Beehiiv vs Buttondown
Pricing
Beehiiv: Free tier, paid from $42/mo
Buttondown: Free up to 100 subs, from $9/mo
Description
Beehiiv: Newsletter platform built by Morning Brew alumni
Buttondown: Minimal newsletter tool for people who just want to write in markdown and hit send
Pros
- Built-in referral system that actually drives subscriber growth
- Ad network lets you monetize before you have enough subs for sponsorships
- Analytics show you open rates, click rates, and revenue per subscriber
- Markdown-based editor, no dragging boxes around
- $9/month for up to 1,000 subscribers is the cheapest paid newsletter tool
- No bloated features: it does newsletters and that is it
Cons
- Free tier limits you to 2,500 subscribers with Beehiiv branding
- Jump from free to $42/month is steep: no affordable middle tier
- Very basic automation: no complex email sequences
- Only 100 subscribers on free tier; Substack and Beehiiv offer more
- Minimal templates: your emails look plain (which some people prefer)
Details
Beehiiv is newsletters from people who actually scaled one. Founded by Tyler Denk who was employee #2 at Morning Brew and helped grow it to 3.5M subs before the $75M exit. The referral system and ad network are built-in, not bolted on.
Buttondown is the newsletter tool for people who think Kit (formerly ConvertKit) has too many features. Write in markdown, send to your list, done. No drag-and-drop editors, no complex automation flows, no features you will never use.
Built and run solo by Justin Duke. The $9/month starting price is the cheapest in the newsletter space. The tradeoff is obvious: if you want referral programs, A/B testing, or complex automation, you need a different tool. If you just want to write and send a newsletter without the tooling getting in the way, Buttondown is refreshingly simple.
Verified
