Substack vs Beehiiv comes down to how you would rather pay. Substack is free to start and takes 10% of what paying subscribers give you; Beehiiv takes 0% of subscription revenue but charges a monthly plan once you want paid subscriptions, a custom domain or automations. The short way to remember it: Substack takes a cut, Beehiiv sends a bill. Substack is built around its own reader network, with an app, Notes and recommendations between writers; Beehiiv is built around tools for running the newsletter as a business.
Every fact below comes from the two companies' own pricing pages and help centers, checked on November 10, 2026. Both change plans and features often, so check the date on anything you read about them, this page included. The company styles its name in lowercase, beehiiv; this page capitalizes it like any other name. There are no affiliate links here.
Substack vs Beehiiv at a glance
| Substack | Beehiiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | SubstackFree, at any list size | BeehiivFree plan for up to 2,500 subscribers |
| Paid plans | SubstackNone | BeehiivLite $49/mo and Pro $95/mo on yearly billing; price depends on subscriber count; Enterprise custom |
| Cut of subscription revenue | Substack10% of each payment | Beehiiv0% |
| Stripe fees (US) | Substack2.9% + 30¢ per payment, plus 0.7% Stripe Billing on recurring payments | Beehiiv2.9% + 30¢ per payment, as Beehiiv states it |
| Paid subscriptions | SubstackOn any publication; minimum $5/mo or $30/yr in USD | BeehiivLite plan and above |
| Custom domain | Substack$50, one time | BeehiivPaid plans only |
| Subscriber limit | SubstackNo limit stated | Beehiiv2,500 (Free), 100,000 (Lite), 250,000 (Pro) |
| Discovery | SubstackSubstack app, Notes, recommendations and digests | BeehiivRecommendation network on all plans; paid recommendations on Lite and Pro |
| Ads | SubstackSponsored content allowed; Substack says it relies on subscriptions, not ads | BeehiivAd Network on Lite and above |
| Automated email | SubstackSeparate welcome emails for free, paid, imported and founding subscribers | BeehiivAutomations and A/B testing on Lite and Pro |
| Website | SubstackProfile or Custom theme | BeehiivWebsite builder on every plan; remove Beehiiv branding on Pro |
| Publications per account | SubstackUp to 10 | Beehiiv1 (Free), 3 (Lite), 10 (Pro) |
| Export | SubstackZip of posts, subscriber list and statistics | BeehiivCSV of subscribers and of posts |
What each one costs you
Before you charge anyone
A free newsletter costs nothing on Substack at any size. On Beehiiv it costs nothing up to 2,500 subscribers; past that, you need a paid plan even if you never sell a subscription, and Beehiiv counts active subscribers across every publication in your account. A free newsletter with 6,000 readers is a $0 line on Substack and a monthly bill on Beehiiv. Beehiiv's free plan also leaves out paid subscriptions and custom domains, so it suits a newsletter that is free and small, or one you are still testing.
Once readers pay
Here the models cross. Substack's 10% grows with your revenue; Beehiiv's price depends on the plan and your list size, not on what you earn. At the listed Lite price of $49 a month, the two cost the same when paid subscriptions bring in $490 a month. Below that, Substack's cut is smaller than the Lite plan; above it, the cut is larger.
| Paid revenue per month | Substack's 10% | Beehiiv Lite, listed price | Beehiiv Pro, listed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid revenue per month$250 | Substack's 10%$25 | Beehiiv Lite, listed price$49 | Beehiiv Pro, listed price$95 |
| Paid revenue per month$490 | Substack's 10%$49 | Beehiiv Lite, listed price$49 | Beehiiv Pro, listed price$95 |
| Paid revenue per month$1,000 | Substack's 10%$100 | Beehiiv Lite, listed price$49 | Beehiiv Pro, listed price$95 |
| Paid revenue per month$2,500 | Substack's 10%$250 | Beehiiv Lite, listed price$49 | Beehiiv Pro, listed price$95 |
Two details change the math for some writers. Substack lists a Stripe Billing fee of 0.7% on recurring payments on top of the card fee; Beehiiv's pages state only the 2.9% plus 30 cents, so check Stripe's own pricing for what applies to your account. And Beehiiv's 0% also covers digital products, such as guides or courses, sold through the platform.
Growth, discovery and money
Substack
- The app and Notes. The Substack app keeps a reading queue of new posts next to a discovery feed. Notes are public short posts that appear on your profile and in the Home and Explore feeds, and any reader or writer can post one.
- Recommendations. Writers recommend each other's publications. New subscribers may see your recommendations right after signing up, and digest emails feature up to four recommended publications, about once a month at most.
- Paid tools. Monthly, annual and founding member plans; pledges before you turn on payments; a seven-day trial at the paywall; special offers; and Boost, which shows readers discounts and offers automatically unless you turn it off. Private subscriber chats can be limited to paying readers.
- Ads. You are welcome to run sponsored content, Substack's help center says, and its own business model relies solely on subscriptions rather than advertising.
Beehiiv
- Recommendations. Free recommendations, shown to new subscribers right after signup, are on all plans. Paid recommendations, which Beehiiv used to call Boosts, are on Lite and Pro: you pay per new subscriber, charged only when that subscriber passes verification and engages, or you earn for subscribers you send to others.
- Ad Network. On Lite and above, for newsletters sent through Beehiiv. Advertisers pay by CPM (per 1,000 unique opens) or by verified click, and payouts arrive on the 20th of each month for the month before.
- Paid subscriptions. Multiple tiers with their own perks; monthly, annual, custom and pay-what-you-want pricing; trials, discounts and gift subscriptions; and paywalls that can limit a post to certain tiers.
- Marketing tools. A referral program, subscribe forms and pop-ups; automations, A/B testing and audience polls on Lite and Pro; and a website builder with landing and sales pages.
