Kit (ConvertKit) vs Lighthouse: Which Fits an Indie Launch? (2026)

Kit (the platform formerly known as ConvertKit) is an email marketing platform built around creators: writers, course authors, podcasters, anyone whose product is content distributed by newsletter. Lighthouse is a launch toolkit where the newsletter is one of four pieces. They are not direct competitors; they serve different jobs at different points in the lifecycle. The fork is bigger than the marketing makes it sound, and most founders pick the wrong tool the first time.

I have shipped 7 indie apps over 8 years and ended up building two tools for myself along the way: Spaceport, a SwiftUI starter that gets a paid iOS app live in days, and Lighthouse, the launch toolkit this post is mostly about. Different audiences, same indie-dev frustration: every new project rebuilt the same plumbing.

Table of contents

• What each tool actually is
• Side-by-side comparison
• Where Kit wins
• Where Lighthouse wins
• Who should pick which
• Using both together
• Frequently asked questions

What each tool actually is

Kit is a creator-focused email marketing platform. Newsletters with paid subscriptions, automated sequences for digital product launches, sponsorship integrations, and a Creator Network that surfaces other newsletters to your list. Free up to 10,000 subscribers on the entry plan; paid tiers add automations, advanced reporting, and commerce features. The product is the email engine for creators.

Lighthouse is a launch toolkit for indie SaaS founders. A waitlist landing page with survey questions on the signup form, a newsletter for the list, a feedback page for after launch, and a REST API on Pro. Flat indie pricing. Built for people whose product is a SaaS, a tool, or an app, not a publication.

Side-by-side comparison

Two tools shaped for two different audiences. The matrix below is the honest version.

Where Kit wins

Be honest about this part. Kit is the right tool for a real list of jobs:

• The creator newsletter as the core product. If you write a newsletter and that is the thing you ship, Kit was built for you. Automations, paid subscriptions, landing pages for lead magnets, sponsorship integrations. Lighthouse does not try to be this.
• The Creator Network. Kit's recommendations surface other newsletters to your list and yours to theirs. For a creator, this compounds subscriber growth in a way no other platform replicates. A real differentiator.
• Automated sequences. Welcome flows, course drip campaigns, lead-magnet funnels. Kit's automation builder is one of the strongest in the email space, full stop.
• Free up to 10,000 subscribers. Generous free tier for a tool of this depth. Most indie creators do not pay Kit for years.

Practical rule: if your product is the newsletter, you already have the answer.

Where Lighthouse wins

Lighthouse is the better fit when the newsletter is one piece of an indie SaaS launch, not the whole product:

• The pre-launch waitlist with survey on signup. Kit can build a form, but the waitlist landing page with a goal counter and survey questions is not its shape. See why answers beat emails for why that pattern matters.
• One toolkit for the whole launch arc. Pre-launch waitlist, launch newsletter, post-launch feedback page, all in one dashboard. Kit covers the newsletter middle; Lighthouse covers the whole arc.
• Flat indie pricing. $19 a month does not move as the list crosses 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 subscribers. Kit's tier-based pricing gets real once you cross out of the free tier; for indie SaaS lists in the 1,000-5,000 range the maths favours flat pricing.
• Feedback page after you launch. Kit sends your emails; Lighthouse sends the launch email and gives you the feedback inbox for everything that comes back.

Who should pick which

The choice is rarely "which one is better". It is "which job is this for". Five founder shapes:

The creator with a newsletter as the product

You write a weekly essay, sell course modules off the list, run paid subscriptions. Kit, every time. Lighthouse will not replace the automation builder or the Creator Network.

The pre-launch indie SaaS founder

You are weeks from beta. You need a landing page, a signup form with survey questions, and a way to email the list when you launch. Lighthouse. Kit will not have anywhere to put your signups because the waitlist landing page is not its lane.

The founder raising capital

You are raising and the bottleneck is the raise itself. Neither Kit nor Lighthouse is the headline tool. Dedicated platforms for investor outreach, like Funding Banker, a curated investor directory with pitch and outreach tracking, handle the investor side. For the public-facing traction story, pick Lighthouse.

The post-launch SaaS founder

You shipped, you have customers, you want to send a monthly update and collect feature requests. Lighthouse for the bundled flow (newsletter and feedback inbox in one dashboard). Kit is overkill until you start running drip sequences for onboarding.

The indie iOS developer

You want a beta waitlist with survey questions and an API the iOS app can call. Lighthouse on Pro. The REST API is the differentiator. Kit has an API too, but the data shape is built for subscribers and tags, not signups and survey answers. See how to add a TestFlight beta waitlist to your iOS app.

Using both together

One pattern works: Lighthouse for the pre-launch waitlist and launch arc, Kit for the post-launch newsletter once you start running drip sequences or paid subscriptions. The handoff happens once the product is live and the list has a job beyond the launch email.

Most indie SaaS founders do not need both. Most need Lighthouse first and only graduate to Kit when the newsletter side becomes its own product (gated content, courses, paid tiers).

Frequently asked questions

Did ConvertKit really rename to Kit?

Yes. The rebrand happened in 2024 to position the platform as a creator OS rather than just an email tool. The product is the same email engine plus the Creator Network, with a cleaner name.

Can I use Kit for a waitlist?

You can build a Kit form that takes an email and tags the subscriber. What you lose is the landing page with the goal counter, the survey questions native to the signup form, and the "send a launch email to the waitlist" flow as one click. For a quick test it works; for the full launch arc it is the wrong shape.

How does the free tier really hold up?

Excellent for creators with up to 10,000 subscribers. The limit is the deal: most indie newsletters never hit 10,000 and pay nothing. The paid tiers start when you cross the limit or want the automation builder.

What about the Creator Network feature, can I replicate it?

No. The Creator Network is a network effect that only Kit has. If creator-to-creator subscriber sharing is part of your growth plan, Kit is the only platform that offers it natively. Lighthouse does not try to compete on this.

Do I need both?

No, not at launch. Pick Lighthouse for the pre-launch and launch phase; consider Kit once the newsletter takes on its own job (drip onboarding sequences, paid subscriptions, lead magnets for a course). Most indie SaaS founders do not need both for at least the first year.

Pick the tool that fits the job. If you are a creator and the newsletter is the product, Kit. If you are an indie SaaS founder and the newsletter is one piece of the launch arc, Lighthouse. Most of the disappointment with either tool comes from buying it for the audience it was not built for.

Lighthouse gives you the waitlist with survey questions, the newsletter for keeping the list warm, and the feedback page for after you launch, in one place. Free trial, indie pricing. From the same indie dev behind Spaceport, a SwiftUI starter kit for shipping paid iOS apps fast.