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Newsletter platform

beehiiv

Newsletter publishing platform with websites, podcasts, an ad network and paid subscriptions at 0% take rate, free up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends.

Visit beehiiv.com ↗ Alternatives Free tier
beehiiv homepage
§1

Overview

beehiiv is a newsletter platform aimed at publishers and creators. It bundles a block-based newsletter editor, a no-code website with custom domains, podcast hosting, a community feed, and growth tools such as a referral program, a recommendation network and magic links.

Monetisation is a major focus: the beehiiv Ad Network sells sponsorships for you, paid subscriptions carry no beehiiv fee (only Stripe processing), and you can sell digital products and earn from Paid Recommendations.

The free Launch plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends but no automations. Scale, from $49 a month at 1,000 subscribers, adds email automations, surveys, webhooks, write access through the API and MCP, and three seats. Max adds branding removal, RSS-to-send, dynamic content and up to 10 publications. Enterprise adds the Send API, dedicated IPs and SSO.

For developers, the notable gap is that programmatic sending (the Send API) is reserved for Enterprise, so beehiiv is not a fit for app-triggered email.

§2

Pricing and plans

Free tier · no card

Launch plan: up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends, newsletter, website and podcast, custom domains, API read access (no Send API), 1 team member; no automations

At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.

Their branding
Plan Price What you get
Launch $0 Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, 1 seat
Scale From $49/mo 1,000 subscribers ($43/mo, $517 billed annually); automations, ad network, paid subscriptions, webhooks, 3 seats; up to 100,000 subscribers
Max From $96/mo billed annually 1,000 subscribers ($1,151/yr); remove branding, RSS to send, dynamic content, 10 publications, unlimited seats
Enterprise Custom 100K+ subscribers, Send API, dedicated IPs, SSO

The current pricing page confirms Scale at $49 a month for 1,000 subscribers (monthly billing) and the annual prices for Scale and Max. Prices for larger tiers come from beehiiv's own pricing FAQ (April 2024: Scale $89 at 5,000, $109 at 10,000, $249 at 50,000); its 1,000-subscriber price matches today's page, but the larger tiers could not be rechecked on the live slider. Paid subscriptions carry Stripe fees of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; beehiiv takes 0%. The Send API is Enterprise-only. Scale and Max are capped at 100,000 subscribers.

Source: www.beehiiv.com/pricing · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Unlimited sends
No per-send charges or caps on any plan, including free.
Website builder
Hosted newsletter website with templates, custom domains and an AI site builder.
Ad Network
Native ad marketplace that places sponsors in your newsletter (Scale and up).
Paid subscriptions
0% beehiiv take rate; Stripe fees apply.
Growth tools
Referral program, recommendation network and magic links.
API and MCP
Read access on Launch, write access and webhooks on Scale; Send API only on Enterprise.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Free plan with 2,500 subscribers and unlimited sends
  • Several built-in ways to earn from a newsletter
  • No take rate on paid subscriptions
  • Website, podcast and newsletter in one account

Limitations

  • Automations require the Scale plan
  • Send API for programmatic email is Enterprise-only
  • beehiiv branding can be removed only on Max or Enterprise
  • Scale and Max top out at 100,000 subscribers
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • Media-style newsletters that want to grow and earn
  • Creators moving from Substack who want to keep subscription revenue
  • Publishers combining a website, newsletter and podcast

Look elsewhere if

  • SaaS product or transactional email
  • Developers who need to send email from their own code on a small budget
§6

Alternatives to beehiiv

Tool From Free option Stages
Loops Lifecycle email for SaaS
$49/mo Free tier
Resend Email API for developers
$20/mo Free tier
Notifuse Open-source email platform
$19/mo Open source
GetResponse Email marketing and automation
$19/mo Free tier
Ghost Open-source publishing and newsletter platform
$18/mo Free tier
Mailchimp Email marketing platform
$13/mo Free tier

All email marketing and newsletters →

§7

Questions

Is beehiiv free?

Yes. The Launch plan is free for up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends.

Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?

No, beehiiv takes 0%; you pay only Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Does beehiiv have automations on the free plan?

No. Email automations start on the Scale plan.

Can I send emails from my app with beehiiv's API?

Only on Enterprise, which includes the Send API. Lower plans get read or write API access without sending.

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