Beehiiv vs Substack: Which is the Better Newsletter Tool?

Beehiiv vs. Substack – which one should you choose, and most importantly, why?

Before we delve in, here’s a quick disclaimer: there’s no one-size-fits-all platform and no definitive answer.

But that’s exactly why we’ll explore both Beehiiv and Substack and provide you with a 360-degree view of both email marketing platforms.

Through this analysis, which stems from real user insights, platform overviews, and my personal experience, I’m confident that you’ll find everything you need in this article to make an informed decision.

So, which platform will help you achieve your content goals—Beehiiv or Substack? Here’s my honest review.

Quick Verdict: Beehiiv vs Substack as Newsletter Tools

I get it – you need a quick and valid answer to your Beehiiv vs. Substack question. So, here’s my take on the matter:

Beehiiv Overview

Beehiiv is a newsletter platform that makes creating, managing, and monetizing newsletters as straightforward as possible. Developed by the founders of Morning Brew, Beehiiv is known for features that fit various needs, such as those of:

• Content creators who want to monetize their audience to entrepreneurs

• Podcasters who want to broaden their reach to influencers

• Crypto pros who want to gain paid subscribers for their newsletter tips

And many more!

Beehiiv Key Features

• The drag-and-drop editor and simple user interface allow you to design your newsletters with no technical skills needed.

• The subscriber management features come with basic-level segmentation based on behavior (e.g., frequent openers, clickers), demographics, or engagement levels and tags.

• The forms and pop-ups help turn website visitors into subscribers.

• The 3D detailed analytics is one of the core features of Beehiiv, helping you understand your readers’ journey, preferences, and behaviors and visualize how they interact with your content.

• The detailed analytics allow you to track open, click-through, and conversion rates as they happen.

• The A/B testing feature allows you to test different subject lines or content versions to see what works best.

• The integrations include CRM systems, social media, Zapier, and API access for custom needs.

• The monetization features are incredible, with the options to create multiple revenue streams, from collecting paid memberships fees to promoting other newsletters or becoming an affiliate.

Beehiiv Key Considerations

While Beehiiv offers many benefits, there are some limitations you should be aware of:

• It lacks advanced features, such as creating custom workflows based on specific triggers.

• Current forms lack advanced features for segmentation and bulk editing/removing subscribers or tagging multiple posts simultaneously can be cumbersome.

• Tagging is basic and not as useful as other newsletter solutions offer.

• Beehive doesn’t support canonical URLs, so if you’re looking for advanced SEO tools, this isn’t your tool.

• Some users feel that website and landing page customization could be more flexible. Options like diverse color choices and headline control mean Beehiiv offers limited customization options.

• As a relatively new platform, it lacks some of the maturity and extensive feature sets of other tools.

Beehiiv Pricing

Beehiiv’s tiered pricing plans mean there’s an option that can fit any stage of your newsletter journey:

Launch: $0/month

The Launch plan is perfect if you’re a beginner or small-scale creator just starting out. It supports up to 2,500 subscribers, so it’s ideal if you want to test the waters without any financial commitment.

This plan allows you to build a basic, branded website and send unlimited emails without additional costs. Even at this entry level, Beehiiv provides essential features like basic analytics, which help track open and click-through rates, and API access for integrations with other tools and platforms without any monthly fees.

Scale: $39/month

If you’re seeing growth and have a more substantial subscriber base, the Scale plan is a solid upgrade. It includes everything in the Launch plan, plus additional features for monetization and advanced engagement.

• With this plan, you can tap into Beehiiv’s ad network to monetize your newsletter through ads from recognized brands.

• It also allows you to offer premium subscriptions and collect membership fees for exclusive content.

• Email automations become available in this tier, allowing you to set up automated email journeys to nurture your subscribers.

• Furthermore, referral programs encourage existing readers to refer new ones and organically grow your audience.

• This plan also provides a custom domain, access to advanced 3D analytics for deeper insights into reader behavior and engagement, new website templates, and Beehiiv AI tools for content creation and optimization.

If your idea has validated its concept and you’re aiming for newsletter growth, this plan offers the tools you need to boost your audience’s engagement build and subscription revenue.

Max: $99/month

Along with all the features available in the Scale plan, the Max plan allows you to manage up to 10 different newsletters from a single account—great if you’re running multiple publications and want to monetize on various paid newsletters.

• Priority support means faster resolution for any issues you may encounter and access to the

• NewsletterXP course offers advanced strategies for building and monetizing newsletters.

• Additionally, this plan removes all Beehiiv branding from your emails and pages.

Enterprise: Custom Pricing

The Enterprise plan is for large-scale operations and businesses. It offers all the features of the Max plan but with added perks to support high-volume requirements. Some added perks include concierge onboarding, personalized training, and a dedicated account manager.

Other benefits include dedicated IP addresses for better email deliverability and the capability to manage unlimited subscribers.

Beehiiv Reviews

Despite its innovative features, users painted a mixed picture when I reviewed TrustPilot (as the other review platforms have an insignificant number of reviews).

• Positive experiences highlight Beehiiv’s simplicity, great monetization tools, and supportive community. People appreciate the ability to launch and scale their newsletters quickly. Everyone loves the platform’s built-in ad network and premium subscription options for subscriber revenue.

• However, there are significant downsides, too. Some find the free plan too restrictive, as it lacks essential customization features found in other website builders. Others criticize the high costs of paid plans, especially when growing email subscribers isn’t a given. Negative feedback also highlights limited automation and way too basic SEO tools. Customer support issues persist, including account blocks and problematic subscription cancellations.

