Are you on the hunt for a Beehiiv vs Substack comparison? Want to know which newsletter platform is best for you? Then count yourself lucky because you've just arrived at the right place at the right time.
Beehiiv and Substack are two powerful newsletter platforms a lot of content creators are talking about right now.
They provide you the tools you need to create and monetize your newsletter.
The problem is;
Which one is the best one to choose from especially if you are complete beginner looking to try a newsletter platform?
That's the headache.
But no problems.
It's the reason I've decided to write this detailed unbiased comparison.
In this Beehiiv vs Substack comparison we are going to cover the following;
- What both tools are and what they are best for
- Newsletter features both tools offer
- Monetization models
- Pricing
- Pros & Cons and more.
I'll also show you which one is the best for your needs, which one offers more and stuff like that.
So without wasting time, let's quickly get to it.
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If you are in a hurry, here's a quick summary to help you decide as soon as possible.
While both tools offer you a powerful way to create and monetize your newsletter, Beehiiv tends to offer more benefits.
Both Beehiiv and Substack offer a “Blog + Newsletter” functionality BUT Beehiiv blog is more SEO friendly. This means you can rank your beehive blog on Google and attract free SEO traffic that will also grow your newsletter.
Lastly, Substack offers you only one way to monetize your newsletter which is through paid subscriptions BUT Beehiiv focuses a lot more on monetization. So Beehiiv offers about three ways to monetize your newsletter which includes paid subscriptions, sponsoring ads, boosts (recommending other newsletters and getting paid), etc.
The only advantage substack has over Beehiiv is it is free with unlimited subscribers while Beehiiv is paid.
Also, Substack charges you 10% on your paid newsletter subscriptions while Beehiiv doesn't take any fee and you keep 100% of your revenue.
Quick verdict: Beehiiv is a clear winner
Beehiiv lets you test their best plan (Scale) for 30 days for FREE (no credit card needed)
Now let's jump into the full comparison.
Beehiiv vs Substack [Unbiased Comparison] Which Newsletter Platform is Better?
Beehiiv vs Substack (Overview)
What is Beehiiv?
Beehiiv is a trending modern newsletter platform launched in 2021 by Tyler Denk quickly gaining traction. It focuses heavily on newsletter monetization and provides you with all the tools needed to create, grow and monetize your newsletter.
It offers you a blog + newsletter functionality so you have the option to create an SEO ready blog to share content with your readers and also grow your newsletter.
You can monetize your newsletter with paid subsriptions, ads sponsorship, and newsletter recommendations via boosts.
All the tools you need for growth and monetization is inside of your Beehiiv dashboard all from one place.
This is how the Beehiiv dashboard looks like;
If you need more details, check out my Beehiiv review article.
What is Substack?
Substack was founded in 2017 by Chris Best. It is a free popular newsletter platform, often also called a social network designed for writers.
With Substack you can create and write on a blog and email your newsletter subscribers. You have the option to monetize your newsletter subscribers through paid subscriptions.
Here is how the Substack dashboard looks like;
Beehiiv vs Substack: Newsletter Features
Both Substack and Beehiiv offer similar newsletter capabilities but Beehiiv offers much more . Let's take a look at each of them so you can understand better.
Beehiiv Newsletter Features
Beehiiv provides you with the following newsletter capabilities;
- A blog/website to create and share content with your readers
- Email newsletter
- Segments
- Automations
- Polls
- Text editor
- Surveys
- Beehiiv-AI (AI assistant for newsletter content creation)
- Landing page
- Subscribe forms
Substack Newsletter Features
Here are the newsletter capabilities offered by Substack;
- A blog/website
- Email newsletter
- Community feature
- Podcast
Beehiiv vs Substack: Monetization
So what are the different ways these newsletter platforms let you make money? Let's see.
Substack offers only one which is paid subscriptions while Beehiiv offer three.
Let's take a look carefully.
Beehiiv Newsletter Platform Monetization
Beehiiv offers three ways to make money from your newsletters and they include the following
1. Paid Newsletter Subscriptions
The first way to make money with your newsletter on Beehiiv is by offering paid subscriptions of your newsletter. You will keep 100% of the revenue, so Beehiiv doesn't take any cut.
You can charge monthly or annual paid subscriptions for your newsletter.
2. Advertisements (Beehiiv Native Ad Network)
With Beehiiv Ad network, you can monetize your newsletter with premium sponsors. All you simply need to do is display ads from companies, startups, etc. to your newsletter subscribers and earn.
How much you earn depends on your niche, list size, how many times you email per week, etc.
3. Boosts
Beehiiv boosts is another super fast way to monetize your newsletter. You make money here by recommending other newsletters and get paid per subscriber.
This is called “paid recommendations”
Boosts work in two ways;
One, you can let others boosts your newsletter.
Two, you can get paid to recommend other people's newsletters.
Average cost per subscriber is around $1.63 (so you either get paid or you pay others to boost your newsletter).
It's a win win in both case because you can either make money or build your newsletters list super fast.
Whatever you earn gets deposited into your Beehiiv wallet.
Substack Newsletter Platform Monetization
Substack offers one way to make money from your newsletter and it is through paid subscriptions.
