prices

Jetpack Free costs nothing "forever," with "no credit card, no time limit," and includes the newsletter. The pricing page, viewed in Swiss francs, shows three paid bundles, each billed yearly with a first-year discount:

• Security: CHF 8.95 a month for the first year (regular CHF 16.95), backups, scanning and Akismet. No newsletter features beyond Free.
• Growth: CHF 8.95 a month for the first year (regular CHF 16.95), "Essential tools to help you grow your audience," including the Newsletter, paid content gating, unlimited subscriber import and 2% transaction fees.
• Complete: CHF 21.95 a month for the first year (regular CHF 42.95), the full suite, including "Newsletter and monetization tools."

"Yearly plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee," and the cancellation FAQ says Jetpack offers "full refunds within 14 days for yearly plans, and within 7 days for monthly plans." Multi-year discounts are not offered, except by arrangement for Enterprise customers. Agencies with at least five websites can join the licensing platform and get "up to 80% discount across all Jetpack products"; the volume table runs from 10% off at 5+ licenses to 80% off at 100+ licenses. On a Multisite network, "each site requires its own paid subscription" for paid features.

Support, languages and GDPR

Paid plans include priority support: "our expert Happiness Engineers provide priority support to all customers with paid plans," by chat and email, while Free users rely on community forums. The site is available in English, German, Spanish, French and Japanese. On data protection, the pricing FAQ says "Jetpack understands the General Data Protection Regulation" and links to a page on how Jetpack "is committed to operating in accordance with the GDPR."

Who it suits

Jetpack Newsletter fits a WordPress blogger or publication that wants posts to reach subscribers by email with no extra tool, and a writer who wants to start a paid newsletter on their own site with fees that fall as the plan rises. Digest scheduling and the WordPress.com Reader are useful for sites that publish often and want new readers. Agencies running many WordPress sites get volume discounts.

It is not a fit for anyone without a self-hosted WordPress site, for a shop or SaaS team that needs automated sequences or transactional mail, or for a sender outside the countries Stripe supports who wants paid subscriptions.