beehiiv vs Substack: Who Keeps More of Your Money at 100, 500 and 1,000 Paid Subscribers?

"Should I just start on Substack because it's free, or go with beehiiv so I keep more of what I earn?" If that's the question in your head, you're comparing two very different deals.

Substack costs nothing to start, then keeps 10% of your paid subscription revenue. beehiiv charges a flat monthly plan and takes 0% of your subscriptions. Which one leaves more money in your pocket depends on how many people pay you.

This beehiiv vs Substack comparison runs the numbers at 100, 500 and 1,000 paid subscribers at $8 a month, shows where the line crosses, and covers what money can't settle: Substack's reader network, owning your brand, and taking your list with you.

On this page

1. beehiiv vs Substack: who wins each category
2. How we compared
3. The math: what you keep at 100, 500 and 1,000 paid subscribers
4. When Substack costs you less
5. Discovery network vs owning your brand
6. Email list export: can you take your readers with you?
7. Design and control
8. beehiiv: flat price, 0% take
9. Substack: free to start, 10% when you earn
10. Who should pick which
11. FAQ
12. The bottom line

beehiiv vs Substack: who wins each category

Prices are beehiiv's monthly billing at the time of our last check, and Substack's terms from its own site and help center. Please confirm on each official page before you decide.

The short version: Substack wins at the start and for free newsletters. beehiiv wins on cost once you have a modest base of paying readers. The rest of this guide shows where that switch happens for you.

How we compared

We compared what each platform takes from a paid newsletter at three sizes, what it costs before you earn anything, how readers find you, and how much control you keep over your brand and your list. beehiiv's prices and limits come from its official pricing page. Substack's terms come from its features page and help center, and vendor claims are attributed. We didn't run paid publications on either platform for this comparison. Our full method is on how we review.

The math: what you keep at 100, 500 and 1,000 paid subscribers

Here's the core question, answered with numbers. Every scenario uses an $8/month subscription.

How we got these numbers:

• Substack: 10% of subscription revenue. 100 × $8 = $800, and 10% is $80. Likewise $4,000 × 10% = $400 and $8,000 × 10% = $800.
• beehiiv: the Lite price on monthly billing, with a 0% take. Paid subscriptions start on Lite, so the free plan isn't an option here.
• List size: beehiiv prices by total subscribers, free and paid together. Here we assume your full list is ten times your paid count. That's an illustration, not a benchmark, so see the next table if your ratio differs.
• Card processing is left out. Both run payments through Stripe. beehiiv cites Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (about $0.53 on an $8 charge), and Substack's help center says Stripe's fees apply on top of its 10%.

Over a year at 1,000 paid subscribers: Substack takes $9,600. beehiiv Lite costs $1,668. That's $7,932 a year that stays with you on beehiiv.

If you pay beehiiv yearly, Lite drops to $49 a month at 1,000 subscribers, $95 at 5,000 and $119 at 10,000. We'd stay on monthly billing until you're sure the platform fits.

What if your free list is much bigger?

Plenty of newsletters have far more free readers than paying ones. Because beehiiv charges by total list size and Substack charges by revenue, a big free list moves the line. Here's the point where Substack's 10% overtakes beehiiv Lite's price at $8 a month:

The formula: beehiiv's plan price ÷ $0.80 (Substack's cut of each $8 payment). For example, $109 ÷ $0.80 = 136.25, so from 137 paid subscribers on a 5,000 list, Substack's share is the bigger bill.

Two quick reality checks:

• 100 paid on a 5,000 list: Substack takes $80. beehiiv Lite is $109. Substack is $29 a month cheaper.
• 500 paid on a 25,000 list: Substack takes $400. beehiiv Lite is $199. beehiiv is $201 a month cheaper.

A higher price per subscriber moves the line down, because Substack's 10% grows with your price and beehiiv's plan price doesn't. A $15 subscription puts the break-even on a 5,000 list at about 73 paid readers ($109 ÷ $1.50).

Check what beehiiv and other email platforms cost at your own list size, then compare it with 10% of your monthly subscription revenue.

Prefer a full page? Try our real cost calculator.

When Substack costs you less

A fair comparison has to say this clearly: for many writers, Substack is the cheaper platform.

