In this guide
TL;DR: beehiiv Free costs $0, needs no credit card, and covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited email sends. You get landing pages, email templates, the recommendation network and API access, plus beehiiv’s website, podcast and community features. Paid subscriptions, ad monetization and automations need Lite, the next plan up.
Disclosure: The beehiiv link marked “affiliate link” on this page is an affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what we say about beehiiv. See our affiliate disclosure. We publish our own newsletter, OneSignalDesk Weekly, on beehiiv. Plan details below come from beehiiv’s pricing page and October 2026 announcement, checked October 18, 2026.
What beehiiv Free includes
From beehiiv’s pricing page:
- Up to 2,500 subscribers
- Unlimited email sends (“Every plan includes unlimited email sends”)
- Email templates and landing pages
- The recommendation network
- API and integrations
- 1 team seat, 1 guest author and 1 publication
- A 30-day analytics lookback, with campaign analytics and subscriber metrics
beehiiv’s October 1, 2026 announcement adds that Free “still supports up to 2,500 subscribers and now includes Community, alongside your website and podcast.”
Free vs Lite at a glance
| Free | Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | Up to 2,500 | Up to 100,000 |
| Team seats | 1 | 2 |
| Guest authors | 1 | 3 |
| Publications | 1 | 3 |
| Analytics lookback | 30 days | 12 months |
Source: beehiiv pricing, checked 2026-10-18.
What to set up first on Free
- Build a landing page where new readers can subscribe.
- Pick an email template so every issue looks consistent.
- Join the recommendation network so other beehiiv newsletters can recommend yours. beehiiv’s help center says a publication logo is required to appear in Recommendations.
- Connect your tools through beehiiv’s API and integrations, for example to add new customers to your list.
What you need Lite or Pro for
beehiiv lists these as Lite features: paid subscriptions (0% take rate), ad monetization, automations, the beehiiv MCP, audience polls and A/B testing. Removing beehiiv branding is Pro only. Lite also raises limits: 2 seats, 3 guest authors, 3 publications and a 12-month analytics lookback.
Can you make money on the free plan?
Not through beehiiv’s built-in monetization. Paid subscriptions and ad monetization start on Lite. On Free, the recommendation network can help your list grow, and you can link to your own products or services from your newsletter.
What changed on October 1, 2026
beehiiv renamed its plans: Launch became Free, Scale became Lite and Max became Pro. New pricing applies to new customers from October 1, 2026. Existing customers keep their current terms until their first renewal on or after November 1, 2026. If you were on Launch, you’re now on Free.
When to upgrade to Lite
Upgrade when you pass 2,500 subscribers, want to charge readers, want automated welcome or nurture sequences, or want to earn from ads. At 1,000 subscribers, Lite is $49 a month on yearly billing; beehiiv says yearly billing saves up to 20% compared with monthly. beehiiv says Lite and Pro include a free trial with no credit card. Start on beehiiv (affiliate link)
Alternatives if Free doesn’t fit
- Kit Free: $0 for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts (kit.com/pricing).
- Substack: free to publish; Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue plus card fees.
- Listmonk: free, open-source software you host yourself.
For prices on each paid plan, see our beehiiv pricing guide; for a side-by-side with Kit and Substack, see beehiiv vs Kit vs Substack.
FAQ
Is beehiiv Free really free forever? beehiiv says “Free is free forever, with no credit card required.”
What happens at 2,500 subscribers? Free supports up to 2,500. Past that, beehiiv says you move to the next plan up.
Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions? No, 0%, but paid subscriptions need Lite. Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction applies.
Is there a send limit? No. beehiiv says every plan includes unlimited email sends.
Sources & method
- beehiiv pricing
- beehiiv blog: New plans and pricing (October 2026)
- beehiiv Help: How to add a logo or thumbnail to your publication
- Kit pricing
- Substack: Going paid
Method. Last checked October 18, 2026. Every plan detail comes from beehiiv’s public pages. We run our own newsletter on beehiiv; this guide doesn’t make hands-on test claims. Affiliate links: beehiiv only (marked). How we work.
