Last updated: 2026-06-07 · By Shash Eran
Beehiiv Pricing 2026 — All Plans, What's Included, and Which One Is Worth It
June 2026 update
Beehiiv pricing verified June 2026: Free (up to 2,500 subs), Launch ($49/mo), Scale ($99/mo), Max ($299/mo). No plan changes since Q4 2025. Annual billing saves ~15% on all paid plans. The Scale plan remains the monetization inflection point — 0% transaction fees on paid subscriptions, ad network access, and premium content gating.
TL;DR
Beehiiv has four plans: Free (up to 2,500 subs), Launch ($49/mo, up to 10K), Scale ($99/mo, up to 100K), and Max ($299/mo, unlimited). All paid plans include unlimited sends. The Scale plan is the monetization inflection point — it unlocks 0% transaction fees on paid subscriptions, the ad network, and premium content gating. Compared to Mailchimp, Beehiiv is dramatically cheaper at any list size above 10K, and it includes monetization tools Mailchimp doesn't offer at all.
1. All Four Beehiiv Plans at a Glance
Beehiiv uses a flat-rate pricing model — you pay a fixed monthly fee for a subscriber tier and can send as many emails as you want within that tier. There are no per-send charges, no contact-import fees, and no surprise overages mid-month.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Subscriber Limit | Key Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 2,500 | Unlimited sends, web hosting |
| Launch | $49/mo | $42/mo | Up to 10,000 | Boosts, custom domain, referrals |
| Scale ⭐ | $99/mo | $84/mo | Up to 100,000 | Ad network, 0% sub fees, premium content |
| Max | $299/mo | $249/mo | Unlimited | White-label, API access, priority support |
2. Free Plan — Genuinely Good, Not a Bait-and-Switch
Beehiiv's Free plan is worth highlighting because it's legitimately useful, not a crippled demo. You get up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited email sends — meaning you can publish daily if you want and never hit a send limit. Your newsletter is hosted on a Beehiiv subdomain, and you get basic subscriber analytics including opens and clicks.
What you actually get on Free:
- Up to 2,500 subscribers — enough to validate a newsletter concept and build real audience
- Unlimited email sends — no monthly send caps
- Web-hosted newsletter at a beehiiv.com subdomain
- Basic subscriber analytics (opens, clicks, growth over time)
- Sign-up forms and subscriber management
- Standard email templates
What you don't get on Free:
- Boosts (the CPA cross-promotion marketplace) — requires Launch or higher
- Paid subscriptions — requires Scale or higher
- Custom domain — requires Launch or higher
- Referral programs and advanced growth tools
- Advanced analytics (subscriber segmentation, attribution)
Verdict on Free: Beehiiv's Free plan is one of the best free newsletter tiers available in 2026. For comparison, Mailchimp's free plan caps you at 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month — barely enough to get started. Substack is technically free but takes 10% of all paid subscription revenue, which isn't free at all once you're earning. Beehiiv Free is a genuinely capable starting point.
3. Launch Plan — $49/mo (or $42/mo Annual)
The Launch plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers and is the entry point for serious newsletter building. The headline unlock is Boosts — Beehiiv's cost-per-acquisition cross-promotion marketplace where you earn money every time one of your readers subscribes to another newsletter you recommend. At even a modest list size, Boosts can generate $200–$500/month in passive income.
What Launch adds over Free:
- Boosts — earn $1–$5+ per confirmed subscriber from cross-promoted newsletters
- Custom domain — your newsletter at yourdomain.com, not beehiiv.com
- Referral programs — built-in refer-a-friend widget that rewards subscribers for sharing
- Advanced analytics — subscriber source attribution, segmentation, and retention data
- Automations — welcome sequences and basic trigger-based flows
- Priority email support
Who Launch is for: Anyone past the validation stage who wants to grow and start earning from their newsletter. If you're consistently publishing and approaching 2,500 subscribers, upgrade to Launch before you hit the cap — the Boosts revenue alone typically offsets the $49/mo cost by 1,000–2,000 subscribers.
4. Scale Plan — $99/mo (or $84/mo Annual) — The Inflection Point
The Scale plan is where Beehiiv's monetization stack fully opens. It covers up to 100,000 subscribers and unlocks three major revenue layers that aren't available on Launch.
Charge your subscribers $10, $20, or $50/month and keep 100% minus Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30. Substack takes a flat 10%. For a newsletter earning $3,000/month in paid subs, that's $300/month staying in your pocket vs going to Substack.
Once approved (requires 1,000+ subscribers and publishing history), Beehiiv automatically places relevant sponsor ads in your newsletter and shares the CPM revenue with you. Typical CPMs: $20–$50 for creator/business audiences.
Gate individual issues or sections behind the paid tier. Free subscribers see a preview and a paywall; paying subscribers see the full content. This is the single most effective driver of paid subscription conversions — showing people exactly what they're missing.
The Scale plan also includes everything in Launch plus: advanced audience segmentation, A/B testing for subject lines, unlimited team members, and priority support. At $99/mo it is one of the most feature-dense newsletter plans on the market — and it costs less than Mailchimp Standard at 15,000 contacts.
