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 Ghost
Compare with for .
beehiiv
50%
match · $588/yr
Ghost
67%
match · $180/yr
What matters most?
Fine-tune
What you'd pay
Entry plan for 10 people, billed yearly where offered. Prices checked Oct 2026.
Ghost
Entry plan
Flat price, whole team$15.00
× 12 months$180.00
Per year
$1.50 per person / mo
$180
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
Ghost
From $15Free plan
G2 4.0 · 40 reviewsPublishers who want a real website and full control of their brand, with no revenue share, and who either pay for Ghost(Pro) or can run their own server.
Side by side
| beehiiv | Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free up to 2,500 subscribers; paid from $49/month (Lite, billed yearly, 1,000 subscribers) | Self-hosted free; Ghost(Pro) from $15/month (billed yearly, 1,000 members); paid subscriptions from $29/month (Publisher, billed yearly) |
| G2 Rating | Not yet verified | 4.0 (40 reviews) |
| 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. | Publishers who want a real website and full control of their brand, with no revenue share, and who either pay for Ghost(Pro) or can run their own server. |
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
Ghost
Pros
- 0% platform fee on paid subscriptions
- Strong website and theme control, free custom domain on Ghost(Pro)
- Open source, run by a non-profit foundation
- Documented migration path from Substack and beehiiv
Cons
- No free hosted plan, and Starter cannot take payments
- Smaller built-in discovery than Substack
- Self-hosting means you handle the server, updates and email delivery
Related comparisons
Marketing Automation
Marcus WilliamsUpdated October 2026
beehiiv vs Substack
Substack costs nothing until readers pay and has the best discovery. beehiiv costs a monthly plan but takes 0% of paid revenue, so it wins once you earn about $950/month on a 5,000-subscriber list.
+1
Marcus WilliamsUpdated October 2026Marketing Automation
+2Marcus WilliamsUpdated October 2026
Kit alternatives
For most newsletter writers, beehiiv is the best Kit alternative: 0% on paid subscriptions, an ad network and paid recommendations. Pick Substack for a free start with discovery, or Ghost to own your site with no revenue cut.
+2Marcus WilliamsUpdated October 2026