beehiiv vs Buttondown (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, beehiiv and Buttondown share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and Buttondown starts cheaper, at $9 a month against $49 a month.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
beehiiv grades higher on the free plan and features. Buttondown grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
beehiiv
Newsletter platform with paid subscriptions, ads, website and podcast
Buttondown
Newsletter software priced by active subscribers, with add-ons
Which one is for you
Pick beehiiv if
- Fits if you want to charge for your newsletter, with beehiiv taking 0% and Stripe its fee
- Works for writers who want the newsletter, a website, a podcast and an ad network in one place
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you only need a paid plan for automations, at $49 a month to start
- Tight if you want your own branding, as removing beehiiv's needs the $95 Pro plan
- Skip it if your list will pass 2,500 before you're ready to pay, as the free plan stops there
- Watch out: Lite caps you at 10 automations and 100,000 subscribers, and webinars and the Send API need Pro
- Watch out: the free plan keeps only 30 days of analytics and has 1 seat
Pick Buttondown if
- Fits if you write a newsletter and want markdown and a custom sending domain
- Works for small lists, where the $9 step covers 1,000 subscribers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 100 subscribers
- Watch out: automations, sponsorships, multiple newsletters and custom-domain archives are $29 a month each
- Pricey if you want teams or whitelabeling, which are $79 a month each
- Watch out: prices assume one email a day to the whole list, and heavier sending needs a custom quote
- Skip it if you want an app on your phone or desktop, as it is web only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAbeehiivFair | 2.4GPAButtondownFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DLite is $49 a month for 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing, or $59 monthly. That's in the dearest tenth of email tools, nearly four times the middle. Taking the beehiiv branding off needs Pro at $95. | B$9 a month for up to 1,000 subscribers is inside the cheapest quarter of this category. But tagging, paid subscriptions, comments and analytics are $9 each and automations $29. |
| Free plan and trial | BUp to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, a website, a podcast and a welcome email, free for good. One writer could live on that for a while. The wall is money: no paid subscriptions, no ad network and no custom automations. | CFree for up to 100 subscribers with the editor, custom sending domain and archives. A small list fits, but 100 is a cap you will reach. |
| Features | BA block editor, paid tiers and paywalls, an ad network, recommendations, a website, a podcast and digital products, plus automations from Lite. It covers the newsletter job end to end. Lite caps you at 10 live automations, though; Pro lifts the cap. | CEditor, archives, automations, segmentation, paid subscriptions and an API, but most of them are add-ons at $9 to $79 each. It does newsletters, not much beyond. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a web app where you build the newsletter, the site and the automations yourself, so there's some setting up before your first send. | CA web app with no rating on record. Writing an issue is simple, but each add-on is something to switch on and set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Stripe, Zapier, Make, Shopify and Luma connections and an API. No desktop or phone app is listed. | BWeb only, with an API and connections for Discord, Memberful and YouTube. |
| Best for | newsletters you plan to make money from | plain newsletters from one writer |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: beehiiv and Buttondown. How we grade
Price against what you get
beehiiv starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Buttondown starts at $9 a month and scores 2.3.
beehiiv scores higher, and starts $40 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 3 score higher than beehiiv for less, and 3 score higher than Buttondown for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- beehiiv also covers forms.
At a glance
| beehiiv | Buttondown | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly) | $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers |
| Free plan | Up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, 1 seat, 1 publication, a website, a podcast and 30 days of analytics. No paid subscriptions or automations. | Free for up to 100 subscribers, with a rich text or markdown editor, custom sending domain and hosted archives. |
| Free trial | Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | beehiiv | Buttondown |
| Price read from | beehiiv.com | buttondown.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
beehiiv
- The Free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers and has no paid subscriptions, ad network or custom automations.
- Removing beehiiv branding, dynamic content, webinars and the Send API all need Pro.
- Lite tops out at 100,000 subscribers and Pro at 250,000; larger lists go to Enterprise through sales.
- beehiiv takes no cut of paid subscriptions, but Stripe charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
Buttondown
- Most extras are paid add-ons: tagging, paid subscriptions, comments, analytics and RSS-to-email are $9 a month each.
- Automations, sponsorships, multiple newsletters and custom-domain archives are $29 a month each; whitelabeling and teams are $79 each.
- Prices assume sending at most one email a day to the whole list; heavier sending needs a custom quote.
- The page does not say whether the monthly figures change with annual billing.
Key features
beehiiv
- Newsletter editor
- A custom block editor with templates and unlimited sends on every plan. Lite adds A/B tests, polls, custom HTML and publishing to segments.
- Paid subscriptions and ads
- From Lite: paid tiers, metered paywalls, coupons and the beehiiv ad network. beehiiv takes 0% of subscription revenue; Stripe's fees still apply.
- Website, podcast and community
- Every plan hosts a website, a podcast feed and a member community. Custom pages, shows and private podcast feeds grow with the plan.
- Digital products
- Sell downloads and other one-time products from every plan; Lite raises the product limit to 3 and Pro removes it and adds webinars and coaching.
- Growth tools
- A recommendation network on all plans, plus a referral program, surveys and paid recommendations from Lite.
- Automations
- Welcome emails on Free. Lite allows 10 live automations triggered by sign-ups, tags, segments or purchases; Pro has no limit and adds click triggers.
Buttondown
- Editor and archives
- Write in a rich text or markdown editor, send from a custom domain, and publish a hosted archive of past issues.
- Automations and segmentation
- Automations ($29 a month add-on) and tagging and segmentation ($9 a month add-on) target the right people with the right message.
- Paid subscriptions
- Paid subscriptions are a $9 a month add-on, and the homepage says Buttondown takes no fees from paid subscribers.
- API
- The homepage describes a feature-complete API for building custom tools on top of the platform.
- Concierge migration
- Buttondown says it will migrate a whole list from another platform within one business day, on request.
Plans
beehiiv
Free$0
Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, 1 seat, 1 publication, website and podcast, beehiiv branding.
Lite$49
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly)
Paid subscriptions, ad network, 10 automations, 2 seats, 3 publications, up to 100,000 subscribers. $119 a month at 10,000 subscribers, billed yearly.
Pro$95
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($109 monthly)
No beehiiv branding, unlimited automations, webinars, dynamic content, Send API, 10 seats, up to 250,000 subscribers. $199 a month at 10,000, billed yearly.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom subscriber volume, SSO and SAML, dedicated IPs, concierge onboarding and a customer success manager, through sales.
Buttondown
Free$0
Up to 100 subscribers, with a rich text or markdown editor, custom sending domain and hosted archives.
Basic$9
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers
Same base features as Free; the price rises with active subscribers. Add-ons are extra.
Standard$29
per month for up to 5,000 subscribers
The step for lists of 1,001 to 5,000 subscribers. Add-ons are extra.
Professional$79
per month for up to 10,000 subscribers
The step for lists up to 10,000 subscribers; $79 a month at 10,000. Add-ons are extra.
Advanced$139
per month for up to 20,000 subscribers
The step for lists up to 20,000 subscribers. Add-ons are extra.
Ways to pay less
beehiiv
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
beehiiv's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 20%: at 1,000 subscribers Lite is $49 a month billed yearly against $59 monthly.
Buttondown
- Nonprofit
50% off for registered non-profits
Registered 501(c)(3) non-profits, or the local equivalent, can get 50% off a plan by emailing proof of registry.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, beehiiv or Buttondown?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Buttondown is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $49 a month for beehiiv. beehiiv starts at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly), and Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.
Which has a free plan, beehiiv or Buttondown?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both beehiiv and Buttondown have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.