5. Max Plan — $299/mo (or $249/mo Annual) — For Media Operators
The Max plan targets newsletter operators running at media-company scale: 100K+ subscribers, multiple newsletters under one roof, or B2B use cases where white-labeling is required. At $299/mo it's not for most solo creators — but it's defensible if you need what it offers.
What Max adds over Scale:
- Unlimited subscribers — no subscriber cap, ever
- White-label — remove all Beehiiv branding from your newsletter and web presence
- API access — programmatic subscriber management, send triggers, and data integrations via REST API
- Dedicated account manager — human support for growing teams
- Custom newsletter theming — full design control beyond standard templates
- Multiple publications under one account — manage a portfolio of newsletters
Who Max is for: Media companies, agencies managing multiple client newsletters, high-volume publishers, and developers building newsletter products on top of Beehiiv's infrastructure. For a solo creator with a 50K subscriber newsletter, Scale is almost certainly enough — the Max jump is about white-labeling and API access, not core sending capability.
6. Pricing Math — Beehiiv vs Mailchimp vs Substack vs ConvertKit
The most relevant comparison question is: at your list size, which platform costs less per month? Here's the honest math at three common subscriber counts.
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv Launch | $49 | Unlimited sends, Boosts included |
| Mailchimp Standard | ~$100 | No monetization tools |
| ConvertKit Creator | ~$100 | Good automations, no ad network |
| Substack | $0 + 10% rev | Free until you earn — then costly |
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv Scale | $99 | Full monetization stack |
| Mailchimp Standard | ~$270 | 2.7× more expensive |
| ConvertKit Creator | ~$259 | 2.6× more expensive |
| Substack | $0 + 10% rev | At $5K/mo earned = $500/mo fee |
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv Scale | $99 | Same price as at 50K |
| Mailchimp Standard | ~$500 | 5× more expensive |
| ConvertKit Creator | ~$519 | 5.2× more expensive |
| Substack | $0 + 10% rev | At $20K/mo earned = $2,000/mo fee |
The pricing gap widens dramatically as your list grows. Beehiiv's flat-rate model means the Scale plan covers 1K to 100K subscribers for the same $99/mo. Mailchimp and ConvertKit charge per subscriber tier, making their costs climb in lockstep with your growth — which is exactly the wrong time to be paying more.
7. Which Beehiiv Plan Should You Choose?
- You're testing a newsletter idea before committing
- You're under 2,500 subscribers and not yet monetizing
- You want to learn the platform before paying
- You're approaching 2,500 subscribers and want to keep growing
- You want to activate Boosts (the CPA cross-promotion revenue)
- You want your newsletter on a custom domain
- You want referral programs and growth automation
- You want to charge paid subscriptions with 0% transaction fees
- You want access to the ad network (CPM revenue)
- You want to gate premium content and drive paid conversions
- You're past 5,000 subscribers and serious about monetization
- You're over 100K subscribers and need unlimited headroom
- You need white-label branding for client or agency work
- You need API access for programmatic newsletter management
- You're managing multiple publications under one account
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Get 14 Days Free + 20% Off →Frequently asked questions
Is Beehiiv really free?
Yes — Beehiiv's Free plan is genuinely free with no time limit. You get up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, and basic web hosting. It's one of the most capable free tiers in email marketing. Mailchimp's free plan caps you at 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month by comparison. The main things missing from Free are Boosts, paid subscriptions, custom domain, and advanced analytics.
How much does Beehiiv cost per month?
Beehiiv has four plans: Free ($0), Launch ($49/mo or $42/mo billed annually), Scale ($99/mo or $84/mo annually), and Max ($299/mo or $249/mo annually). All paid plans include unlimited sends. Annual billing saves roughly 15% on each plan.
Which Beehiiv plan is best for monetization?
The Scale plan ($99/mo) is the monetization inflection point. It unlocks 0% transaction fees on paid subscriptions, the Beehiiv Ad Network, and premium content gating. The Launch plan unlocks Boosts, which generate meaningful CPA income. Most serious newsletter operators should target Scale — it typically pays for itself through ad network income and subscription revenue within a few months of active monetization.
How does Beehiiv pricing compare to Mailchimp?
Beehiiv is dramatically cheaper than Mailchimp at any list size above 5K. At 10K subscribers: Beehiiv Launch is $49/mo vs Mailchimp Standard at ~$100/mo. At 50K subscribers: Beehiiv Scale is $99/mo vs Mailchimp at ~$270/mo. At 100K subscribers: Beehiiv Scale is still $99/mo vs Mailchimp at ~$500/mo. Beehiiv also includes monetization tools (Boosts, ad network, paid subs) that Mailchimp doesn't offer at all.
Does Beehiiv charge per subscriber or per send?
Beehiiv uses flat-rate pricing based on subscriber tiers, with unlimited sends on all plans. You pay a fixed monthly fee for a subscriber ceiling and can send as often as you like within that ceiling. This is in contrast to platforms like Mailchimp that charge based on both contact count and send volume. Beehiiv's model rewards high-frequency publishers.
Written by Shash
Founder of Infinfy Solutions · Real tools, real client work.