Beehiiv or Substack? Find out which is the best

Beehiiv and Substack are both strong choices for building an email newsletter, but they are designed around different goals. Substack is better for creators who want simple publishing, built-in audience discovery, and community features. Beehiiv is better for creators who want advanced newsletter growth, advertising, automation, analytics, and more control over monetization.

If you are trying to decide between Beehiiv and Substack, the right choice depends less on which platform has more features and more on how you plan to grow and make money from your newsletter.

Beehiiv vs Substack at a Glance

Beehiiv‘s current Launch plan is free for up to 2,500 subscribers, while its paid plans add features such as advertising, automations, advanced analytics, digital products, and other growth tools.

Substack lets creators publish for free regardless of subscriber count, but it takes 10% of paid subscription transactions, in addition to applicable Stripe fees.

What Is the Main Difference Between Beehiiv and Substack?

The biggest difference is what each platform is built to help you do.

Substack is closer to a publishing and community platform. You can publish posts, send them by email, interact with readers, and let people discover your work through Substack’s network.

Beehiiv is more focused on running a newsletter as a business. It puts more emphasis on subscriber growth, analytics, automation, advertising, referrals, website customization, and monetization.

That difference becomes more important as your newsletter grows.

A writer who simply wants to publish a weekly essay may not need Beehiiv’s business-focused tools. A creator trying to build a large newsletter with multiple revenue sources may find those tools much more useful.

Beehiiv Is Better for Newsletter Growth

If growing an email list is your main priority, Beehiiv has several tools designed specifically for that job.

Its platform includes features such as recommendation tools, referral programs, analytics, surveys, automations, and other audience-growth features. Some of these are available on paid plans rather than the free Launch plan.

This makes Beehiiv particularly interesting for someone who thinks of a newsletter as a business rather than simply an online publication.

For example, imagine you publish a weekly personal-finance newsletter and want to grow from 2,000 subscribers to 20,000. You may eventually want automated welcome emails, audience segmentation, referral campaigns, detailed performance reporting, sponsorships, and other growth systems.

Beehiiv is designed with that type of operation in mind.

Where Substack Has an Advantage

Substack has a major advantage that Beehiiv does not try to replicate in exactly the same way: its built-in reader ecosystem.

Substack has recommendations, Notes, a native reader experience, leaderboards, and other discovery features. Substack says more than half of new subscribers come from within its platform.

That can be valuable when you have little existing audience.

If you are a new writer with no large social-media following, being part of a platform where readers already browse newsletters can make Substack attractive.

Beehiiv vs Substack for Making Money

Both platforms can help you earn money from a newsletter, but their monetization models are different.

Substack’s primary paid model is straightforward: readers pay for subscriptions and Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction, while Stripe fees also apply.

Beehiiv uses a different model. Its paid plans can charge a monthly platform fee, but Beehiiv states that eligible paid subscriptions have a 0% platform take rate. Payment processing fees can still apply.

That creates an important trade-off.

The break-even point depends on your subscriber count, paid revenue, Beehiiv plan, and payment-processing costs. So it is a mistake to assume that one platform is always cheaper.

Which Is Better for Beginners?

For a complete beginner, Substack is usually easier to understand.

You can create a publication, write your first post, send it to subscribers, and turn on paid subscriptions without dealing with a complicated marketing system.

The basic workflow is simple:

1. Create your publication.
2. Publish your content.
3. Build free subscribers.
4. Offer paid subscriptions when appropriate.
5. Use Substack’s network and community tools to grow.

Beehiiv is also relatively approachable, but it makes more sense when you want to think beyond publishing.

Its additional growth and monetization tools can be useful, but they also mean there are more things to learn.

So if your question is “Which one lets me start a newsletter with the least friction?”, Substack has the edge.

Which Platform Gives You More Control?

Beehiiv generally gives you more control over the newsletter as a business.

It offers custom domains, website tools, analytics, custom fields, automations, integrations, referral features, advertising options, and other tools aimed at growing a publication.

This matters if you want your newsletter to become part of a larger brand.

For example, suppose you run a technology website and want a newsletter that uses your own branding, collects specific subscriber information, runs automated campaigns, promotes sponsorships, and connects with other marketing systems.

