beehiiv
Lite
Flat price, whole team$49.00
× 12 months$588.00
Per year
$4.90 per person / mo
$588
Starting price; rises with usage
beehiiv vs Buttondown
Compare with for .
beehiiv
46%
match · $588/yr
Buttondown
71%
match · $108/yr
What matters most?
Fine-tune
What you'd pay
Entry plan for 10 people, billed yearly where offered. Prices checked Oct 2026.
Buttondown
Entry plan
Flat price, whole team$9.00
× 12 months$108.00
Per year
$0.90 per person / mo
$108
Starting price; rises with usage
beehiiv
From $49Free plan
Newsletter operators who treat the newsletter as a business: they want to keep paid revenue, sell ads, run automations and own their website and domain, and they are fine paying a monthly plan to do it.
vs
Buttondown
From $9Free plan
Independent writers and technical users who want a simple, low-cost paid newsletter with no revenue share and an API, and don't need a big website or discovery network.
Side by side
| beehiiv | Buttondown | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free up to 2,500 subscribers; paid from $49/month (Lite, billed yearly, 1,000 subscribers) | Free up to 100 subscribers; paid from $9/month (1,000 subscribers) plus add-ons |
| G2 Rating | Not yet verified | Not yet verified |
| Best For | Newsletter operators who treat the newsletter as a business: they want to keep paid revenue, sell ads, run automations and own their website and domain, and they are fine paying a monthly plan to do it. | Independent writers and technical users who want a simple, low-cost paid newsletter with no revenue share and an API, and don't need a big website or discovery network. |
Pros and cons
beehiiv
Pros
- No cut of paid subscription revenue, only Stripe fees
- Several ways to earn besides subscriptions: ad network, paid recommendations, digital products
- Real automation, segmentation and API tools for a newsletter platform
- Free plan with unlimited sends up to 2,500 subscribers
Cons
- Paid subscriptions, ads and custom domains need a paid plan (from $49/month billed yearly)
- Plan price climbs with your list, even if few readers pay
- No reader app or social feed comparable to Substack's
- Branding removal, multiple paid tiers and the Send API are Pro only
Buttondown
Pros
- Low base price and no revenue share
- You only pay for the features you add
- Good API and Markdown support
- Paid subscribers live in your own Stripe and can move
Cons
- Add-ons stack up, so the real price is base plus extras
- No built-in discovery network
- Annual billing and trial terms are not shown on the pricing page
Marcus Williams