The difference in kind matters more than any one feature. On Substack, much of your growth can come from inside Substack: other writers, the app, the Notes feed. Beehiiv gives you more controls for growth you drive yourself, from referral rewards to automated email sequences and paid acquisition. Whichever you choose, the sign-up button still has to say what arrives and how often; the call to action examples include ten written for newsletters.
Design and the reading experience
Substack offers two choices for your site: Profile, which mirrors your Substack profile, or Custom, with your own layout, logo and branding. Posts can be text, podcast or video, and sections let one publication send several newsletters, each to its own subset of subscribers. Readers can also follow you and read your posts in the Substack app.
Beehiiv's website builder is a no-code editor for full sites, landing pages and sales pages, included on every plan. Removing Beehiiv's branding takes the Pro plan, as does sending several newsletter lists from one publication; custom fonts need a paid plan. If the newsletter is one part of a larger site or business, that control is the point; if the newsletter is the whole thing, it may be more than you need. In both cases, readers judge the writing, not the template. The fundamentals in how to write a newsletter apply on either platform.
Moving between Substack and Beehiiv
Each company publishes a guide to moving from the other. Neither move carries everything.
| Substack to Beehiiv | Beehiiv to Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| Free subscribers | Substack to BeehiivCSV export from Substack | Beehiiv to SubstackCSV export from Beehiiv's Export Data page |
| Free posts | Substack to BeehiivImported from your Substack address | Beehiiv to SubstackImported from your Beehiiv address plus a posts CSV |
| Paid posts | Substack to BeehiivFrom Substack's export zip, once Stripe and a paid tier are set up | Beehiiv to SubstackBeehiiv exports only previews; copy them across or make them free first |
| Paid subscribers | Substack to BeehiivRecreated in a new Stripe account connected to Beehiiv | Beehiiv to SubstackNot covered in Substack's guide |
| Left behind | Substack to BeehiivVideo posts, comments and some post types; audio and video are recreated by hand | Beehiiv to SubstackFull text of paid posts unless you move it yourself |
Moving paid subscribers off Substack has one trap: pause or cancel billing on Substack, or readers can be charged twice, and comped, gift and iOS subscribers aren't in Stripe at all, so they need complimentary access set up by hand on the new side. If you think you might move one day, download an export every few months anyway. Substack's export includes your posts, list and statistics; Beehiiv's export download links expire after 24 hours, so save the files when you get them.
Which one fits your newsletter
Substack fits if you…
- would rather pay a share of revenue than a monthly bill, especially before anyone pays you
- have a large free list and no plans to charge soon
- want to charge from the first issue without upgrading a plan
- want readers to find you through other writers, the app and Notes
- want no plan to choose and no tier to outgrow
Beehiiv fits if you…
- expect paid revenue well above $490 a month, where Lite's listed price is less than 10%
- want automations, A/B tests and an ad network
- want a fuller website, landing pages or digital products
- plan to grow through referrals and paid acquisition you control
- want a custom domain included in a paid plan
Many newsletters would do fine on either. If you are undecided, ask how you would spend a spare hour: on the next issue, or on settings, funnels and dashboards. The first answer points to the left column, the second to the right. Neither is a verdict on the quality of what you send. If you choose Substack, the setup is in how to start a Substack.
Keep the writing off the platform
The surest way to make a later move painless is to keep your own copy of everything from the start. Strokes is a desktop writing app for macOS and Windows whose documents are files in folders on your computer. Write each issue in a newsletter project, one document per issue, and your archive stays complete and readable wherever you send from, including the paid posts that exports leave behind. The editor works offline, and you can export an issue as Markdown or HTML or copy it straight into either platform's editor.
Before you choose, ask the Strokes Assistant in the panel beside your notes to look up both pricing pages; it browses the web and answers beside your draft, so you can check today's numbers for your list size against the tables above. When you write, select a paragraph, press ⌘K and say what you want, and the change appears as a suggestion you accept or reject. Before a move, switch to Agent mode and ask it to read every issue in the project and create an index document with each title and date, so you can tick off the move issue by issue; it shows every step as it works. Keep the issue's tone of voice the same whichever platform it goes out on; readers follow the writer, not the software.
Frequently asked questions
Is Beehiiv cheaper than Substack?
It depends on your paid revenue and list size. Before you charge anyone, Substack is free at any size and Beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers. With paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10%, so at Beehiiv Lite's listed $49 a month (yearly billing), Beehiiv costs less once paid revenue passes $490 a month.
Does Beehiiv take a percentage of subscriptions?
No. Beehiiv says it takes 0% of paid subscription and digital product revenue; you pay Stripe's processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Paid subscriptions need the Lite plan or above, which has a monthly price that depends on your subscriber count (November 2026).
Can I move from Substack to Beehiiv?
Yes. Beehiiv's guide imports free posts from your Substack address, paid posts from Substack's export zip, free subscribers from a CSV and paid subscribers through a new Stripe account. Pause Substack billing to avoid double charges. Video posts and comments don't move, and comped, gift and iOS subscribers need manual access.
Is Substack or Beehiiv better for beginners?
Both are free to try. Substack has no subscriber cap or plan to choose and lets you charge from day one for a 10% cut. Beehiiv's free plan covers 2,500 subscribers without paid subscriptions or a custom domain, and adds more marketing tools as you upgrade. Pick by whether you plan to charge, not by which feels easier.
Can I use my own domain on Substack and Beehiiv?
Yes, on different terms. Substack charges a one-time $50 to connect a domain you own. Beehiiv includes custom domains on its paid plans only, and its guide mentions no separate fee. Substack doesn't sell domains, and Beehiiv's guide assumes you already own one, so buy it from a registrar first.
