How to compare AI newsletters before buying ads

Two newsletters can look identical on subscriber count and nothing alike on value. A fair comparison needs the same nine fields for every candidate — and a rule for what to do when the numbers disagree.

The 9-field checklist

For every newsletter you consider, record the same nine fields. If a field is missing, that is itself information — it tells you what you still need to ask the publication.

1. Publication name and website or subscribe link. Watch for lookalikes: two different publications share the name "AI Weekly" (aiweekly.co and ai-weekly.ai), with different prices. Never merge same-name listings.
2. Frequency and language. A daily and a weekly are different inventory, even at the same subscriber count.
3. Subscriber count, plus its source and check date. A number without a source is a claim, not a fact.
4. Audience profile — role, industry, and geography, sourced where the publication states it publicly.
5. Sponsorship formats — primary, secondary, classified, exclusive, tool slot, or deep dive, and what each includes.
6. Price per issue, plus its source and check date — or an honest "unverified" with a benchmark range, never presented as that publication's price.
7. CPM — computed from real prices where available, otherwise a labeled benchmark range.
8. Availability and booking lead time. A cheap slot you cannot book is not an option.
9. Contact channel — public form, email, or marketplace listing — plus verification status, method, and check date.

When sources disagree, show all of them

Conflicting numbers are common in this market, and the worst response is to average them into a single figure that no source actually states. Our database shows every figure side by side:

• The Rundown AI carries three subscriber figures: an estimated 2M+ from roundups, 1.7M+ daily readers from its own ad page, and 1.6M+ from BuySellAds. They measure different things at different times; collapsing them into one number would hide that.
• Superhuman AI shows an estimated 1.5M+ claimed against 700K–720K on the ad side. Until the publication clarifies, both figures stay visible with their sources.
• TLDR AI shows an estimated 1.1M–1.25M, with a network figure of 8M+ across 14 publications from its own ad page, secondhand — again shown side by side, not averaged.

See how to check a newsletter's real subscriber count for how to weigh these sources.

Reach is not subscribers

Some publications quote monthly reach across channels rather than newsletter subscribers. Forward Future, for example, cites 10M+ monthly reach — but that figure combines its newsletter and YouTube audiences and must not be used as a subscriber count. Whenever a number looks too large, ask what it counts.

Check recency, not just the number

A subscriber count from last year is a different fact from one checked this month. Third-party roundups frequently quote stale figures, and prices that were never closing prices. Our database re-checks prices and availability monthly, and every number carries its check date so you can see how fresh it is.

Compare on fit, then on price

Once the nine fields are filled in, compare in this order: audience fit, format fit, availability, then price and CPM. A verified $1,400/week exclusive in front of the right 52,000 readers (AI Weekly, verified on its own advertise page) can beat a cheaper, unverified slot in front of the wrong audience. Price only becomes the deciding factor once fit and availability are equal.

Disclaimer: this site is an independent database. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any publication listed here. Figures are shown with their source and verification status; where a figure is an estimate or a benchmark range, it is labeled as such and is not that publication's price.