beehiiv vs Kit vs Substack for a New Newsletter

Short answer: if you want a free, growth-focused newsletter with your own website, try beehiiv. If you plan to sell to subscribers and want the largest capped free subscriber limit, look at Kit. If you want the simplest start and don't mind a share of paid-subscription revenue going to the platform, look at Substack, which is free to publish on and keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue ^[1].

Quick comparison

The real cost difference: monetization fees

All three can run a free newsletter for $0. The costs differ once you charge readers.

• Substack keeps 10% of each subscription payment, and Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment plus 0.7% for recurring billing ^[1].
• beehiiv says it "takes 0% of your paid subscription and digital product revenue", with Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction ^[2]. Paid subscriptions are listed on the Lite plan and up ^[2].
• Kit lists a fee of 3.5% + 30¢ on digital products and subscriptions, which it says includes card processing ^[3].

A worked example (our arithmetic, US card payments, before taxes): on a $10 monthly subscription, Substack keeps $1.00 and Stripe takes about $0.30 + $0.29 + $0.07 ≈ $0.66, so the writer keeps about $8.34. On beehiiv, Stripe takes about $0.59 and beehiiv takes 0%, so the writer keeps about $9.41, but beehiiv's paid plan costs money each month. Kit's listed 3.5% + 30¢ leaves about $9.35, again on top of a paid plan. Which one costs less overall depends on how many paying subscribers you have, so run the numbers for your own list.

beehiiv: best for growth-focused newsletters

beehiiv's free plan includes up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, email templates, landing pages and a recommendation network ^[2]. beehiiv says website, podcast, community and digital products are included on every plan, with limits and advanced features changing as you move up ^[2]. Lite adds paid subscriptions, ad monetization, automations and A/B testing, and Pro removes beehiiv branding ^[2].

Choose beehiiv if: you're starting a regular newsletter, want it to look like a publication with its own site, and expect to grow past a hobby list.Think twice if: you'll need automations on day one but don't want to pay, because they start on Lite ^[2].

Kit: best if you plan to sell to your list

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is an email marketing tool for creators. Its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, plus tagging and segmentation and selling digital products ^[3]. The paid Creator plan adds unlimited visual automations and email sequences ^[3].

Kit's free plan and automations: Kit's current Free plan doesn't include visual automations or email sequences, according to its pricing page and its "The Kit Free plan" help article ^{[3] [4]}. An older help page saying free accounts get one basic automation and one sequence describes the old "Newsletter Plan", which is no longer on Kit's pricing page. The details are in our Kit free plan guide.

Choose Kit if: you plan to sell products, courses or memberships, and want tagging and (on paid plans) automated sequences.Think twice if: you mainly want a publication-style newsletter with a web archive and growth features.

Substack: simplest start, with a revenue share

Substack is free to publish on, whatever your list size ^[1]. If you turn on paid subscriptions, it keeps 10% of subscription revenue, Stripe charges its own processing fees, and readers pay the price you set ^[1]. A custom domain is optional and costs a one-time $50 ^[1]. We haven't checked Substack's other features on its official pages, so this article doesn't compare its editor, growth tools or analytics.

Choose Substack if: you want to start writing today with no setup decisions and no monthly bill.Think twice if: you expect meaningful paid-subscription revenue. The 10% share grows as your revenue grows, so compare it with a flat monthly plan elsewhere.

How to choose in 3 questions

1. Will you charge readers soon? If not, all three can be free. If yes, compare Substack's 10% ^[1] with beehiiv's 0% take rate on a paid plan ^[2] and Kit's listed transaction fee ^[3].
2. How big will your list get in the next year? beehiiv Free stops at 2,500 subscribers ^[2], and Kit Free at 10,000 ^[3].
3. Do you need automations? They're paid on beehiiv (Lite and up) ^[2] and on Kit's Creator plan ^{[3] [4]}.

Which fits these three writers?

A hobby writer sending a free weekly letter. Any of the three works at $0. Substack has the least setup ^[1]. beehiiv adds a recommendation network on its free plan ^[2]. Kit's free plan has the largest capped subscriber limit, 10,000 against beehiiv's 2,500 ^{[3] [2]}, while Substack's free plan has no subscriber cap ^[1].

A coach who'll sell a course next year. Kit's tagging, segmentation and product sales on the free plan, with sequences on Creator, fit this path ^[3]. Kit's listed 3.5% + 30¢ transaction fee covers card processing ^[3].

A niche publication aiming for paid subscribers. Compare Substack's 10% share ^[1] with beehiiv's 0% take rate, which requires a paid plan from Lite ^[2]. With a few paying readers, Substack's free model may cost less; with more, a flat monthly plan can come out ahead. Run the numbers at your expected size.

FAQ

Which is best for a beginner? It depends on what you need first. Substack is the simplest start ^[1], beehiiv adds growth features on its free plan ^[2], and Kit has the largest capped free subscriber limit ^[3]; Substack's free plan has no subscriber cap ^[1].

Do any of them charge readers a fee? Readers pay the subscription price the writer sets. We couldn't confirm on Substack's official help pages whether reader-side costs differ between web and iOS app purchases, so check Substack's help center if that matters to you.

Can I use my own domain? Substack offers a custom domain for a one-time $50 ^[1]. For beehiiv and Kit, check each pricing page for which plan includes custom domains, because we haven't confirmed those details for this article.

Switching later

Choose for the next six to twelve months; you can move later. Before you commit, check each platform's help center for how to export subscribers and, if you have them, paid subscribers, because moving paying readers usually involves your payment processor as well.

Bottom line

beehiiv suits growth-focused newsletters, Kit suits creators who plan to sell to their list, and Substack suits writers who want the simplest start and accept a 10% share of paid revenue ^[1]. None of them will build an audience for you; that still depends on what you publish and how often.

We earn a commission on beehiiv links. Kit and Substack links on this page are plain links.