beehiiv vs Substack: Which Should You Choose?

beehiiv

The newsletter platform built for growth — create, grow, and monetize your email audience without code.

beehiiv is a newsletter platform created by early Morning Brew team members, designed around one goal: growing and monetizing an email audience. Writers get a modern editor, customizable templates, and a built-in website builder, so a publication can live entirely on beehiiv without separate hosting. Its growth toolkit is the standout — a referral program, Boosts for paid cross-promotion between newsletters, recommendations, subscribe forms, pop-ups, and A/B testing are all native features rather than third-party add-ons. Monetization options include beehiiv's ad network that connects publishers with brand sponsors, paid subscriptions, and direct sponsorships. Detailed analytics cover audience growth, engagement, and revenue. A free Launch plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers, making beehiiv a popular Substack alternative for creators who want to own their growth levers.

Substack

The home for independent voices — publish a newsletter, podcast, or community and get paid by subscribers.

Substack is the platform that mainstreamed paid newsletters, giving writers a complete stack — email publishing, a hosted website, podcasts, video, chat, and paid subscriptions — with zero upfront cost. Writers keep ownership of their mailing list and content, and Substack only makes money when they do, taking 10% of paid subscription revenue. Its biggest differentiator is the network: the Substack app, recommendations between publications, and Notes drive meaningful organic subscriber growth that standalone email tools can't match. Setup takes minutes and requires no technical skill, which is why many independent journalists, analysts, and creators start there. The trade-off is limited customization and that revenue cut: successful publications often weigh moving to flat-fee platforms like beehiiv or Ghost as their paid base grows.