Try or ByeTry or Bye
ProductsCategoriesTop PicksCompareBudget CalcContact
Try or ByeTry or Bye

Where digital products disappoint — based on real user feedback patterns.

© 2026 Try or Bye. All rights reserved.

Explore

  • All Products
  • Categories
  • Compare

Insights

  • Signals
  • Problems
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Home
  2. Compare
  3. beehiiv vs Medium

beehiivvsMedium

Platform
vs
Platform
ScoresSignalsPricingFeatures

Score Comparison

62
Overall
52
70
Pricing
45
75
Usability
75
60
Performance
70
35
Support
25
55
Reliability
50
80
Onboarding
85
65
Mobile
70
55
Security
55
55
Integrations
35
beehiivMedium

Signals Comparison

Support

beehiiv

  • Customer support is slow and sometimes non-existent(8/10)

Medium

  • Customer support is notoriously poor(8/10)
Reliability

beehiiv

  • Core features break frequently(9/10)
  • Email deliverability issues on shared domain(8/10)

Medium

  • Accounts get locked or restricted without explanation(9/10)
  • Billing and cancellation issues plague users(6/10)
Integrations

beehiiv

  • Stripe integration is buggy and causes customer friction(9/10)
  • Zapier integration has issues(5/10)

Medium

No signals

Pricing

beehiiv

  • Pricing becomes steep for growing newsletters(7/10)

Medium

  • Partner Program earnings collapsed 90%+ for many writers(10/10)
  • Paywall limits audience reach dramatically(8/10)
  • Meta content restrictions limit what earns money(6/10)
Usability

beehiiv

  • Automation capabilities are limited compared to competitors(7/10)
  • Website builder is buggy and unintuitive(6/10)
  • Lack of tags and lists was confusing (now partially addressed)(5/10)
  • Help documentation is inadequate(5/10)
  • Segment processing is slow for larger lists(5/10)

Medium

  • Algorithm changes destroy established writers overnight(9/10)
  • AI content flood destroyed platform quality(8/10)
  • Publications lost most of their power and reach(7/10)
  • No control over your own audience(7/10)
  • SEO and Google traffic have declined significantly(6/10)
  • Limited customization and branding options(5/10)
  • New writers struggle to get any visibility(6/10)
Customization

beehiiv

  • Opt-in forms and email templates look bad(5/10)

Medium

No signals

Security

beehiiv

  • Spam and abuse reports go unaddressed(8/10)

Medium

No signals

Pricing Comparison

beehiiv

Launch (Free)
Free

Users: 1

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: 2,500 subscriber cap, No monetization, No AI tools, No priority support, beehiiv branding

beehiiv branding on emails. No monetization features (ads, Boosts, paid subscriptions). Limited support (chatbot only).
Scale
Popular
$43/mo

Users: 3

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: 3 team members max, 1 publication, Pricing scales with subscribers

Price increases with subscribers: $43 for 1K, $59 for 2.5K, $89 for 5K, $119 for 10K, etc. Annual billing saves ~16%.
Max
$86/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Still scales with subscriber count, 10 publication limit

Price increases with subscribers similar to Scale. Annual billing saves ~16%.
Enterprise
Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Only for large publishers (100K+ subscribers), Custom pricing

Custom pricing for 100K+ subscribers. Requires sales call and contract.

Medium

Free Reader
Free

Users: 1

Storage: N/A

Limits: Limited to 3 paywalled articles/month, No audio features, Constant paywall prompts

Paywalled content inaccessible after 3 articles. Most popular content is behind paywall.
Medium Membership
Popular
$5/mo

Users: 1

Storage: N/A

Limits: No writing-specific features included, Reading only

Annual option is $50/year ($4.17/month). Your reading time directly determines writer payouts.
Medium Membership (Annual)
$50/yr

Users: 1

Storage: N/A

Limits: Same as monthly membership

Non-refundable after 14 days. Locks you in for full year.
Friend of Medium
$15/mo

Users: 1

Storage: N/A

Limits: Primarily a way to support writers, minimal additional features

Annual option is $150/year. Significantly more expensive for same reading access.
Partner Program (Writers)
Free

Users: 1

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Must be accepted into program, 100 followers required, Earnings vary wildly

Earnings are highly unpredictable. Algorithm changes can destroy income overnight. Average earnings are very low.

Feature Comparison

FeaturebeehiivMedium
Growth
Referral program

Customizable rewards for subscriber referrals

Built-in audience

Millions of readers, but reaching them is difficult

Pricing
Free publishing

Write and publish for free

Free tier (2,500 subs)

Generous free plan

Monetization
Boosts (paid recommendations)

Earn by recommending other newsletters

Ad network

Sponsored links revenue (Scale+)

Partner Program monetization

Earn from member reading time

Paid subscriptions

Scale plan and above

Predictable earnings

Earnings are highly volatile

Usability
Beautiful reading experience

Clean, distraction-free design

Collaboration
Publications

Collaborative publishing, though less powerful now

Analytics
Analytics dashboard

Comprehensive newsletter metrics

Engagement
Engagement features

Claps, highlights, comments

Publishing
Website builder

Built-in but buggy

Stable website hosting

Reported downtime issues

Access
Mobile apps

iOS and Android apps

Audio articles

For members, articles can be read aloud

Branding
Custom domain

Available on all plans

Custom domain (free)

Requires payment for custom domain

Design customization

Very limited options

Marketing
Basic automation

Scale plan+, limited compared to competitors

Advanced automation

Limited triggers and workflows

Control
Audience ownership

Cannot export follower emails

Segmentation
Subscriber tags

Recently added

Distribution
Algorithm transparency

Opaque, frequently changing

Email newsletter

Limited email features

Support
Responsive support

Slow/chatbot-first, premium for humans

Quality customer support

1.7/5 Trustpilot rating

Comprehensive documentation

Outdated, gaps in coverage

Payments
Reliable Stripe integration

Bug reports and errors

Deliverability
Dedicated IP

Enterprise only

Integrations
API access

Very limited API