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 Substack
Compare with for .
beehiiv
40%
match · $588/yr
Substack
71%
match · $0/yr
What matters most?
Fine-tune
What you'd pay
Entry plan for 10 people, billed yearly where offered. Prices checked Oct 2026.
Substack
Free
Free to use$0.00
Per year
$0
Free to start
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
Substack
From FreeFree plan
Writers who want to start free, grow through a built-in reader network and app, and are happy to give up 10% of paid revenue in exchange for zero monthly costs and almost no setup.
Side by side
| beehiiv | Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free up to 2,500 subscribers; paid from $49/month (Lite, billed yearly, 1,000 subscribers) | Free to publish; 10% of paid subscription revenue plus Stripe fees |
| 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. | Writers who want to start free, grow through a built-in reader network and app, and are happy to give up 10% of paid revenue in exchange for zero monthly costs and almost no setup. |
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
Substack
Pros
- Costs nothing until readers pay you
- Built-in discovery through the app, Notes, recommendations and Bestseller badges
- Podcast, video, live video and chat included at no extra cost
- Very little to set up or maintain
Cons
- 10% of paid revenue forever, with no flat-fee option
- Emails still send from an @substack.com address even with a custom domain
- No public API, no Zapier and limited automations
- Moving paid subscribers off Substack needs help from its support team; Apple in-app subscribers cannot move
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