TL;DR: Beehiiv and Substack both publish newsletters for free, but they charge you in opposite ways. Substack costs nothing until readers pay you, then keeps 10% of every payment — 13.6% plus 30 cents once Stripe’s fees are added. Beehiiv charges a flat plan fee (Lite is $49/month billed yearly) and keeps 0% of your revenue. Pick Substack for a free start and its built-in reader network; pick Beehiiv once paid revenue matters, because the flat fee stops growing when your income does.
This is a research-based comparison. Pricing was checked on each platform’s own pricing and help pages on November 9, 2026. Prices change — confirm before you buy.
Beehiiv vs Substack at a glance
| Feature | Beehiiv | Substack | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Free up to 2,500 subscribers | Free at any subscriber count | Substack |
| Cheapest plan with paid subscriptions | Lite, $49/mo billed yearly (at 1,000 subscribers) | No plan fee — revenue share only | Depends on revenue |
| Cut of paid subscriptions | 0% (Stripe fees only: 2.9% + $0.30) | 10% + Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% Stripe Billing | Beehiiv |
| What you keep from a $10 payment | About $9.41 before the plan fee | $8.34 | Beehiiv |
| Growth tools | Referral program, recommendation network, boosts, ad network, automations, A/B testing | Recommendation network and Notes, its in-app social feed | Beehiiv on tools; Substack on audience |
| Website and custom domain | Full website included; custom domain on plans | Simple publication page; custom domain is a one-time $50 option | Beehiiv |
| AI features | AI writing and design help, beehiiv MCP, AI credits on Pro | Basic AI image and voice tools | Beehiiv |
| Best for | Creators treating the newsletter as a business | Writers who want zero setup and built-in discovery | — |
What the pricing pages don’t make obvious
Substack’s headline number is “10%,” but Substack’s own help center lists three separate charges on every paid subscription: its 10% platform fee, Stripe card processing at 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, and a 0.7% Stripe Billing fee on recurring payments. Stacked, that is 13.6% plus 30 cents — on a $10 monthly subscription you keep $8.34, not $9.00. Beehiiv’s pricing page is equally easy to misread the other way: the $49 Lite figure is the yearly-billing price at the 1,000-subscriber position of its pricing slider, and the price rises as your list grows. The honest comparison is not “free vs $49” — it is a percentage that scales with your success against a flat fee that scales with your list size.
Pricing: where the crossover sits
Substack is cheaper while you earn little, because 13.6% of a small number is a small number. The crossover arrives fast, though. At roughly $490 a month in paid subscription revenue, Substack’s 10% platform fee alone passes Beehiiv’s $49 Lite fee — and that ignores the Stripe Billing layer Beehiiv does not add. At $5,000 a month in subscriptions, Substack keeps $500 plus Stripe fees; Beehiiv still costs its flat plan fee plus Stripe’s standard processing. If your newsletter will stay free forever, none of this matters: both platforms charge $0, though Beehiiv’s free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers while Substack’s does not.
Growth and discovery
Substack’s real product is its network. Notes, recommendations between publications, and the Substack app put your writing in front of readers who already pay for newsletters, and many writers grow faster there with no marketing at all. Beehiiv counters with machinery instead of an audience: a built-in referral program, paid recommendations (Boosts), an ad network that pays you to run sponsor placements, automations, and segmentation. If you already have an audience — from a website, a podcast, or social media — Beehiiv’s tools monetize it better. If you are starting from zero readers, Substack’s network is worth real money. For the writing itself, both editors are clean; creators who draft with AI tools often pair either platform with a dedicated writer, which is why we compared Jasper vs Copy.ai and Copy.ai vs Writesonic for newsletter-style work.
Ownership and flexibility
Both platforms let you export your email list, which is the ownership that matters most. Beehiiv goes further as a business platform: a real website with SEO controls, multiple publications (3 on Lite, 10 on Pro), digital products, and a podcast and community product included on every plan. Substack keeps things deliberately simple — one publication format, a clean reading experience, and fewer knobs. That simplicity is a feature for writers and a ceiling for operators. Our standalone Beehiiv review walks through its website builder, ad network, and analytics in detail.
Which should you pick?
Pick Substack if you are starting from zero, want to be publishing in ten minutes, and value built-in discovery over control. Paying 13.6% plus 30 cents is painless when revenue is small, and you can always migrate later — your list exports with you.
Pick Beehiiv if the newsletter is a business: you expect paid subscriptions or sponsors, you want 0% taken from revenue, and you will use automations, referrals, and a proper website. Once paid revenue passes a few hundred dollars a month, the flat fee is simply cheaper, and the gap widens every month you grow.
Frequently asked questions
Is Substack really free?
Yes for publishing, at any list size. You pay only when readers pay you: 10% to Substack, plus Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 card fee and 0.7% recurring billing fee, per Substack’s help center.
Does Beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?
No. Beehiiv’s pricing page states a 0% take rate on paid subscriptions and digital products on paid plans; you pay only Stripe’s standard 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee, plus your plan.
What does Beehiiv’s free plan include?
Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends, landing pages, templates, and the recommendation network. Paid subscriptions require the Lite plan, $49/month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers.
Can I move from Substack to Beehiiv later?
Yes. Both platforms let you export your subscriber list, and Beehiiv offers migration help. Many creators start on Substack for discovery and move once the 10% fee costs more than a flat plan.
Bottom line: Substack rents you an audience for 13.6% plus 30 cents of every payment; Beehiiv sells you the machinery for a flat fee and takes nothing. Start where discovery is easiest — switch when the math says so.