# Substack vs beehiiv: the real cost of a paid newsletter (2026)

> Free head-to-head by StackPriced. Data as of 14 Oct 2026. Some links are affiliate links; rankings are pure cost math. Full report: https://stackpriced.com/

Substack is free to publish but keeps 10% of paid-subscription revenue. beehiiv charges a flat monthly plan and takes 0% of paid subscriptions. Which is cheaper depends on your revenue, not your list size.

## Short answer

- Free newsletter, no revenue: Substack is $0 at any size; beehiiv is free only up to 2,500 subscribers.
- Paid newsletter: beehiiv Lite is cheaper once MRR passes Lite's price ÷ 0.107, about $1,299 MRR at 10k subscribers and $1,860 at 25k.
- At scale: with $25,000 MRR, Substack costs $4,150/mo vs $1,944 on beehiiv Lite (16.6% vs 7.8% of MRR).
- Ads: beehiiv has a built-in Ad Network (Lite+). We did not verify an equivalent on Substack this edition.
- Leaving: Substack exports a subscriber CSV but not full names; beehiiv imports Substack lists and keeps Substack's post URL structure.

## Monthly list price (USD, monthly billing)

| Subscribers | Substack platform fee | beehiiv Free | beehiiv Lite | beehiiv Pro | Break-even MRR vs Lite* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | Free | $59 | $109 | $551 |
| 2,500 | $0 | Free | $79 | $149 | $738 |
| 5,000 | $0 | — | $109 | $199 | $1,019 |
| 10,000 | $0 | — | $139 | $239 | $1,299 |
| 25,000 | $0 | — | $199 | $349 | $1,860 |
| 50,000 | $0 | — | $299 | $469 | $2,794 |
| 100,000 | $0 | — | $469 | $699 | $4,383 |

## All-in cost for a paid newsletter (US cards, monthly)

### 8,000 subs · 200 paying × $8 = $1,600 MRR

| Option | Total/mo | % of MRR |
|---|---|---|
| beehiiv Lite | $245.40 | 15.3% |
| Substack | $277.60 | 17.4% |
| beehiiv Pro | $345.40 | 21.6% |

Cheapest: beehiiv Lite

### 25,000 subs · 750 paying × $10 = $7,500 MRR

| Option | Total/mo | % of MRR |
|---|---|---|
| beehiiv Lite | $641.50 | 8.6% |
| beehiiv Pro | $791.50 | 10.6% |
| Substack | $1,245.00 | 16.6% |

Cheapest: beehiiv Lite

### 100,000 subs · 2,500 paying × $10 = $25,000 MRR

| Option | Total/mo | % of MRR |
|---|---|---|
| beehiiv Lite | $1,944.00 | 7.8% |
| beehiiv Pro | $2,174.00 | 8.7% |
| Substack | $4,150.00 | 16.6% |

Cheapest: beehiiv Lite

## Break-even: when beehiiv Lite becomes cheaper than Substack

Substack's extra cost is 10% + 0.7% Stripe Billing of MRR (card fees are the same on both), so beehiiv Lite wins once MRR is above Lite's monthly price ÷ 0.107 (last column above).

## Features and fit

| | Substack | beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free at any size | Up to 2,500 subs |
| Paid subscriptions | Yes | Lite+ |
| Automations | Welcome emails; sequences reported (3rd-party) | Lite 10 / Pro unlimited |
| Ad network | n.v. | beehiiv Ad Network (Lite+) |
| Export | Subscriber CSV; full names not exportable | Data exports, all plans |
| Data location | US-established; US and other countries | USA (AWS US regions) |
| EU DPA | Annex in Publisher Agreement (SCCs) | DPA with SCCs; 15 days' notice of new sub-processors |
| Migration into beehiiv | — | Substack URL structure carries over; Stripe subscribers move in place |

Sources: https://kit.com/pricing, https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing, https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost, https://security.beehiiv.com/, https://kit.com/dpa (retrieved 2026-10-14)

Full report: {D}/