beehiiv vs Kit for starting a newsletter
Both of these will send a newsletter. What differs is what's free, what you pay once you want automations, and what each takes when readers pay you. I haven't run a newsletter on either, so this is from their pricing pages and one independent comparison.
What beehiiv charges
The beehiiv pricing page says the Free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited email sends and needs no credit card. Paid plans start with Lite at $59 a month billed monthly for up to 1,000 subscribers ($49 a month billed annually), and Pro at $109 ($95 annually). Email automations, the ad network and paid subscriptions start on Lite. The page says beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscription revenue, and you still pay Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30.
What Kit charges
The Kit pricing page says Kit takes 0.6% on digital products and subscriptions, listed as 3.5% + 30c including card processing, and a 23.5% fee on Paid Recommendations. The page didn't show plan prices when I fetched it, so those come from Mashjoy's Kit vs Beehiiv comparison, which checked both on 21 October 2026. It lists Kit's free plan at up to 10,000 subscribers with broadcasts only and no welcome sequence, and Kit's Creator plan at $39 a month at 1,000 subscribers. At 10,000 subscribers it puts Kit Creator and beehiiv Lite at the same $139 a month. Mashjoy discloses that Kit pays it and beehiiv doesn't.
What people on Reddit say
In an r/Emailmarketing thread asking whether Kit users wished they'd picked beehiiv, u/Icy_Professional102 wrote in August 2026: "Kit feels more like a proper tool for automations and tagging, beehiiv seems like they built everything around the newsletter as a product first." In the same thread in September 2026, u/PR4DE pointed out that "both bill you by how many people are on the list, not how much you send." And in a March 2026 r/Emailmarketing thread, u/foetusofexcellence summed them up as "beehiiv: best for serious newsletter businesses. learning curve is real." and "convertkit: best for course creators. newsletter features are basic."
Which one I'd pick to start a newsletter
To start, I wouldn't pay for either. Kit's free plan holds more subscribers, and Mashjoy points out that only beehiiv's free plan sends a welcome email. If you just want to send a weekly email to a small list, both free plans do that.
Paying makes sense once you know how the newsletter earns. Mashjoy's summary is Kit if you sell your own products with sequences, and beehiiv if sponsors and ads pay you or you want readers to refer readers. Paying $59 a month for beehiiv Lite at a few hundred subscribers isn't worth it unless you're actually turning on paid subscriptions or ads.
Sources
- beehiiv pricing (fetched 2026-10-27)
- Kit pricing (fetched 2026-10-27)
- Reddit r/Emailmarketing: anyone on Kit wish they had chosen beehiiv (u/Icy_Professional102, u/PR4DE) (fetched 2026-10-27)
- Reddit r/Emailmarketing: beehiiv vs substack vs convertkit (u/foetusofexcellence) (fetched 2026-10-27)
- Mashjoy: Kit vs Beehiiv (2026) (fetched 2026-10-27)