beehiiv vs Curated (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, beehiiv grades higher than Curated: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
beehiiv grades higher on features and platforms. Curated grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
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
Curated
Newsletter platform for link-based, editorial issues
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 Curated if
- Fits if your newsletter is a weekly set of links with notes
- Works for publishers with under 1,500 subscribers who want every feature free
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a card-free start, as a card is added before the first send
- Pricey if you grow, with $189 at 15,000 and $399 at 50,000 subscribers
- Too light for automation or ordinary marketing email, since it's built for editorial issues
- Watch out: above 50,000 subscribers there is no published price, and invoices need a $1,000 minimum
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAbeehiivFair | 2.2GPACuratedFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$39 a month for 2,500 subscribers, $69 for 5,000 and $129 for 10,000. Ordinary at first, and in the dearer quarter from 5,000. |
| 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. | BFree up to 1,500 subscribers with every feature, sending included, though a card is added before the first issue. |
| 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. | CLink collection, issue assembly, archive, sponsorships, paid subscriptions and analytics. It does that one job fully, which is a smaller job than general email. |
| 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. | CNo store rating on record. A web app where you build issues yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Stripe, Zapier, Make, Shopify and Luma connections and an API. No desktop or phone app is listed. | CWeb with Stripe for payments. No other integrations are listed. |
| Best for | newsletters you plan to make money from | link-based editorial newsletters |
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 Curated. 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. Curated starts at $39 a month and scores 2.0.
beehiiv scores higher, and starts $10 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 47 score higher than Curated 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 marketing automation and forms.
- Curated also covers reports.
At a glance
| beehiiv | Curated | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly) | $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed monthly |
| 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 up to 1,500 subscribers with every feature included, including sending. A card is added before the first issue is sent. |
| Free trial | Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | beehiiv | Curated |
| Price read from | beehiiv.com | curated.co |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
Curated
- Price is set by subscriber count across all publications, and the page lists a $399 a month tier at up to 50,000 subscribers.
- Above 50,000 subscribers there is no published price; you contact the vendor.
- Monthly email quota is 31 times the plan's subscriber limit.
- Paying by invoice requires a minimum commitment of $1,000.
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.
Curated
- Link collection
- Save links with a bookmarklet or by emailing them to a private address, with team members able to contribute.
- Issue assembly
- Import saved links into the next scheduled issue and add an intro, summaries and commentary.
- Web archive
- An optional publication site with searchable back issues, usable on your own domain at no extra fee.
- Sponsorships
- Handles sponsorship inquiries and a bookings calendar for the publication.
- Paid subscriptions
- Paid newsletters through a connected Stripe account; Curated says it takes 0% commission.
- Analytics
- Subscriber-level stats and per-issue reports on who read what and which links were clicked.
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.
Curated
Free$0
per month for up to 1,500 subscribers
All features included. You add a card before sending your first issue but are not charged while at or under 1,500 subscribers.
Up to 2,500 subscribers$39
per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed monthly
Price rises with the list: $69 up to 5,000, $129 up to 10,000 subscribers, and $189 up to 15,000.
Up to 25,000 subscribers$299
per month for up to 25,000 subscribers, billed monthly
Steps continue at $399 for 25,001 to 50,000 subscribers; above 50,000 the vendor asks you to get in touch.
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.
Curated
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, beehiiv or Curated?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Curated is cheaper to start with: $39 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 Curated starts at $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, beehiiv or Curated?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both beehiiv and Curated 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.