Newsletter Platforms Compared: Substack vs Beehiiv vs ConvertKit
A detailed comparison of the three leading newsletter platforms in 2026, covering pricing, monetization options, growth features, and which type of creator each one serves best.
Choosing a newsletter platform is one of the most consequential decisions a creator or media company makes. Migrating subscribers between platforms is painful, so getting this right from the start saves months of headaches later. Substack, Beehiiv, and ConvertKit each take fundamentally different approaches to helping you build, grow, and monetize a newsletter audience. This comparison breaks down exactly where each platform excels and where it falls short.
1Substack: The Simplest Path to Paid Newsletters
Substack pioneered the modern creator newsletter movement and remains the easiest platform to start a paid publication. You can go from zero to published newsletter in under 10 minutes with no technical setup required. The writing editor is clean and distraction-free, which appeals to writers who want to focus on content rather than design.
Substack is completely free to use for free newsletters. When you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack takes a 10% cut of your revenue plus Stripe's payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. For a $10 monthly subscription, you keep roughly $8.60 after both fees. There are no monthly platform fees regardless of subscriber count.
The Substack Network is a built-in discovery mechanism where readers browse and find new publications. Substack reports that their recommendation engine drives meaningful subscriber growth for active publications. Cross-promotion through Substack recommendations lets other writers promote your newsletter to their audience with a single click.
The main limitation is customization. You cannot change the layout significantly, add custom code, or build complex automation sequences. The analytics dashboard covers basics like open rates and subscriber growth but lacks the depth that data-driven creators need. If you want a simple writing-focused platform and plan to monetize through paid subscriptions, Substack is hard to beat.
2Beehiiv: Built for Growth-Focused Creators
Beehiiv was founded by former Morning Brew employees and reflects that growth-hacking DNA. Every feature is designed to help you acquire, retain, and monetize subscribers. The platform includes a referral program, recommendation network, A/B testing, and detailed analytics that go far beyond what Substack offers.
The free Launch plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and access to the website builder. The Scale plan at $39 per month (billed annually) handles up to 10,000 subscribers and adds custom domains, referral programs, and audience polls. The Max plan at $99 per month supports up to 100,000 subscribers with premium features like A/B testing on subject lines and content, plus API access.
Beehiiv's ad network lets creators monetize free newsletters through native advertising placements. Publishers earn between $1 and $5 per thousand opens depending on their niche and audience demographics. For newsletters with 10,000+ subscribers, this can generate $500-2,000 per month in passive ad revenue without charging readers a dime.
The Boost network pays you when other newsletters recommend you to their subscribers, typically $1-3 per new subscriber acquired. This creates a flywheel where growing your newsletter actually earns you money through recommendations. Beehiiv's automation capabilities are more advanced than Substack's but less powerful than ConvertKit's.
3ConvertKit: The Automation Powerhouse
ConvertKit approaches newsletters from an email marketing perspective rather than a media perspective. This gives it significantly more powerful automation, segmentation, and tagging capabilities than either Substack or Beehiiv. If your newsletter is part of a larger business with products, courses, or services, ConvertKit provides the infrastructure to connect everything.
The free Newsletter plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with basic email sends and one automation. The Creator plan at $25 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers adds automated sequences, visual automations, and third-party integrations. The Creator Pro plan at $50 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers includes subscriber scoring, advanced reporting, and a newsletter referral system. Pricing scales with subscriber count across all paid tiers.
ConvertKit's visual automation builder lets you create complex subscriber journeys based on behavior. You can tag subscribers who click specific links, move them between sequences, and trigger different content based on purchase history. This level of sophistication is not possible on Substack or Beehiiv without third-party integrations.
The commerce features let you sell digital products, paid newsletters, and tip jars directly through ConvertKit. The platform takes a 3.5% + $0.30 transaction fee on sales, which is lower than Substack's 10% cut. Landing pages, opt-in forms, and a visual email designer round out the toolkit for creators who need more than a simple newsletter.
4Deliverability and Open Rate Comparison
Deliverability is the hidden factor that determines whether your newsletter actually reaches subscriber inboxes. All three platforms maintain strong sender reputations, but there are meaningful differences in how they handle authentication and infrastructure.
Substack sends from their shared domain by default, which means your deliverability is partially tied to the behavior of other Substack publishers. Average open rates on Substack range from 35% to 55% for active publications. The platform handles all technical setup automatically, which is an advantage for non-technical creators.
Beehiiv supports custom sending domains on paid plans, giving you independent control over your sender reputation. Open rates on Beehiiv typically range from 30% to 50%. The platform provides deliverability analytics that show inbox placement rates across Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail, helping you identify and fix issues proactively.
ConvertKit also supports custom domains and provides detailed deliverability reporting. Average open rates fall between 30% and 45%, though this varies significantly by industry and list hygiene. ConvertKit automatically cleans cold subscribers by identifying and segmenting readers who have not opened emails in 90 days, which helps maintain high inbox placement rates over time.
5Monetization Options Side by Side
Substack offers paid subscriptions as its primary monetization model. You set a monthly or annual price and readers pay to access premium content. Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue. The platform also supports Founding Member tiers where readers can pay more than the standard price to support your work. There is no built-in ad network or sponsorship marketplace.
Beehiiv provides the most diverse monetization options. Paid subscriptions are available with no platform revenue share on the Max plan, though Stripe fees still apply. The native ad network matches you with advertisers automatically. Boosts pay you for recommending other newsletters. Premium web pages let you create paywalled content outside the newsletter format. This combination means you can generate revenue from both free and paid subscribers.
ConvertKit monetizes through digital product sales, paid newsletters, and tip jars. The Creator Commerce feature lets you sell ebooks, courses, templates, and other digital products with built-in checkout pages. At 3.5% transaction fees, ConvertKit is cheaper than Substack's 10% for paid content. Integration with platforms like Teachable, Gumroad, and Shopify extends the monetization possibilities further.
For creators focused purely on subscription revenue, Substack's simplicity wins. For those who want to monetize a free newsletter through ads and recommendations, Beehiiv is the clear leader. For creators selling products alongside their newsletter, ConvertKit provides the most flexible infrastructure.
6Making Your Decision
Start with your primary goal. If you want to write a paid publication with minimal setup and you do not need advanced features, Substack gets you to revenue fastest with zero upfront cost. The 10% fee is worth it for many creators who value simplicity over optimization.
If growth is your top priority and you want to monetize a large free audience, Beehiiv's combination of referral tools, ad network, and Boosts creates more revenue opportunities at scale. The $39 per month Scale plan pays for itself quickly once you activate the ad network with a few thousand subscribers.
If your newsletter supports a broader business with products, courses, or services, ConvertKit's automation and commerce features justify the higher price point. The ability to segment subscribers, trigger automations based on behavior, and sell digital products from one platform eliminates the need for multiple subscriptions.
Consider starting with a free plan on any of these platforms to test the writing experience and feature set. Substack and Beehiiv both offer free tiers with generous limits. ConvertKit's free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers, which gives you significant runway before you need to upgrade.