Beehiiv is likely the better fit.

Substack is more opinionated about the publishing experience. That simplicity is one of its strengths, but it can also become a limitation for someone who wants a highly customized newsletter operation.

Which Has Better Community Features?

This is one area where Substack has a clear advantage.

Substack has built community and discovery into its platform through features such as Notes, comments, Chat, live features, direct messaging, recommendations, and its reader app.

That means your newsletter is not completely dependent on bringing every visitor from Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or another external platform.

Beehiiv has audience-growth features, but its core experience is more email-focused.

If your goal is to create a community around your ideas, writing, or personality, Substack deserves serious consideration.

Which Has Better Email Marketing Tools?

Beehiiv is the stronger choice for advanced newsletter marketing.

It offers features such as email automations, audience data, custom fields, surveys, A/B testing, advanced analytics, and other tools that are useful when you are actively optimizing newsletter performance.

This becomes especially useful when you have different types of subscribers.

For example, a newsletter might have:

• New subscribers
• Highly engaged readers
• Inactive subscribers
• Free subscribers
• Paid subscribers
• Subscribers interested in different topics

A more advanced newsletter platform lets you treat those groups differently instead of sending exactly the same message to everyone.

Substack is easier if you want to focus primarily on publishing rather than building a sophisticated email-marketing system.

Which Is Better for Advertising?

Beehiiv has the stronger case for newsletter advertising.

Its paid Scale plan includes access to its advertising network and monetization tools, subject to the plan’s requirements and availability.

That gives newsletter publishers another potential revenue source beyond paid subscriptions.

Substack’s business model is much more closely tied to paid subscriptions. It does offer creators ways to monetize their audience, but its platform is built around subscriptions and the broader creator ecosystem rather than being primarily an advertising platform.

If your plan is:

free newsletter → large audience → sponsorships and ads

Beehiiv is worth a close look.

If your plan is:

free newsletter → loyal readers → paid subscriptions

Substack may be the simpler starting point.

Which Has Better Analytics?

Beehiiv has the advantage for creators who want detailed newsletter performance data.

Its platform provides campaign analytics, advanced website analytics on higher plans, and other reporting features designed to help publishers understand how their audience behaves.

Analytics matter more as your newsletter becomes a business.

You may want to know which emails generate the most clicks, which campaigns perform poorly, which subscribers are engaged, and which growth channels are actually bringing useful readers.

Substack provides analytics too, but its product philosophy is less focused on advanced email marketing and optimization.

Beehiiv or Substack for Writers?

For writers, the answer depends on what kind of writing business you want.

Choose Substack if you primarily want to write, publish, build relationships with readers, and participate in a creator network.

Choose Beehiiv if you want to turn your writing into a more structured newsletter business.

A columnist publishing two thoughtful essays every week may appreciate Substack’s simple publishing and community experience.

A newsletter operator publishing daily market updates, selling sponsorships, testing subject lines, running referral campaigns, and analyzing subscriber behavior may benefit more from Beehiiv.

Neither approach is automatically better.

Beehiiv or Substack for Podcasters and Multimedia Creators?

Substack has a strong advantage if your newsletter is part of a broader creator publication.

Substack supports text, video, podcasts, live content, chat, and other forms of publishing within the same ecosystem.

Beehiiv also supports newsletters, websites, and podcasts, including podcast functionality in its current plans.

The difference is that Substack puts more emphasis on the relationship between different types of creator content and its reader community.

If you want your newsletter to feel like a publication or creator hub, Substack may feel more natural.

What About Branding and Customization?

If having your newsletter look like your own media brand is important, Beehiiv has the stronger position.

Beehiiv supports custom domains and offers website and branding tools designed for publishers who want more control over how their publication looks.

Substack is intentionally simpler.

That simplicity helps you launch quickly, but many Substack publications share a recognizable platform feel.

This is not necessarily a problem for an individual writer. But for a company, media brand, or newsletter business, stronger branding control can become increasingly important.

Which One Is Better for Long-Term Growth?

For long-term growth, the answer depends on what you mean by “growth.”

If you mean growing through a built-in creator network and community, Substack has an advantage.

