Is Substack cheaper than beehiiv?

For a free newsletter, yes: Substack is $0 at any size, while beehiiv needs a paid plan past 2,500 subscribers. For a paid newsletter it depends on revenue. Substack keeps 10% of each payment; beehiiv keeps 0% but charges a plan, $139/month for Lite at 10,000 subscribers.

Substack vs beehiiv: which takes a cut of my revenue?

Substack takes 10% of each subscription payment. beehiiv takes 0%. Stripe charges its card fees on both.

When does beehiiv cost less than Substack?

At 10,000 subscribers, beehiiv Lite is $139/month. Substack's 10% passes that when paid revenue goes over $1,390 a month. At 50,000 subscribers Lite is $299/month, so the line is $2,990 a month.

Can I move from Substack to beehiiv or to Terlido?

Yes. Substack lets you export your subscriber list as a CSV from the Subscribers page, and both beehiiv and Terlido import a CSV.

beehiiv vs Substack: what you pay at 1k, 10k and 50k subscribers

Substack is free to publish at any size and takes 10% of paid subscriptions, plus Stripe fees. beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers, then charges a monthly plan by list size ($139/month for Lite at 10,000 subscribers) and takes 0% of paid subscriptions. Substack suits writers who want no monthly bill and its reader app; beehiiv suits creators who earn enough that a flat plan costs less than 10%.

What you pay each month

Vendor prices checked on 2026-11-07 on their own pages, billed monthly, in US dollars.

Plan	1,000subscribers	10,000subscribers	50,000subscribers
Substack, no paid subscriptionsFree to publish at any size	$0	$0	$0
Substack's 10%, if 5% of readers pay $5/month50, 500 and 2,500 paying readers. Stripe card fees come on top (see below)	$25	$250	$1,250
beehiiv, lowest plan that fits0% of paid subscriptions	Free $0	Lite $139	Lite $299
beehiiv Pro	$109	$239	$469
Terlido NewsletterFree up to 10,000 subscribers (1 brand, a small footer line). Pro $29/month, flat to 100,000. No paid subscriptions.	Free $0	Free $0	Pro $29

Substack charges no monthly fee, so its cost depends on what readers pay. The 5% at $5/month line is an example, not a Substack figure: change it for your own list. On both platforms Stripe charges its own card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment, and Substack lists 0.7% for recurring billing). beehiiv prices are billed monthly; yearly billing saves up to 20%.

Sources, checked 2026-11-07: Substack help center: How much does Substack cost?, beehiiv pricing page. Terlido prices from Terlido Newsletter pricing. Prices change, so check their site before you buy.

Where Substack is better

No monthly bill at any size. If nobody pays, Substack costs nothing.
A reader app and discovery that can bring readers you did not reach yourself.
Podcasts and live video in the same place as the newsletter.

Where beehiiv is better

0% of paid subscription revenue. At 10,000 subscribers, Substack's 10% costs more than beehiiv Lite once readers pay more than $1,390 a month.
A website on every plan, and an ad network, automations and A/B tests from Lite.
Unlimited email sends on every plan.

Where both are better than Terlido

Paid subscriptions. Terlido has no paywall or paid tiers.
Sending a big list in one go. Terlido sends from your own mailbox at your provider's pace, so a large list can take more than a day.

Questions

Is Substack cheaper than beehiiv?: For a free newsletter, yes: Substack is $0 at any size, while beehiiv needs a paid plan past 2,500 subscribers. For a paid newsletter it depends on revenue. Substack keeps 10% of each payment; beehiiv keeps 0% but charges a plan, $139/month for Lite at 10,000 subscribers.
Substack vs beehiiv: which takes a cut of my revenue?: Substack takes 10% of each subscription payment. beehiiv takes 0%. Stripe charges its card fees on both.
When does beehiiv cost less than Substack?: At 10,000 subscribers, beehiiv Lite is $139/month. Substack's 10% passes that when paid revenue goes over $1,390 a month. At 50,000 subscribers Lite is $299/month, so the line is $2,990 a month.
Can I move from Substack to beehiiv or to Terlido?: Yes. Substack lets you export your subscriber list as a CSV from the Subscribers page, and both beehiiv and Terlido import a CSV.

Full comparison: Terlido vs beehiiv and Terlido vs Substack.

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