beehiiv
Newsletter platform with paid subscriptions, ads, website and podcast
beehiiv report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 17, 2026
Best for newsletters you plan to make money from
beehiiv is a newsletter platform for writers who want to earn from it: paid subscriptions where beehiiv takes 0%, an ad network, a website and a podcast in one place. The free plan is generous, up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends. Paying is where it gets steep, at $49 a month for the first paid plan.
Who beehiiv is for
- Great if you want to charge for your newsletter and keep all of it, minus Stripe's fee
- Handy when you'd like ads in your newsletter without hunting for sponsors yourself
- Good for writers who want the newsletter, a website and a podcast in one place
Who beehiiv is not for
- 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
Why beehiiv gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyLite 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.
- BFree plan and trialUp 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.
- BFeaturesA 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.
- CEase of useNo 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.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, with Stripe, Zapier, Make, Shopify and Luma connections and an API. No desktop or phone app is listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from beehiiv's own pages on 17 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make beehiiv? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/beehiiv#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/beehiiv.svg" alt="beehiiv: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where beehiiv stands among email marketing and newsletter tools
beehiiv's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 5 of the 24 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 9.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 20 of 24) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $49 a month, against a middle price of $13 for the category: 21 of the 22 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 25 email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. beehiiv’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 24, level with 4
- BFree plan and trialAbove 20 of 24, level with 3
- BFeaturesAbove 3 of 24, level with 21
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 24, level with 20
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 24, level with 24
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 23 email marketing and newsletter tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep beehiiv, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace beehiiv you would be making newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 10 of the 24 other email marketing and newsletter tools grade higher. It costs $588 a year.
What you could make
- Paid newsletters and forms: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- Email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox.
- It plugs into other products, Stripe, Zapier and Make among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- People on the other end: coaches and a community of other users. No app builder makes those.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. beehiiv’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is beehiiv?
beehiiv is a newsletter platform for writers, creators and media companies. Alongside the email editor it hosts a website, podcast, community and digital product store, and lets publishers earn through paid subscriptions, its ad network and paid recommendations. Every plan includes unlimited sends; paid plans are priced by subscriber count.
beehiiv has a free plan. Paid plans start at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly). See every plan
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
beehiiv pricing
- Starts at
- $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 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 trial
- Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, 1 seat, 1 publication, website and podcast, beehiiv branding. |
| Lite | $49per 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 | $95per 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. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom subscriber volume, SSO and SAML, dedicated IPs, concierge onboarding and a customer success manager, through sales. |
Read from beehiiv.com on Oct 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with beehiiv before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 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.
Stated on beehiiv.com
Works with
beehiiv alternatives
- beehiiv vs Kit
Free plan · from $33/mo
- beehiiv vs MailerLite
Free plan · from $12/mo
- beehiiv vs Mailchimp
Free plan · from $13/mo
- beehiiv vs Flodesk
Free plan · from $19/mo
- beehiiv vs AWeber
Free plan · from $12.50/mo
Common questions
Is beehiiv free?
beehiiv has a 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. Paid plans start at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly).
How much does beehiiv cost?
beehiiv lists 4 plans. Free: $0. Lite: $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly). Pro: $95 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($109 monthly). Enterprise: custom pricing. Prices were read from beehiiv.com on Oct 17, 2026.
What platforms does beehiiv work on?
beehiiv is available on Web.
Does beehiiv offer any discounts?
beehiiv publicly lists the following: Save up to 20% with yearly billing.
Does beehiiv have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. beehiiv is listed for Web.
Does beehiiv have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. beehiiv is listed for Web.
Is beehiiv open source?
beehiiv is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does beehiiv have an API?
Yes. beehiiv offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does beehiiv integrate with?
beehiiv's listing names Stripe, Zapier, Make, Shopify and Luma. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does beehiiv have a free trial?
Yes. Free trial of Lite and Pro, no credit card required.
Who makes beehiiv?
beehiiv is made by beehiiv. It dates from 2021.
What are the alternatives to beehiiv?
The closest alternatives to beehiiv in our directory are Kit, MailerLite, Mailchimp, Flodesk and AWeber. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with beehiiv.
How does beehiiv compare with other email marketing and newsletter tools?
beehiiv's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 5 of the 24 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 9. It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 20 of 24) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Is beehiiv good value for money?
ToolGPA grades beehiiv D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $49 a month, against a middle price of $13 for the category: 21 of the 22 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Could I make my own version of beehiiv?
To replace beehiiv you would be making newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 10 of the 24 other email marketing and newsletter tools grade higher. It costs $588 a year. What you could not make: Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. Email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox. It plugs into other products, Stripe, Zapier and Make among them, and has an API. AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 17, 2026.