Substack vs beehiiv: 7 Fee Facts That Save You Money

Substack vs beehiiv is a choice between a percentage and a flat fee. Substack takes 10% of every paid subscription, plus Stripe’s processing, and charges no monthly fee at all. beehiiv takes 0% of your subscription revenue and charges a flat monthly plan fee instead. This guide compares Substack vs beehiiv on real 2026 fees, with worked examples at $5 and $10 a month, so you can find the exact point where the flat fee becomes cheaper than the percentage.

The short answer: below about 92 paying subscribers at $5 a month (or 46 at $10 a month), Substack is cheaper, because 10% of a small income is less than a $49 monthly plan. Above that line, beehiiv is cheaper — and the gap grows fast, reaching $5,832 a year at 1,000 paying subscribers on a $5 plan. The catch is beehiiv’s price rises with your total list size, not just your paying subscribers, so a big free list pushes the break-even up.

Substack vs beehiiv at a glance

What Substack actually charges

Substack’s cost page, updated 29 October 2026, is simple: publishing is free, no matter how many subscribers you have, and there is no monthly fee. The platform takes 10% of each subscription payment — monthly, annual and founding-member charges alike. On top of that, Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment, plus a 0.7% Stripe Billing fee on recurring payments. All in, a US card payment costs 13.6% + $0.30. A $10 subscription leaves you $8.34; a $5 subscription leaves you $4.02.

Payments run through your own connected Stripe account. Web subscription payments usually arrive in your bank within 48 hours, and you can set the payout schedule to daily or weekly in Stripe. A first payout for a new Stripe account takes 7–14 days. Subscriptions bought in the Substack iOS app may cost readers more to cover Apple fees, and Substack’s 10% is based on the web price.

One change lands on 1 December 2026: from that date, Substack calculates, collects and remits sales tax and VAT on paid subscriptions on your behalf, at no additional cost, automatically for every publication with payments enabled. US and Canada publishers have tax added at checkout; publishers elsewhere may choose tax-inclusive pricing. Publishers based in Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, India and Thailand are excluded. Note the limit: this covers tax only. The publisher remains the merchant of record — Substack has not announced it is becoming the merchant of record — so refunds and chargebacks stay your responsibility.

What beehiiv actually charges

beehiiv charges the opposite way round: a flat monthly plan fee and 0% of your subscription revenue. Its pricing FAQ states it plainly — “You keep what you earn, minus Stripe’s standard processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.” Paid subscriptions run through your own connected Stripe account, as on Substack.

The plans, at the 1,000-subscriber tier on yearly billing, are: Free at $0 forever, up to 2,500 subscribers, but with no paid subscriptions; Lite at $49 a month, which adds paid subscriptions, ad monetisation, automations, A/B testing, 2 team seats and 3 publications; and Pro at $95 a month, which adds branding removal, 10 seats, 10 publications, webinars and coaching, advanced analytics and 24/7 priority support. Yearly billing saves up to 20% against month-to-month, so month-to-month costs more than the figures above.

Two things to watch. First, beehiiv renamed and repriced its plans on 1 October 2026 — Launch became Free, Scale became Lite, Max became Pro — and new customers have paid the new prices since then; existing customers move at their first renewal on or after 1 November 2026. The 0% platform fee did not change. Second, beehiiv’s price is set by your total list size, not your paying subscribers. The $49 Lite figure is the 1,000-subscriber tier; a creator with a large free list pays a higher tier, which moves the break-even point up. Free subscribers are not free on beehiiv’s pricing — they count toward the tier.

What beehiiv does not publish is any sales-tax service for subscriptions, and no payout timing or minimum was found on its pages. Do not assume beehiiv handles your tax: the money flows through your own Stripe account, so tax is your responsibility unless beehiiv states otherwise.

Worked examples: what you keep at $5 and $10 a month

All examples assume US card payments in dollars, web checkout (not iOS in-app), Stripe processing charged on the full subscription price, and beehiiv Lite at $49 a month on yearly billing.

Example 1: one payment

• $5 a month: Substack keeps $4.02 ($0.50 platform fee + $0.445 Stripe card fee + $0.035 Billing fee). beehiiv keeps $4.56 ($0.445 Stripe fee only, before the plan fee).
• $10 a month: Substack keeps $8.34 ($1.00 + $0.59 + $0.07). beehiiv keeps $9.41 ($0.59).

Per payment, beehiiv keeps $0.54 more on a $5 subscription and $1.07 more on a $10 one — before its $49 monthly plan fee is counted.

Example 2: 100 paying subscribers

• $5 a month (gross $500): Substack keeps $402.00 a month. beehiiv keeps $406.50 (100 × $4.555 − $49).
• $10 a month (gross $1,000): Substack keeps $834.00 a month. beehiiv keeps $892.00.

At 100 subscribers beehiiv is already ahead, by $4.50 a month at $5 and by $58.00 a month at $10.

Example 3: 1,000 paying subscribers

• $5 a month (gross $5,000): Substack keeps $4,020.00 a month. beehiiv keeps $4,506.00.
• $10 a month (gross $10,000): Substack keeps $8,340.00 a month. beehiiv keeps $9,361.00.

At this size the gap is $486 a month at $5 and $1,021 a month at $10 — $5,832 and $12,252 a year. The $49 plan fee has become a rounding error against 10% of $5,000 or $10,000.

