Writers leave beehiiv mainly over how the bill grows with the list. Lite and Pro are priced in list-size steps, branding removal and unlimited analytics sit on Pro, and the free tier stops at 2,500 subscribers. Others want a flat fee, a self-hosted tool, or a European contracting entity, and some simply want a plainer email tool.
Short answer: The first three alternatives to Beehiiv in our newsletter platform ranking are Buttondown, Ghost and MailerLite. Where a category has smaller vendors worth recommending, they occupy the first three places and the big brands come below them. Choose Buttondown if you want a small independent vendor and a Markdown editor. Below are 11 alternatives, each taken from the Best Newsletter Platforms in 2026 ranking, with its main difference from Beehiiv.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Pricing: Free tier to 2,500 subscribers; Lite and Pro priced by list size, published
Established in: United States
Built for: Newsletters that grow through referrals and sponsor deals
Not for: Authors who want a cheap flat price at a large list
01
Why buyers look past Beehiiv
01
The price follows the list, step by step
beehiiv's pricing page lists Lite from 59 dollars a month (49 on annual billing) and Pro from 109 (95 annual) for lists up to 1,000. At 10,000 subscribers the same plans read 139 and 239 dollars monthly, and at 25,000 they read 199 and 349. Pro lists go on to 250,000 and above, so a growing audience climbs a published ladder.
02
Several features wait on the higher plan
On the plan comparison, branding removal, unlimited automations and unlimited analytics history are Pro. Lite gives 12 months of analytics, 10 automations, one paid subscription tier and two seats, and Free gives 30 days of analytics and one seat. A small team that wants its own look and long history pays the Pro rate early.
03
A US platform with Stripe on top
beehiiv says it takes 0% of paid subscription revenue, but Stripe's standard fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction applies as well. The category record lists the company as United States based. Publishers who want a European vendor or a different payment arrangement have several tools to compare.
your newsletter is one part of a wider email and marketing set-up
#12
03
What each one does differently
1
Buttondown
United States · Published
Buttondown describes itself as profitable, self-funded and fully remote since 2017. It meters active subscribers only and charges nothing for the first 100. Segmentation, analytics, paid subscriptions and automations are monthly add-ons, so a plain newsletter stays cheap while one that wants all four sees the bill rise.
Switch from Beehiiv if you want a small independent vendor and a Markdown editor.
Ghost is run by a non-profit foundation and its code is published under the MIT licence, so you can host it yourself and take the code with you. Hosted tiers scale with member count, and paid subscriptions begin at the second tier without a transaction fee from Ghost. You get a website with the newsletter, which means more setup.
Switch from Beehiiv if you want a publication site you could one day host yourself.
MailerLite is a Lithuanian company whose plans bundle landing pages, a website builder and paid newsletter subscriptions with the email tool. The free plan holds 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and API sending needs a paid plan. The contracting entity depends on billing country, so read the terms.
Switch from Beehiiv if you want one subscription for email and a small site, from an EU base.
Curated does one job: you save links through a bookmarklet or an email address, add commentary and send the digest. Every feature is included at every list size, seats are not charged, and the free tier runs to 1,500 subscribers. Long essays, paid tiers and community features are outside its scope.
Switch from Beehiiv if your issue is a weekly link roundup with your own commentary.
Listmonk is a single binary with a PostgreSQL store, free under AGPLv3, and you connect your own SMTP provider. The vendor site names no cloud service of its own, so installation, upgrades and deliverability fall to you. It has no paid audience or monetisation features, only list management and sending.
Switch from Beehiiv if you have a technical person and want to own the sending stack.
Flodesk puts email design first and charges no per-send fee. Pricing follows subscriber count across Lite, Pro and Everything, with a free tier too. Checkout, subscriptions and payment plans come only in the top plan, and Lite stops at 25,000 subscribers, so a large list is pushed up a plan sooner.
Switch from Beehiiv if well-designed emails matter more to you than a growth network.
SendFox comes from the AppSumo group and gives 1,000 contacts free. Its lifetime plan is a one-off payment for a pool of 300,000 sends in total, deducted per contact per send, rather than a monthly allowance. White-label sending and paid newsletters are on the monthly Pro plan.
Switch from Beehiiv if you mail rarely and prefer to pay once instead of monthly.
Kit is an Idaho corporation aimed at creators, and its entry tier carries up to 10,000 subscribers while still selling digital products and subscriptions. Automation sequences, branding removal and SMS begin at the first paid tier, and team features one tier above that. Cost then follows list size.
Switch from Beehiiv if you sell products or subscriptions and have a list beyond 2,500.
Paragraph is now sold as an agent that turns a launch into an article, a newsletter and social posts, and publishes nothing until you approve. Plans are sized by campaigns a month and newsletter emails, from 2,500 on the free tier to 100,000 on Team. A custom domain starts at Launch.
