beehiiv vs Memberful
We give beehiiv a 2.4 GPA and Memberful a 2.0, out of 4.0. beehiiv grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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
Memberful
Membership platform for paid newsletters, podcasts and communities
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAbeehiivFair | 2.0GPAMemberfulFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | D$49 a month plus Memberful's 4.9% of every charge, $49 more on $1,000, comes to $98 a month, with Stripe's fee on top (not counted). That's in this category's dearest tenth, about level with Patreon's 10%. |
| 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. | CNo free plan, but test mode is free for as long as you like: you can build everything, and billing starts only when you connect Stripe and go live. |
| 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. | CMemberships of every shape, paywalls, a website and newsletter builder, Discord and Discourse access, email sync, referrals and global tax collection. It does the membership job fully, but it's a smaller job: no upsells, order bumps or affiliates in the listing. |
| 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. You'll connect Stripe, set up plans and either build a site or wire it into WordPress before members can join. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Stripe, Zapier, Make, Shopify and Luma connections and an API. No desktop or phone app is listed. | BWeb, with Stripe, WordPress, Discord, Discourse, Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and Google Analytics. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | newsletters you plan to make money from | paid memberships on your own website |
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 Memberful. How we grade
Where they differ
- beehiiv starts at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly). Memberful starts at $49 per month.
- beehiiv has a free plan. Memberful does not, though it has a free trial.
- beehiiv also covers marketing automation, forms and email campaigns.
- Memberful also covers online courses, community and digital downloads.
At a glance
| beehiiv | Memberful | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly) | $49 per month |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required | Free in test mode for as long as you like; billing starts when you connect Stripe and go live |
| Web | ||
| Made by | beehiiv | Memberful LLC |
| Price read from | beehiiv.com | memberful.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 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
Memberful
- Writers and publishers running a paid newsletter on their own site
- Podcasters selling members-only episodes
- WordPress sites that need a paywall for members
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.
Memberful
- Memberful takes 4.9% of every successful charge on top of the $49 monthly fee, and Stripe adds its own fee, typically 2.9% + $0.30.
- A Stripe account is required: Stripe processes the payments and transfers the money to your own bank account.
- There is one self-serve plan; volume pricing and migration help are only on the custom Enterprise plan.
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.
Memberful
- Flexible memberships
- Weekly, monthly or annual subscriptions, one-time payments, group plans, gifts, free and paid trials, free registration and pay-what-you-want pricing.
- Content behind a paywall
- Gate newsletters, podcasts, courses, downloads and community access, with dynamic paywalls and integrated comments.
- Website and newsletter builder
- Build a site and landing pages on a custom domain with your own theme, or protect members-only content on a WordPress site.
- Community integrations
- Paid members are invited to a Discord server or Discourse forum and lose access automatically when their subscription ends.
- Email list sync
- Keeps members in sync with Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, MailerLite, Campaign Monitor, Drip or Sailthru, segmented by plan.
- Retention and growth tools
- Coupons, a built-in referral program, automated retention discounts, cancellation surveys, global tax collection and growth reports.
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.
Memberful
Standard$49
per month
Everything Memberful offers, unlimited members. Memberful also takes a 4.9% transaction fee on each successful charge, plus Stripe's processing fee.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom volume-based pricing, premium services and success management, and custom migration and implementation support.
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.
Memberful
No public discounts listed.
