beehiiv vs Substack
beehiiv and Substack are both popular choices in the newsletter platform space. Substack has been around since 2017, giving it a 4-year head start over beehiiv (founded 2021). beehiiv starts at $49/mo, while Substack is free. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. Both offer free plans to get started. beehiiv has the edge with marketing automation, A/B testing, landing pages.
Quick Verdict
beehiiv wins on deliverability, rating, integrations.
Best for most users: beehiiv (newsletter creators).
beehiiv
The newsletter platform built for growth
beehiiv was built by the team behind Morning Brew's growth to 4 million subscribers. It's specifically designed for newsletter businesses with built-in monetization through ad networks, paid subscriptions, and referral programs. The highest affiliate commission in the space at up to 60%.
Substack
The newsletter platform where writers build independent media businesses
Substack is the dominant newsletter platform that uniquely combines free publishing tools with a 10% revenue-share model, letting writers launch subscription-based media businesses with zero upfront cost. Beyond newsletters, it has evolved into a full creator ecosystem with podcasts, video, livestreaming, Notes (microblogging), and community Chat, backed by a powerful built-in discovery network that helps writers find audiences organically.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | beehiiv | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Starting Price | $49/mo | Free |
| Free Plan | 2,500 subscribers | Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn |
| Founded | 2021 | 2017 |
| Email Templates | 20 | 1 |
| Integrations | 40 | 0 |
| Deliverability Rate | 98% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | Yes | No |
| A/B Testing | Yes | No |
| Landing Pages | Yes | No |
| Segmentation | Yes | No |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | No |
| SMS Marketing | No | No |
| Ecommerce Features | Yes | No |
| API Access | Yes | No |
| Multi-Language | No | No |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | No | No |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | No |
beehiiv: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Purpose-built for newsletter businesses
- + Built-in ad network for monetization
- + Referral program to grow subscribers
- + Paid subscription support
- + Founded by ex-Morning Brew team
Cons
- − Limited to newsletter use case
- − Fewer templates than established tools
- − Smaller integration ecosystem
- − No SMS marketing
- − Relatively new platform (2021)
Substack: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Completely free to start with no upfront costs — zero barrier to entry with all core publishing features available immediately
- + Built-in audience discovery network with Recommendations and Notes driving organic subscriber growth (users report gaining 1,000+ subscribers through Recommendations alone)
- + True content ownership: creators can export their full subscriber list and content at any time to migrate elsewhere
- + Multimedia platform supporting newsletters, podcasts, video, livestreaming, Notes, and Chat communities in a single integrated experience
- + Strong reader engagement with genuine community interaction through comments, Chat, and Notes — higher engagement rates than typical social media platforms
Cons
- − The 10% platform fee plus Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction creates a 13-16% total take rate that becomes very expensive at scale (e.g., $1,300-$1,600/month on $10K revenue)
- − No email marketing automation, segmentation, A/B testing, or advanced personalization — all subscribers receive identical emails with no conditional logic
- − No public API and zero native third-party integrations — cannot connect to CRMs, e-commerce platforms, Zapier, or other marketing tools
- − Limited design customization with a single standardized template — no drag-and-drop editor, no custom HTML, and minimal branding options
- − Platform can remove content or delete accounts without notice, and customer support is difficult to reach for issue resolution
The Verdict
beehiiv and Substack are closely matched — both score within 0.1 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, beehiiv reports 98% compared to 95% for Substack — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | beehiiv | Substack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $49/mo | Free |
| Deliverability | 25% | 98% Winner | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.5/5 Winner | 4.4/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 40 Winner | 0 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose beehiiv if…
- + You need marketing automation
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You need API access for custom integrations
- + You need built-in landing pages
Choose Substack if…
- + You're a independent writers and journalists
- + You're a newsletter creators monetizing through paid subscriptions
- + Completely free to start with no upfront costs — zero barrier to entry with all core publishing features available immediately