Beehiiv vs Substack (2026): fees, free plans and which one fits your newsletter
Substack and Beehiiv both host newsletters with paid subscriptions, but they charge in opposite ways. Substack is free to run and takes a share when you earn. Beehiiv charges a monthly plan fee once you need paid features and takes no share. Here's how the fees, discovery, ownership and money-making options compare.
By the Creator Mail Stack team · Updated October 7, 2026 (prices, podcast limits and Substack help details re-checked)
Quick verdict
Pick Substack if you want readers to find you inside a network and you'd rather pay nothing up front. Publishing is free at any list size, and Substack's app, Notes, recommendations and leaderboards are built to send you readers. Substack says more than half of new subscribers on the platform come from inside Substack itself.
Pick Beehiiv if you want to keep more of your paid revenue and run the newsletter like a business. On its Lite and Pro plans, Beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscriptions, and it adds an ad network, paid recommendations, a referral program, automations and your own sending domain.
The money flips at a predictable point. Substack's 10% costs less than Beehiiv's plan fee until your monthly paid revenue passes about ten times that fee. For a list of up to 1,000 subscribers, that's about $590 a month on monthly billing, or about $490 a month if you pay Beehiiv yearly.
Growing a free list only: Substack is free with no subscriber cap. Beehiiv's Free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers, and after that you need a paid plan even if you don't charge readers.
Beehiiv vs Substack side by side
Everything in this table comes from each company's official pricing page or help center, checked October 7, 2026.
What you're comparing
Substack
Beehiiv
Cost to start
Free, no monthly platform fee, at any list size
Free: $0 up to 2,500 subscribers
Paid plans
None; Substack earns through its revenue share
Lite from $59/month (monthly) or $49/month (annual) at up to 1,000 subscribers; Pro from $109/month (monthly) or $95/month (annual)
Cut of paid subscriptions
10% of each paid transaction
0% on Lite and Pro (paid subscriptions aren't on Free)
Card processing
Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus a Billing fee on recurring payments (0.5% or 0.7%, depending on the Substack help article)
Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, as quoted in Beehiiv's pricing FAQ
Free recommendation network on all plans; paid recommendations and referral program on Lite and up
Custom domain
One-time $50 fee; must be a subdomain such as www
Paid plans (help + feature table; Free plan summary also lists Custom Domains — confirm in-account)
Sending address
Always sent from an @substack.com address
Custom sending domain on paid plans (help article: “All Paid Plans”; Free plan summary also lists Custom Domains — confirm in-account)
Data export
Posts, subscriber list and stats as a zip; subscriber CSV (no full names)
Posts and subscribers as CSV (Quick or Full) on all plans, plus an API
Advertising
No built-in ad tools for emails; a brand sponsorship program with select partners
Ad Network and programmatic ads on Lite and up (not in all regions); sponsorship storefront on Pro
Email automations
Drip campaigns triggered by subscriber events
Welcome email on Free; full automations on Lite; click-triggered on Pro
Podcasts and video
Podcasts, video posts and live video
Podcasts on every plan (Beehiiv help center, October 7, 2026: shows Free 1 / Lite 2 / Pro unlimited; monthly downloads Free 5,000 / Lite 15,000 / Pro 50,000)
Community
Comments, Chat, direct messages, Notes
Community with channels, DMs and group chats on every plan, including Free (member directory from Lite)
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Strengths and watch-outs
Our pick · Best free to publish
Substack Publishing network with a revenue share
Free to publish at any size. Newsletters, podcasts, video, live streams, Notes and chat in one place, with a reader app for discovery. Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions, plus Stripe fees.
Strengths
Free at any list size, with no plan tiers
Reader app, Notes, recommendations and category leaderboards
Paid subscriptions from day one
Podcasts, video posts and live video
Watch-outs
10% of each paid transaction, plus Stripe fees
Emails always come from an @substack.com address
Custom domain is a one-time $50 and must be a subdomain
Beehiiv Newsletter platform with a flat monthly fee
Free up to 2,500 subscribers with a website and podcast (custom domains: paid plans per help + feature table; confirm Free in-account). Paid subscriptions, ads, automations and paid recommendations start on Lite ($59/month on monthly billing at up to 1,000 subscribers), with a 0% take rate.
