beehiiv vs Kit vs Substack
Three newsletter platforms with free tiers and different ways of charging: beehiiv and Kit charge a flat monthly fee as you grow; Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions.
Verdict
- 1
Pick beehiiv
if you plan a paid newsletter or ad income: free up to 2,500 subscribers, and paid plans take 0% of subscriptions.
- 2
Pick Kit
if you sell digital products and need automations: the free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers; automations need Creator.
- 3
Pick Substack
if you want $0 upfront and built-in discovery; you pay 10% only when readers pay.
Bottom line: Below about $490/mo in paid revenue, Substack's 10% costs less than beehiiv's $49/mo. Above that, the flat fee wins.
Side by side
| beehiiv | Kit | Substack | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free plan + paid plans | Free plan + paid plans | Free to join, fee per sale |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| What the free plan gives | Free forever, with unlimited email sends, up to 2,500 subscribers. | Free up to 10,000 subscribers. Automations need a paid plan (our 17 Oct check; kit.com blocked our second check with a 403). | Free to publish with no subscriber limit. Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions, plus Stripe fees. |
| Plans and prices |
|
|
|
| Month 1 (our estimate) | Free: $0 | Free: $0 | Free: $0 |
| Month 12 (our estimate) | Lite: $49 | Creator: $39 | 10% of paid revenue: $0 |
| Commercial rights | Not a content generator | Not a content generator | Not a content generator |
| Learning difficulty | 2/5 Editor is easy; growth and monetization settings take time. | 2/5 Forms are easy; automations take planning. | 1/5 Very simple. |
| Best for | Growing and monetizing a newsletter | Creators selling products by email | Starting a paid newsletter for free |
| Watch out for |
|
|
|
| Sources | beehiiv pricing | Kit pricing | Substack Substack Help Center: cost |
| Full profile | beehiiv profile · Official site | Kit profile · Official site | Substack profile · Official site |
Every price and limit above comes from the linked vendor pages, read on . Month-1 and month-12 figures are our estimate of the plan a solo seller needs, not quotes. The order of the tools never depends on affiliate status.
Longer guide: our earlier comparison note.