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beehiiv
MarketingFreemiumThe newsletter platform built for growth — monetize your audience without the tax
79/100
7 min readScreenshots
beehiiv is an all-in-one newsletter platform built by former Morning Brew engineers, combining a polished editor, built-in monetization, SEO-ready web pages, and a 90,000-newsletter ad network. Unlike Substack, it takes 0% of your paid subscription revenue.
beehiiv is an all-in-one newsletter platform built by former Morning Brew engineers that lets creators write, grow, and monetize newsletters without handing over a cut of their revenue. We rate it 79/100 — an excellent choice for independent writers and media companies who want a powerful growth engine, though it trails traditional ESPs when it comes to advanced automation.
beehiiv was founded in by Tyler Denk, Benjamin Hargett, and Jake Hurd — all early employees at Morning Brew, the newsletter company that scaled to millions of subscribers and sold to Business Insider. Having built the internal tooling that powered Morning Brew's growth, the trio left to build a platform anyone could use. By , beehiiv powers more than 90,000 newsletters that collectively send 3 billion emails per month and generate $30M+ in annual platform revenue.
The core problem beehiiv solves: platforms like Mailchimp and ConvertKit were built for general email marketing, not newsletter media companies. Substack solved the creator problem but takes 10% of every paid subscription. beehiiv attacks both: it offers a creator-first experience with a freemium model, keeps 0% of subscription revenue, and layers in a native ad network — the largest in the newsletter industry — that lets newsletters monetize through sponsorships with zero cold-emailing required.
On G2, beehiiv holds a 4.7/5 rating — higher than ConvertKit's 4.4 and Mailchimp's 4.3. The most praised features across G2, Product Hunt, and r/newsletters are the clean editor, readable analytics, and the 0% revenue model. The 2026 EmailTooltester Best Newsletter Tool badge reflects genuine user satisfaction.
That said, criticism is real and worth noting. A recurring thread on Reddit's r/beehiiv and r/emailmarketing flags limited automation triggers — beehiiv lacks abandoned cart flows and advanced behavioral triggers that platforms like ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo handle natively. Several Trustpilot reviews mention account closures without warning and Stripe integration issues. The pricing gap between free (2,500 subscribers) and Scale ($49/month) is also frequently cited — there's no middle ground for creators with 2,500 to 5,000 subscribers who don't yet need full monetization features.
beehiiv offers four plans. The free Launch plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited email sends and access to core newsletter features — no credit card required. Paid plans start at $49/month for Scale (1,000–10,000 subscriber range), which unlocks monetization features, A/B testing, surveys, and AI tools. The Max plan at $109/month removes beehiiv branding, adds priority support, and includes the NewsletterXP course. Enterprise pricing is custom for newsletters above 100,000 subscribers.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Key Limits / Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | $0 | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends |
| Scale | $49/mo | Up to 10,000 subs, monetization, A/B testing, AI |
| Max | $109/mo | Remove branding, priority support, NewsletterXP |
| Enterprise | Custom | 100k+ subscribers, dedicated support |
Best for: Independent newsletter writers, media brands, and content creators who want to monetize through paid subscriptions and sponsorships. Particularly strong for anyone currently on Substack who wants to stop giving away 10% of revenue, or on Mailchimp who wants better creator-specific analytics and growth tools. Ideal for newsletters in the 0–50,000 subscriber range.
Not ideal for: Businesses that rely on transactional emails, complex e-commerce automation (abandoned cart, purchase flows), or deeply segmented behavioral campaigns. Enterprise marketing teams running multi-channel campaigns would find Klaviyo or HubSpot more appropriate.
Pros:
Cons:
Substack is the most direct comparison — it's creator-friendly and has strong network effects, but it takes 10% of paid subscription revenue and offers less design flexibility. ConvertKit (Kit) is stronger for advanced email automation and works well for creators selling digital products, but its free plan is more restrictive. Ghost is a self-hosted or managed alternative that gives you full control over your platform at ~$9–$25/month, but requires more technical setup.
beehiiv earns its reputation as one of the best newsletter platforms of 2026. If you're a creator who wants to own your audience, monetize through paid subscriptions and sponsorships, and grow with built-in referral tools — beehiiv is the strongest all-in-one option available today. The 0% revenue model alone is a decisive advantage over Substack for any newsletter generating meaningful paid revenue. We rate it 79/100, held back only by limited automation depth and the pricing gap in the middle tier.
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