The newsletter platform built for growth
beehiiv is a newsletter platform founded in 2021 by early Morning Brew employees Tyler Denk, Jacob Hurd, and Benjamin Hargett. Known for growth-focused features like referral programs, Boosts (paid recommendations), and an integrated ad network. Offers a generous free tier with 2,500 subscribers but pricing scales up for advanced features.
Patterns extracted from real user feedback — not raw reviews.
Users report submitting support tickets with zero replies. Chat support has been replaced with chatbots, requiring upgrade to premium ($39+/month) for human support. Urgent issues go unresolved for days or weeks. Some users describe support as 'frustratingly slow' or 'non-existent.'
Users report 'table stakes features break often, others don't function correctly, and some don't even exist.' Websites going down within a week of launching. The platform feels unstable for a paid service. Critical functionality is unreliable.
All beehiiv users send emails over the same shared domain, leading to deliverability problems for the entire user base. Emails going to spam, not being delivered at all, or facing delivery delays. Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft's strict authentication requirements compound the issue.
The Stripe integration is described as 'full of errors' that creates friction with customers and leads to churn. Payment processing issues affect monetization directly. Users report lost revenue due to Stripe integration bugs.
Users report errors with Zapier integration - 'There was a problem with the data returned from this step.' Integration problems block automated workflows and require manual workarounds or support escalation.
While the free tier is generous (2,500 subscribers), pricing can feel steep for smaller newsletters once you outgrow it. Scale plan starts at $43/month. Users wish there were more intermediate pricing options. Monetization features require paid plans.
beehiiv's automation options are minimal compared to ConvertKit or Mailchimp. Can't create custom workflows based on specific triggers. Forms are 'married to a single automation' making marketing automation best practices tricky. Automations only available on Scale plan.
The website builder is described as 'buggy and not always intuitive.' Support videos are out of date and reference the old website builder. Users report websites going down shortly after launching. The feature feels unfinished.
beehiiv historically didn't use tags or lists, which was 'quite disturbing' for users coming from other platforms. This limitation made advanced segmentation difficult. Subscriber Tags were added but the system is still less flexible than traditional email marketing platforms.
Help docs don't provide much clarity on how to accomplish tasks, leaving users to 'crawl through Reddit threads' for answers. Support videos are outdated. The knowledge base doesn't keep up with platform changes.
Due to growing user numbers, segment processing times can be slower than expected. Users with larger lists experience delays when sending to segments. The infrastructure struggles with scale at times.
Users report that opt-in forms 'look really bad' and emails are not displayed properly on tablets. Limited design customization options. Advanced customization is restricted. For brand-conscious creators, the visual limitations are frustrating.
Users report serious spam issues with no response from beehiiv. One user reported domain impersonation with malware links hosted on beehiiv accounts - impossible to get human response without an account. Another had all advertising payouts wiped from their account.
Growth-focused features are excellent
beehiiv excels at growth features: referral programs with customizable rewards, Boosts for paid cross-promotions, and an integrated ad network. These tools help creators monetize and grow from day one. The growth toolkit is genuinely best-in-class.
Generous free tier with 2,500 subscribers
The Launch plan offers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails completely free - more generous than most competitors. Automation, segmentation, templates, landing pages included. You can build a significant newsletter before paying anything.
Clean, modern interface for writing
The writing interface is praised for being clean and intuitive. Consistent updates add new features regularly. The platform feels modern compared to older email marketing tools. The user experience for content creation is genuinely good.
Everything lives in one dashboard
beehiiv consolidates newsletters, website, analytics, monetization, and growth tools in one platform. No need for multiple tools or integrations. For creators wanting simplicity, having everything in one place is genuinely valuable.
Analytics and reporting are comprehensive
Detailed analytics including open rates, click rates, subscriber growth, and engagement metrics. Better insights than Substack. Helps creators understand what content resonates. The data helps optimize newsletter strategy.
Constant feature updates and improvements
beehiiv ships new features regularly - the platform evolves quickly. The team is responsive to user feedback (even if support is slow). Recent additions include subscriber tags, improved automations, and AI writing tools.
Users: 1
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: 2,500 subscriber cap, No monetization, No AI tools, No priority support, beehiiv branding
Users: 3
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: 3 team members max, 1 publication, Pricing scales with subscribers
Users: Unlimited
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: Still scales with subscriber count, 10 publication limit
Users: Unlimited
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: Only for large publishers (100K+ subscribers), Custom pricing
Newsletter creators focused on growth
beehiiv's referral programs, Boosts, and recommendation network are designed for growth. If your primary goal is growing your newsletter, the toolset is excellent. The free tier lets you test these features before committing.
Creators wanting all-in-one platform
Newsletter, website, monetization, and analytics in one dashboard eliminates tool sprawl. For creators who want simplicity without managing multiple platforms, beehiiv consolidates everything effectively.
