Beehiiv Review (2024): Is It The Best Tool to Grow and Monetize a Newsletter?

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Lizzie Davey

Lizzie Davey

Author

Paula Medeiros

Paula Medeiros

Researcher

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Beehiiv is making waves in the newsletter space as a fresh platform designed specifically for creators and writers.

Created to be a comprehensive solution, the tool addresses the unique needs of modern-day creators, allowing them to build, grow, and also monetize their content.

What sets Beehiiv apart from other email marketing tools?

While popular email marketing tools like Brevo try to cater to a wide range of businesses, Beehiiv stands out for its exclusive dedication to independent writers and how it was made specifically for creators, by creators.

Competing more closely with platforms like Kit and Substack, Beehiiv shines in this niche with its suite of handy tools that go beyond just email delivery, including built-in monetization options, analytics, and growth features.

The way it combines traditional newsletter writing with current creator-led capabilities (hello, paid subscriptions!) makes it particularly attractive to journalists, bloggers, and entrepreneurs who want to build and monetize their audience directly.

One of the biggest bonuses of Beehiiv are its frequent feature updates. In the last couple of months, they’ve released lifetime subscriptions, the option to create multiple subscription tiers and even a newly launched mobile-app builder for users to create their own app to connect with their audience.

It’s this responsiveness to user needs and market trends that has helped Beehiiv quickly establish itself as a serious contender in the newsletter space.

Despite being the new kid on the block, Beehiiv is constantly getting praise for its user-friendly interface, intuitive design and unique, consistent upgrades—all of which make it accessible to even the most tech-shy creators.

Beehiiv Review: Summary

Beehiiv is a tempting option for newsletter creators, with a standout feature being its free plan that allows you to build an audience of up to 2,500 subscribers. For $99 a month, users can have up to 10,000 subscribers and unlock advanced features like custom domains and robust monetization features, like cross-promotions with other newsletters and referral programs.

  • Beehiiv offers newsletter and landing page creation
  • Beehiiv boasts several monetization methods, including paid subscriptions and referral programs
  • All plans include a user-friendly email editor, built-in SEO tools, native analytics, monetization options, a customizable website and a mobile-app
  • Every newsletter on Beehiiv can launch their very own custom mobile app, for free

Beehiiv Screenshots

Beehiiv Pricing

$ 0

2,500 Subscribers

unlimited emails

Beehiiv's Free plan. Includes custom website and custom domains. Doesn’t include ad network, boost network, premium subscriptions.

$ 39

1,000 Subscribers

unlimited emails

Scale Plan. Includes everything in the Free plan, plus ad network, boost network, premium subscriptions, automations, referral program, and 3D analytics.

$ 59

2,500 Subscribers

unlimited emails

Scale Plan. Includes everything in the Free plan, plus ad network, boost network, premium subscriptions, automations, referral program, and 3D analytics.

$ 79

5,000 Subscribers

unlimited emails

Scale Plan. Includes everything in the Free plan, plus ad network, boost network, premium subscriptions, automations, referral program, and 3D analytics.

$ 99

10,000 Subscribers

unlimited emails

Scale Plan. Includes everything in the Free plan, plus ad network, boost network, premium subscriptions, automations, referral program, and 3D analytics.

Pros and Cons

  • Pros
  • Cons

Pros

  • Generous free plan

    The first thing that will catch your eye about Beehiiv is its free plan. You can build an audience of up to 2,500 subscribers without paying a penny, making it an excellent option for beginners or small creators just starting out. This generous offer sets Beehiiv apart from many competitors who typically limit free plans to much smaller subscriber counts.

  • All-in-one platform

    Beehiiv stands out by offering a comprehensive suite of tools in one place. You don’t just get typical email newsletter capabilities. You also get a website builder, SEO tools, and monetization features in the same dashboard. This can save you time and money because you don’t need to piece together multiple separate tools.

  • Built-in monetization options

    Beehiiv shines when it comes to helping creators make money from their content. With built-in tools for paid subscriptions, sponsored content, and ad placements, Beehiiv makes it straightforward to turn your newsletter into a revenue stream. This feature set is particularly valuable for independent writers and small publications looking to monetize their audience directly.

  • User-friendly interface

    The clean, intuitive design of Beehiiv’s platform is a major plus. Even if you’re new to newsletter publishing, you’ll likely find the interface easy to navigate and use. This user-friendliness doesn’t come at the expense of functionality, as the platform still offers powerful features for more experienced users.

