Best Platform for a Paid Newsletter: beehiiv vs Substack vs Kit

For most writers, beehiiv is the best platform for a paid newsletter. It takes no cut of subscription revenue and has the strongest built-in growth tools. Substack is easier to start with, but its 10% fee costs more every month as you grow. Kit fits creators whose newsletter is one product among courses, templates or coaching.

Bottom line

• beehiiv: best overall for a paid newsletter as a business. You pay a flat plan fee plus Stripe processing, and beehiiv takes no revenue share.
• Substack: best if you want to pay nothing up front and you value its reader network more than the 10% you give up.
• Kit: best if your newsletter sells other digital products and you want email automation at the center.

Paid newsletter platforms compared

This table covers the fee structures and tradeoffs that matter most. Plan prices change, so check each platform’s current pricing page before you commit.

Which platform has the lowest fees for a paid newsletter?

beehiiv usually has the lowest total fees once you have a few hundred paying subscribers, because it charges a flat plan price instead of a percentage. Substack is cheapest only while your paid revenue is very small.

The reason is simple. A percentage fee scales with you, and a flat fee does not. Substack’s help center states it takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, and Stripe’s processing fees come on top of that.

Stripe’s published US rate for card payments is 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Every platform here runs payments through Stripe or a processor priced like it, so that cost is roughly the same no matter which you pick. The real difference is what each platform adds on top.

The fee math at 500 paying subscribers

Here is an illustrative estimate based on published rates: 500 readers paying $8 a month, which is $4,000 in monthly revenue.

• Substack: 10% is $400. Stripe processing at 2.9% plus 30 cents adds roughly $266. Substack’s billing setup also adds a small recurring billing fee. Total: roughly $650 to $700 a month.
• beehiiv: No revenue share. Stripe processing is roughly $266, plus your beehiiv plan fee. Paid plans that include subscriptions start around $40 to $50 a month on annual billing. Total: roughly $310 to $350 a month.
• Kit: Kit’s published commerce fee is 3.5% plus 30 cents per transaction, which works out to about $290. Add your Kit plan fee, which depends on list size. Total: often in the $350 to $450 range.

At this size, Substack costs you roughly $300 more every month than beehiiv. Over a year, that adds up to several thousand dollars, enough to pay for a designer, ads or a part-time editor.

Run your own numbers with your price and subscriber count, and confirm each rate on the vendor’s pricing page.

Which platform helps a paid newsletter grow fastest?

beehiiv has the most built-in growth tools for newsletters. Substack has the best organic discovery, because readers find new publications inside its app.

beehiiv includes a referral program, recommendations between newsletters, and Boosts, which let you pay other newsletters to recommend yours, or get paid for recommending theirs. These features are built for growing a free list that you then convert to paid.

Substack’s strength is its network. Readers who already pay for one Substack can subscribe to yours in a couple of taps, and recommendations between Substack writers drive real signups. That network is part of what the 10% fee pays for.

Kit offers creator recommendations and landing pages, but its growth tools are built around email marketing generally, not newsletter networks specifically.

If you plan to grow through referrals, cross-promotion and a free-to-paid funnel, start with beehiiv.

Can you earn beyond subscription revenue?

Yes, and this is where the platforms differ most after fees. beehiiv lets you combine paid subscriptions with an ad network and Boosts income. Kit lets you sell other digital products to the same list.

beehiiv’s ad network matches newsletters with sponsors, so free readers can earn you money too. Our breakdown of beehiiv monetization covers how the paid tiers, ads and Boosts fit together.

Substack is focused on paid subscriptions. It does not run an ad network, so sponsorships are something you sell and manage yourself.

Kit approaches revenue differently. You can sell paid newsletters, digital downloads and coaching from one account, then use automations to send buyers of one product toward the next. For a creator with a course and a template shop, that matters more than newsletter-specific features.

How much control do you have over your list and brand?

All three platforms let you export your subscriber list, so you are never fully locked in. beehiiv and Kit give you more control over branding and custom domains than Substack does.

On Substack, your publication looks like a Substack publication. Custom domains are available, but the design options are limited, and readers often see the Substack brand first.

beehiiv gives you a full website builder, custom domains and design control. Kit gives you landing pages, forms and a creator profile, and it works well alongside a site you already run.

Moving paid subscribers between platforms is easiest when both use Stripe, since the billing relationship can often move with you. If you are already on Substack, our guide on how to migrate from Substack to beehiiv walks through the steps.

How easy is each platform to start with?

Substack is the easiest to start with. You can publish and turn on paid subscriptions in an afternoon with no monthly bill. beehiiv and Kit take a little more setup but give you more to work with.

Substack’s editor is simple, and the app handles reading, comments and payments in one place. For a writer who wants to test whether anyone will pay, that low friction is a real advantage.

beehiiv’s free plan is generous for building a list, but paid subscriptions require upgrading to a paid plan. Many writers grow free first, then upgrade once they are ready to charge. Our guide to beehiiv’s free plan limits explains where that line falls.

Kit’s free plan covers a meaningful list size and includes selling. The editor is clean, though setting up automations takes some learning.

Who should pick beehiiv

Pick beehiiv if your newsletter is the business, not a side project. It fits writers who:

• Expect to reach hundreds of paying readers and don’t want to give up 10% of that revenue
• Want referrals, Boosts and an ad network built in
• Want their own branded website and domain

beehiiv’s flat pricing makes more sense the larger you grow. For a deeper look, read our full beehiiv review, or try beehiiv free and upgrade when you are ready to charge.

Who should pick Substack

Pick Substack if you want to start charging right away with zero monthly cost. It fits writers who:

• Have no idea yet whether readers will pay
• Value Substack’s discovery network and app more than lower fees
• Want the simplest possible setup

Watch the math, though. Once paid revenue reaches a few hundred dollars a month, a flat-fee platform usually costs less. Our beehiiv vs Substack comparison covers that tradeoff in detail.

Who should pick Kit

Pick Kit if your newsletter is one part of a creator business. It fits creators who:

• Sell courses, templates, presets or coaching alongside a newsletter
• Want automations that tag readers by interest and send them toward the right product
• Plan to send more than one kind of email, such as launches, onboarding sequences and broadcasts

Kit’s paid newsletter tools work well, but its real strength is email marketing across your whole product line. See our Kit vs beehiiv comparison, or start with Kit’s free plan.

FAQ

Does beehiiv take a percentage of paid subscriptions?

No. beehiiv does not take a revenue share on paid subscriptions. You pay your beehiiv plan fee plus Stripe’s standard processing fees, which go to Stripe, not beehiiv.

Is Substack free for paid newsletters?

Substack has no monthly fee, but it is not free once you charge. Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, and Stripe processing fees apply on top of that. Substack costs nothing up front and more as you grow.

Can you run a paid newsletter on Kit?

Yes. Kit supports paid newsletter subscriptions through its commerce features, and it charges a per-transaction fee published on its pricing page. It works best for creators who also sell other digital products to the same list.

Which paid newsletter platform is best for beginners?

Substack is the easiest to start with, since you can charge readers with no setup cost. If you plan to grow the newsletter into a real business, starting on beehiiv avoids a migration later. Our guide to the best newsletter platform for beginners covers more options.

The verdict

If you are building a paid newsletter to last, beehiiv keeps the most of your revenue and gives you the strongest tools to grow it. Substack makes sense for a no-cost test, and Kit is the better pick when your newsletter feeds a larger product business.

Ready to launch? Start your newsletter on beehiiv, or, if you sell courses and templates too, build your list with Kit. Check each platform’s current pricing page first so your numbers match today’s rates.