beehiiv: price at your list size, AI features and terms

What beehiiv is

beehiiv is a newsletter platform: you write an issue, it emails your subscribers and publishes the same post on a website it hosts for you. A podcast host, a community space and digital product sales sit in the same account.

It is built for writers who want the newsletter to pay. Paid subscriptions, a sponsor marketplace (the Ad Network) and recommendations from other newsletters all start on Lite (pricing page). Sends never cost extra: the pricing FAQ says every plan includes “unlimited email sends”.

That makes beehiiv the opposite of the shop-focused tools in our AI email marketing section. There is no product catalogue sync and no abandoned-cart flow among its features.

What beehiiv costs at your list size

beehiiv prices only by subscribers, counted in buckets: up to 1,000, up to 2,500, up to 5,000 and so on. Your bill is the bucket at or above your list (pricing FAQ).

The cheapest plan that fits stays Free until 2,500 subscribers. Past that, Lite costs $139 a month at 10,000 and $299 at 50,000 (tier table).

The price per reader falls fast as you grow. Lite works out at $13.90 per 1,000 subscribers at 10,000, and $5.98 at 50,000.

The beehiiv pricing page lists every bucket for Lite and Pro, the yearly saving and what pushes you from one plan to the next.

Which beehiiv plan has the AI features

beehiiv AI, the writing assistant inside the editor, starts on Lite. Free gets “Limited” AI usage and no in-editor assistant. Lite gets “Elevated” usage and Pro “5x Lite”, and the pricing page publishes no credit figure behind either word.

Inside the editor, beehiiv’s AI features page lists six tools: a writing assistant, spell check, a smart editor, tone changes, translation and image creation.

An AI website builder is on Free, and turning podcast episodes into a newsletter is Pro only.

A read-only connection for AI assistants (beehiiv’s MCP server and its in-product Agent) is on every plan; write access starts on Lite. One reviewer likes using it with Claude (1 of 19: Trustpilot).

The house rules limit what the AI may write. The Acceptable Use Policy (16 July 2026) allows AI-assisted writing and adds: “Publications that rely entirely on AI-generated material without meaningful human input are not permitted.” So an automated newsletter run without an editor breaks the policy on any plan.

Does beehiiv train AI on your newsletter?

The terms do not say. The Terms of Use (6 October 2026) contain no clause on training AI models with your list or your posts. Neither does the privacy policy, and the data processing addendum’s heading “Confidentiality and Training” holds only a staff confidentiality clause (section 19).

Two documents come close. Section 3 of the terms lets beehiiv “compile Aggregated Statistics based on your Content”, anonymised, and keep ownership of them. The pricing table lists “No-training / zero-retention” and “BYO model key” in the Enterprise column only.

Terms of Use, 3 (Aggregated Statistics)

You acknowledge that beehiiv may compile Aggregated Statistics based on your Content (as defined below). You agree that beehiiv may: (i) make Aggregated Statistics publicly available in compliance with applicable law; and (ii) use Aggregated Statistics to the extent and in the manner permitted under applicable law; provided, that such Aggregated Statistics do not identify you or Your Users.

That matters if your list or drafts are sensitive. The only written no-training promise sits on a plan sold through sales. Does your email tool train AI? sets beehiiv’s clause beside 14 other tools.

How beehiiv counts subscribers and sends

The pricing FAQ counts unique email addresses subscribed to your publication. A reader who stopped opening months ago but never unsubscribed still fills a place in your bucket. Whether unsubscribed or bounced addresses count is not stated.

That is the trap one Reddit thread is about: inactive “ghost” subscribers pushing a list into a dearer bucket (1 of 19: r/Newsletters). A reply in the same thread points out that a segment plus an automation can remove them. Automations start on Lite.

On deliverability, every plan lists “Optimized Deliverability” and unlimited sends. Dedicated IP addresses, a sending address used only by you, are Enterprise only.

Kit is free below 10,000; beehiiv Lite costs less at 50,000

The three newsletter tools split on how they charge. Kit’s free plan covers lists under 10,000 subscribers (Kit help centre). Substack charges nothing to send and keeps 10% of paid subscriptions instead (Substack).

At 50,000 subscribers beehiiv Lite costs less than Kit’s Creator plan. Between 2,501 and 9,999, Kit Free costs nothing and beehiiv bills Lite.

beehiiv vs Kit compares the two plan by plan, and beehiiv vs Substack works out where Substack’s 10% passes a flat plan.

Coming from a general email tool? beehiiv vs Mailchimp covers that move, and the newsletter platforms list ranks five options by fee and list-size price.

Who should skip beehiiv

Best for

Newsletter publishers who want a site, paid subscriptions and the ad network in one tool, with under 2,500 subscribers or ready to pay Lite prices.

Skip it if

your free list sits between 2,501 and 9,999 subscribers and earns nothing yet: Kit Free still covers it, while beehiiv bills Lite.

Skip it as a shop’s email tool too. Product feeds and cart reminders are missing from the pricing page’s feature list; email marketing for ecommerce covers the tools built for that.

beehiiv pros and cons

Two more complaints come from people who never signed up. They received newsletters hosted on beehiiv and say their unsubscribe requests were ignored (2 of 19: Trustpilot, Trustpilot). Both describe a publisher’s list, so they say more about those senders than about beehiiv’s service.

Questions buyers ask about beehiiv

Is beehiiv free?

Yes, up to 2,500 subscribers, with unlimited sends and no card (pricing FAQ). Automations, A/B tests and the in-editor AI need Lite.

Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?

No. The pricing FAQ says beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscription and digital product revenue; Stripe’s own processing fee still comes off each payment.

Can I write a beehiiv newsletter with AI?

Yes, with a human in charge. The Acceptable Use Policy allows AI-assisted writing and bars publications that rely entirely on AI output.

What do beehiiv reviews say?

Of 19 public reviews read, 6 praise the simple editor and 3 report price rises. Three find the editor or app clunky, two of them the same reviewers who report the price rises.

Where are all the beehiiv prices?

The beehiiv pricing page has every bucket from 1,000 to 250,000 subscribers, and the email marketing price finder prices your own list across 15 tools.

Every email tool, with its price at your list size, is in the AI email marketing hub →