Newsletter platforms 2026: beehiiv, Kit, Substack

Choosing a newsletter platform in 2026 comes down to the money model: Substack is free until you charge readers but withholds around 10% of paid subscriptions; beehiiv and Kit charge for list size and take no share of revenue. The difference becomes visible at exactly the moment the newsletter starts earning.

Below: the selection criteria, a side-by-side table and honest pros and cons for each.

How do you choose the right one in four steps?

1. 1

   Settle the monetisation question

   A free newsletter and a paid one are different economics, often different platforms.

2. 2

   Estimate your list in a year

   Plans scale with subscribers. Price the expected list, not today's.

3. 3

   Check your automation needs

   Simple sends or conditional sequences decides whether a simple platform suffices.

4. 4

   Check the export

   The email list travels easily; paid subscriptions don't. That's the main lock-in factor.

Which criteria matter?

Look at four things: revenue share, the free subscriber limit, automation capability, and growth tooling. Fifth: how complete the export is, including paying subscribers.

How do the three compare?

The score is our editorial 0–10 rating, not a vendor ranking. It weighs the full economics across scenarios rather than the entry price alone.

Rates are the vendors’ own published figures, checked in August 2026: beehiiv’s Launch plan is free up to 2,500 subscribers, and its cheapest paid tier, Scale, is $43/mo billed annually beehiiv pricing page, August 2026 ; Substack charges no platform fee but takes 10% of gross subscription revenue, with Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and a 0.5% recurring-billing fee on top Substack help centre, August 2026 . That is why the two models diverge with list size rather than at the entry price.

Who is each one for?

beehiiv — when monetisation is planned: it takes no share of subscriptions, and referral tooling plus the ad network help you grow. Downside: the plan scales with your list, which is significant at scale.

Kit — the strongest automation of the three plus built-in selling of digital products. Downside: commission on store sales and a more complex interface.

Substack — the cheapest and fastest start while the newsletter is free. Downside: roughly 10% of paid subscription revenue and limited customisation.

So which should you pick?

One question decides it: will you charge readers? No — Substack is cheapest and simplest. Yes — beehiiv or Kit, because neither claims a share of income. And check how paying subscribers export before there are many of them.