If you mean building a newsletter business with advertising, automation, analytics, referrals, and multiple monetization options, Beehiiv has an advantage.

A useful way to think about it is:

Substack helps you build inside an existing creator ecosystem.

Beehiiv gives you more tools to operate your own newsletter business.

That distinction is more useful than simply comparing feature counts.

Beehiiv vs Substack Pricing: Which Costs Less?

The pricing models are fundamentally different.

Substack does not charge a monthly platform fee for publishing, but it takes 10% of paid subscription transactions. Stripe processing fees also apply.

Beehiiv offers a free Launch plan for up to 2,500 subscribers. Its Scale and Max plans use monthly pricing based on subscriber limits and add more advanced features. The current pricing page lists Scale at $43 per month when billed annually and Max at $96 per month when billed annually, although pricing can change.

That means there is no universal winner on price.

A Simple Example

Imagine you have a free newsletter with 1,000 subscribers and make no money from it.

Substack’s platform fee is $0.

Beehiiv’s Launch plan can also be $0 within its subscriber limit.

Now imagine you have a growing paid newsletter generating significant subscription revenue.

Substack continues taking 10% of paid subscription transactions, while Beehiiv’s eligible paid subscriptions have a 0% platform take rate.

At that point, Beehiiv’s monthly subscription cost may make more financial sense.

But you should calculate the actual numbers using your subscriber count and expected revenue rather than choosing based on the headline pricing alone.

Who Should Choose Beehiiv?

Beehiiv is a strong choice if you:

• Want to build a newsletter as a business
• Expect your audience to grow substantially
• Want advanced analytics
• Need email automation
• Want advertising opportunities
• Want referral and recommendation tools
• Care about custom branding
• Want multiple monetization options
• Prefer paying a platform fee instead of giving up a percentage of subscription revenue

It is especially appealing when newsletter growth and monetization are more important than being part of a social publishing network.

Who Should Choose Substack?

Substack is a strong choice if you:

• Are primarily a writer or independent creator
• Want to start without a monthly platform fee
• Want a simple publishing experience
• Want built-in audience discovery
• Care about community features
• Want paid subscriptions without setting up a separate payment system
• Plan to publish text, podcasts, video, or other creator content
• Do not need advanced email automation

For a solo writer who wants to start publishing immediately, Substack can be difficult to beat for simplicity.

Beehiiv or Substack: Which Is Best for You?

There is no single winner for every newsletter.

Choose Substack if your priority is publishing, community, and built-in discovery. Choose Beehiiv if your priority is newsletter growth, business operations, advertising, automation, analytics, and long-term monetization.

For a beginner who simply wants to start writing, I would lean toward Substack.

For someone who already has a clear newsletter business plan—or expects to build one—I would lean toward Beehiiv.

The most important question is not “Which platform has more features?” Ask instead: Do I want to build my audience inside a creator network, or do I want to operate a growth-focused newsletter business?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Beehiiv better than Substack for making money?

Beehiiv can be better for larger or more business-focused newsletters because it offers advertising and other monetization tools while eligible paid subscriptions have a 0% platform take rate. Substack is simpler but takes 10% of paid subscription transactions, plus applicable payment-processing fees.

Is Substack better for beginners than Beehiiv?

For many beginners, yes. Substack is simple to start, has no monthly platform fee for publishing, and provides built-in discovery and community features, while Beehiiv is more focused on advanced newsletter growth and business tools.

Can you use Beehiiv and Substack at the same time?

Yes, you can technically operate publications on both platforms, but doing so may create extra work because you would need to manage content, subscribers, analytics, and publishing workflows separately. For most new creators, choosing one platform and learning it well is the simpler approach.

The Bottom Line

Beehiiv and Substack are both capable newsletter platforms, but they solve different problems.

Substack is the better fit for simplicity, writing, community, and built-in discovery. Beehiiv is the better fit for newsletter growth, monetization, automation, analytics, and building a publication as a business.

If you’re starting from zero and mainly want to write, start with Substack. If you already know you want to build a serious newsletter business, Beehiiv is likely the better long-term choice.

The practical move is to choose based on your business model and growth strategy, not simply the number of features listed on each platform.