Beehiiv vs Substack: Which Is Better for Creators?

Hesitating between Beehiiv and Substack?

I tested both platforms so that you don’t have to.

Instead of wasting precious time picking the wrong platform, let’s see which one you should pick.

Note: I completely revamped this review after the recent Beehiiv & Substack changes.

Contents show

📮 Substack and Beehiiv: Newsletter And Blog Combined

If you’re torn between Substack and Beehiiv, it’s totally normal.

The reason is that Substack and Beehiiv look similar on paper.

Both allow you to publish blog posts AND send newsletters and the same time.

But here’s the subtlety most people don’t know about:

On Beehiiv, you can either choose to write a newsletter OR a blog post:

Additionally, you can also choose whether to post it on your blog or not (acting a bit like a public “newsletter/blog archive.”)

Just before sending your email, you can use this option to make this a standalone email (and not a public blog post):

This is especially useful when you are sending out promotional emails that you don’t necessarily want to be publicly visible.

On Substack, however, each blog post will automatically appear on your main Substack page.

So there is basically no way to simply send an email without it automatically appearing on your main Substack profile.

The only option that you have on Substack is to choose whether or not your subscribers are going to get an email when you publish the article. (This is usually what you’re going to do so that your followers get notified of new content that you put out there.)

Here’s what this looks like on Substack:

Substack acts more like a blog with an autoresponder feature. Whereas Beehiiv is truly versatile.

Conclusion: Beehiiv has more features about what you can do with your blog posts & newsletters. It allows you to either publish one or another (and do both.)

Click here to try beehiiv

📣 How to Get Email Subscribers on Beehiiv vs Substack

Your blog and newsletter are useless if you have no readers.

That’s why finding readers is even more important than the platform that you’re going to use.

In that way, Substack is similar to Medium. Because it opts for a newsfeed. After signing up, you follow your chosen creators, and bam! Their content populates your feed.

You can like, share, and comment.

Discovery on Beehiiv is a different ballgame. There’s no newsfeed. So you still need to grow your list on your own by publishing on other platforms like:

(Ironically) Substack
LinkedIn
YouTube
X
…

The only way Beehiiv can help you is with SEO.

You can write your blog posts straight in Beehiiv, apply your SEO magic, and wait for search engines to do their thing.

Beehiiv has also a paid ads feature, that can help. I tested it personally and just didn’t find it was worth my time (and money.)

If you know your SEO game, then you’ll prefer Beehiiv. On the flip side, if you want to build an audience, I’ll recommend Substack.

This brings us to another aspect – the SEO face-off between Substack and Beehiiv.

🔍 The SEO Showdown: Beehiiv vs Substack

Substack is great to start writing online.

Both platforms now offer the possibility to take advantage of SEO. In your posts you can optimize:

Post slug (URL)
Meta description
Alt tags on your images

This might sound like SEO jargon – and that’s exactly why I bring this up.

On both platforms, you can add your personal domain.

But out of the box, you’ll get a subdomain. For example, it would look like yourusername.beehiiv.com or yourusername.substack.com.

When you use the platform’s subdomain, you benefit from the domain authority of the main site—either Substack or Beehiiv. Substack has a slightly higher domain authority, which can make it easier for your articles to rank on SEO:

Beehiiv vs Substack – which is better for seo?

This gives Substack a slight edge.

However, if you’re playing the SEO long game, keep in mind that both platforms can cancel your account at any time.

If that happens ALL your SEO efforts will vanish like a stinky fart in the wind.

It’s important to understand that this is beyond your control, and being banned is always a possibility.

Conclusion: Both platforms are good for SEO. But you want to keep in mind that you could get cancelled. That’s why I’m still writing on my own blog!

💰 Pricing

Let’s talk cash.

Substack and Beehiiv both allow you to operate a paid newsletter model. It’s not my go-to for monetizing your newsletter for several reasons. But hey, that might be your thing.