• Your newsletter is free. Substack is free to use with "no upfront costs, no monthly fees, and no subscriber limits on the free tier," according to its features page. beehiiv Free stops at 2,500 subscribers. A free newsletter with 5,000 readers costs $0 on Substack and $109 a month on beehiiv Lite.
• You're testing paid. With 20 paid subscribers at $8, Substack takes $16 a month. beehiiv needs Lite at $59 or more before you can charge anyone.
• Your free list dwarfs your paid list. As the table above shows, 100 paid readers on a 5,000-person list is cheaper on Substack.
• Your income is uneven. A percentage scales down in a slow month. A plan price doesn't.

In short, Substack's 10% is a fee you pay only when you're earning. That's a real advantage when you're starting out or unsure if paid will work.

Discovery network vs owning your brand

Money is only part of the decision. The bigger trade-off is where your readers come from and whose brand they see.

Substack's network is its main draw. Substack says it "has a built-in discovery network that no other newsletter platform offers," including "cross-publication recommendations, category leaderboards, an explore page, Notes (a short-form social feed), restacks, reader referral programs, and semantic search." That's Substack's own description, but the network effect is real: readers already in the Substack app can find, follow and pay you without leaving it. For a new writer without an audience, that can matter more than any fee.

beehiiv puts your brand first. Your newsletter is built around your own publication, rather than a profile inside a large shared reader app. The trade-off is that you bring most of your readers yourself, through search, social media, Pinterest, podcasts or your website. If you already have that audience, the 10% starts to feel like a fee on readers you brought.

A simple test: if most new readers would come from the platform itself, weigh Substack's network heavily. If they already come from you, beehiiv's flat price is likely the better deal.

Not sure where readers will come from yet? Our guide on how to start an email list covers the first channels to try.

Email list export: can you take your readers with you?

Both platforms let you leave, and that matters more than any single feature.

On Substack, the features page says: "You can export your full publication data at any time, including posts (as CSV and HTML), your complete subscriber list, and optional stats." Its help center explains how: on your Subscribers page, open the menu above "All subscribers" and choose Export to download a .csv.

Paid subscribers need more care. On Substack, payments run through a Stripe account you connect. Substack's help center says that clicking "Disconnect Stripe" in its settings refunds and notifies your paid subscribers and cancels their subscriptions. If you're moving to a new platform, it suggests asking a human support specialist for help with the switch. Do that before you change anything, so your paying readers keep their subscriptions.

On beehiiv, payments also run through Stripe, so the same rule applies: plan the move of paid subscribers with support on both sides before you disconnect anything.

Design and control

Substack keeps things simple. Substack says "you can build a fully branded publication without writing code." A custom domain is a one-time $50 fee, per its help center. For many writers, fewer settings is a feature: you write, publish, and the platform handles the rest.

beehiiv gives you more levers. Based on its pricing page:

• Welcome email on every plan, Free included. A multi-step welcome sequence needs automations, which start on Lite (10 live automations) and are unlimited on Pro.
• Team seats: 1 on Free, 2 on Lite, 10 on Pro.
• Branding: removing beehiiv branding is a Pro feature.
• Digital products: beehiiv's 0% take covers "paid subscription and digital product revenue," so you can sell more than subscriptions without a platform cut.

Our beehiiv review covers the full plan lineup.

beehiiv: flat price, 0% take

beehiiv

Best for: Writers who want to keep their subscription revenue

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

Free plan

Up to 2,500 subscribers, one welcome email

Paid subscriptions

Lite and up, 0% take rate

Lite, monthly billing

$59 at 1,000 · $109 at 5,000 · $139 at 10,000

Remove beehiiv branding

Pro and up

Skip it if: your newsletter is free and past 2,500 readers, or you have only a few paying readers and don't want a monthly bill yet.

Start beehiiv free →Opens beehiiv.com · affiliate link

beehiiv is built for writers whose newsletter is the business, with Free, Lite and Pro plans priced by list size. One thing to watch: the pricing page loads on yearly billing. Lite starts at $59/mo billed monthly ($49/mo billed yearly) for up to 1,000 subscribers.

beehiiv 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." Once your paid revenue clears the plan price, each new paying reader adds more to your income than on a revenue-share platform.

