Home › Guides › Is beehiiv worth it in 2026
Ad disclosure: we earn a commission if you sign up through links marked (paid link), at no extra cost to you. Rankings are by cost only. Details
Is beehiiv worth it in 2026? Break-even vs Substack, Kit and MailerLite
Last verified against official pricing pages · published 20 Oct 2026
Prices change often. Every price here was checked against the platform's official pricing page on the date shown, but plans, promos and taxes vary. Always confirm on the official site before you buy or switch. Not financial advice.
beehiiv is worth paying for in two situations: you run a paid newsletter big enough that Substack's 10% costs more than a Lite plan, or you'll actually use beehiiv's growth tools (Ad Network, referral program, automations). For a free newsletter, beehiiv Free costs nothing up to 2,500 subscribers; past that, several platforms do the same job for less.
What beehiiv costs
| Subscribers up to | Lite monthly | Lite yearly (/mo) | Pro monthly | Pro yearly (/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $59 | $49 | $109 | $95 |
| 2,500 | $79 | $69 | $149 | $129 |
| 5,000 | $109 | $95 | $199 | $169 |
| 10,000 | $139 | $119 | $239 | $199 |
| 25,000 | $199 | $169 | $349 | $299 |
| 50,000 | $299 | $249 | $469 | $399 |
| 100,000 | $469 | $399 | $699 | $599 |
Source: beehiiv pricing, checked 2026-10-20. Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers at $0.
Lite adds paid subscriptions at a 0% beehiiv fee (1 paid tier), the Ad Network, up to 10 live automations, custom domains, A/B testing, polls and surveys, and the referral program; beehiiv branding stays. Pro removes branding and adds unlimited automations and paid tiers, 10 seats, dynamic content and RSS-to-send. Every plan has unlimited sends. Prices rose on October 1, 2026: see beehiiv price increase 2026.
Paid (affiliate) link: we earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our numbers or rankings. Disclosure.
The break-even against Substack
Substack is free but keeps 10% of paid revenue; beehiiv takes 0% and charges a plan fee. Both bill your readers through your own Stripe account, so Stripe's card fee and 0.7% Billing fee apply on both and cancel out. The test is simple: is 10% of your monthly paid revenue more than the Lite price?
| Subscribers | Lite monthly | beehiiv cheaper above | = paying $8/mo | share of list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $59 | $590/mo | 74 | 7.4% |
| 2,500 | $79 | $790/mo | 99 | 4.0% |
| 5,000 | $109 | $1,090/mo | 137 | 2.7% |
| 10,000 | $139 | $1,390/mo | 174 | 1.7% |
| 25,000 | $199 | $1,990/mo | 249 | 1.0% |
On yearly billing the thresholds drop to $490, $690, $950, $1,190, $1,690 a month.
Our standard scenario: 5% of the list paying $8/month
| Subscribers (5% pay $8) | beehiiv | Substack | Kit | MailerLite | Ghost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $88.40 (Lite) | $69.40 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $29 (Free) | $48.40 (Comfort) | $64.40 (Publisher) |
| 2,500 | $152.50 (Lite) | $173.50 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $72.50 (Free) | $106.50 (Comfort) | $128.50 (Publisher) |
| 5,000 | $256 (Lite) | $347 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $145 (Free) | $196 (Comfort) | $222 (Publisher) |
| 10,000 | $433 (Lite) | $694 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $290 (Free) | $383 (Comfort) | $399 (Publisher) |
| 25,000 | $934 (Lite) | $1,735 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $924 (Creator) | $914 (Comfort) | $904 (Publisher) |
Per month, monthly billing. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack, AWeber and Flodesk); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees.
Calculate your own Substack → beehiiv numbers →
When beehiiv isn't the cheapest choice
- Paid newsletter under 10,000 subscribers: Kit's Free plan allows paid subscriptions for an all-in 3.5% + $0.30. beehiiv's Stripe fees (card fee plus the 0.7% Billing fee) come to about the same per payment, so the Lite plan fee is extra cost on top: $29 vs $88.40 at 1,000, $145 vs $256 at 5,000, $290 vs $433 at 10,000. The catch: Kit Free has no visual automations or sequences and keeps Kit branding.
- Free newsletter past 2,500 subscribers: beehiiv jumps to $109/mo. See what the beehiiv free plan includes and the cheaper options at that size.
- Automations on a small list: at 1,000 subscribers with automations: EmailOctopus $0, Sender $0, Moosend $16, Brevo $17, MailerLite $19; beehiiv Lite $59.
So, is it overpriced?
Per subscriber for plain email, beehiiv sits above the budget tools. What you pay for is a 0% fee on subscriptions and digital products, a built-in Ad Network and referral program, unlimited sends, and website, podcast and community on every plan. If you'll use the monetization side, the break-even table above tells you when it pays. If you won't, the beehiiv alternatives page shows what you'd save.
Pros and cons (from beehiiv's plan table)
- Pros: unlimited sends on every plan; 0% beehiiv fee; free up to 2,500 subscribers with website, recommendation network, API and exports; yearly billing saves up to 20%.
- Cons: no paid subscriptions, automations or custom domain on Free; branding removal needs Pro; Lite allows 1 paid tier and 10 live automations; analytics lookback is 30 days on Free and 12 months on Lite.
Sources: beehiiv pricing and plan comparison, Substack: How much does Substack cost?, Kit pricing, Stripe Billing pricing.
FAQ
Is beehiiv worth it for a paid newsletter?
Against Substack, yes once 10% of your paid revenue exceeds the Lite price: $590/mo at 1,000 subscribers, $790/mo at 2,500 subscribers, $1,090/mo at 5,000 subscribers, $1,390/mo at 10,000 subscribers, $1,990/mo at 25,000 subscribers (monthly billing). Below that, Substack's 10% costs less. Kit's free plan (paid subscriptions at 3.5% + $0.30) is usually cheaper still below 10,000 subscribers.
Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?
No. beehiiv takes 0% on Lite and Pro. You pay Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment plus Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments, because beehiiv subscriptions run on your own Stripe account.
Is beehiiv overpriced?
For a plain newsletter, beehiiv costs more than the budget tools at most list sizes once you pass the free plan. You pay for the 0% fee on paid subscriptions, the Ad Network, the referral program and unlimited sends. If you won't use those, cheaper platforms do the job.
Does beehiiv have a free trial?
Yes. beehiiv says Lite and Pro include a free trial and need no credit card to start.
Related: beehiiv price increase 2026 · Moving from beehiiv to Kit · Moving from beehiiv to MailerLite · Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost · Substack to beehiiv migration · beehiiv Free plan (2026) · AWeber Free plan (2026) · Substack fees (2026) · Mailchimp to MailerLite migration · Mailchimp to beehiiv migration · How much does Mailchimp cost? Per month, per year and per contact (2026)
Comparisons: beehiiv vs Kit · beehiiv vs Substack · Kit vs MailerLite · beehiiv vs MailerLite · Substack vs Ghost · beehiiv vs Ghost · Kit vs Substack · Kit vs Ghost · Substack vs MailerLite · Ghost vs MailerLite · Cheapest for 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 subscribers
Get notified when newsletter platform prices change
Platforms change prices and limits with little notice. We check every official pricing page each week. What you get →
- An email when a tracked platform changes a price, free-plan limit or fee, with before/after numbers
- One monthly cost report across 18 platforms
- Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime
Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)