Is Beehiiv the right newsletter service for you?

  • Recommended if:
  • Not recommended if:
  • You're a creator looking to monetize your newsletter

    Beehiiv is a top choice for writers, journalists, and content creators looking to turn their newsletters into a revenue stream. The platform’s built-in monetization tools, including paid subscriptions, sponsored content, and ad placements, means you can focus on creating great content while Beehiiv handles the technical aspects.

  • You want an all-in-one platform for newsletter publishing

    Want a comprehensive solution that goes beyond simple email delivery? Beehiiv is a good shout. The platform combines newsletter publishing with website creation, SEO tools, and analytics—the whole package in one place.

  • You're starting out and want room to grow

    Beehiiv is an excellent option if you’re just beginning your newsletter journey but have ambitions to grow. The platform’s generous free plan allows you to build an audience of up to 2,500 subscribers at no cost, giving you plenty of room to get your newsletter off the ground. As your audience grows, you can easily transition to paid plans that offer more advanced features.

Rating Details

Ease of Use

Beehiiv is intuitive and user-friendly. The clean design and logical layout make it easy to navigate and use, even for beginners. Each feature sits in its own section in the dashboard and the no-fuss layout means you’re not overwhelmed with unnecessary details.

Editor Info popup

Beehiiv’s editor is made up of building blocks, ranging from coded sections and plain text to images, blockquotes, and tables. It’s simple and functional. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of some competitors, it does provide everything you need to create clean, visually appealing newsletters.

Personalization Info popup

You can personalize emails in Beehiiv using basic custom subscriber data such as first name, last name, and location. While you need to enter the code yourself, it is fairly easy to do. They offer a quick guide for this here.

Email types Info popup

Beehiiv covers the main types of emails needed for newsletter publishing, including broadcasts and automated sequences (although automations are only available on paid plans). Note that it doesn’t include transactional or use-specific emails like abandoned cart emails or order confirmation emails.

Choice and Flexibility of Template Designs Info popup

This is where Beehiiv falls short. Unlike other tools, Beehiiv doesn’t have a library of pre-designed templates you can drag and drop your own information into. Instead, you have to build the templates yourself. While they’re clean and professional, this can be time-consuming if you are not sure how to design a newsletter.

Email Marketing Automation Info popup

Beehiiv’s automation features are only available on paid plans, but they offer a decent amount of customization and flexibility. It’s easy to create a welcome series and “if this, then that” scenarios, as well as set up other complex multi-step automations. You can add multiple triggers, custom conditions, implement time delays, and configure conditional branches within a workflow.

List Management Info popup

Beehiiv’s segmentation features are pretty powerful. You can group together subscribers based on the form they signed up from, survey responses, engagements, and specific attributes. Perhaps the most useful feature is you can choose whether you want your segments to be static or dynamic—the latter update daily to ensure your lists are as current as they can be. You can also tag subscribers.

Registration Forms/ Opt-in & Opt-out- Process Info popup

Beehiiv’s forms are basic but easy to create. You can create multiple sign-up forms using the “post” feature and selecting “website”. The editor is the same editor you use to create newsletters, so you can build your opt-in forms from different text and image blocks.

Deliverability Info popup

We haven’t run deliverability tests for Beehiiv (yet). However, in my personal experience, Beehiiv’s deliverability rates are quite good. The platform seems to have solid infrastructure in place to ensure emails reach subscribers’ inboxes. It’s always important to make sure you are up to date with deliverability best practices to avoid any problems.

Reports and Analysis

Beehiiv offers a solid set of analytics tools that cover the essentials for newsletter publishers. The dashboard provides a clear overview of key metrics such as open rates, click rates, and subscriber growth. These metrics are presented in an easy-to-understand format with visual graphs, making it simple to track performance at a glance. One of the strengths of Beehiiv’s analytics is the ability to track revenue directly within the platform. For creators using Beehiiv’s monetization features, this integration of financial data with newsletter performance metrics is particularly valuable.

Languages Info popup

Beehiiv’s platform is only available in English (though support offers more options). To change the language of your newsletter to any language you want, choose from the Default Language dropdown in your Publication Settings.

Spam- and Design-Testing Info popup

There’s a handy visual preview box that lets you see what your newsletters look like on mobile, in the browser, on desktop, and as an email. You can send a test email too to see if it arrives safely in your inbox.

Bounce Management Info popup

Beehiiv will automatically block hard bounces. For soft bounces, Beehiiv will attempt to deliver the email for 72 hours before converting it into a block. You can still see contacts that bounced in your subscribers or segments, and you can create a segment to find these contacts.