Start beehiiv free →Free up to 2,500 subscribers

Substack: free to start, 10% when you earn

Substack at a glance

• Cost to publish: free, with "no upfront costs, no monthly fees, and no subscriber limits on the free tier" (per Substack's features page).
• Revenue share: Substack "takes a 10% revenue share only when a creator earns money through paid subscriptions." Stripe's card processing fees are charged on top.
• Payments: through a Stripe account you connect.
• Discovery: the Substack app, Notes, recommendations, leaderboards and an explore page, per Substack.
• Custom domain: a one-time $50 fee, per Substack's help center. Registering the domain is separate.
• Your list: export your full subscriber list and posts at any time, according to Substack.
• Skip it if: you already bring your own readers and expect a few hundred paying subscribers or more, or you want automated email sequences and deeper control over the look of your publication.

Substack's strength is how little stands between you and publishing. There's no plan to choose and no subscriber cap, and its network gives new writers a way to be found beyond social media.

The cost of that convenience grows with your success. At 1,000 paid subscribers at $8, Substack's 10% is $800 a month, which is more than beehiiv Pro at 25,000 subscribers ($349).

Visit Substack to see its current terms.

Who should pick which

Match the platform to your stage and to where your readers come from:

• Brand-new writer, no audience yet: Substack. $0, no cap and a built-in network make it an easy place to start writing.
• Free newsletter past 2,500 readers, no plans to charge: Substack, on cost. beehiiv would mean Lite at $109 a month at 5,000.
• Free newsletter under 2,500 readers, planning to charge later: either works. beehiiv Free costs nothing until you need paid subscriptions.
• Paid newsletter with roughly 75 to 175 paying readers or more (depending on list size): beehiiv usually leaves more money with you. Check the break-even table above.
• Readers mostly come from your own channels: beehiiv. You're paying Substack a share for readers you brought.
• Readers mostly come from inside Substack: Substack. The network may be worth more than the 10%.
• You also sell digital products or want email sequences: beehiiv. If email marketing for products is the main goal, compare more tools in our best email marketing for creators guide.

A simple rule of thumb: multiply your expected monthly paid revenue by 10%. If that number is higher than beehiiv's Lite price at your list size, beehiiv is likely the better deal.

FAQ

Is beehiiv better than Substack?

It depends on your stage. Substack is the easier and cheaper start, especially for free newsletters and writers who want its reader network. beehiiv usually costs less once you have a steady base of paying readers, because it takes 0% of subscription revenue instead of 10%.

How much does Substack take from paid subscriptions?

Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, and Stripe charges its own processing fees on top. At 500 paid subscribers at $8 a month, that's $400 a month to Substack before card fees.

Is Substack free?

Publishing is free with no subscriber cap, per Substack. You pay only when you earn: 10% of paid subscription revenue, plus Stripe fees. A custom domain is a one-time $50 fee.

Do I need a paid beehiiv plan to charge subscribers?

Yes. Paid subscriptions start on Lite, which is $59/mo at 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing ($49/mo billed yearly). beehiiv takes 0% of that revenue; Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction applies.

Can I move my newsletter from Substack to beehiiv?

Yes. Substack says you can export your posts and full subscriber list at any time. Paid subscribers need more care: Substack's help center warns that disconnecting Stripe in its settings refunds and cancels paid subscriptions, so contact support on both platforms before you move them.

At how many paid subscribers is beehiiv cheaper than Substack?

At $8 a month, about 74 paid subscribers on a 1,000-person list, 137 on a 5,000-person list, and 174 on a 10,000-person list. Divide beehiiv's Lite price at your list size by 10% of your subscription price to find your own number.

The bottom line

Substack and beehiiv charge in opposite ways. Substack is free until you earn, then keeps 10%. beehiiv charges a flat plan price and keeps none of your subscription revenue.

If you're starting from zero, writing a free newsletter, or counting on Substack's network to find readers, Substack is a strong, low-risk choice. Once you have a steady base of paying readers, beehiiv's flat price usually leaves more money with you: $661 more a month at 1,000 paid subscribers at $8 in our example. Run your own numbers with the break-even table, and pick the deal that fits where your newsletter is heading.

Start beehiiv free →Free up to 2,500 subscribers; paid subscriptions from Lite

Still weighing it up? Visit Substack, or compare more platforms in our best email marketing for creators guide.