beehiiv Review: What You Get Free vs Paid at 1k, 5k and 10k Subscribers

Is beehiiv worth it, or will the free plan run out right when your newsletter starts working? That's the real question behind most "beehiiv review" searches.

Here's the short answer. beehiiv is a strong pick when the newsletter itself is the product. Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers, and beehiiv says it takes 0% of your paid subscription revenue. But the $49 price quoted in many reviews is a yearly-billing figure. On monthly billing, Lite is $59 at 1,000 subscribers, $109 at 5,000 and $139 at 10,000.

Below: what you get on Free vs paid at each list size, the math on paid subscriptions, and who should skip beehiiv.

Quick verdict

1. 1

   beehiiv Best for newsletter-first creators

   Free up to 2,500 subscribers; Lite $59/mo at 1,000 (monthly)

   Unlimited sends, a website and a 0% take on paid subscriptions, per beehiiv.

   Start beehiiv free →Read our notes ↓
2. 2

   Kit Best for course and product sellers

   Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $39/mo at 1,000

   A bigger free plan, and Creator adds unlimited sequences and visual automations.

   Try Kit free →Read our notes ↓
3. 3

   Systeme.io Best on a $0–$17 budget

   Free up to 2,000 contacts; Startup $17/mo up to 5,000

   Email, funnels, checkout and a course in one account, with no transaction fees from Systeme.io.

   Start Systeme.io free →Read our notes ↓

Prices checked Oct 2026. Plans change, so please confirm on each vendor's site.

On this page

1. beehiiv review in 60 seconds
2. beehiiv pricing at 1k, 5k and 10k subscribers
3. How we reviewed beehiiv
4. What beehiiv Free includes, and what it leaves out
5. beehiiv plans: Free, Lite and Pro
6. How you earn on beehiiv
7. Who should skip beehiiv
8. beehiiv alternatives
9. Moving your newsletter to beehiiv
10. FAQ
11. The bottom line

beehiiv review in 60 seconds

• Good fit: you write a newsletter and want to grow it, then earn from paid subscriptions, ads or sponsors. beehiiv builds its plans around that path.
• The free plan is real. Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends, a website and a single welcome email, per beehiiv's pricing page.
• The catch is the jump. Free has no automations and no paid subscriptions. The first paid plan, Lite, is $59 a month at 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing, and $109 at 5,000.
• Skip it if you sell courses through launch sequences and funnels. Kit or Systeme.io usually costs less for that job.

beehiiv pricing at 1k, 5k and 10k subscribers

beehiiv prices by subscriber count. Lite starts at $59/mo billed monthly ($49/mo billed yearly) for up to 1,000 subscribers. The pricing page loads with "Yearly billing" selected, which is why the $49 and $95 figures show up first.

Prices shown are monthly billing at the time of our last check, with yearly rates converted to a monthly figure. Please confirm on the official pricing page before you buy.

What a year costs

• Lite at 5,000: $109 × 12 = $1,308 on monthly billing, or $95 × 12 = $1,140 billed yearly. That's $168 saved.
• Lite at 10,000: $139 × 12 = $1,668, or $119 × 12 = $1,428. That's $240 saved.
• Pro at 10,000: $239 × 12 = $2,868, or $199 × 12 = $2,388.

beehiiv says yearly billing "saves up to 20%". We'd still start on monthly billing until you're sure the platform fits.

The 2,500-subscriber step

Free stops at 2,500. Above that, beehiiv's pricing page shows Free as "Unavailable", so subscriber 2,501 moves you to a paid plan. In the price data we checked, the next Lite tier above 2,500 is 5,000 subscribers, at $109 a month on monthly billing. That's a jump from $0 to $1,308 a year.

How we reviewed beehiiv

This is a research-based review. We read beehiiv's pricing page, its plan price data and its Ad Network FAQ, then priced each plan at the list sizes most creators reach in their first few years. We didn't run a paid beehiiv account for this review, and we don't publish star ratings we can't back up.

We judged beehiiv on the same points we use for every email tool:

• Monthly price at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 subscribers
• What the free plan covers, and the first feature you'll miss
• When automations unlock, since a welcome sequence is usually the first one you need
• How you earn, and what beehiiv or your payment processor takes
• Who should skip it

Our full method is on how we review. For beehiiv next to four other tools, see best email marketing for creators.

What beehiiv Free includes, and what it leaves out

beehiiv labels its free plan "Free forever". Here's how it lines up against the paid plans, based on beehiiv's pricing page.

What Free does well

• 2,500 subscribers at $0. That's more room than MailerLite's free plan (250) or Systeme.io's (2,000 contacts), though less than Kit's (10,000).
• Unlimited email sends. beehiiv lists this on every plan, so a weekly or daily schedule doesn't change the bill.
• A website and digital products. beehiiv's pricing page lists "Website" and "Digital Products" under "All plans include", along with recommendations and "API and integrations".