Blocklist Info popup

In your audience settings, you can filter to see all bounced subscribers, as well as unsubscribed ones. You can add all of these to a dedicated segment, or remove/delete them.

 

Storage available for data and images

Unlimited

There doesn’t appear to be a limit on the total amount of images, or on individual image sizes.

Authentication Info popup

Beehiiv manages SPF and DKIM setup and offers a DMARC wizard to help users create and set up DMARC authentication.

Own Domain Info popup

Beehiiv allows you to customize email links to track the links listed in a newsletter. You can also include your own company’s subdomain.

Different levels of account access Info popup

While you can add team members to your publications, you can’t grant them different levels of account access—it’s either all or nothing.

Integrations

Beehiiv integrates with popular content management systems and allow users to push content and collect emails from platforms like WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, and Squarespace. Additionally, Beehiiv supports integration with Zapier, providing access to over 3,000 apps, including well-known ones like Gmail and Trello. Migrating your existing newsletter from platforms such as Substack or Mailchimp is also straightforward.

Landing Page Builder Info popup

You can create landing pages using the newsletter editor (just select “website” in the editing panel). The builder is simple, using blocks to make up the design. Unfortunately, there are no pre-made templates to pull from. Instead, you have to design your landing pages from scratch.

Customer Support

Users can submit tickets through the help portal or get help through an extensive catalog of tutorials and guides. Customer support seems to be very fast and friendly. At the moment, support is available in 5 languages—English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese.

Overall rating

4.0

Beehiiv is an excellent tool for anyone looking to create, grow, and monetize their newsletter while building a community. With its user-friendly editors, no-fees policy for user revenue, and the ability to launch a website, it offers a comprehensive platform for writers and content creators. Although you can write a newsletter in any language, the editor and dashboard are only available in English.

A More Detailed Look at Beehiiv's Top Features

Creator-inspired growth and monetization tools

Beehiiv was made with creators in mind, so its monetization features are specifically geared towards this market—and they are exceptional!

beehiiv monetization options

Beehiiv offers a unique range of monetization tools for newsletters creators

With Beehiiv’s monetization tools, you can:

  • Set up paid subscriptions and create multiple subscription tiers, allowing readers to choose if they want to pay monthly, annually, or as a one-time payment for a premium subscription. You can even offer the option for them to choose their own price.
  • Add sponsored content to your newsletter and manage ad placements directly from the dashboard.
  • Passively earn revenue from your newsletter with their unique Boost feature, which allows users to either grow their audience or monetize their existing subscriber base (you can create offers to pay other publications to promote your content, or you can apply to earn money by promoting other newsletters to your own subscribers).

SEO-optimized web pages

Beehiiv automatically generates SEO-friendly web versions of your newsletters with their own unique URL. This improves the discoverability of your content beyond your email subscribers by attracting new readers through search engines. Many platforms limit content to email only, so this is a nice addition from Beehiiv.

3D analytics with revenue tracking

Beehiiv’s analytics dashboard stands out by integrating engagement metrics with revenue data—super useful for creators who want to learn more about their subscribers and make money at the same time. It’s available on the Scape plan and above, with a Posts Report and a Subscribers Report.

beehiiv 3d analytics

Beehiiv’s 3D analytics

You can see open rates and click-through rates in isolation, but you can also see how these metrics correlate with your earnings from subscriptions and sponsorships. The detailed analytics also show your performance and engagement by acquisition channel and evaluate where your best subscribers come from so you know where to invest your efforts.

Growth tools suite

Beehiiv is all about growth and has a number of tools designed to help you increase your subscriber count (because the more subscribers you have, the easier it is to monetize your newsletter). This includes things like customizable pop-ups, embeddable subscription forms, the Boost feature and their unique referral program. This referral system rewards your subscribers for bringing in new readers—it’s a win-win for you and them.

Custom domains with SSL

Beehiiv users can set up custom domains for their newsletters, complete with SSL certificates, at no extra cost—a bonus if you want to write a newsletter while creating a professional brand. This feature is available in Beehiiv’s paid plans at a fraction of the cost that other email marketing tools charge for it.

AI-powered writing assistant

Beehiiv has introduced an AI writing assistant feature that helps you generate ideas, draft sections of content, or even create entire newsletters based on prompts. This can be particularly useful for creators facing writer’s block or those who want to streamline (and speed up) their content production process. Note that the AI assistant is only available on paid plans.

