Beehiiv vs Kit

Beehiiv and Kit, formerly known as ConvertKit, are the leading platforms for independent newsletters and creator businesses. Beehiiv was founded by people who helped build Morning Brew, and it is designed around growing and monetizing a publication. Kit has a longer history as an email marketing tool for creators who sell courses, books and other digital products. Their free plans are both generous, which makes it easy to try each one.

At a glance

• Beehiiv is best for newsletter-first publishers who want built-in growth and advertising tools. It is free up to 2,500 subscribers, with paid plans from $49 a month on annual billing.
• Kit is best for creators who sell products and rely on automated email sequences. It is free up to 10,000 subscribers, with the Creator plan from $33 a month for 1,000 subscribers.

Where Beehiiv is strong

Beehiiv treats the newsletter as a media product. Every plan includes a hosted website, unlimited sends and a recommendation network for cross-promotion with other publications.

Paid plans add monetization. You can run paid subscriptions, and Beehiiv takes none of that revenue beyond standard payment processing fees. An ad network matches newsletters with sponsors, so smaller publishers can earn advertising income without a sales team. Paid plans also add automations, polls, A/B testing and more detailed analytics. Dedicated IP addresses are available at Enterprise level.

Where Kit is strong

Kit's strength is automation for selling. Visual automations and email sequences let a creator deliver a welcome series, a launch sequence or an evergreen course on a schedule, with tagging and segmentation based on what each subscriber does.

The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with broadcasts, landing pages, forms and digital product sales, but it does not include automations or sequences. Those start on the Creator plan. The Pro plan, from $66 a month, adds deliverability reporting, engagement scoring and more advanced analytics.

Kit charges a transaction fee of 3.5% plus 30 cents on digital products and paid subscriptions sold through the platform. It also runs a recommendations network, including paid recommendations.

Key differences

• Orientation. Beehiiv is built for publications. Kit is built for creators selling products.
• Free plan. Kit's free tier allows a larger list but no automation. Beehiiv's has a lower subscriber cap.
• Monetization. Beehiiv has an ad network and takes no cut of paid subscriptions. Kit charges a transaction fee on sales.
• Automation. Kit's sequences and visual automations are deeper.
• Website. Beehiiv includes a full publication website. Kit provides landing pages and a creator profile.

Deliverability notes

Both platforms manage deliverability on your behalf using shared infrastructure, and both actively remove bad senders to protect their pools. Both let you send from your own domain. Do so, and add the DNS records they provide, so that your mail is signed with your domain and you build your own reputation.

Newsletter growth tactics carry deliverability risk. Recommendation networks, giveaways and paid acquisition can add many subscribers quickly, and some of them will never open. If engagement drops as the list grows, inbox placement follows. Use a welcome email that asks for a reply or a click, and remove subscribers who have not opened in several months.

Kit's Pro plan includes deliverability reporting by mailbox provider. Beehiiv shows delivery and engagement analytics on paid plans. Whichever you use, add your sending domain to Google Postmaster Tools for an independent view.

Which should you choose?

• Choose Beehiiv if the newsletter is the product and you plan to earn from subscriptions and advertising.
• Choose Kit if email is how you sell courses, products or services and you need automated sequences.

Pricing was checked on each vendor's pricing page in October 2026 and changes often. Confirm current rates before you buy.