What Free leaves out

• Automations. None on Free. You get one welcome email, but a multi-step welcome sequence needs automations, so Lite or higher.
• Paid subscriptions. These start on Lite.
• Ad income. beehiiv's Ad Network FAQ says it's "available to anyone on a paid plan, who is actively sending on beehiiv."
• Testing tools. A/B testing and audience polls are listed from Lite.
• Your own branding. Removing beehiiv branding needs Pro, even at 1,000 subscribers ($109/mo monthly).

beehiiv plans: Free, Lite and Pro

beehiiv

Best for: Newsletter-first creators

Free up to 2,500 subscribers · Lite from $59/mo monthly

Free plan

Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends

At 5,000 subs

$109/mo Lite · $199/mo Pro

Revenue take

0% on paid subscriptions and digital products

Automations

None on Free · 10 on Lite · unlimited on Pro

Skip it if: you sell courses through launch sequences and funnels, or your budget is tight past 2,500 subscribers.

Start beehiiv free →Opens beehiiv.com · affiliate link

Free suits a new newsletter that needs room to grow, a simple website and a single welcome email. If your plan is to publish weekly and grow to a few thousand readers before you charge anyone, Free covers that stage.

Lite is the plan for earning. It adds paid subscriptions ("Paid subscriptions — 0% take rate" on the Lite card), ad monetization, 10 live custom automations, A/B testing, audience polls, 3 newsletters and 2 team seats. At 2,500 subscribers it's $79 a month on monthly billing.

Pro adds unlimited automations, beehiiv branding removal, 10 team seats, 10 newsletters and "24/7 priority support". At 5,000 subscribers, Pro costs $90 a month more than Lite ($199 vs $109), or $1,080 a year. That's worth it if you've outgrown 10 automations, need a team, or a branded look matters to sponsors. For most solo writers, Lite is enough.

Start beehiiv free →Free up to 2,500 subscribers, no automations

How you earn on beehiiv

beehiiv's plans are built around monetization. Here's what we could verify, and what we couldn't.

Paid subscriptions: 0% to beehiiv, card fees to Stripe

beehiiv's FAQ says it "takes 0% of your paid subscription and digital product revenue. You keep what you earn, minus Stripe's standard processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction."

Here's the math for 100 paying readers at $5 a month, with 2,500 total subscribers on Lite:

• Revenue: 100 × $5 = $500
• Stripe: 100 × ($0.145 + $0.30) = $44.50
• beehiiv's cut: $0
• Lite at 2,500 subscribers: $79
• You keep: $500 − $44.50 − $79 = $376.50 a month

The $0.30 fixed fee hurts most on small monthly prices. A $50 yearly plan pays one $0.30 fee instead of twelve, so offering an annual option keeps more of each sale.

When 0% beats a 10% cut

Substack is free to publish on and says "Writers keep 90% of their revenue minus credit card fees." So the real question is when a flat beehiiv fee costs less than a 10% cut. Card fees apply on both, so we leave them out:

Below those numbers, a percentage model costs less in fees alone. Above them, beehiiv's flat price wins, and the gap grows with every new paid subscriber. You also get automations, ads and a website on Lite, so fees aren't the only factor.

Ads, recommendations and digital products

• Ad Network. Per beehiiv's FAQ, it's open to paid plans that are actively sending, and it doesn't list a subscriber minimum. Payouts "require a Stripe Express account", and beehiiv "does not support alternative payment processors (such as PayPal, Wise, or PriyoPay)." Earnings land in your beehiiv Wallet on the 20th of each month, and you withdraw them to your bank. The FAQ we read doesn't state how ad revenue is split, so we can't tell you what share you keep.
• Recommendations. Listed under "All plans include", and the Lite card calls it a "Recommendation network": newsletters suggest each other to new subscribers. The FAQ also mentions "paid recommendations" as a separate way to earn. beehiiv promotes this as Boosts, but we couldn't confirm which plan includes it, so please check before you count on it.
• Digital products. Listed on every plan, with the same 0% take on revenue.

We don't publish average earnings, because results depend on your niche, list size and how often you send.

Drag the slider to your list size, or where you expect to be in a year, and choose whether you need an automated welcome sequence. You'll see beehiiv's cheapest fitting plan next to Kit, MailerLite, Systeme.io and GetResponse. Selling courses too? Try our real cost calculator.

Who should skip beehiiv

beehiiv is built for publishers. That's a strength if you're a writer, and a mismatch if email is mainly how you sell something else.