Substack Overview

Substack is an all-in-one publishing platform that supports text, audio, and video content, making it a versatile home for you if you are a writer or a creator. It gives you tools for blogging, podcasting, and community engagement, with a focus on full ownership of content, subscriber relationships, and direct subscriber charges.

Substack Key Features

• Substack combines blogging and newsletters, allowing you to send posts directly to subscribers’ inboxes and host them online.
• Focus on email engagement; many readers prefer consuming content through their inbox instead of visiting the site.
• Substack offers built-in monetization options, like paid subscriptions and premium newsletters, to generate income from your content.
• Offering exclusive or niche content behind a paywall can attract paying subscribers and increase revenue.
• Substack is easy to use, requiring no complex web design, themes, or coding knowledge to get started.
• The platform’s minimalistic design allows you to focus on writing, not site customization or technicalities.
• Community-building features encourage reader engagement through comments and discussion threads, fostering stronger connections with your audience.
• Asking questions or encouraging discussions at the end of posts can increase audience interaction and feedback.
• Substack provides clear analytics, helping you track open rates, views, and engagement to refine your content strategy.
• Tracking post-performance through analytics helps you discover what works and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Substack Key Considerations

• Some users find it challenging to reach new subscribers organically without external promotion, which will involve more money investments to promote it.

• As a publishing platform, its mix of high-quality and low-quality content sometimes affects the overall perception of professionalism, which can impact your subscriber growth.

• Larger publications may find Substack lacking in all the tools needed for extensive subscriber management, newsletter customization,

Substack Pricing

Substack offers a transparent pricing model. Here’s a detailed look at how it works:

Free Plan

Substack aids in creating content and publishing it for free so that you can grow your subscriber base without any financial commitment. This helps you build an audience before transitioning to paid subscriptions.

Paid Subscriptions

When you choose to introduce paid subscriptions, Substack operates on a revenue-sharing model with the following specifics:

• Substack takes a 10% commission on your total subscription revenue. This fee supports the platform’s operations, ongoing development, and customer support services.

• Substack uses Stripe, a payment processor that charges approximately 2.9% of the transaction amount plus a flat fee of $0.30 per transaction. These fees cover the cost of securely processing payments.

• Additionally, you should check if your bank imposes any debit or credit card fees to cash in money.

So, how much are you left with? Suppose you charge $10 per month per subscriber:

• Substack fee: 10% of $10 is $1.

• Stripe fee: 2.9% of $10 plus $0.30 is approximately $0.59.

• Net revenue: After deducting Substack and Stripe fees, you would earn around $8.41 per subscriber each month.

Substack Reviews

Substack offers a solid platform for writers and creators to publish newsletters and multimedia content. Its ease of use and integrated monetization features really help if you want to start small and grow an engaged audience over time. The platform gives you control over the content and subscriber relationships.

However, user reviews highlight some issues:

• The lack of effective customer service. People report difficulties in resolving technical issues, with many relying on AI chatbots that fail to provide proper support.

• Issues like email verification errors, podcast page bugs, and subscription management problems have been frequently mentioned.

• While offering more design options than some basic plans on other platforms, Substack’s customization features are still somewhat limited.

Overall, Substack is still excellent if you’re just starting out and want to share content with your free subscribers or are looking for a simple way to monetize content.

Monetization and Earning Potential

Let’s explore how you can make money with each of these newsletter platforms, and get to the bottom of Beehiiv vs. Substack.

Beehiiv Monetization Features

Beehiiv’s monetization features are essentially a dedicated sales and revenue team working for you. While you focus on producing high-quality content, Beehiiv ensures that your efforts result in a steady income stream.

Ad Network

Beehiiv’s Ad Network connects your newsletter with high-profile advertisers, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to rising startups. The system automatically matches your newsletter with suitable ads.

Payments are processed a few weeks after the sponsored content is sent.

Boosts

The Beehiiv Boosts feature allows you to earn money by promoting other newsletters to your readers. Conversely, it also helps you grow your subscriber base by getting your newsletter recommended in other publications.

Simply determine how much you want to pay for each new subscriber, and pay for active and engaged subscribers. Earn money whenever a new subscriber opts into the boosted recommendation, with funds deposited into your Beehiiv wallet.

Premium Subscriptions

With Beehiiv, you can offer paid subscription plans to your readers, turning loyal followers into paying customers. You can set up monthly or annual membership plans and keep all the revenue generated, as Beehiiv doesn’t take a cut.

Beehiiv handles all aspects of user authentication, paywalls, payments, and billing, allowing you to focus on content creation.

Substack Monetization Options

Substack is flexible in helping you set your monetization options and how you introduce paid options.

• The monthly subscriptions are often set at about $5 to $10.

• The annual subscriptions are typically discounted compared to monthly subscriptions, such as $50 to $100 per year.

• Then, there’s a higher-tier, one-time fee for early subscribers who receive special perks, often set around $250.

Beehiiv vs Substack: Is Newsletter Enough, or Do You Need Blogging Functionalities?

Choosing between Beehiiv and Substack depends on your content goals:

• Beehiiv excels as a newsletter platform with top-notch features for growth and monetization, ideal if your primary focus is engaging and expanding your email list.

• Substack combines newsletter capabilities with blogging and publishing functionalities, so it’s perfect if you who want to publish diverse content and build a community or both paid and free subscribers.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with cross-promotion. For instance, if you choose Beehiiv for your newsletter, you can still use a free blogging platform to share teaser articles and drive traffic back to your Beehiiv subscription.

This way, you leverage the strengths of both Beehiiv and Substack without fully committing to one or missing out on diverse audience outreach.

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