Strengths
0% take rate on paid subscriptions on Lite and Pro
Custom domains on paid plans (help + feature table; Free summary also lists them — confirm in-account)
Ad Network and programmatic ads on Lite and up
Full CSV export on every plan, plus an API
Watch-outs
Free stops at 2,500 subscribers; after that you need a paid plan even if you don’t charge
Fees: Substack's 10% vs Beehiiv's 0% (checked 2026-10-05)
Substack's help center says it takes 10% of each paid transaction, and that Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction plus a Billing fee for recurring payments. One Substack help article gives that Billing fee as 0.5%; another gives 0.7% (as of July 2024). Substack's own revenue calculator puts it as "writers keep 90% of their revenue minus credit card fees." There's no monthly fee, so a free newsletter costs nothing on Substack at any size.
Beehiiv's pricing FAQ says it takes 0% of paid subscription revenue, leaving only Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. The catch is that paid subscriptions need a paid plan, and the plan price rises with your total list, free readers included. Lite costs $59 a month on monthly billing at up to 1,000 subscribers, $79 at 2,500, $139 at 10,000 and $299 at 50,000. Billed yearly, those are $49, $69, $119 and $249 a month.
Break-even math
Substack's fee equals Beehiiv's plan fee when 10% of your monthly paid revenue matches the Lite price for your list size. That means you break even at ten times the plan price. Card processing applies on both platforms, so we've left it out. Exact Stripe charges depend on your account and country.
Total subscribers (Beehiiv tier)
Beehiiv Lite, monthly / yearly billing
Substack's 10% matches it at this monthly paid revenue
Up to 1,000
$59 / $49 a month
$590 / $490
Up to 2,500
$79 / $69 a month
$790 / $690
Up to 10,000
$139 / $119 a month
$1,390 / $1,190
Up to 50,000
$299 / $249 a month
$2,990 / $2,490
Three worked examples (illustrative numbers, monthly billing). (1) 1,000 subscribers, 40 of them paying $8 a month: $320 in revenue, so Substack's share is $32 against Beehiiv Lite's $59. Substack costs less. (2) 10,000 subscribers, 300 paying $8: $2,400 in revenue, so Substack's share is $240 against $139. Beehiiv saves about $101 a month. (3) 50,000 subscribers, 1,000 paying $8: $8,000 in revenue, so $800 against $299. Beehiiv saves about $501 a month. If you don't charge readers at all and have more than 2,500 subscribers, Substack costs $0 while Beehiiv needs a paid plan.
One more wrinkle on Substack: iOS in-app purchases. Readers can subscribe inside Substack's iOS app through Apple's in-app payments. Apple's service fee comes out of your take-home revenue along with Substack's fee, and Substack says Apple charges an extra 15–30%. Substack raises in-app prices to offset it by default (you can switch that off), in-app payments can't be disabled while payments are connected, and Apple pays out up to 45 days after each month ends. In the U.S., the app can also send readers to web checkout.
Discovery and network effects
This is Substack's strongest argument, and it's worth taking seriously. Substack's comparison page says more than half of new subscribers on Substack come from inside the platform. Its growth page says the Substack Network drives 25% of paid subscriptions and that more than 25% of subscriptions start in its apps. These are Substack's own platform-wide figures, which we can't check independently, and your results will vary. The discovery tools are real, though: a reader app for iOS and Android, Notes (a social feed), recommendations shown in the subscribe flow and in digest emails, category leaderboards, and reader referrals.
Beehiiv's discovery runs mostly through other newsletters rather than a reader app. Every plan includes the free Recommendation Network, where publications recommend each other, plus magic links. On paid plans you can also buy subscribers through paid recommendations, paying other publishers per verified subscriber, or earn by recommending others. Lite also adds a reader referral program. Beehiiv's pricing page doesn't list a reader app, so outside recommendations, growth comes from your own marketing.
Ownership and custom domains
Both companies say you own your list; Substack's switch page promises "Own all your content. Own your subscriber list." The practical differences are about branding:
Substack: a custom domain costs a one-time $50 per publication. It must be a subdomain such as www; redirecting the root domain to it is optional. Substack's help center says that even with a custom domain, "Emails are still sent from [yoursubdomain]@substack.com."
Beehiiv: custom domains are on paid plans per Beehiiv's help article ("All Paid Plans") and the pricing.md feature table; the Free plan summary also lists Custom Domains — confirm in-account. Removing Beehiiv branding requires Pro.
Data export and switching
You can leave either platform with your list. On Substack, Settings → Exports creates a zip of your posts, subscriber list and related statistics, and the subscriber page exports a CSV, though Substack says it can't include subscriber names. On Beehiiv, Settings → Export Data gives you all posts and a Quick or Full subscriber CSV (Full adds custom fields and stats) on every plan, and the API can export subscribers too.
