Substack vs Beehiiv: Which Newsletter Platform Wins?
Quick Comparison
| Substack | Beehiiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Writers who want to start publishing immediately with zero setup cost and lean on Substack's built-in audience discovery. | Newsletter operators who already have an audience and want to maximize what they keep from paid subscriptions. |
| Pricing | Free tier available / no monthly platform fee (10% of paid-subscriber revenue) | $0–99/mo |
| Winner | Our Pick |
Tool Breakdown
Beehiiv
Beehiiv's flat monthly fee beats Substack's 10% revenue cut the moment you have any meaningful number of paying subscribers, and it adds growth tools (polls, surveys, segmentation) Substack doesn't offer — pick Substack instead if you want zero setup cost and built-in reader discovery.
- Flat monthly pricing (Scale $39/mo covers up to 100,000 subscribers) instead of a revenue cut — you keep 100% of subscription income
- Polls, surveys, and advanced subscriber segmentation give operators tools Substack simply doesn't offer
- Monthly fee applies even before you have any paying subscribers, unlike Substack's pay-only-on-revenue model
- No built-in reader-discovery network comparable to Substack's Notes
Substack
Substack is a free newsletter publishing platform with a built-in reader network (Notes) and a recommendation engine that helps new writers get discovered.
- Publishing is free regardless of subscriber count — no monthly platform fee exists at all
- Notes and the recommendation engine give new writers organic discovery Beehiiv doesn't replicate
- Takes 10% of all paid-subscription revenue, on top of Stripe's own processing fees — this scales with your success rather than staying flat
- No polls, surveys, or subscriber segmentation tools built in
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Substack or Beehiiv cheaper? +
It depends on your revenue. Substack has no monthly fee but takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue, so it's cheaper at low revenue. Beehiiv charges a flat monthly fee (from free up to $39/mo for 100K subscribers) but keeps 100% of your revenue, so it becomes cheaper the more you earn.
Which platform is better for growing a newsletter audience? +
Substack has the edge for organic discovery through Notes and its recommendation network, which can help a brand-new newsletter find its first readers. Beehiiv relies more on your own marketing but gives you segmentation and polls to better understand and re-engage the audience you already have.
Can I switch from Substack to Beehiiv later? +
Yes — Beehiiv supports importing your subscriber list and content from Substack, which is a common move once a newsletter's paid revenue grows large enough that Substack's 10% cut costs more than Beehiiv's flat fee.