beehiiv alternatives
Email Marketing · www.beehiiv.com
beehiiv is a newsletter platform for publishing newsletters, podcasts, websites and digital products, with audience growth, monetization and analytics tools.
Switching to Kit saves $948 / year and covers 54% of the compared capabilities.
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Way less money.
Top beehiiv alternatives
We compared 14 products and found 13 cheaper options (3 of them cover at least half the compared features) · vs beehiiv Lite · 2.5k at $79/mo · scenario: 2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing, USD.
beehiiv’s own free plan covers this scenario. If you’re paying for features you don’t use, downgrading beats switching. The paid comparison below is for when you’ve outgrown free tiers — the “Free plans” view shows alternatives if you want free with different limits.
beehiiv costs $79/mo on the Lite · 2.5k plan at 2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing. We found 13 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 13 compared capabilities. beehiiv's own free plan covers this scenario, so downgrading may beat switching.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
EmailOctopus Pro · 2.5k plan · missing: A/B testing, Audience segmentation, Paid subscriptions, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 15% | $20/mo how? ⓘ | $708 / year 75% cheaper | |
Brevo Starter · 2.5k plan · missing: Paid subscriptions, Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 38% | $25/mo how? ⓘ | $648 / year 68% cheaper | |
Sender Standard · 2.5k plan · missing: Paid subscriptions, Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 38% | $27/mo how? ⓘ | $624 / year 66% cheaper | |
GetResponse Starter · 2.5k plan · missing: Paid subscriptions, Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain marketing automation — adjacent | 54% | $29/mo how? ⓘ | $600 / year 63% cheaper | |
Buttondown Standard plan · missing: A/B testing, Audience segmentation, Email templates, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars | 23% | $29/mo how? ⓘ | $600 / year 63% cheaper | |
Moosend Pro · 3k plan · missing: Paid subscriptions, Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 46% | $32/mo how? ⓘ | $564 / year 59% cheaper | |
MailerLite Comfort · 2.5k plan · missing: SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Custom sending/tracking domain, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 62% | $33/mo how? ⓘ | $552 / year 58% cheaper | |
ActiveCampaign Starter · 2.5k plan · missing: A/B testing, Email templates, Paid subscriptions, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 23% | $39/mo how? ⓘ | $480 / year 51% cheaper | |
Omnisend Standard · 2.5k plan · missing: Paid subscriptions, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 46% | $44/mo how? ⓘ | $420 / year 44% cheaper | |
Mailchimp Essentials · 2.5k plan · missing: Audience segmentation, Paid subscriptions, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 23% | $45/mo how? ⓘ | $408 / year 43% cheaper | |
Loops Growth plan · missing: A/B testing, Paid subscriptions, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars | 23% | $49/mo how? ⓘ | $360 / year 38% cheaper | |
TOP PICK Kit Creator · 3k plan · missing: SSO (SAML), Digital product sales, AI writing assistant, Website builder, Webinars | 62% | $59/mo how? ⓘ | $240 / year 25% cheaper | |
Klaviyo Email · 2.5k plan · missing: A/B testing, Paid subscriptions, SSO (SAML), Referral program, Ads & sponsorship monetization, Digital product sales, Custom sending/tracking domain, Website builder, Webinars marketing automation — adjacent | 31% | $60/mo how? ⓘ | $228 / year 24% cheaper |
Which beehiiv alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best free plan
- Kit — $0/mo (Newsletter plan) · covers 54%
- Best paid drop-in
- Buttondown — $29/mo (Standard plan) · covers 23%
- Need marketing automation, audience segmentation, email templates, paid subscriptions, referral program, ads & sponsorship monetization or custom sending/tracking domain?
- Kit — from $0/mo (Newsletter plan)
- Need A/B testing?
- Brevo — from $25/mo (Starter · 2.5k plan)
- Need SSO (SAML)?
- Sender — from $0/mo (Free Forever plan)
- Need digital product sales?
- MailerLite — from $33/mo (Comfort · 2.5k plan)
- Need AI writing assistant?
- Moosend — from $32/mo (Pro · 3k plan)
- Need website builder or webinars?
- GetResponse — from $29/mo (Starter · 2.5k plan)
What you give up
Capabilities beehiiv has that the top alternatives lack.
- A/B testing — Test variations of an email to see which performs better.Missing from Kit, Sender, EmailOctopus.
- Audience segmentation — Group subscribers into segments for targeted sends.Missing from EmailOctopus.
- Paid subscriptions — Sell paid subscriptions to your email list.Missing from Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- SSO (SAML) — Sign in through your company's SAML SSO.Missing from Kit, EmailOctopus.
- Referral program — Run a referral program that rewards subscribers for sharing.Missing from Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- Ads & sponsorship monetization — Monetize a newsletter through ads or sponsorships.Missing from Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- Digital product sales — Sell digital products directly to your email list.Missing from Kit, Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- AI writing assistant — Get AI help drafting email copy.Missing from Kit, Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- Custom sending/tracking domain — Send and track email from your own domain.Missing from Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- Website builder — Build a website using the same platform as your email campaigns.Missing from Kit, Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
- Webinars — Host webinars from within the platform.Missing from Kit, Sender, EmailOctopus, Brevo.
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
Feature comparison
beehiiv vs the top alternatives, on the 13 compared capabilities.
| Capability | beehiiv | Kit | Sender | EmailOctopus | Brevo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing automation from Lite | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A/B testing from Lite | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audience segmentation from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email templates from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid subscriptions from Lite | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| SSO (SAML) | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Referral program | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ads & sponsorship monetization | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Digital product sales | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI writing assistant | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Custom sending/tracking domain | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Website builder | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Webinars | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | $79/mo Lite · 2.5k | $0/mo Newsletter | $0/mo Free Forever | $0/mo Starter | $25/mo Starter · 2.5k |
✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.
What beehiiv covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Marketing automation — from Lite
- ✓ A/B testing — from Lite
- ✓ Audience segmentation — from Free
- ✓ Email templates — from Free
- ✓ Paid subscriptions — from Lite
- ✓ SSO (SAML)
- ✓ Referral program
- ✓ Ads & sponsorship monetization
- ✓ Digital product sales
- ✓ AI writing assistant
- ✓ Custom sending/tracking domain
- ✓ Website builder
- ✓ Webinars
- ↑ Transactional email API — only from Pro, not compared
- ↑ Remove branding — only from Pro, not compared
- ↑ Dedicated IP — only from Enterprise, not compared
- ✗ SMS marketing
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
Who switched
Anonymous: no account, no email, no IP stored. Reports are shown once a switch has 3 or more and never change ranking or order — alternatives are computed from prices and capabilities only.
Sources
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-29)
Frequently asked
How much does beehiiv cost?
beehiiv's Lite · 2.5k plan costs $79/mo in our scenario (2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing). A free plan exists.
Is there a free beehiiv alternative?
Yes. Kit has a free plan that covers 54% of the 13 capabilities we compared against beehiiv.
What is the cheapest beehiiv alternative?
In our scenario (2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month, monthly billing), Kit is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Newsletter plan).
What is the cheapest beehiiv alternative with Digital product sales?
MailerLite covers Digital product sales and costs $33/mo (Comfort · 2.5k plan) in our scenario.
Does beehiiv have a free plan?
Yes. beehiiv's free plan is limited to 2,500 contacts/month, 1 seat.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-10-28 and 2026-10-29, on the vendors' official pricing pages.