Writers starting their first newsletter
The generous free tier (2,500 subscribers) and intuitive interface make beehiiv great for beginners. More features than Substack's free tier. Can grow significantly before needing to pay.
Large enterprises with complex needs
Enterprise plan offers dedicated support and custom solutions, but beehiiv is relatively young. For very large operations, evaluate the maturity vs. established players like Mailchimp or HubSpot.
Technical users wanting API flexibility
beehiiv has an API but users report integration issues (Zapier errors, etc.). If you need reliable programmatic access, test thoroughly before committing. May work for simple use cases.
Email marketers needing advanced automation
beehiiv's automation is limited compared to ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, or Mailchimp. No custom workflow triggers, limited segmentation logic. Serious email marketers will find the automation capabilities insufficient.
Publishers requiring rock-solid reliability
Reports of features breaking, websites going down, and Stripe integration issues suggest beehiiv isn't yet mature for mission-critical publishing. If uptime and reliability are paramount, consider more established alternatives.
Creators needing responsive customer support
Support is slow to non-existent on free and lower tiers. Human support requires premium plans ($39+/month). If you anticipate needing help, the support experience may frustrate you.
Common buyer's remorse scenarios reported by users.
Users faced urgent problems (payment issues, account access, website down) with no support response. Chatbot couldn't help. Days or weeks passed without resolution. Discovered human support requires premium plans only after experiencing the problem.
Payment processing errors frustrated paying subscribers who couldn't complete purchases or renewals. The integration bugs created friction that cost real revenue. Some subscribers left rather than troubleshoot payment issues.
Deliverability issues emerged due to shared domain problems. Open rates plummeted. Support couldn't provide real solutions beyond generic advice. The core function of email delivery became unreliable.
The website builder feature failed - sites going down within weeks of launch. Support was unresponsive. Outdated documentation didn't help. Creators had to find alternative hosting solutions.
Creators wanting advanced email sequences discovered beehiiv can't do what ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign can. Forms tied to single automations. Limited triggers. Marketing automation best practices impossible to implement.
Started on generous free tier, but pricing jumps were steep once growth happened. $43/month felt reasonable but scaling to 10K+ subscribers meant significant monthly costs. Some migrated to flat-fee alternatives.
At least one user reported all advertising payouts being wiped from their account. Account was accessible but funds gone. Unable to get resolution through support channels.
Scenarios where this product tends to fail users.
Payment processing fails, account gets locked, or website goes down - and support doesn't respond for days or weeks. Chatbot is useless for real problems. Must upgrade to premium ($39+/month) just to get human help during crisis.
Shared domain issues cause emails to go to spam. Open rates plummet. Subscriber engagement drops. Generic support advice doesn't fix the underlying shared infrastructure problem. Revenue from paid subscribers at risk.
Payment errors prevent subscribers from purchasing or renewing. Customer friction leads to churn. Lost revenue while waiting for bug fixes. The core monetization feature becomes unreliable.
Your email marketing strategy needs advanced sequences, custom triggers, or sophisticated segmentation. beehiiv's limited automation can't implement your vision. Must choose between strategy and platform.
You launch your newsletter website on beehiiv but it goes down. Support is slow. Documentation is outdated. Your public presence is broken while you scramble for alternatives.
Your newsletter grows successfully but costs scale steeply. What started free now costs $100+/month. Flat-fee alternatives like Ghost become more attractive. Migration disrupts momentum.
Spammers abuse the platform, affecting shared domain reputation. Your legitimate emails get caught in spam filters. beehiiv's abuse handling is slow or non-responsive. Your sender reputation suffers from others' actions.
Zapier or other integrations throw errors. Automated workflows break. Must manually handle what should be automated. Support can't resolve integration issues quickly.
Substack
Creators wanting simplicity switch to Substack for zero-cost publishing with built-in network. Gain: completely free until monetizing, simpler interface, social discovery features. Trade-off: 10% fee on paid subscriptions, fewer growth tools.
ConvertKit (Kit)
Email marketers needing automation switch to ConvertKit for advanced workflows. Gain: powerful automation, tagging, visual sequences, creator commerce tools. Trade-off: newsletter-focused features less developed, different pricing model.
Ghost
Publishers wanting ownership switch to Ghost for complete control. Gain: 0% platform fees, full design customization, own your infrastructure, better SEO. Trade-off: requires hosting ($15-29+/month), more technical setup.
MailerLite
Bulk senders switch to MailerLite for unlimited emails on Advanced plan. Gain: more email volume, established deliverability, competitive pricing. Trade-off: less newsletter-focused, fewer growth features.
Buttondown
Developers and minimalists switch to Buttondown for simplicity and API access. Gain: clean Markdown-native interface, good API, transparent pricing. Trade-off: fewer features overall, smaller ecosystem.
Mailchimp
Businesses needing mature email marketing switch to Mailchimp for enterprise features. Gain: proven deliverability, extensive integrations, advanced automation. Trade-off: expensive at scale, complex interface, not newsletter-focused.
