beehiiv is cheaper than Substack once a paid newsletter earns more than about $590 a month on a 1,000-subscriber list. Below that, Substack’s 10% costs less than beehiiv’s $59 Lite plan. On 100 payments of $10, beehiiv leaves $875 and Substack leaves $834. Price is only half the decision. Substack is the better place to find readers, and beehiiv is the better business tool once you have them.
How much do Substack and beehiiv take?
Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions and charges no plan fee. beehiiv takes 0%, but only its paid plans can charge readers, and Lite costs $59 a month billed monthly at 1,000 subscribers. Both pay Stripe the same 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment plus 0.7% for recurring billing.
beehiiv prices each plan by total subscribers, free readers included. As of October 2026, beehiiv’s pricing page lists Lite at $59 a month for 1,000 subscribers, $79 for 2,500, $109 for 5,000 and $139 for 10,000, billed monthly. Yearly billing cuts the 1,000-subscriber price to $49 a month.
The table is arithmetic on published fees, assuming $10 monthly payments from US cards and Lite billed monthly.
| Paying readers and list size | Monthly revenue | Substack keeps | beehiiv keeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 paying, 1,000 on the list | $300 | $250 | $221 |
| 100 paying, 1,000 on the list | $1,000 | $834 | $875 |
| 300 paying, 10,000 on the list | $3,000 | $2,502 | $2,663 |
The break-even is Substack’s 10% against beehiiv’s plan price. That puts it at $590 a month for a 1,000-subscriber list and $1,390 a month for a 10,000-subscriber list. A big free list with few paying readers favors Substack for longer.
Who owns the audience on Substack and beehiiv?
beehiiv gives you a little more control, and we score its ownership 8 out of 10 against Substack’s 7. Both run paid subscriptions through a Stripe account in your name, so paying web subscribers can move with you.
The differences are in the details. beehiiv’s full CSV export includes emails, status and tier, while Substack’s export leaves out names. beehiiv’s Lite plan includes a custom domain. Substack charges $50 once for one, and its newsletters still send from a substack.com address.
Moving from Substack to beehiiv takes some care. beehiiv needs a Stripe account created through its own setup, and its migration tool copies active subscriptions into it. The tool does not cancel billing on Substack, so you do that yourself, and beehiiv warns that more cards may fail at first. Substack’s iOS in-app subscribers cannot move at all, because Apple holds that billing.
Which platform helps new readers find you?
Substack does more, and we score its discovery 7 against beehiiv’s 6. Notes puts your posts, restacks and comments in a feed on the web and in the Substack app, and recommendations pass new subscribers between publications.
beehiiv’s Recommendations Network works on every plan. You can feature up to four publications in your signup flow, and others can feature you in theirs. beehiiv also lets you pay to grow. You fund a Wallet with at least $20, set a price per verified subscriber, and pay only for readers who pass verification. Neither tool replaces Substack’s app as a place where readers browse writers they have never heard of.
What features differ between Substack and beehiiv?
beehiiv offers more ways to earn, and Substack focuses on subscriptions and the network around them.
beehiiv’s extra income streams:
- An Ad Network on paid plans that pays by CPM on unique opens or CPC on clicks, with no sponsor outreach
- Paid recommendations that pay you for each verified subscriber you send to another newsletter, with beehiiv keeping 20% of the offer price
- Direct sponsorships sold from a storefront on Pro and Enterprise, at $10 per booking
- Digital products on every plan, with 0% to beehiiv
Substack’s own tools:
- iOS in-app subscriptions, where Apple takes 30% in the first year and 15% after, and Substack raises the in-app price by default to cover it
- Founding member plans that let readers pay any amount above your annual price
- Boost, which can offer engaged free readers 20% off a paid plan
- Sales tax and VAT calculated, collected and remitted for you from December 1, 2026, at no extra cost
Payout timing differs too. Subscription money on both goes to your Stripe account, and Substack says web payments usually reach your bank within 48 hours. beehiiv’s Ad Network earnings move to your beehiiv Wallet on the 20th of the month after the ads run, and Wallet withdrawals typically take 3 to 5 business days.
Which should you choose?
Start on Substack if you have few readers, and choose beehiiv if you already have a list and want ads and subscriptions under one roof. Our beehiiv vs Kit and Substack vs Ghost comparisons cover the other options, our best platforms for writers ranks both, and the guide to starting a paid newsletter covers setup.
- Pick Substack if you are starting from zero and need Notes, recommendations and the app to find readers.
- Pick Substack if paid revenue is under about $590 a month, or your list is large and few readers pay.
- Pick beehiiv if paid revenue is above your break-even, about $590 a month at 1,000 subscribers.
- Pick beehiiv if you want ad revenue or paid recommendations alongside subscriptions.
- Pick beehiiv if you want a full subscriber export and a custom domain included in your plan.