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  1. Home
  2. Compare
  3. beehiiv vs Substack

beehiivvsSubstack

Platform
vs
Platform
ScoresSignalsPricingFeatures

Score Comparison

62
Overall
58
70
Pricing
65
75
Usability
80
60
Performance
70
35
Support
20
55
Reliability
65
80
Onboarding
95
65
Mobile
60
55
Security
60
55
Integrations
25
beehiivSubstack

Signals Comparison

Support

beehiiv

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

Substack

  • Customer support is essentially non-existent(9/10)
Reliability

beehiiv

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

Substack

  • Billing issues and unexpected charges plague users(8/10)
  • Technical issues prevent publishing(7/10)
Integrations

beehiiv

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

Substack

No signals

Pricing

beehiiv

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

Substack

  • 10% revenue cut adds up significantly(9/10)
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)

Substack

  • No API limits automation and integrations(8/10)
  • Lacks email marketing features(8/10)
  • Minimal signup and segmentation options(6/10)
  • Poor reading experience on the app(5/10)
  • Discoverability is challenging for new writers(6/10)
  • Not suitable for sales funnels or affiliate marketing(5/10)
  • Limited analytics and insights(5/10)
Customization

beehiiv

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

Substack

  • Minimal design customization options(7/10)
Security

beehiiv

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

Substack

  • Content moderation controversy eroded trust(6/10)

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.

Substack

Free Publishing
Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: No paid subscriptions, Limited customization, No advanced email features, No API

Limited features compared to paid alternatives. No automations, segmentation, or advanced analytics. No customer support.
Paid Subscriptions Enabled
Popular
Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: 10% platform fee, ~13-14% total fees, No advanced email marketing, No API, Limited analytics

10% of subscription revenue to Substack + Stripe fees (2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% recurring). Total ~13-14% of revenue.
Substack Pro (By Invitation)
Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Invitation only, Not publicly available, Terms vary by creator

Only available to select high-profile writers. Higher revenue share negotiated. Not available to most creators.

Feature Comparison

FeaturebeehiivSubstack
Growth
Referral program

Customizable rewards for subscriber referrals

Network discovery

Recommendations, Notes, cross-posts

Pricing
Free to start

Completely free until paid subscriptions enabled

Free tier (2,500 subs)

Generous free plan

Monetization
Boosts (paid recommendations)

Earn by recommending other newsletters

Built-in monetization

One-click paid subscriptions with Stripe

Ad network

Sponsored links revenue (Scale+)

Paid subscriptions

Scale plan and above

Core
Subscriber ownership

Export email list anytime

Usability
Simple publishing

Clean editor, minimal learning curve

Analytics
Analytics dashboard

Comprehensive newsletter metrics

Advanced analytics

Basic stats only

Publishing
Website builder

Built-in but buggy

Stable website hosting

Reported downtime issues

Engagement
Community features

Notes, Chat, comments

Branding
Custom domain

Available on all plans

Design customization

Very limited options

Access
Mobile apps

iOS and Android reading apps

Marketing
Basic automation

Scale plan+, limited compared to competitors

Email automations

No automated sequences

Subscriber segmentation

Can't segment by behavior or interest

Advanced automation

Limited triggers and workflows

A/B testing

No subject line or content testing

Segmentation
Subscriber tags

Recently added

Support
Responsive support

Slow/chatbot-first, premium for humans

Human customer support

AI chatbots only, 1.4/5 rating

Comprehensive documentation

Outdated, gaps in coverage

Integrations
Public API

No API access whatsoever

Payments
Reliable Stripe integration

Bug reports and errors

Selling
E-commerce integrations

Subscriptions only, no products

Deliverability
Dedicated IP

Enterprise only