Buttondown is cheaper, but covers only 1 of 6 compared capabilities
$29/mo (Standard) vs Loops Growth at $49/mo — covering 17% of the 6 compared capabilities.
Cheaper. Not the same job.
Comparison scenario
Every cheaper-than claim is tied to a defined scenario — never a bare list price.
2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing · USD · prices as observed on official pricing pages.
Growth plan at $49/mo, the cheapest paid plan.
Standard: 29 USD/monthly.
Loops costs $49/mo on the Growth plan at 2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing. We found 1 assessed alternative that is cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 6 compared capabilities.
Capability comparison
Buttondown covers 17% of the 6 capabilities compared against Loops. ✓ native · ◐ via integration · ✗ not found.
| Capability | Buttondown | Loops |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional email API | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remove branding | ✗ | ✓ |
| Marketing automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audience segmentation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Signup forms & popups | ✗ | ✓ |
What you give up
Capabilities Loops has that Buttondown lacks.
- Transactional email API — Send transactional emails programmatically via an API.Missing from Buttondown.
- Remove branding — Remove the provider's branding from sent emails.Missing from Buttondown.
- Audience segmentation — Group subscribers into segments for targeted sends.Missing from Buttondown.
- Email templates — Start a campaign from a pre-built email template.Missing from Buttondown.
- Signup forms & popups — Collect new subscribers with signup forms and popups.Missing from Buttondown.
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
| Usage | Loops | Buttondown |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 contacts, 4,000 emails/month | $49/moGrowth | $9/mocheaperBasic |
| 2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month | $49/moGrowth | $29/mocheaperStandard |
| 10,000 contacts, 40,000 emails/month | $99/moGrowth · 10k | $79/mocheaperProfessional |
Plans & pricing, side by side
Advertised prices in USD as observed on the official pricing pages — per-seat and transaction-fee plans are marked.
| Free (first 100 subscribers) | Free |
| Basic | $9/mo |
| Standard | $29/mo |
| Professional | $79/mo |
| Free (Early Stage Plan) | Free |
| Growth | $49/mo |
| Growth · 10k | $99/mo |
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Frequently asked
How much cheaper is Buttondown than Loops?
41% cheaper in our scenario (2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing): $29/mo on Standard vs $49/mo on Growth. That is $240 a year. But it covers only 1 of 6 compared capabilities, so it isn't a like-for-like replacement.
What does Buttondown lack compared with Loops?
Transactional email API, Remove branding, Audience segmentation, Email templates, Signup forms & popups — 5 of the 6 compared capabilities.
When were these prices checked?
Loops: 2026-10-28; Buttondown: 2026-10-28 — on the official pricing pages.
Who switched
Anonymous: no account, no email, no IP stored. Reports are shown once a switch has 3 or more and never change ranking or order — alternatives are computed from prices and capabilities only.
Sources & freshness
- https://loops.so/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-28)
- https://loops.so/ (feature_page, checked 2026-10-26)
- Buttondown data last verified 2026-10-28