beehiiv vs Flodesk
We give beehiiv and Flodesk the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. beehiiv grades higher on the free plan. Flodesk grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, 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
Flodesk
Design-led email marketing and checkout for creators
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAbeehiivFair | 2.4GPAFlodeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CLite is $19 a month for 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing, or $25 monthly, near the dearer end of what email tools charge. Unlimited workflows need Pro at $25, and checkout and sales pages need Everything at $49. Every paid plan sends without a cap. |
| 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. | CThe free plan has forms, landing pages, link-in-bio pages and segments with no subscriber limit, but it can't send email or run workflows. There's also a card-free trial of the paid features, its length not stated. |
| 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. | BDesigner templates with custom fonts and Canva imports, forms, landing pages, link in bio, workflows that resend to people who didn't open, and on the top plan sales pages, subscriptions and payment plans through Stripe with no Flodesk fee. That's the whole job. |
| 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 App Store rating on record and no phone app. The templates do a lot of the design for you, but you still build forms, pages and workflows in the web app. |
| 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 Shopify, Canva, Instagram, Squarespace, Wix, ThriveCart, Manychat and Zapier, an API and an MCP link for Claude and ChatGPT. No desktop or phone app keeps it at a B. |
| Best for | newsletters you plan to make money from | beautiful newsletters for creators |
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 Flodesk. 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. Flodesk starts at $19 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Flodesk starts $30 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 3 score higher than beehiiv for less, and 3 score higher than Flodesk 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 starts at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly). Flodesk starts at $19 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed annually.
- beehiiv also covers paid newsletters.
At a glance
| beehiiv | Flodesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly) | $19 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed annually |
| 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. | Forms, landing pages, link-in-bio pages and segmentation with no subscriber limit, but no email sending or workflows. |
| Free trial | Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required | Free trial of paid features, no credit card required; the length is not stated |
| Web | ||
| Made by | beehiiv | Flodesk Inc. |
| Price read from | beehiiv.com | flodesk.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
beehiiv
- Writers building a newsletter they plan to charge for
- Publishers who want to earn from ads in their newsletter
- Creators who want newsletter, website and podcast in one place
Flodesk
- Creators who care most about how their emails look
- Coaches and course sellers who want checkout and email in one place
- People who want to build a list for free before sending
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.
Flodesk
- The Free plan cannot send email; sending starts with Lite.
- Lite stops at 25,000 subscribers and allows a single workflow.
- Checkout works only for businesses in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and euro-area countries.
- Passing a subscriber tier moves you to the next tier automatically at the next billing date.
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.
Flodesk
- Designer templates and custom fonts
- Email templates with custom layouts, custom fonts, personalized links and Canva imports, aimed at on-brand newsletters.
- Forms, landing pages and link in bio
- Pop-up, embedded and hosted forms, landing pages and a link-in-bio page, all available on the Free plan.
- Workflows
- Automated email sequences with resend to unopens and a send time optimizer. Lite gets one workflow; Pro and Everything have no limit.
- Checkout and sales pages
- Sell products with sales pages, upsells, subscriptions, payment plans and discount codes. Payments run through Stripe with no added Flodesk fee.
- Flodesk MCP
- Connect Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools to ask about your emails, reach subscribers and manage your list.
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.
Flodesk
Free$0
Forms, landing pages, link-in-bio pages and templates to grow a list. Sending email needs a paid plan.
Lite$19
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed annually ($25 monthly)
Unlimited sends, analytics, 1 seat and 1 workflow as a limited-time bonus; 25,000 subscribers at most. $72 a month billed monthly at 10,000 subscribers.
Pro$25
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed annually ($28 monthly)
Unlimited workflows, advanced analytics, an option to hide the Flodesk footer, 2 seats and 1 checkout. $79 a month billed monthly at 10,000 subscribers.
Everything$49
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed annually ($54 monthly)
Unlimited checkouts, sales pages, subscriptions, payment plans, abandoned cart automations and 3 seats. $137 a month billed monthly at 10,000 subscribers.
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.
Flodesk
- Annual discount
One month free with annual billing
Annual billing charges 11 months instead of 12: Pro at 1,000 subscribers is $25 a month instead of $28, saving $33 a year.
