beehiiv is a newsletter platform with a website and podcast hosting built in, designed around growing and making money from an audience. It's for creators and founders who want to treat a newsletter as a business. The free plan is free forever: up to 2,500 subscribers and one team seat, with unlimited email sends, templates, landing pages, the recommendation network and API access.
What it can do for you
Launch a newsletter with its own website, grow it through recommendations from other beehiiv newsletters, and see what's working in campaign analytics. When you're ready to earn, paid plans add paid subscriptions with no take rate and ad monetisation. On the vendor's pricing page, Lite is $49 a month on yearly billing for 1,000 subscribers, and the price changes with list size.
What people like
TechRadar calls the free tier hard to argue with for solo creators, citing the custom domain, unlimited sends, analytics and podcast hosting. Reviewers also rate its growth and monetisation tools as the most publisher-focused at the price.
The honest downsides
- Earning means paying. Paid subscriptions, the ad network and automations aren't on the free plan.
- A big jump. TechRadar notes there's no middle tier between free and $49 a month, which stings when you pass 2,500 subscribers before you earn.
- Light automation and integrations. Reviewers say complex sequences suit other tools, and you'll often need Zapier.
Skip it if
- you need welcome sequences and automations for free
- you expect to pass 2,500 subscribers well before you earn anything
Alternatives
There's nothing we list that's clearly better for a growth-focused newsletter.
- Kit gives you far more room for free, up to 10,000 subscribers, with tagging and the ability to sell products.
- Substack if you'd rather pay a share of revenue than a monthly fee, and want its discovery network.
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