Beehiiv Review 2023: Is It The Best Newsletter Platform?

Creating a newsletter looks easy on paper. The truth of the matter is a lot goes into generating good content and then reaching people who want to read it.

Beehiiv is a relatively new platform billed as an all-in-one package for your newsletter needs. In this Beehiiv review, I’ll pick apart the service and give you the lowdown on whether it’s worth picking up.

What is Beehiiv?

Beehiiv is a creator-friendly newsletter platform for all types of content creators. It came to be when former employees of popular newsletter publisher Morning Brew stepped out on their own.

Fortunately for us, they took a lot of the knowledge with them that led Morning Brew to such success. Beehiiv is a newer platform, but years of experience are built into its foundation.

The newsletter platform doesn’t care if you’re new to newsletters or have been at it for years. You’ll find an abundance of newsletter creation tools to help you design, write, and send your content to your subscribers.

Beehiiv does so much more than just help create newsletters, which some of you may already know how to do. You’ll have at your fingertips the tools you need to promote and monetize your content as well.

>> Already sold? Start your own newsletter today! <<

What Sets Beehiiv Apart?

There are other newsletter platforms out there, sure. I’ll talk about those further down in my review. At a glance, here’s what really sets Beehiiv apart:

First, Beehiiv has a genuinely free plan. There are limitations, but no catch or hidden hook to charge you when you’re not looking. It’s a breath of fresh air for new content creators.

Second, the newsletter platform really wants you to grow. This is evident through referral programs, trials, offers, and other means you get people reading your newsletter. It backs all that up with comprehensive analytics so you can track what’s working and what falls short.

Third, you’ve got a stellar website builder with SEO optimization tools built right in. Beehiiv shows you how to move your content to the top of search lists. Integrations and embed codes make linking Beehiiv to your current webpage simple if you already have a site you like.

Beehiiv Review: Key Features

I’ve been hinting at Beehiiv‘s features for a while now. Join me as we take a closer look at the key ones to help your newsletter grow.

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Newsletter Builder

Writing newsletters is Beehiiv‘s bread and butter, and the newsletter platform is happy to show you what’s what. There’s an entire suite of content tools designed to be super easy to use and create five-star newsletters.

What stands out most to me is the text editor and all its features. I can set it for whatever platform I’m publishing on and get notifications about font errors or issues with email clipping.

Before you’re done, have at it with customization tools to make your newsletter stand out among the competition. You don’t even need knowledge of coding to make it all work. Another advantage is that it has built-in AI to help you create better and/or more content with less effort.

Multiple Newsletters Per Account

The Beehiiv newsletter platform doesn’t limit you to just one piece of content per month. You can send out up to three publications at a time to maximize subscription revenue.

Forget needing multiple accounts to manage this. Your content creators can work from the same source instead of looking like all your newsletters come from different sources.

It helps you build a name for your newsletter while watching subscriber analytics from one location.

You will have to shell out some cash for this feature, though. It’s only available at the highest-paid subscription tier.

Subscribe Forms

You’re undoubtedly looking to grow your subscriber base as you release new content. The Beehiiv platform makes this easy through subscribe forms.

Even the free plan has web hosting, so people can subscribe straight from your Beehiiv website. Already have a site of your own? No worries, Beehiiv has embed code you can add to an existing page.

There are multiple options for embed codes, from something that covers your whole page to a slim format that takes up less space. The choice is yours. You can simply copy and paste this code if you’re not super website-savvy.

>> Join now to boost engagement and grow your subscribers <<

Offers and Trials 

Folks aren’t always going to find their way to your site and sign up. You’ll likely need to rely on email marketing for growth.

Email marketing campaigns attract attention and help set your newsletters apart from all the others. Beehiiv has a ton of cool tools to incentivize those readers.

That’s why Beehiiv lets you create custom offers and free trials directly on your platform. It’s a great way to move free readers to paid members and add new subscribers to the mix.

Data Analytics

This is undoubtedly one of my favorite features. Built into Beehiiv are dozens of subscriber analytics for you to understand exactly who your readers are.

How you use all these is the best part. If you’re a numbers guy like me, you can drill down deep and pull valuable insights from a large pool of metrics and attributes.