They take a 10% commission fee cut per subscription.
Substack vs Beehiiv: Analytics
Without analytics, it is hard to track your newsletter progress. Both tools offer you ways to track your progress with various tools.
Let's see how you can track your analytics in both tools.
Substack Analytics
Substack provides you with a STATS dashboard which includes the following;
- Traffic (the sum of all views to your publication)
- Email stats
- Subscriber report
- Network (This shows how many percentage of your readers came via substack)
With these tools you may be able to see how your newsletter is doing on Substack.
Beehiiv Analytics
Beehiiv offers way more tools to track your progress and they include the following;
- 3D analytics (track posts and subscribers reports)
- Segmentation (create automations and track your subscribers performance with automation workflow)
- Polls (1-click polls you can use to collect data in your email)
- Survey forms (Web surveys you can use to collect information about your readers)
With this complete suite of analytics tools you can track your newsletter progress effectively.
Beehiiv vs Substack: Integrations
With integrations with other apps, you can expand your newsletter capabilities and get things done faster and easily. Let's take a look at the integrations both newsletter platforms offer.
Beehiiv Integrations
Beehiiv lets you integrate with apps such as the following:
- Zapier
- Sparkloop
- Native apps
Substack Integrations
Substack does not have API or integrations
Beehiiv vs Substack: Pricing
So how much do these newsletter platforms charge to use their service? Let's check them out as well as what features come along with them.
Beehiiv Pricing
Beehiiv offers three pricing plans and they include the following
- Launch
- Grow
- Scale
Let's expand on each of these pricing packages and see what comes with them
1. Launch Plan
This is also known as the free plan from Beehiiv and it gives you access to 2,500 subscribers and access to the following things:
- Unlimited sends
- Web hosting
- Campaign analytics
- Custom newsletters
- Recommendation network
- Optimized deliverability
It is good for trying out the platform if you have no purpose of monetizing your newsletter.
2. Grow Plan
This plan costs $49 per month ($42/mo if you pay annually). It gives you access to all the features in launch plan and also the following:
- 10,000 subscribers
- Monetize your newsletter with premium subscriptions
- Custom domains
- Ability to create segments
- Audience polls
- Survey forms
- Multiple team members
- Exclusive newsletter community
- API
3. Scale Plan
Scale plan from Beehiiv costs $99 per month ($84/mo if you pay annually). You will get all the features in Grow plan and also access to the following things:
- 100,000 subscribers
- Monetize your newsletter with Ad network
- Monetize your newsletter with Boosts
- Advanced web builder
- Referral program functionality to further grow your newsletter subscribers list
- Automations
- Publish to segments
- 3D analytics
- Beehiiv AI
- A/B testing
- Priority support
The best plan on Beehiiv no doubt.
If you need more details on the best plan to choose, read my Beehiiv pricing
Substack Pricing
Substack is a free publication platform. They do not charge you.
They only take a 10% commission cut per paid newsletter subscription.
Substack vs Beehiiv: Pros and Cons
Are there drawbacks to using Beehiiv and Substack? Let's check their pros and cons and see how they compare against each other.
Beehiiv Pros:
- Generous 30 days free trial of their best plan (Scale)
- Focuses heavily on monetization and obviously offers much more (compared to Substack and other newsletter platforms)
- Built by newsletter people
- Superior SEO
- Powerful growth tools
- Top notch audience management tools
- Data-driven reporting
- Ease of use and beginners friendly
Beehiiv Cons:
- Launch/Free plan is basically useless
- Expensive (but definitely worth it)
Substack Pros:
- Platform is free
- Podcast functionality
Substack Cons:
- Limited monetization models
- No integrations
- Too basic
- Not SEO friendly
Who’s the better pick? Beehiiv or Substack?
So who's the winner here?
Super obvious!
After checking out the benefits and all, value-wise, the winner is none other than
– Beehiiv
Substack is probably the most popular newsletter platform and a very good competitor of Beehiiv but features and newsletter monetization wise, Beehiiv is clear.
While Substack offers you a way to build and monetize your newsletter through paid subscriptions, Beehiiv offers you a complete system.
You get to build your newsletter, SEO ready blog, powerful growth tools to grow your newsletter and finally various monetization models to earn a living with newsletters.
Beehiiv is the better newsletter platform overall undoubtedly.
Final Verdict on Substack vs Beehiive
If you want to know what platform is better, your best bet is an unbiased comparison like the one in this article.
I've used both tools; I signed up for Substack way back while I was looking for a way to deliver newsletter to my football transfer audience.
Beehiiv, I got to know about them recently and I can say it is one of the best newsletter platforms I've ever come across.
Substack is free but it won't give you everything you need to earn a living through newsletters.
On the other way round, Beehiiv costs up to $99 per month but it is definitely worth it with all the benefits you to stand to enjoy.
So what do you think about this Beehiiv vs Substack comparison? Which newsletter platform are you going to give a try? Have any questions? Please let me known in the comments section.
Prosper Noah is the brain behind TipsonBlogging. A full-time blogger & SEO expert. His tips has helped a lot of people start their own blogs, grow it and make money.