Both also import from the other. Beehiiv's Substack migration guide covers content, free subscribers and paid subscribers. Paid subscribers move by transferring customer data between Stripe accounts. It lists limits too: video posts, podcast posts, comments and previous paywall placements don't come across. Substack's comparison page says you can import subscribers, posts and Stripe customers from Beehiiv.
Monetization options: paid subs, ads, "boosts" and recommendations
Paid subscriptions: available on Substack from day one, with monthly, annual, founding-member and group options. On Beehiiv they start on Lite; group subscriptions need Pro.
Ads and sponsorships: Substack's help center says Substack is "entirely focused on subscriptions" and doesn't build tools for affiliate links or advertising in emails. It has since launched a brand sponsorship initiative with "a select group of flagship partners." Beehiiv has an Ad Network and programmatic ads on Lite and up (not in all regions) and a sponsorship storefront on Pro.
"Boost" means different things on each platform. Substack Boost is a setting (Settings → Growth) that creators can turn on or off. When it’s on, Substack offers discounts, trials and similar deals to readers to lift paid conversions and reduce cancellations. Beehiiv used the name Boosts for what it now calls paid recommendations: paying, or getting paid, per verified subscriber.
Recommendations: free on both. Beehiiv adds paid recommendations on paid plans.
Substack is hard to beat on cost and reach: free at any size, with the app and Notes. Beehiiv's free plan also works up to 2,500 subscribers, with your own domain from day one.
Also consider for a free newsletter on a budget:EmailOctopus is a simple email tool rather than a publishing platform (no app or network), but its free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, and Pro starts at $9/month billed yearly ($10 monthly) for up to 500 subscribers (EmailOctopus pricing page, checked October 7, 2026). Its pricing page doesn’t cover paid subscriptions, so it isn’t a fit if you plan to charge readers. Referral link: if you sign up and pay, you get $15 off your first payment and we may earn a $15 account credit.
Writers with a growing paid newsletter
Run the break-even math above. Once your paid revenue passes about ten times the Beehiiv Lite price for your list size, Beehiiv's flat fee costs less than Substack's 10%.
Ad-supported and sponsor-funded newsletters
Beehiiv. Its Ad Network, programmatic ads and sponsorship storefront are built for this. Substack's help center says it doesn't build advertising tools for emails.
Podcasters and video creators
Substack publishes podcasts, video and live streams alongside posts. Beehiiv hosts podcasts on every plan, with show and download limits that rise by plan (Free: 1 show and 5,000 monthly downloads, per its help center). Its pricing.md feature table lists YouTube video publishing on every plan, but its help center says podcast feeds are audio-only for now, so check how video would work for your show.
Brand-conscious creators and businesses
Beehiiv. Custom sending domains are on paid plans (confirm Free in-account); branding removal needs Pro. Substack emails always come from @substack.com.
Creators who value community
Substack offers Notes, Chat, comments and DMs, all tied into its app. Beehiiv lists community channels, DMs and group chats on every plan, including Free; the member directory starts on Lite (pricing feature table, checked October 7, 2026).
FAQ
Is Beehiiv better than Substack?
Neither is better for everyone. Beehiiv fits when a flat fee leaves you more money, or you want ads, automations and your own sending domain. Substack fits when you want free publishing and a built-in reader network. For the full plan breakdown, see our Beehiiv guide.
Is Substack free?
Yes, for writers: Substack's help center says publishing is free no matter how many subscribers you have. If you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of each transaction and Stripe charges its own fees. Substack doesn't charge readers extra fees, and free posts are free to read.
Beehiiv vs Substack pricing: which is cheaper?
For a free newsletter, Substack ($0 at any size). Beehiiv is also $0 until 2,500 subscribers. For a paid newsletter, Substack is cheaper until your monthly paid revenue passes about ten times Beehiiv Lite's price, which is $590 at up to 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing. Above that, Beehiiv is cheaper.
Why do some writers move from Substack to Beehiiv?
Usually for the 0% take rate once revenue grows, plus ads, automations and custom sending domains. Beehiiv publishes a Substack migration guide for this. Substack also imports from Beehiiv, so the move can go either way.
What about Beehiiv vs Substack vs Ghost?
Ghost is the third common option. Ghost(Pro) takes 0% on paid subscriptions from its Publisher plan, which costs $29 a month billed yearly. Our best newsletter tools roundup covers Ghost alongside both of these, and our Substack alternatives page compares Beehiiv, Kit, Buttondown and Ghost fees side by side.
Substack and Beehiiv are trademarks of their respective owners. We run Creator Mail Stack independently, and neither company endorses it. Found something out of date? Tell us.
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