Want to know what people are looking at first? There’s a metric for that. What they read the most? A metric for that too.

Don’t worry if you’re not big into numbers. Beehiiv‘s user-friendly interface makes data crunching easy as pie.

There are also tools for discovering where your users found your newsletter, which marketing campaigns worked the best, and which devices they’re viewing your content from. Work smarter, not harder.

You can even collect feedback straight from your newsletters by embedding one-click polls.

>> Master your audience with Beehiiv’s Analytics! <<

Email Automation and Segmentation

Your users aren’t all the same. They may have a common interest (hopefully your newsletter), but they’ll come from all walks of life.

Beehiiv can automatically segment your subscribers into categories based on those interests. This can happen daily and the Beehiiv will add or remove people as their passions change. You don’t have to lift a finger once you’ve set your parameters.

You totally can if you want to, though. There’s an option to manually segment customers if that’s your style.

Beyond all the cool sorting features, Beehiiv also works in email automation.

Beehiiv will automatically begin email sequences based on certain triggers. You decide what these triggers are.

Some examples are when a user signs up for the first time or decides to upgrade to a premium plan that you offer. The choice is yours how to create segments and automations, but it can save you incredible amounts of time.

Referral Program

In all my years, I’ve never seen a marketing strategy more effective than word of mouth. Call me old-fashioned, but it really works.

Beehiiv has a referral program that functions much the same way. Your current subscribers can email people they know asking them to join your newsletter.

You can reward your members any time someone new joins at their behest. These rewards are entirely up to you and can be anything from cool merch to premium benefits only they can receive.

In any case, referrals open up a whole new avenue for adding folks to your network.

Best of all, it’s super simple to set up. You can drop referral information right into your existing newsletter before it goes out.

The downside here is that referrals are only available through a paid Beehiiv subscription. Still, this tool could quickly pay for itself and then generate revenue for you.

>> Multiply your network and revenue – Try the referral program here <<

SEO-Optimized Web Hosting

A Beehiiv includes web hosting as part of any package. I really appreciate they make this available to even members of their free plan who are just starting out. The free plan does stick Beehiiv branding on your site if that matters to you.

This website is where your newsletters exist and your subscribers can go to read them. It’s also an archive for old issues.

Perhaps most importantly, new users can jump on your site to join.

You’ve got some website customization options to play with, but don’t expect everything and the kitchen sink. It keeps you and your members safe though, thanks to reCAPTCHAS, user authorization, and more.

Beehiiv‘s team knows a thing or two about SEO and will help you jump to the top of search lists. This is a step above many other web hosting sites.

Software Integrations

You’re not going to be doing all your work from within Beehiiv. It’s great at what it does but leaves no room for other business necessities like collaboration or brainstorming.

That’s where software integrations play such a crucial role. Beehiiv offers API access and integrates with hundreds of other popular tools you’re already using.

Common third-party apps include Slack, Google Drive, and Discord, where you might find your team passing around info.

It goes way behind that, though. Beehiiv assimilates seamlessly with Shopify, WordPress, Wix, and other big names you might already be building on.

>> Ready to supercharge your visibility and workflow? Sign up here! <<

Beehiiv Customer Support

Members get access to Beehiiv‘s customer support system. There’s a nice FAQ section on its website full of common questions and a YouTube channel loaded with tutorials. You can submit a ticket request if you don’t find the answers you’re looking for.

Customer support extends to a comprehensive Newsletter XP course on building and scaling your newsletter. It also covers Beehiiv monetization opportunities in detail.

The speaker base for the course are all people who have been there and done that with Beehiiv. They’re happy to share their experiences.

You’ll have to pay extra for the course, so you’ll need to weigh whether it’s worth it.

Beehiiv vs Other Newsletter Platforms

Ghost and Substack are two of Beehiiv‘s biggest competitors and offer some similar capabilities. Let’s take a quick look at how they compare.

Beehiiv vs Substack

Both these newsletter platforms do the job quite well. They’re easy to use and have many of the same customization options you’d hope to find in a website and newsletter builder. Both encourage going for paid memberships and show you how to do this successfully.

