As someone who has grown a Substack to nearly 4,000 subscribers, you might think I’d tell you to start writing on Substack. And that might be what’s best for you. But Beehiiv might be a better platform for you instead of Substack. So, which should you choose: Substack or Beehiiv?
Let’s compare Substack and Beehiiv so you can make an informed decision about which platform you should write on.
Substack or Beehiiv: Ease of Use.
If you are more familiar with newsletter platforms (like Kit or MailChimp), then Beehiiv will likely be more intuitive for you to start using. Beehiiv positions itself as a place to “create, grow, and monetize your newsletter with powerful tools built for modern creators.”
Substack, on the other hand, sees itself more as a home for content creators and their voices. Whether that content is articles, podcasts, or video, Substack is built around making things simple for people who have something they want to say.
If you are more used to using blogging platforms or social media networks, Substack will likely be easier for you to use.
Substack vs. Beehiiv: Cost.
Substack is entirely free for everyone to use. You will not be told you have to upgrade to a premium account to use certain features or tools on Substack.
Substack makes its money by taking 10% of each transaction from paid subscriptions. This is in addition to the credit card processing and billing fees with Stripe. Here’s what a breakdown of those fees could look like.
Beehiiv has various pricing tiers. They do have a free subscription plan for newsletters up to 2,500 subscribers. But if you want to offer paid subscriptions to your audience, you will have to upgrade to a paid plan.
If you’re not making much money from paid subscriptions to your newsletter, Substack is the cheaper option.
The tipping point where Beehiiv becomes the better option on cost is if you are receiving more than $430 each month in paid subscriptions. If you receive $500 a month in paid subscriptions through Substack, you’re paying more in Substack fees than you would pay monthly to Beehiiv.
So while Substack is the cheaper option, keep their fees in mind if your paid subscription numbers start to grow.
Substack or Beehiiv: Monetization Options.
The only monetization option that’s built into Substack is through paid subscriptions. Some people like the simplicity of Substack, but some want more robust monetization features, especially if you’re treating your newsletter as a business. If that’s the case, Beehiiv is the better option.
Currently, Beehiiv has four main built-in monetization options.
While you have to subscribe to Beehiiv’s paid tiers to use these features, the earnings potential is certainly much higher with Beehiiv.
Substack or Beehiiv: Community Engagement.
While both of these platforms do a good job with community engagement, the way they go about doing it is very different. This is one area where Beehiiv’s focus as a newsletter platform and Substack’s focus as a social media site really shows up.
Engaging with your community on Substack is very similar to how you would engage with people on any social media network. You can post on Notes — Substack’s social media feed, or start a chat with your subscribers. Maybe you’re up for a face-to-face conversation, so you decide to “Go Live” through video.
Beehiiv also has ways for you to engage with your audience, but it’s mainly through more targeted emails or automated email sequences.
Your preference for an “email-first” platform or a “social-media/blogging-first” platform will determine how you prefer to engage with your community.
Substack vs. Beehiiv: Customization.
While Substack has a few options that allow you to make minor changes to the look of your Substack, your Substack will look something like this:
Some people — myself included — don’t enjoy designing a website or newsletter. If you don’t want a lot of customization options, then Substack is exactly what you need.
But if you want to customize every little thing about your site and newsletter, Beehiiv will fit what you’re looking for. In fact, Beehiiv advertises its customization features as “Every Touchpoint, Perfectly Branded:
From layout to colors to custom domains, beehiiv gives you complete control to craft a newsletter and website that looks and feels like yours — down to the last pixel.
So if you want clean and simple, go with Substack. If you want custom and unique, choose Beehiiv.
Substack or Beehiiv: Email List Management.
Substack’s email list management is straightforward — you have two kinds of subscribers: free and paid. Beyond this, there aren’t many options available to segment your audience into different groups.
This is yet another reminder that Substack is more of a social media site than a newsletter platform, because being unable to group your subscribers into various segments is probably unthinkable for the more hardcore newsletter users.
So if you want to segment your subscribers into all kinds of different groups based on various attributes like when they signed up, or how much money they’ve spent with you, or where they’re from…then you’ll want to use Beehiiv.
Substack or Beehiiv: Analytic Features.
If you’re content with a surface-level look at your analytics, Substack will give you everything you need. Substack will give you the basics of total views, where those views came from, and how many people subscribed.
You can also see the views, email delivers, total opens, and open rate on individual posts/emails. But you won’t find much if you want to dig deeper into the stats.
Beehiiv provides a much more thorough look into the metrics and analytics surrounding your newsletter. If you are a “numbers” person and like to dig deeply into the numbers to find patterns and opportunities, you’ll enjoy Beehiiv much more than Substack.
So, should you write on Substack or Beehiiv?
I believe they are both great tools, but the one that’s right for you will depend on what you’re looking for in a writing platform.
- Do you prefer blogging and interacting with others in a more social media-like environment? Does the thought of designing your own website or newsletter make your head spin? Then I would choose Substack.
- Do you want to build and grow a newsletter that will become a thriving business? Are you constantly looking for ways to improve the look and function of your newsletter? Then I would suggest you go with Beehiiv.
Either way, good luck to you!
