beehiiv vs Substack: A Flat Fee or a 10% Revenue Share

The short answer: if your newsletter is free to read and will pass 2,500 subscribers, Substack costs nothing at any size, while beehiiv's Free plan stops at 2,500 and Lite costs $95 a month billed yearly at 5,000 (Substack cost article, beehiiv pricing). If you charge readers, the line is $950 of paid revenue a month at that size: below it Substack's 10% share is cheaper, above it beehiiv's flat fee is, with a 0% take rate and growth tools sold in the plan. Both checked on 26 October 2026.

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Work it out on one sheet:

1. Find your break-even. Divide the beehiiv plan for your list size by 0.10. At 5,000 subscribers, Lite billed yearly is $95, so $95 / 0.10 = $950 of paid revenue a month (beehiiv pricing, Substack cost article). For example, 120 paying readers at $8 a month bring in $960; Substack keeps $96 of that, a dollar more than the plan.
2. Start from the list and domain you hold. Substack exports your posts, subscriber list and statistics as a zip from Settings, then Exports (export article). A custom domain on Substack is a one-time $50; beehiiv lists custom domains on its Free plan (beehiiv homepage).
3. Choose how you will judge it. Paid conversion (paying readers over total) and paid retention after six months. On beehiiv, the analytics window is 30 days on Free, 12 months on Lite and unlimited on Pro (beehiiv pricing), so a yearly retention view needs a paid plan or your own spreadsheet.

Every cost line, side by side

From the beehiiv pricing page and FAQ, the beehiiv homepage, Substack's cost article and its AI assistant article.

Three things that decide it

What each model costs as paid revenue grows

An example with round inputs, to show the shape rather than predict your numbers. Plan prices are beehiiv Lite billed yearly, from its pricing page; the share is Substack's 10% from its cost article. Card fees apply on both and are left out.

The share grows with every reader who pays. The plan grows only with the list.

Discovery inside an app, or growth tools you run

Substack's front page is a reading app with subscriptions, chat, activity and an explore feed, so writers are found by readers already on Substack (Substack). beehiiv sells the tools instead: a recommendation network on every plan, paid recommendations, a referral program with 3 reward milestones on Lite and unlimited on Pro, and an ad marketplace on paid plans (referral guide, Ad Network guide). One gives you an audience's habits; the other gives you levers.

How much of your data an assistant can touch

Substack's MCP server reads dashboard metrics, traffic and revenue, cannot publish or change anything, and connects only for Bestseller publications (AI assistant article). beehiiv's MCP reads on every plan and, on paid plans, writes: segments, custom fields, surveys, automation drafts and post drafts (beehiiv MCP guide).

An agent builds the upgrade segment

On a paid beehiiv plan, connect the MCP from Settings and ask the agent to build a segment of free readers who opened at least four of your last six issues and have never paid. It creates the segment and its conditions; beehiiv's guide says automations built over MCP must still be activated in the app (beehiiv MCP guide). Before activating the upgrade sequence, a person checks the segment's size against the post reports and reads five profiles in it. On Substack, a Bestseller publication can ask its assistant how paid retention is trending after six months; the action stays with you.

Start free on either

Both let you publish for nothing: Substack at any size, beehiiv up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and no card (Substack cost article, beehiiv pricing). Send eight issues before you turn on payments. If the free list grows and opens hold, the paid question is worth asking; if not, neither platform's pricing is your problem yet.

Substack is paid mainly through its share of what your readers pay, so its pages lead toward switching paid subscriptions on; beehiiv earns when your list passes 2,500, so its pages lead toward growth features. Neither default is neutral, which is why the sheet above comes first.

Choose beehiiv if your job is

• Charging readers and expecting paid revenue above the break-even for your list size.
• Growing through referrals, recommendations and sponsors you manage yourself.
• Letting an AI assistant build segments and drafts in the account.

Choose Substack if your job is

• Publishing a free newsletter past 2,500 subscribers at no platform cost.
• Being found by readers who already use the Substack app.
• Testing a paid newsletter with no monthly bill while revenue is small.

FAQ

Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?

No. Its FAQ says beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscription and digital product revenue, leaving Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (beehiiv pricing).

Can I take my Substack list with me?

Yes. Settings, then Exports, builds a zip with your posts, subscriber list and statistics, and Substack says anything you publish is yours (export article).

Do Substack readers pay more in the app?

Subscriptions bought in the Substack iOS app can cost more to cover Apple's fees, and the writer chooses whether in-app prices rise; Substack's 10% is based on the web price (Substack cost article).