Beehiiv vs Substack
Pricing
Beehiiv: Free tier, paid from $42/mo
Substack: Free, 10% of paid subs
Description
Beehiiv: Newsletter platform built by Morning Brew alumni
Substack: The OG paid newsletter platform
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
- Built-in audience discovery
- No upfront costs
- Simple and focused
Cons
- Free tier limits you to 2,500 subscribers with Beehiiv branding
- Jump from free to $42/month is steep: no affordable middle tier
- 10% cut is steep at scale
- Limited customization
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.
Substack pioneered the paid newsletter model. Founded by Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie in 2017. Free to start, they take 10% of paid subscriptions. Over 5M paid subscriptions on the platform. Great for writers who want zero setup friction.
Verified