• Course and coaching sellers who run launches. A launch usually needs tags, several sequences and a checkout. Kit Creator adds "Unlimited Visual Automations" and "Unlimited email sequences" for $39 at 1,000 subscribers. Systeme.io bundles email, funnels, checkout and courses from $17 a month.
• Anyone on a tight budget past 2,500 subscribers. At 5,000 subscribers on monthly billing, Lite is $109, MailerLite Comfort is $49 and Systeme.io Startup is $17.
• People who need automations on a small budget. Free has none, and Lite's 10 can run out if you build a sequence for every freebie.
• Brands that need beehiiv branding gone at a small size. That's Pro, $109 a month even at 1,000 subscribers.
• Writers who can't use Stripe. Paid subscriptions run through Stripe, and Ad Network payouts need Stripe Express.

beehiiv alternatives

Each of these costs less than beehiiv at some list size, but each gives up something beehiiv does well.

Kit: for selling courses and digital products

Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and selling digital products and subscriptions. It leaves out sequences and visual automations, which start on Creator: $39 at 1,000, $89 at 5,000 and $139 at 10,000 on monthly billing. At 10,000 subscribers, Kit Creator and beehiiv Lite cost the same $139.

Pick Kit over beehiiv if you sort subscribers by interest and pitch products by sequence. Pick beehiiv if paid subscriptions and ads are the plan.

Try Kit free →Free up to 10,000 subscribers

Systeme.io: the $0–$17 all-in-one

Systeme.io isn't a newsletter platform. It bundles email, funnels, a checkout, courses and a website in one account, and every plan sends unlimited emails. Free covers 2,000 contacts, Startup is $17/mo for 5,000 and Webinar is $47/mo for 10,000. Systeme.io says there are "No transaction fees."

Be realistic about Free: it caps you at 500 students, 1 tag, 1 automation rule and 1 workflow, so it's fine for testing but too limited for a real email funnel. Students are unlimited on paid plans. Our Systeme.io review covers the limits in detail.

Start Systeme.io free →Free up to 2,000 contacts

MailerLite and Substack

MailerLite is the low-cost pure email tool: Comfort is $19 at 1,000, $49 at 5,000 and $89 at 10,000 on monthly billing. Its free plan stops at 250 subscribers.

Substack costs nothing to start and takes 10% of paid revenue instead of a monthly fee. It suits writers who expect modest paid income. The break-even table above shows where beehiiv's flat price starts to cost less.

Moving your newsletter to beehiiv

If you're coming from another platform, a little prep keeps the move calm.

1. Price your list at 2–3× today's size. If you're at 2,000 now, budget for Lite at 5,000 ($109/mo monthly), not Free.
2. Export a CSV of your subscribers from your current tool, and keep a copy on your own drive.
3. Copy your welcome emails into a doc before you leave. On Free you'll merge them into one; on Lite they become a sequence.
4. Ask about paid subscribers first. If you already charge readers, confirm with beehiiv and Stripe how active subscriptions move. We haven't verified that process.
5. Run both tools for a few weeks. Send a test issue to yourself and a few friends before you cancel the old account.

New to email entirely? Our guide on how to start an email list shows which free plans can send a welcome sequence.

FAQ

Is beehiiv free?

Yes, for up to 2,500 subscribers. beehiiv calls its free plan "Free forever". It includes unlimited email sends, a website and one welcome email, but no automations and no paid subscriptions. Above 2,500 subscribers you'll need a paid plan.

How much does beehiiv cost per month?

On monthly billing, Lite is $59 at 1,000 subscribers, $79 at 2,500, $109 at 5,000 and $139 at 10,000. Pro is $109, $149, $199 and $239 at the same sizes. Yearly billing is cheaper per month, for example $49 for Lite at 1,000.

Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?

beehiiv says it takes 0% of your paid subscription and digital product revenue. Stripe still charges its standard 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Paid subscriptions start on the Lite plan.

Can beehiiv send a welcome sequence on the free plan?

Not a multi-step one. Every plan, Free included, gets a single welcome email. A sequence needs automations, which start on Lite (10 live automations) and are unlimited on Pro.

Is beehiiv better than Kit?

They fit different creators. beehiiv suits writers whose newsletter is the business, with a 0% take on paid subscriptions and ad monetization on paid plans. Kit suits product sellers who rely on tags and sequences, and its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers. With automations, Kit is cheaper at 1,000 ($39 vs $59) and 5,000 ($89 vs $109), and the two match at 10,000 ($139).

What happens when I pass 2,500 subscribers on beehiiv Free?

beehiiv's pricing page shows Free as unavailable above 2,500 subscribers, so you'll need Lite or Pro. On monthly billing, Lite is $109 a month at the 5,000 tier. If your list is close to 2,500, plan for that cost a few months ahead.

The bottom line

beehiiv is a solid choice when your newsletter is the product. The free plan gives you room to reach 2,500 readers, and once you charge, beehiiv's 0% take means the monthly price is your platform cost. Just budget with monthly prices: $59 at 1,000, $109 at 5,000 and $139 at 10,000 on Lite.

If you sell courses, coaching or digital products through sequences, Kit or Systeme.io usually gets you there for less.

Start beehiiv free →Free up to 2,500 subscribers