For indie creators looking to build and monetize a newsletter, Beehiiv and Flodesk are two popular platforms with unique features. While Beehiiv focuses on audience growth, advanced analytics, and monetization tools, Flodesk is known for its visually stunning templates and ease of use, making it a favorite for creators who prioritize aesthetics. In this guide, we’ll examine the strengths and limitations of each platform, supported by detailed statistics and insights, to help you determine which is the best fit for your newsletter.
- Overview of Beehiiv and Flodesk
- Ease of Use
- Customization and Branding
- Monetization Options
- Analytics and Growth Tools
- Pricing Comparison
- Final Thoughts: Which Platform Is Right for You?
Beehiiv was launched in 2021 by former Morning Brew team members. The platform was designed to offer powerful newsletter growth and monetization tools, including audience segmentation, advanced referral programs, and detailed analytics. Beehiiv has become a strong choice for creators focused on scaling their subscriber base and maximizing revenue, supporting over 100,000 newsletters as of 2023. It’s known for features that make newsletter growth straightforward, making it ideal for business-minded creators looking for analytics-driven growth.
Flodesk was launched in 2019 and quickly gained popularity for its visually appealing templates and user-friendly design interface. Flodesk markets itself as an alternative to more complex email platforms like Mailchimp, offering simple, beautiful emails without extensive setup. Flodesk’s unique pricing—$35/month for unlimited subscribers—makes it an affordable option for creators looking to send visually impactful emails. Flodesk currently serves thousands of creators, particularly those who prioritize brand aesthetics and design, such as small businesses, artists, and lifestyle brands.
| Feature | Beehiiv | Flodesk |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Year | 2021 | 2019 |
| Primary Focus | Newsletter growth and monetization | Design-driven email marketing |
| Revenue Share | 0% revenue share | No revenue sharing |
| Audience Segmentation | Advanced | Basic segmentation |
| Customization | Moderate to advanced | Advanced (design-focused) |
| Analytics | Detailed | Basic |
| Pricing | Free, paid plans start at $49/mo | $35/mo for all features |
Beehiiv’s interface is highly intuitive, with a focus on growth-driven functionality. It’s designed for ease of use, requiring no technical setup, which makes it accessible for creators of all experience levels. Features like referral programs, advanced segmentation, and subscriber management tools are built-in and easy to manage. Beehiiv’s email-centric design focuses on subscriber management and growth strategies rather than extensive design, which can be a benefit for creators focused on scaling their audience quickly.
Flodesk is known for its drag-and-drop editor and visually intuitive interface. Unlike Beehiiv, Flodesk’s primary focus is creating beautiful, on-brand emails quickly. A 2022 survey by Flodesk found that 95% of users cited the design editor as a top reason for choosing the platform, with 89% noting they found Flodesk easier to use than competitors like Mailchimp. Flodesk’s interface is exceptionally beginner-friendly, making it ideal for creators who want polished, visually engaging emails without the complexity of advanced tools.
Key Insight: Beehiiv is designed for creators focused on newsletter growth with minimal design needs, while Flodesk offers a straightforward, design-centric experience, ideal for creating visually impactful emails.
Beehiiv offers moderate branding options. While it provides the basics—such as logos, colors, and header customization—its primary focus remains functionality rather than aesthetics. Beehiiv’s templates are simple and professional, but they don’t offer the same level of design flexibility as Flodesk. For creators who want customized, segmented messaging, Beehiiv’s segmentation feature allows for targeted content based on subscriber behavior, which can help build a brand-aligned experience even without heavy design features.
Flodesk excels in design customization. It offers a large selection of highly customizable, professionally designed templates that allow creators to match their brand’s look and feel. 82% of Flodesk users report that they chose the platform specifically for its template quality, and Flodesk’s design-centric customization has attracted brands focused on aesthetics, such as lifestyle, wellness, and creative businesses. Flodesk’s flexibility extends to fonts, image overlays, layouts, and color schemes, allowing creators to craft unique, visually distinctive emails.
Key Insight: Flodesk is unmatched in design flexibility, catering to creators focused on brand aesthetics, while Beehiiv prioritizes simple, brand-consistent functionality over design.
Beehiiv offers various monetization methods, including subscription-based monetization and ad placements. Beehiiv’s paid subscription model enables creators to charge readers for premium content, with no revenue cut taken by the platform, which makes it appealing for high-revenue newsletters. Beehiiv’s referral program is a unique monetization tool that encourages subscriber growth by incentivizing sharing. As of 2023, newsletters using Beehiiv’s referral programs reported a 20–40% increase in subscriber growth within six months, a testament to its impact on revenue growth through paid subscriptions and ads.
