Updated May 2026 · By Shash · 10 min read

Beehiiv Review 2026 — Why I Picked It Over Substack and ConvertKit

Quick context: I'm setting up a newsletter for this site. I evaluated Beehiiv, Substack, ConvertKit (now Kit), and Ghost. I picked Beehiiv. This page is why.

I'm not going to pretend I've been on Beehiiv for two years. I've been using it for a few months. But I've spent enough time inside the editor, the audience tools, and the boost network to know what's good and what's marketing.

The short answer

Pick Beehiiv if you want to grow a list and treat your newsletter like a business. Pick Substack if you want to publish writing and don't care about list ownership. Pick Kit (ConvertKit) if you're already in their ecosystem with deep automations. Pick Ghost if you want to self-host.

Why I didn't pick Substack

Substack is great at what it is — a writing platform with built-in audience. The discovery engine is real. The Notes feed brings you readers.

My problem with it: Substack owns your audience. When you grow on Substack, you're growing Substack's user base as much as your own. If they change the deal — and platforms always change the deal eventually — you're on their terms.

Also: customization is locked. You can change a few colors. That's it. For a brand-driven affiliate site, that's a non-starter.

Why I didn't pick Kit (ConvertKit)

Kit is a serious tool. The automation builder is the best in the category. If I were running an ecommerce business with 14 different email sequences for 14 different segments, this would be the pick.

For a content-first newsletter, it's overkill, expensive at scale, and the editor still feels like 2018. I tested it for two weeks. I kept clicking around looking for things and not finding them.

What Beehiiv actually does well

1. The Boosts marketplace. Other newsletters in your niche pay you to acquire their subscribers, and vice versa. I haven't run a boost myself yet but I've signed up for newsletters that did and the experience is clean. This is genuinely a list-growth lever you don't get on Substack or Kit.
2. The recommendations widget. When someone subscribes, they get shown 3–5 other newsletters they might like. Newsletter operators reciprocate. My subscriber count grew before I'd even sent the first issue, just from the rec network.
3. The editor. It feels like Notion-meets-Mailchimp, which sounds bad but is good. Block-based, drag-and-drop, the formatting actually shows up the way you wrote it.
4. Custom domain on every plan including free. ConvertKit charges extra. Substack doesn't really let you. Beehiiv just gives it to you.
5. Real analytics. Open rates, click rates, click maps, growth source breakdowns. Not pretty graphs hiding the real numbers.
6. Monetization tools. Sponsorships, paid subscriptions, ads — they all work in one place. I'm not running ads but the option being there matters.

What Beehiiv falls down on

1. Automation is basic. Welcome sequences, sure. Conditional logic — the kind of "if subscriber clicked X, send Y" you get in Kit — limited. If your funnel is complex, this will frustrate you.
2. The free plan email cap. 2,500 subs free. Once you cross it, you're on a paid plan whether you're earning yet or not. Plan for that.
3. Deliverability sometimes wobbles. Most days it's fine. Once in a while a campaign lands lower in inboxes than expected. Not a unique-to-Beehiiv problem — every ESP has this — but it happens.
4. Mobile editor is rough. If you write on a phone, you'll hate it. Use desktop.

Pricing reality

Beehiiv vs Substack vs Kit — quick table

Related

• → Best AI tools — full stack
• → AI tools for YouTubers
• → 50 Pinterest pin templates (free)