Newsletter platforms are having a moment. Everyone's either launching one or thinking about it, and the two names that come up most are Substack and Beehiiv.
They're often compared as if they're the same kind of tool. They're not. Substack is a publishing platform with a built-in audience discovery layer. Beehiiv is a newsletter business platform with better tooling for growth and monetization. That distinction matters a lot when you're choosing where to build.
Here's a straight take on both.
Substack: What It Is and Why People Use It
Substack made newsletter publishing genuinely easy. You sign up, start writing, and your first issue can go out in under an hour. There's nothing to configure, no hosting to manage, no design decisions beyond a basic logo and header color.
The model is simple: Substack is free forever, regardless of how many subscribers you have. In exchange, they take 10% of any paid subscription revenue you earn. Stripe takes another 3%, so you actually keep about 87 cents of every dollar.
For a new writer with no subscribers and no expectation of immediate revenue, that's a reasonable deal. You pay nothing until you're making money, and even then the cut comes out of earnings rather than your pocket.
But here's the catch: once you're earning real money, 10% is significant. If you're making $5,000/month from paid subscriptions, Substack takes $500 of that, every month, forever. A $42/month Beehiiv plan starts looking very cheap by comparison.
Substack also has a built-in discovery layer called the Substack network, where readers can find new publications through recommendations and the explore page. For some writers this is a meaningful growth channel. For most, it's a nice-to-have that drives occasional new subscribers but isn't a primary growth driver.
Beehiiv: What It Is and Why It's Different
Beehiiv was founded in 2021 by former members of the Morning Brew team. That origin shows in the product. It's built by people who actually grew a newsletter to millions of subscribers, and the features reflect real newsletter operator problems.
The free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers with no revenue cut on paid subscriptions. That's meaningful. Most newsletters take a year or more to get to 2,500 subscribers, so you can build something real before paying anything.
The paid Scale plan starts at $42/month and covers up to 100,000 subscribers. For context, Substack would take roughly $500/month at $5,000 in monthly subscription revenue. So the economics flip clearly once you're earning.
What Beehiiv gets right beyond pricing is the analytics. Substack shows you open rates, subscriber counts, and basic engagement. Beehiiv shows you acquisition source breakdowns, cohort-level retention, upgrade funnel data, and granular send-level performance. If you care about growing intentionally and not just hoping people show up, Beehiiv gives you the information to make decisions.
Customization and Branding
This is where Beehiiv pulls further ahead.
Substack publications look like Substack. There's a template, a limited color palette, and a newsletter URL format of yourname.substack.com. You can use a custom domain, but the aesthetic remains distinctly Substack. Some writers don't mind this. Others find it limiting once they want to build a recognizable brand.
Beehiiv gives you much more control. Custom domains work cleanly. You can create a proper web archive of your newsletter that looks like a real publication. The web experience can be designed to feel like an independent site. You can customize the signup page, the email template, and the overall visual identity.
For most people starting out, this doesn't matter. But if you're thinking about building a newsletter as a media brand, Beehiiv gives you the tools to do that.
Monetization Options
Paid subscriptions are the main monetization path on both platforms. Readers pay a monthly or annual fee and get access to premium issues.
On Substack, paid subscriptions are built in and easy to set up. The discovery layer means some paid readers may find you through the network. But again, 10% is gone before you see any money.
Beehiiv has paid subscriptions too, plus a few things Substack doesn't. The Beehiiv Ad Network lets you connect with advertisers who want to sponsor newsletters. Once you're on the network, Beehiiv places relevant ads in your issues and you get paid based on your audience size and engagement. It's not going to replace subscription revenue, but it's a real additional income stream for newsletters with decent engagement.
Beehiiv also supports boosts, a referral network where other newsletters pay to be recommended to your subscribers. You can earn from recommending newsletters your audience would genuinely like, and you can grow your own list by paying to appear in other newsletters' recommendations. This is a growth mechanism Substack doesn't have.
Growing Your List
Substack's built-in network is the main organic growth lever. When readers subscribe to one Substack, they might be shown yours in the "you might also like" section. Some writers get meaningful growth from this. Many get almost nothing.
Beehiiv doesn't have an equivalent discovery layer, but the growth tools are more active. The referral program lets subscribers earn rewards for referring friends. The boost system lets you pay for distribution to relevant audiences. The analytics help you understand which acquisition sources actually convert into engaged subscribers.
In practice, growing a newsletter on either platform mostly comes down to your content quality and external promotion, not the platform's built-in discovery. But Beehiiv's referral and boost tools are more actionable than hoping the Substack algorithm notices you.
The Content Experience
Substack has an edge here. The reading experience is clean, the mobile app is good, and readers who follow multiple Substack publications have one place to manage all their subscriptions. That convenience keeps readers coming back.
Substack also has a "Notes" feature, which is basically a Twitter-like short post format within the Substack ecosystem. Some writers use it to stay top-of-mind between newsletter issues. It can drive discovery, especially in certain niches.
Beehiiv's reading experience is fine, but there's no equivalent app-based discovery layer. Readers just get emails. That's not a knock on Beehiiv, it's just that Substack has invested more in the reader-side experience.
Who Should Use Substack
Substack is the right choice if you're just starting and want zero friction. You can have a newsletter live today without thinking about settings, analytics, or monetization strategy. If you're testing whether people actually want to read what you write, Substack removes every barrier.
It also makes sense if you want access to the Substack network for discovery, if you're in a niche that's well-represented on Substack (political commentary, creative writing, personal finance), or if you just want to write and not manage a platform.
The catch is the 10% cut. If your newsletter grows and you start charging for it, that 10% will eventually cost you more than any paid Beehiiv plan. Plan for that migration at some point if you're serious.
Who Should Use Beehiiv
Beehiiv is the right choice if you're building a newsletter with real monetization in mind. The economics are better once you're earning, the analytics are better for making growth decisions, the ad network adds a revenue stream Substack doesn't offer, and the customization gives you more brand control.
If you're a developer, indie maker, or marketer building a newsletter as a genuine business or acquisition channel, start on Beehiiv. The free plan handles your first 2,500 subscribers with no cuts taken.
To be honest, if I were starting a newsletter today with the goal of making money from it, I'd start on Beehiiv. Not because Substack is bad, but because Beehiiv's model is more favorable once revenue is involved, and migrating an established paid newsletter is a real pain.
Pricing Summary (May 2026)
Substack:
- Free forever
- 10% of paid subscription revenue (plus Stripe fees)
- No subscriber limit
- No monthly fee
Beehiiv:
- Free: up to 2,500 subscribers, no revenue cut
- Scale: $42/month (up to 100k subscribers, full analytics, custom domains)
- Max: $84/month (advanced features, priority support)
- No revenue cut on any paid plan
The Simple Answer
Start on Substack if you want to write and see if anyone cares. Zero setup, zero cost, and the built-in network might give you early readers.
Switch to or start on Beehiiv if you're treating this as a real project with growth and revenue goals. The analytics, economics, and monetization tools are all better for a newsletter you're serious about building.