The biggest problem I have with Substack is it takes a chuck of your revenue from paid subscriptions. I guess it’s an added incentive to help you get more subscribers, but I prefer Beehiiv‘s strategy of charging an upfront monthly fee.

Substack doesn’t have the same punch when it comes to SEO, either. Beehiiv‘s optimization tools really shine here.

>> Boost your newsletter outcome – Access the best tools here! <<

Beehiiv vs Ghost

Ghost is another good option for content creators looking for a modern newsletter platform. Like Beehiiv, it has nice analytics and a lot of integrations.

As much as I’ve looked, I can’t find any automation tools that save a lot of time when using Beehiiv. Also, Ghost caps out at 10,000 subscribers. This may seem like a lot at first, but Beehiiv goes to 100,000 and beyond.

You’ll find some nice tools with Ghost, but Beehiiv is truly the all-in-one solution for email marketers.

Beehiiv Review: Pros and Cons

Check out the pros and cons of Beehiiv‘s newsletter platform here:

Pros

• Offers a free plan
• Streamlined segmentations and automation for marketing
• Top-tier SEO-optimized web hosting
• Comprehensive data analytics
• Up to three newsletters per account
• Offers, trials, and referral programs for targeting new members

Cons

• Customization limitations on website design
• Some features are available only in paid tiers

>> Get your all-in-one solution to create, monetize, and scale with ease here! <<

Is This Platform Right For You?

Beehiiv is an excellent option for content creators, independent writers, or startups looking to get their feet wet. It costs nothing to get started and you can reach 2,500 subscribers before having to think about paying a penny.

Professionals with newsletters already underway can put Beehiiv‘s marketing materials and analytics to good use. These tools help you reach people you may not be able to otherwise and see which of your marketing strategies are working. You’ll pay a little bit upfront, but the return on your investment could pay off in spades.

How Much Does Beehiiv Cost?

Beehiiv has three plans you can choose from when you join, and you can switch between them as your needs change. Here’s a quick explanation of what you’ll find in each one:

Free Plan

Beehiiv‘s free plan is called Launch, and it is free for as long as you use it. You can host up to 2,500 subscribers and is great for content creators just starting out.

Another notable feature is web hosting with SEO optimization tools right inside. I’m surprised to see this as a free option, but I’m very happy it’s there.

In addition, you get a nice sample of many of Beehiiv‘s other tools to play with.

>> Sign up for free today <<

Paid Plans

Grow

The Grow plan costs $42 per month as long as you pay annually.

It bumps your potential subscriber base to 10,000 users and removes limitations on audience polls and segmentation. This tier is also where you’re going to unlock promotional offers, trials, and premium subscriptions.

You get to shed Beehiiv‘s branding and choose your own custom domain for your email and website. Definitely makes you look more official and not like a startup.

Scale

Scale removes pretty much all remaining barriers on Beehiiv‘s long list of tools. That’s the referral program, automated journeys, 3D analytics, and a bunch more.

It’s one of the few places where you can grow to 100,000 subscribers without hitting a ceiling. The advanced web builder and priority support can help you get there.

You’ll need the Scale plan when you decide to launch multiple newsletters. It’s the only place where you can have up to three in the same account and costs less than just buying several memberships.

A year plan is just $84 per month.

Beehiiv Review: Is It Worth It?

After giving Beehiiv a careful review, I can honestly say it’s well worth whatever you put into it.

I’m still amazed by the amount of content you get for free. You’re looking at a robust newsletter creator with all the fixings of a website builder mixed right in.

It’s so much more than just those two pieces, though. The newsletter platform also has excellent marketing strategies and deep analytics to help reach the most people.

Some of these features only come alive when you start paying for the service but can dramatically increase your subscriber load. Depending on your plan, $42 or $84 per month isn’t a big ask for the potential revenue you could earn. You’re in charge of when the time’s right to upgrade your package.

At the end of the day, Beehiiv is all of your email marketing needs in one simple yet powerful platform for one low monthly fee. I highly recommend giving it a try if you’re in the market for a newsletter platform.

>> That’s it for my review. Start your 14-day trial and get access to all premium features here!<<

Noah Zelvis

Noah is an American copywriter on a mission to help clarify the nuances of the financial world. When he's not working, you’ll likely find him running or traveling.