beehiiv vs Kit Comparison 2026
beehiiv and Kit split the newsletter job differently: beehiiv is stronger at getting people to subscribe, with a referral program and boosts baked into a free plan that runs to 2,500 subscribers. Kit is stronger at what happens after that, with visual automations and tagging, and its free plan runs further, to 10,000 subscribers, though with only one basic automation included. Selling through Kit costs 3.5 percent plus 30 cents per sale on top of the plan. beehiiv takes nothing beyond Stripe's standard processing rate.
Newsletters with paid subscriptions and referrals
Email marketing built around automation
At a glance
- Kit starts cheaper, at $29.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
- beehiiv takes no share of what you earn. Kit takes 3.5%.
Side by side
beehiiv | Kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $49 | From $29 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | None | 14 days |
| API |
beehiiv
Newsletters with paid subscriptions and referrals
beehiiv handles sending, paid subscriptions, a referral program and a basic website, which covers most of what someone writing a weekly letter actually needs. It was built by people who ran Morning Brew, and it shows in the growth tooling. Automation is thinner than a dedicated email platform.
Our note
If you are starting a newsletter you intend to charge for, start here. The free tier goes further than it looks, the growth tools are the reason people stay, and the export is clean if you decide to leave.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
- Works with Substack
Kit
Email marketing built around automation
Kit is the one to pick when the sequences matter more than the newsletter. Visual automations, tagging and conditional content are genuinely good, and the creator network sends real signups. The editor is plainer than its competitors.
Why people weigh these two
- Kit instead of beehiiv
- Email marketing built around automation from $29 with a free tier, the dedicated-platform depth beehiiv's own listing admits it is thin on.
- beehiiv instead of Kit
- beehiiv leans into paid subscriptions and referral growth rather than automation, at $49 a month against Kit's $29, for a newsletter monetizing itself directly.
Which one should you pick
beehiiv is for a writer who wants growth tools and monetisation together without a percentage cut on top. The free plan already includes paid subscriptions to 2,500 subscribers, and Stripe's standard rate is the only fee, since beehiiv itself takes no share of subscription revenue. Automation here stays basic: a welcome email, not a branching sequence.
Kit is for a list where the sequence matters more than the newsletter itself: a welcome path that branches, tags that decide who gets which email. The free Newsletter plan runs to 10,000 subscribers, four times beehiiv's cap, though it includes only one basic automation. Creator starts around $29 a month, but the number shown on Kit's pricing page moves with a subscriber slider, so it climbs as the list grows. Selling a digital product or a paid newsletter through Kit also costs 3.5 percent plus 30 cents per sale on top of the plan, a cut beehiiv does not take.
Common questions
- Which has the bigger free plan, beehiiv or Kit?
- Kit, by subscriber count: its free Newsletter plan runs to 10,000 subscribers against beehiiv's 2,500. Kit's free plan includes only one basic automation, though, while beehiiv's free plan already includes paid subscriptions.
- Does Kit take a cut of what I sell?
- Yes, 3.5 percent plus 30 cents per sale, on digital products and paid newsletters alike, on top of the plan price. beehiiv takes no share of subscription revenue beyond Stripe's standard processing rate.
- Is Kit's listed price the price I will actually pay?
- Only at the subscriber count you start at. Kit's pricing page quotes every figure against a slider you set, so the number climbs as your list grows. beehiiv's plan prices are not tied to a subscriber slider in the same way.
- Which is better for automated email sequences?
- Kit. Visual automations, tags and conditional content are its main strength, built for a welcome path that branches or a launch that runs itself. beehiiv is thinner here and puts its effort into referrals and boosts that grow the list instead.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.