Substack is free, unless you decide to go for paid subscriptions. In that case,it dips its hands into your pockets, taking a 10% cut.

Beehiiv? Zero. Zip. Nada.

But before you start cheering, Substack’s monthly price tag is a sweet $0.

Beehiiv can’t boast that.

For beginners, Beehiiv throws a bone with up to 2,500 subs for free. But don’t be fooled, the options of that package are limited.

On Substack, though, you could have a whopping 100,000 subscribers and still send out emails without spending a penny.

Now, that’s what I call a deal.

So when it comes to pricing, think twice, thrice even, before you pick a side.

If you want to start your newsletter for free and don’t care about the paid membership model, both platforms are similar to 2,500 subscribers.

Substack will be your go-to from there since it’s free.

🔌 Integrations

Let’s talk APIs. Tech talk, but bear with me.

An API allows different software to communicate. This makes your tech life a lot easier. Especially if you’re using multiple tools like I do. It’s a must-have if you want to link up with other tools like your online course platform or WordPress blog.

Substack has no public API. Which means there’s NO WAY to automate and integrate things.

This sucks.

Beehiiv offers an API and even a Zapier integration. That’s like having a pocket translator, making it easier to connect with other software.

But keep your excitement in check. It’s still quite limited. I’ve laid out these limitations in my Beehiiv review, so give that a whirl for more details.

Conclusion: When it comes to integrations, Beehiiv is better than Substack.

⚙️ Automated Email Marketing

One of the main reasons why you want to use an autoresponder is because of the automation options.

One of the non-negotiables when you are running in use that are is to send out a welcome sequence. The reason is it allows you to start building a relationship with your new subscribers.

The mistake a lot of people make is to think that just because someone joined their email list, they’re going to read their emails and they are going to remember them the next time they send out the broadcast.

But that’s actually not true.

Let’s assume that you’re sending your weekly newsletter on a Sunday, and someone joins your email list on Monday. If you don’t have a welcome sequence, then chances are this new subscriber will have forgotten about you by the next weekend and flag you as spam.

Important? Nope. Indispensable!

Substack’s automation? Laughable. You get one welcome email that you can configure here:

That’s it. One. You’re left high and dry after that.

On Beehiiv, you can start building automation on their Scale plan that starts at roughly $30 a month.

Conclusion: Beehiiv is better at automation than Substack.

Try Beehiiv For Free

Data

Knowing where your subscribers are coming from is like reading the secret clues on a treasure map.

It gives you insight into what’s working and what’s not. Which channels are your gold mines? Which ones are duds? This information is crucial. It helps you focus your efforts and resources on the channels that truly matter.

Now, how do Substack and Beehiiv hold up in this area? Good news – they both get a thumbs-up.

Both platforms give you a peek into your subscribers’ sources. It’s like having a personal detective tracking your subscribers’ footprints.

Which blogs or ads led them to sign up?
Which social media platforms do they hail from?
Both Substack and Beehiiv let you in on these secrets.

In a world where smart marketing decisions often make or break your success, this subscriber source information is invaluable. It’s one area where both Substack and Beehiiv stand tall.

Kudos.

Substack vs. Beehiiv: The Final Verdict

Time to call it.

Substack and Beehiiv, they’ve been in the ring, and it’s been a grueling match.

Where both platforms stand tall is in their unique blend of blog and newsletter features. Plus, the insight they offer into subscriber sources is a saving grace.

Credit where credit is due.

But let’s face it, they’ve both taken some serious blows.

Substack trips over basics like SEO and API integrations. Substack will never replace the good old blog. And it’s still miles away from becoming a full-fledged autoresponder. Its automation is just one pathetic welcome email. Not the stuff champions are made of.

Beehiiv is a more solid option for all of those.

If you want to grow your newsletter for free below 2,500 subscribers, both platforms can do the job.

What speaks for Substack is the fact that you can build an audience directly on the platform.

If this review was helpful and if you want to give Beehiiv a try, you can use my affiliate link below (at no extra cost to you):