Example 4: the year in full

• $5 a month × 100 subscribers: Substack keeps $4,824.00 a year; beehiiv keeps $4,878.00.
• $5 a month × 1,000 subscribers: Substack keeps $48,240.00 a year; beehiiv keeps $54,072.00.
• $10 a month × 100 subscribers: Substack keeps $10,008.00 a year; beehiiv keeps $10,704.00.
• $10 a month × 1,000 subscribers: Substack keeps $100,080.00 a year; beehiiv keeps $112,332.00.

The break-even point: about 92 paying subscribers at $5

The Stripe card fee (2.9% + $0.30) applies on both platforms, so it cancels out. What Substack costs extra is its 10% platform fee plus the 0.7% Stripe Billing fee — 10.7% of your gross. Divide beehiiv’s $49 monthly plan fee by that 10.7% and you get the break-even gross revenue:

$49 ÷ 0.107 = $457.94 a month.

At $5 a month, that is about 92 paying subscribers. At $10 a month, about 46. Below the line, Substack is cheaper; above it, beehiiv is cheaper. On month-to-month billing the threshold is higher, because the plan fee is higher than $49 a month.

Remember the caveat: beehiiv’s fee is set by total list size. If you have 1,000 paying subscribers and 9,000 free ones, your list is 10,000 and your Lite tier — and your break-even — is higher than the $49 example above. Count your whole list when you run the numbers, not just the payers.

5 Substack vs beehiiv traps to avoid

1. Comparing only the platform percentage

10% against 0% looks decisive, but it ignores the flat fee. At $500 a month of gross revenue, Substack’s 10% costs $50 — barely more than beehiiv’s $49 plan. The percentage only wins big once revenue is large. Always compare total monthly cost at your actual subscriber count, the same method our Platform Fee Calculator applies to platform fees generally.

2. Starting paid subscriptions on beehiiv’s Free plan

You cannot. Paid subscriptions start on Lite, and the Free plan caps at 2,500 subscribers. A creator who builds a free list of 3,000 on beehiiv’s Free plan and then wants to charge for it must move to a paid plan first — and the tier is set by the total list, so the move costs more than the 1,000-subscriber price shown above.

3. Forgetting the free list counts toward beehiiv’s price

beehiiv’s tiers are priced on total subscribers, not paying subscribers. A large free audience is a cost on beehiiv and free on Substack. If your model is a big free list with a small paid tier, run the break-even on your total list size, not your payer count.

4. Ignoring the Stripe Billing fee on Substack

Substack’s all-in cost is 13.6% + $0.30, not 12.9% + $0.30. The 0.7% Stripe Billing fee on recurring payments is easy to miss, and it is part of every payment. The worked examples above include it; if you run your own numbers, include it too.

5. Assuming beehiiv handles your tax

From 1 December 2026, Substack calculates, collects and remits sales tax and VAT for you at no extra cost. No equivalent beehiiv tax service was verified on its pages. If you sell on beehiiv, tax is your responsibility unless beehiiv states otherwise — budget for it, or for an accountant, before you choose on fees alone.

Substack vs beehiiv: which should you choose?

Choose Substack if you have fewer than about 92 paying subscribers at $5 a month (or 46 at $10), you want to start charging with no monthly fee at all, or you value Substack’s built-in discovery and its tax handling from December 2026. It is also the simpler choice if your list is mostly free readers and you only monetise a small paid tier.

Choose beehiiv if you have more than about 92 paying subscribers at $5 a month (or 46 at $10), your list is mostly paying, or you want the ad network, automations and A/B testing that come with Lite and Pro. Above the break-even point, the flat fee is simply cheaper than 10% — by $5,832 a year at 1,000 paying subscribers on a $5 plan.

If you monetise a community rather than a newsletter, the same total-cost thinking applies elsewhere: our Skool pricing guide compares Hobby and Pro the same way, and our Patreon Fee Calculator runs the same maths for membership income. Run your own numbers before you commit, on your real subscriber count and your real total list size.

Frequently asked questions

Does Substack charge a monthly fee?

No. Publishing on Substack is free at any subscriber count; Substack only takes 10% of each paid subscription payment, plus Stripe’s processing fees. There is no monthly charge, and the 10% applies to monthly, annual and founding-member payments alike.

Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?

No. beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscription revenue; you pay its flat monthly plan fee plus Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Paid subscriptions start on the Lite plan, from $49 a month on yearly billing at up to 1,000 subscribers.

How much do you keep from a $10 Substack subscription?

$8.34 per payment on a US card: $1.00 Substack platform fee, $0.59 Stripe card fee, and $0.07 Stripe Billing fee. On beehiiv the same $10 payment keeps $9.41 before the plan fee — $0.59 of Stripe processing only.

What is the cheapest beehiiv plan that allows paid subscriptions?

Lite, from $49 a month on yearly billing at up to 1,000 subscribers; the Free plan (up to 2,500 subscribers) does not include paid subscriptions. Month-to-month billing costs more — yearly billing saves up to 20% — and the price rises with your total list size.

At how many paying subscribers does beehiiv become cheaper than Substack?

Around 92 paying subscribers at $5 a month, or around 46 at $10 a month, on Lite’s $49-a-month yearly-billing price — because Substack’s 10% plus Stripe Billing costs about 10.7% of revenue. The threshold rises if your total list is much larger than your paying subscribers.

Who handles sales tax on Substack and beehiiv?

From 1 December 2026 Substack calculates, collects and remits sales tax and VAT on paid subscriptions at no extra cost — but the publisher remains the merchant of record. No equivalent beehiiv tax service was verified; do not assume beehiiv handles tax.

Figures in this guide are estimates based on Substack and beehiiv pricing as listed on their official pages on 13 November 2026. Prices and fees can change; check each platform’s pricing page before you choose. This guide is not tax, legal or financial advice.