Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover newsletter & email. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| beehiiv | Kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 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 | None | 14 days |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Everything, in an open format | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | 3.5% of what you earn |
| Runs on | Not stated | Not stated |
| Covers | Newsletter & Email, Monetization & Payments | Newsletter & Email, Affiliate & Referral |
| Works with | Substack | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
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
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.
Our note
Kit against beehiiv is the real decision here, and it turns on which half of the job matters more. Kit is better at what happens after somebody subscribes, beehiiv at getting them to subscribe at all.
Only on this side
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.