Choosing the right platform is crucial for creators aiming to grow and monetize their newsletters. Substack and Beehiiv are two popular options, each offering distinct tools for audience building, monetization, and customization. In this guide, we’ll compare Substack and Beehiiv across key areas, with an in-depth review, feature comparisons, and successful examples from each platform to help you make the best choice.
- Overview of Substack and Beehiiv
- Ease of Use
- Monetization Options
- SEO and Discoverability
- Customization and Branding
- Analytics and Growth Tools
- Successful Newsletters on Substack and Beehiiv
- Pricing Comparison
- Final Thoughts: Which Platform Is Right for You?
Substack launched in 2017 as a newsletter platform focused on helping writers easily publish and monetize their work. With a built-in subscription model and referral network, Substack is ideal for creators looking to earn directly from readers. The platform’s simplicity and email-driven approach have made it a favorite for writers across industries, especially in journalism, commentary, and niche expertise.
Beehiiv, launched in 2021, is a newer platform with a focus on growth-oriented features. It was created with the insights of former Morning Brew team members, aiming to offer powerful audience segmentation, analytics, and referral tools. Beehiiv is especially suited for creators who want a scalable, strategic approach to growing and monetizing their audience, with flexibility to earn through both subscriptions and ad placements.
| Feature | Substack | Beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Year | 2017 | 2021 |
| Monthly Starting Cost | Free (10% of revenue on paid plans) | Free, paid plans start at $49 |
| Revenue Share | 10% fee on subscriptions | 0% revenue share |
| Audience Segmentation | Basic | Advanced segmentation |
| Customization | Limited | Moderate to advanced |
| Referral Program | Built-in | Advanced referral features |
Substack’s minimalistic interface makes it easy for beginners to start publishing without technical hassles. The platform handles email delivery and payment processing, so writers can focus on creating content. Substack’s simplicity is a big draw for creators new to digital publishing.
Beehiiv also offers an intuitive setup and user-friendly interface, though it includes more advanced options than Substack. Features like segmentation, referral tracking, and analytics require minimal setup, and the platform is designed to be accessible for users of all experience levels.
Key Insight: Substack is ideal for those seeking simplicity, while Beehiiv’s user-friendly interface and additional growth tools make it a good choice for creators wanting more control over audience targeting.
Substack allows creators to monetize through subscriptions, taking a 10% fee on paid plans. Substack’s platform makes it easy to set up free and paid tiers, and the platform handles payment processing via Stripe.
- Revenue Share: 10% fee + Stripe fees
- Subscription Options: Monthly, annual, or one-time pricing
Beehiiv offers multiple monetization options, including paid subscriptions and ad management for those interested in sponsored content. Beehiiv doesn’t take a percentage of revenue, making it potentially more affordable for high-earning creators, though payment processing fees apply.
- Revenue Share: No platform fee (only payment processing fees)
- Monetization Options: Subscriptions or ad placements
Key Insight: Substack is better for straightforward subscription models, while Beehiiv’s ad and subscription options offer more flexibility.
Substack’s email-focused model limits its SEO potential. While posts can be indexed by search engines, Substack lacks in-depth SEO features like customizable URLs, meta descriptions, and alt text. This limits Substack’s reach through search engines, making it more reliant on direct sharing and referrals for growth.
Beehiiv offers basic SEO features, such as custom meta descriptions and URLs, allowing creators slightly more control over discoverability. While still email-centric, Beehiiv’s additional SEO options give it an edge over Substack in organic reach.
Key Insight: Beehiiv has a slight advantage in SEO thanks to its limited customization options, but both platforms are better suited for email distribution than organic search growth.
Substack’s customization options are quite limited. Creators can add a logo, adjust header colors, and choose basic styling, but there are no advanced layout options or custom CSS. While this minimalistic approach makes setup easier, it restricts brand differentiation.
Beehiiv offers slightly more flexibility in customization but remains limited compared to traditional CMS platforms. On Beehiiv’s paid plans, creators can adjust branding elements like colors and fonts, allowing for a more branded feel than Substack. Beehiiv’s segmentation and referral features can also enhance branding by delivering targeted content to specific audiences.
