A newsletter is one of the most overlooked strategies for marketing. Most businesses and individuals seem to believe that a newsletter is the same as email marketing. But, YOU ARE WRONG! For those who understand the importance of a newsletter as a marketing channel, choosing the right platform to host your newsletter is the most important business decision you will make this year. What most people do not realise is that a newsletter is a business on its own. I have seen too many founders spend months building an audience only to realise they are trapped on a platform that eats their profits and hides their data.
I remember a specific Tuesday in early 2024. I was looking at the Stripe dashboard of a client who had built a massive following on Substack. They were doing $20,000 a month in subscriptions. They were happy until I showed them the math. Between Substack’s 10% cut and the credit card fees, they were handing over nearly $6,000 every single month to the platform.
That is $72,000 a year. For what? A simple text editor and an email send button.
We moved them to Beehiiv that weekend. Their monthly software bill dropped to $99. That is the reality of the Substack vs Beehiiv debate in 2026. One is a great place to start a hobby; the other is a machine built to scale a business.
My team and I have spent a couple of months testing both. I have migrated lists of 50,000 people and started tiny niche letters from scratch. Here is my honest, unfiltered take on which one you should actually use.
NOTE: We use ConvertKit (not kit.com) as our newsletter platform
The 10% Tax: Why Your Success Might Cost You Too Much
Let’s be direct. Substack is “free” because they want a piece of your future. If you never plan to charge for your writing, Substack is a fantastic deal. But the moment you turn on paid subscriptions, you enter a partnership where Substack takes 10% of everything.
In 2026, profit margins matter more than ever. When you look at Substack vs Beehiiv, you have to ask yourself: Do I want to be a tenant or an owner?
Beehiiv uses a SaaS model. You pay a flat monthly fee based on how many subscribers you have. Whether you make $100 a month or $100,000 a month, Beehiiv doesn’t take an extra cent of your subscription revenue. I have found that for almost every creator I work with, the “break – even” point happens much sooner than they think. If you are making more than $200 a month, you are likely losing money by staying on Substack.
SEO Secrets: How to Get Found Without Social Media
As someone who lives and breathes SEO, this is where I get frustrated with Substack. Substack is a “walled garden.” They want people to stay on Substack. They want readers to use the Substack app. This is great for them, but it is often bad for your brand’s search engine rankings.
If you want your articles to show up when someone searches for a solution on Google, you need control. In the Substack vs Beehiiv matchup, Beehiiv is the clear winner for search visibility.
With Beehiiv, I can edit my meta titles, write custom descriptions for search engines, and control the “slug” or the URL of my post. I can tell Google exactly what my page is about. Substack gives you very little of this control. On Substack, you are essentially renting space on their domain. On Beehiiv, you are building your own digital real estate. If you want to own your niche in 2026, you cannot afford to ignore technical SEO.
The Growth Engine: Hope vs. Engineering
Substack’s biggest selling point is their “Recommendations” feature. When someone signs up for Newsletter A, Substack might suggest they also sign up for yours. It is a powerful network effect. I’ve seen it work. It feels like magic when it happens.
But here is the catch – you can’t control it. You are at the mercy of the algorithm and whether or not other big writers decide to “vouch” for you.
Beehiiv takes a different approach. They give you an actual growth engine. They have a built – in referral program that looks and works exactly like the one Morning Brew used to get millions of readers. You can give your readers rewards – like stickers, shirts, or private PDFs – for inviting their friends.
When comparing Substack vs Beehiiv, I always tell my clients: Substack is about “hope” growth. Beehiiv is about “engineered” growth. I would rather have the tools to grow my own list than wait for a platform to do it for me.
Monetisation: Leaving Money on the Table
In 2026, subscriptions are only one way to make money. If you are only charging for content, you are missing out on at least half of your potential revenue.
Beehiiv has a native Ad Network. This is huge. Instead of you having to spend hours emailing brands and negotiating sponsorships, Beehiiv brings the sponsors to you. You can see available ads in your dashboard, click a button, and get paid for the clicks or opens you generate.
Substack does not have this. Their philosophy is “no ads, ever.” That sounds nice in a manifesto, but for a business owner or an influencer, it is a massive limitation. I have seen small newsletters on Beehiiv make $500 a month from ads with just a few thousand subscribers. On Substack, those same writers would be making zero unless they could convince their readers to pay for a subscription.
Brand Identity: Do You Want to Look Like Everyone Else?
Every Substack looks the same. The same font, the same layout, the same white background. This is intentional. They want the “Substack” brand to be more famous than your brand.
For a marketing executive or a brand manager, this is a deal – breaker. You want your newsletter to feel like an extension of your website. Beehiiv allows you to customize almost everything. You can change the colors, the fonts, and the layout of your landing pages. You can hide the Beehiiv branding and make it look 100% like your own company.
When I look at Substack vs Beehiiv through the lens of brand authority, Beehiiv is the professional choice. It allows you to build a destination, not just a column on someone else’s site.
Data Ownership: Who Actually Owns Your Readers?
Both platforms allow you to export your email list. That is the bare minimum. But Beehiiv goes much deeper with data.
In my agency work, I need to know where every single subscriber came from. Did they find us on Google? Did they click a link on Twitter? Did they come from a referral? Beehiiv’s “3D Analytics” give me that answer.
Substack’s data is much more surface – level. It tells you that someone signed up, but it doesn’t give you the deep “attribution” data you need to spend a marketing budget wisely. If you are planning to spend money on ads to grow your newsletter, you need Beehiiv. You cannot fly blind in 2026.
Conclusion
I don’t believe in “one size fits all” answers, but after years of doing this, the choice usually comes down to your goals.
Go with Substack if:
- You are writing for fun or as a creative outlet.
- You don’t want to think about marketing, SEO, or business at all.
- You have no audience and want to try to get “lucky” with their recommendation engine.
- You are okay with giving away 10% of your future earnings for simplicity.
Go with Beehiiv if:
- You are building a business, a brand, or a professional media company.
- You want to keep 100% of the money you earn from your fans.
- You want to use ads, referrals, and SEO to grow as fast as possible.
- You need to know exactly where your growth is coming from so you can scale it.
In the Substack vs Beehiiv battle, Beehiiv is simply the more powerful tool for anyone who treats their newsletter like a business. It gives you the freedom to own your audience, your brand, and your profits.
Moving from one to the other is easier than you think, but starting on the right platform saves you a massive headache later. Don’t let a “free” starting price trick you into a permanent 10% tax on your success.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Substack vs Beehiiv
Is Beehiiv really better for SEO than Substack?
Yes. Beehiiv provides granular control over technical SEO elements like meta tags, canonical URLs, and custom slugs. Substack is much more restrictive, making it harder to rank for specific long-tail keywords.
Can I use a custom domain on both?
Yes. Substack charges a one-time $50 fee for this. Beehiiv includes custom domain support in its paid plans and even offers it on the free “Launch” plan for smaller lists.
What happens to my paid subscribers if I move from Substack to Beehiiv?
Beehiiv has a sophisticated migration tool that allows you to move your Stripe customers over without requiring them to re-subscribe. This ensures your recurring revenue remains intact during the transition.
Does Substack have an ad network?
No. Substack focuses exclusively on the subscription model. If you want to run ads, you have to source and manage them manually. Beehiiv has a built-in Ad Network that connects you with brands automatically.
Which platform has better deliverability?
Both platforms have excellent deliverability in 2026. However, Beehiiv provides more tools for list hygiene and engagement tracking, which helps maintain a high sender reputation over the long term.