Switch from Beehiiv if you want drafting help for product launches and approve each post.
Substack takes a tenth of paid subscription revenue, since its page says writers keep 90% after card fees. It states that you own your content and list, while the site, domain and reader network are Substack's. It costs nothing until readers pay, which suits a writer with few paying readers.
Switch from Beehiiv if you would rather pay a share of revenue than a fee that grows with the list.
Mailchimp belongs to the Intuit group and is sold as a marketing suite. Plans are priced by contacts with monthly send caps, Standard at up to 6,000 emails and Premium at up to 150,000. The free plan is for lists under 250 contacts, and phone support is a Premium feature.
Switch from Beehiiv if your newsletter is one part of a wider email and marketing set-up.
Ghost: It is MIT-licensed and run by a non-profit foundation, with hosted tiers scaled by member count if you prefer not to host.
02
You want a small independent vendor with cheap early months
Buttondown: The company says it is self-funded, and the first 100 active subscribers cost nothing, though analytics and automations are add-ons.
03
You send a weekly roundup of links
Curated: You collect links by bookmarklet or email and add commentary; the free tier runs to 1,500 subscribers with every feature included.
04
You want to run the sending stack on your own server
Listmonk: It is AGPLv3 software you install with your own SMTP provider, so deliverability and upgrades are yours.
05
You want to sell digital products to a list above 2,500
Kit: The entry tier carries up to 10,000 subscribers and still sells digital products and subscriptions.
04
When Beehiiv is still the right choice
beehiiv stays sensible when the newsletter is the business. The pricing page gives a website, unlimited sends on every plan, and paid subscriptions with no platform cut. The category record adds recommendations, polls and ad monetisation in the same subscription. If your list is under 2,500 and you can live with one seat, branding and 30 days of analytics, the free tier costs nothing to try before you decide.
05
What moving off Beehiiv involves
01
Subscribers and paid members are separate jobs
Export the subscriber list, tags and segments first, then check how the new tool handles paying members. Stripe is involved at beehiiv, so paid readers usually have to be re-subscribed or migrated through the payment processor, and the destination's own rules decide whether that is smooth.
02
Check what the website and links carried
If your archive, custom pages and domain live on beehiiv, plan redirects before switching DNS. Links in old emails keep pointing at the old pages, so keep the archive reachable for a while and test a sample of the most clicked issues.
06
Questions about replacing Beehiiv
6 answers
What does beehiiv cost at 10,000 subscribers?
The pricing page we read lists Lite at 139 dollars monthly (119 on annual billing) and Pro at 239 monthly (199 annual) for lists up to 10,000. Prices are in US dollars and move in steps with list size.
Is there a free version of beehiiv?
Yes. The free plan carries up to 2,500 subscribers, one seat, one publication and unlimited sends, with 30 days of analytics. The page lists custom domains inconsistently, so confirm before relying on one.
Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?
The page says 0% of paid subscription revenue, with Stripe's 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction on top. Substack, by contrast, says writers keep 90% after card fees.
Which alternative has an unlimited-send or lifetime option?
SendFox sells a lifetime plan with a pool of 300,000 sends in total. Flodesk has no per-send charge, and Curated includes every feature at every size.
Can I self-host instead of paying per subscriber?
Ghost is MIT-licensed and can be self-hosted, and Listmonk is AGPLv3 and always self-run. In both cases you carry setup, upgrades and sending reputation.
Where do I remove beehiiv branding?
Branding removal is listed for Pro and Enterprise only, not for Free or Lite.
—
Sources
Checked 5 November 2026
beehiiv pricing: Free, Lite, Pro prices by list size, limits, branding removal, 0% paid subscription cut, Stripe fee.
Buttondown: Self-funded, active subscriber pricing, first 100 free, add-ons.
Ghost: Non-profit, MIT licence, member-based hosted tiers.
MailerLite: Free 250 subscribers, websites and paid subscriptions, API sending on paid plans.
Curated: Free to 1,500 subscribers, all features at every size, no seat charges.
Listmonk: AGPLv3, single binary, PostgreSQL, own SMTP.
Flodesk: Lite, Pro and Everything by subscribers, no per-send charge, Lite to 25,000.
SendFox: Free 1,000 contacts, lifetime plan 300,000 sends, Pro white-label.
Kit: Free to 10,000 subscribers, automations and branding removal on paid tiers.
Paragraph: Agent, approval step, free 2,500 to Team 100,000 emails, domain from Launch.
Substack: Writers keep 90% after card fees, content and list ownership.
Mailchimp: Intuit, Standard 6,000 and Premium 150,000 emails, free plan under 250 contacts.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Sebastiaan Smits wrote and checked this page, most recently on 6 November 2026. See how we review.