Key Insight: While Beehiiv offers slightly better customization options than Substack, both platforms are limited in branding features, making them more suitable for creators who prefer a minimalistic, streamlined look.
Substack provides basic analytics, including open rates, subscriber counts, and revenue insights. The platform also has a referral network that recommends newsletters to readers based on their interests, helping with organic growth. However, Substack’s analytics are basic, so creators looking for in-depth insights may find it limited.
Beehiiv excels in analytics and growth features, offering more advanced tracking and audience insights. The referral program is highly customizable, allowing creators to reward subscribers for referring new readers. Additionally, Beehiiv’s segmentation tools allow creators to target specific audience groups, helping improve engagement and retention.
- Advanced Analytics: Tracks open rates, click-through rates, referrals, and more
- Referral System: Customizable referral incentives
Key Insight: Beehiiv’s analytics and growth tools are more robust, making it a better choice for creators who want to optimize audience engagement and subscriber growth.
- The Dispatch: With thousands of paid subscribers, The Dispatch has become one of Substack’s most successful publications, focusing on politics and news analysis. The Dispatch’s reach and engagement exemplify the power of Substack’s subscription model for premium content.
- Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson: A history and politics newsletter with over 1 million subscribers, demonstrating how Substack can support large audiences while allowing writers to engage deeply with readers.
These popular Substack newsletters highlight the platform’s strengths in building loyal subscriber bases around niche content, particularly for writers in the journalism, commentary, and niche expertise spaces.
- Milk Road: A popular newsletter about cryptocurrency, Milk Road has leveraged Beehiiv’s referral program and segmentation tools to grow rapidly. With advanced audience targeting and growth strategies, Milk Road’s success underscores Beehiiv’s strength in helping creators build and engage large subscriber bases.
- The Culture Study by Anne Helen Petersen: Focusing on cultural commentary, The Culture Study has seen success by using Beehiiv’s advanced growth tools and audience analytics to increase engagement. Petersen’s ability to cater to a segmented audience with targeted content makes Beehiiv’s tools particularly effective.
Both Substack and Beehiiv support successful newsletters, but Beehiiv’s tools are more aligned with creators looking to scale rapidly and segment audiences strategically.
Substack is free to use, with a 10% fee on all paid subscriptions. This pricing model makes it affordable for new creators but can become costly for high-earning writers. There are no paid tiers, so all features are accessible to all users regardless of revenue.
- Free Plan: Available to all, with a 10% fee on subscriptions
- Additional Costs: Only relevant for paid subscriptions
Beehiiv offers several pricing tiers with different feature sets. The platform doesn’t take a percentage of subscription revenue, which can be more affordable for high-revenue newsletters. Beehiiv’s paid plans unlock advanced analytics, segmentation, and branding options.
| 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 |
Key Insight: For smaller newsletters, Substack’s fee-based model may be manageable, but for larger or fast-growing audiences, Beehiiv’s flat-rate pricing can be more cost-effective.
Choosing between Substack vs. Beehiiv comes down to your specific goals as a creator:
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Choose Substack if: You prioritize simplicity, need a straightforward subscription model, and value ease of use. Substack’s referral network and low startup costs make it ideal for creators looking to grow through reader referrals and engage subscribers without complex features.
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Choose Beehiiv if: You need more customization, segmentation, and advanced growth tools. Beehiiv is better suited for creators interested in detailed audience analytics, ad placements, and a customizable referral program.
While both platforms are user-friendly and strong choices for indie creators, Substack emphasizes simplicity and community, whereas Beehiiv provides tools for more strategic growth and revenue diversification.
- Which platform offers better audience segmentation?
- Beehiiv offers more advanced segmentation, allowing for targeted content delivery to different subscriber groups.
- Does Substack allow ad monetization?
- No, Substack does not currently support ads, focusing instead on subscription-based revenue.
- Can I switch from Substack to Beehiiv?
- Yes, both platforms offer content export options, though some formatting adjustments may be needed.