Conclusion

After taking Beehiiv for a test run, I’m impressed with how well it caters to creators and writers. The platform strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and functionality.

Unlike more complex email marketing tools, Beehiiv focuses on what truly matters to most newsletter publishers—growing their audience, delivering great content, and making money in the process. This is evident in its suite of monetization tools that I haven’t really seen on any other platform (even Kit, which was also made with creators in mind, requires you to integrate with other platforms to take advantage of its monetization options).

The new AI writing assistant is also a game-changer, helping streamline content creation in a way that few other platforms off. While Beehiiv might not have the complex automation capabilities of ActiveCampaign or the vast template library of MailerLite, it excels in its targeted approach to newsletter publishing.

The platform could benefit from an even more user-friendly interface (I’m a big fan of drag-and-drop builders, and their editor isn’t quite there yet; plus, with frequent upgrades and new features, the learning curve can become steep). However, these are minor quibbles compared to all the great features Beehiiv offers.

The continuous updates and feature additions are a nice extra and I found the analytics much more detailed than a lot of other tools.

For anyone considering starting a newsletter or looking to switch platforms, I highly recommend taking advantage of Beehiiv’s generous free plan. It’s an excellent way to experience firsthand how the platform can simplify your workflow, enhance your content’s reach, build a community, and potentially transform your newsletter from a passion project into a profitable venture! Check out our picks of the best Beehiiv newsletters for some inspiration.

>> Try Beehiiv for free now

FAQ

Beehiiv is a relatively new newsletter platform designed specifically for content creators, writers, and publishers. It offers an all-in-one solution for creating, distributing, and monetizing newsletters, and features a user-friendly editor, built-in SEO tools, analytics, and unique monetization options.

Beehiiv offers a generous free plan that lets you build an audience of up to 2,500 subscribers. This plan includes core features like a newsletter editor, basic analytics, and SEO-optimized web pages.

Both Beehiiv and Substack are popular platforms for newsletter creators, but they have some key differences. Beehiiv offers more customization options and built-in growth tools, while Substack leans heavily into community. Read our full comparison of Beehiiv and Substack.

Yes, this is exactly what Beehiiv was made for. You can easily set up paid subscriptions, insert sponsored content into newsletters, set up referral programs, and manage ad placements—all directly within the platform.

Yes. Beehiiv is user-friendly and accessible for beginners. Plus, the free plan allows you to build an audience of up to 2,500 subscribers without spending a penny. While it’s easy to get started and send newsletters, Beehiiv also offers many advanced features that might require a steeper learning curve.

 

Beehiiv Alternatives

Kit: Kit is a great option for those seeking an email marketing tool with robust automation and a straightforward editor ideal for text newsletters. While its designs are quite basic, it can be ideal for writers. Note that its free plan is restrictive, lacking advanced reporting and integrations. For more insights, see our Beehiiv vs Kit comparison.

Flodesk: Flodesk is a popular choice for creators looking to send beautiful, unique emails. Their flat-rate pricing is a stand-out feature, allowing users to grow their list without worrying about escalating costs. For a detailed look at what the platform offers, read our Flodesk review.

Brevo: Brevo is a budget-friendly email marketing option with an easy to use editor and great registration forms that are very easy to customize. They offer smart automations features that should be enough for most users.

>> If you’re considering Substack as an alternative to Beehiiv, note that Substack takes a 10% cut of each subscription in addition to transaction fees. While Substack can be a good starting point for those on a strict budget, it is not as powerful as Beehiiv. For a detailed comparison, check out our “Beehiiv vs. Substack” article.

The authors

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Lizzie Davey

Lizzie is a freelance writer and strategist for forward-thinking SaaS brands in the ecommerce and marketing sectors. She loves creating long-form, customer-centric content that makes a difference as well as helping fellow freelancers build lasting businesses with handy courses and resources. When she's not tapping away at her keyboard, you can find her exploring new places, paddleboarding at sea, bouldering, or hanging upside down on aerial silks.

Paula Medeiros

Content Manager

Olá! I'm Paula, a bilingual writer passionate about newsletters and the face behind our Portuguese website. My love for books and tech inspired me to create my own newsletter and an online book club. After tirelessly searching the web for the best tools for my projects, I'm excited to help you find the perfect ones for yours at EmailTooltester.

Learn more about us

Our Methodology

This review has been written and researched following our EmailToolTester methodology.

Our Methodology

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