Flodesk, in contrast, does not provide built-in monetization options like subscriptions or ad placements. While Flodesk is excellent for creating branded emails, it lacks direct tools for generating income within the platform. Creators looking to monetize their audience will need to integrate with external tools or e-commerce platforms to sell products, services, or memberships, which adds an additional step to the monetization process. Flodesk’s primary role is more focused on email marketing rather than revenue generation.
Key Insight: Beehiiv is the better option for creators prioritizing direct monetization, offering tools for subscriptions and ad placements, while Flodesk’s lack of built-in monetization limits revenue options within the platform.
Beehiiv provides comprehensive analytics and growth tools, designed to support creators in scaling their audience. Metrics include open rates, click-through rates, subscriber growth, and referral tracking, giving a clear view of engagement patterns. Beehiiv’s advanced referral program allows creators to incentivize subscriber referrals, which has led to significant growth rates on the platform. According to Beehiiv’s 2022 data, newsletters that used the referral program grew their audiences by an average of 35% in the first three months.
Flodesk’s analytics are more basic, covering essential engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates. While these insights are useful for tracking engagement, Flodesk doesn’t offer the same depth as Beehiiv’s analytics. Flodesk lacks growth tools such as referral programs, which may be limiting for creators focused on scaling their subscriber base quickly. Flodesk’s analytics, while informative, are geared toward creators who want an overview of engagement rather than advanced growth strategies.
Key Insight: Beehiiv’s in-depth analytics and referral programs make it ideal for growth-focused creators, while Flodesk’s basic analytics are sufficient for monitoring engagement without complex growth tools.
Beehiiv offers flexible pricing options, including a free plan with limited features, as well as two paid plans that unlock advanced features like segmentation and ad management. Beehiiv does not take a percentage of revenue, making it a cost-effective choice for high-revenue newsletters. Beehiiv’s pricing is competitive with platforms like Substack and Medium but provides more growth-oriented features.
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Basic features, limited analytics, no audience segmentation |
| Grow | $49/month | Advanced analytics, referral program, basic segmentation |
| Scale | $99/month | Full segmentation, ad management, custom branding options |
Flodesk’s pricing is unique in the industry, offering a flat rate of $35 per month for unlimited subscribers, which is rare among email marketing platforms. Flodesk’s pricing is simple, allowing creators to scale their subscriber base without worrying about higher costs as they grow. However, the flat rate does not include growth-oriented tools, so for creators focused on expansion, this simplicity may come with trade-offs.
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Features |
|---|---|---|
| All-Inclusive | $35/month | Unlimited emails, access to all templates and design tools |
Key Insight: Beehiiv’s paid plans offer advanced features for creators looking to scale and monetize, while Flodesk’s flat-rate pricing is cost-effective for creators focused on design and simplicity, especially as subscriber numbers increase.
When choosing between Beehiiv vs. Flodesk, consider your specific goals and audience:
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Choose Beehiiv if: You’re focused on building and monetizing a newsletter with growth-oriented tools like advanced analytics, audience segmentation, and a referral program. Beehiiv is ideal for creators who want to generate revenue through subscriptions or ad placements and need tools to expand their subscriber base.
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Choose Flodesk if: You prioritize beautiful design and simplicity in email creation. Flodesk is perfect for creators and brands who want visually impactful emails with a strong aesthetic appeal, and who may already have external monetization strategies in place. The platform is especially cost-effective if you plan to grow a large subscriber base, thanks to its flat-rate pricing.
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Can I monetize directly on Flodesk?
- No, Flodesk does not have built-in monetization tools, but you can integrate it with e-commerce or payment platforms for indirect monetization.
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Does Beehiiv offer design templates like Flodesk?
- Beehiiv’s design options are more limited compared to Flodesk’s visually focused templates. Beehiiv is primarily geared towards functionality rather than design.
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Which platform offers better audience segmentation?
- Beehiiv provides more advanced segmentation tools, ideal for creators wanting to target specific audience groups.
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Is Flodesk good for large subscriber bases?
- Flodesk’s $35/month flat-rate pricing is affordable for large subscriber bases, though it lacks advanced growth tools that Beehiiv offers for scaling newsletters effectively.