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What beehiiv actually costs

Four plans, two of which most people ever consider. Below is the real list price of each, what changes between them, and the one number that decides whether Scale or Max is right for you. Checked September 2026 against beehiiv own pricing page.

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Every plan

Launch

Free

Up to 2,500 subscribers

No automations, no ad network

Most people

Scale

$43/mo

Up to 100,000 subscribers

Ad network, automations, 0% take rate

$34.40/mo for 3 months with 20OFF2026

Max

$96/mo

Up to 100,000 subscribers

Send API, 10 publications, more seats

Enterprise

Custom

100,000+ subscribers

Dedicated IPs, SSO, account manager

Annual billing saves about $71 a year on Scale and $157 on Max. Prices checked September 2026: confirm the current figure on beehiiv.

Beehiiv pricing September 2026: Launch is free to 2,500 subscribers, Scale is $43 per month and Max is $96 per month, both covering up to 100,000 subscribers.
beehiiv plan prices as checked in September 2026.

The bit most pricing pages bury

beehiiv does not price by list size

This is the genuinely unusual thing about beehiiv pricing and it is easy to miss. Scale and Max both cover up to 100,000 subscribers at a flat rate. Almost every competitor charges more as your list grows: Kit rises with subscriber count, and Ghost tiers are capped by member count.

At 1,000 subscribers that makes beehiiv look expensive. At 30,000 it makes it look cheap. If you are comparing prices, compare them at the list size you expect in eighteen months rather than the one you have now, because that is the bill you will actually be paying.

Scale or Max: the one test

Max costs $53 a month more than Scale. Everything most newsletters need is already in Scale: the ad network, automations, digital products, surveys, a 0% take rate on paid subscriptions and three team seats.

Max earns its extra only if you need the Send API to trigger emails from your own application, more than three publications, unlimited team seats, or click-triggered automations. If none of those is a definite yes, Scale is the answer and you can upgrade the moment that changes.

What the free plan is genuinely good for

Launch is not a crippled demo. Up to 2,500 subscribers you get the newsletter, a website, a podcast, custom domains, analytics and unlimited sends. For validating whether anyone wants your newsletter, that is plenty.

What it lacks is everything to do with making money: no automations, no ad network, one team member. That is a reasonable line to draw. Upgrade when the newsletter starts behaving like a business, not before.

The cheapest legitimate route

Start the 14-day trial so you are evaluating for free. Apply 20OFF2026 at checkout for 20% off your first 3 months, which brings Scale to about $34.40/mo. Choose annual billing if you are already confident, since that discount stacks with the code in the sense that it applies to a lower base rate.

What will not work: expecting a code to apply to an existing paid subscription, or hunting for a bigger discount. The partner offer is 20% off and the various codes are all routes to the same thing.

Take 20% off off the list price

14 days free, then 20% off your first 3 months on Scale and Max for new beehiiv customers.

20OFF2026
Get 20% off at beehiiv

Beehiiv pricing questions

How much does beehiiv cost per month?
Launch is free to 2,500 subscribers. Scale is $43 a month and Max is $96 a month, both covering up to 100,000 subscribers. Enterprise is custom. Annual billing saves roughly $71 a year on Scale and $157 on Max.
Is there a free beehiiv plan?
Yes. Launch is free up to 2,500 subscribers and includes the newsletter, website, podcast, analytics and unlimited email sends. It does not include automations or the ad network, and it limits you to one team member and three publications.
What is the cheapest way to pay for beehiiv?
Annual billing plus the partner code. Annual already discounts the monthly rate, and 20OFF2026 takes 20% off off your first 3 months on top for new customers. Start on the 14-day trial so you are not paying while you evaluate.
Does beehiiv price go up as I get more subscribers?
Not within a plan. Scale and Max both cover up to 100,000 subscribers at the same price, which is unusual: most competitors price by list size. Past 100,000 you move to Enterprise on custom pricing.
Is Scale or Max better value?
Scale for most people. It has the ad network, automations, digital products and a 0% take rate. Max is worth the extra $53 a month only if you need the Send API, more than three publications, unlimited team seats, or click-triggered automations.
Does beehiiv take a cut of my revenue?
No. Paid plans take 0% of paid subscription revenue. Stripe processing fees still apply, as they would anywhere. That is a meaningful difference from Substack, which takes 10%.

Comparing against other platforms? See beehiiv vs Substack, Kit and Ghost, or read the full beehiiv review.

Use 20OFF2026 at beehiiv checkout

14 days free, then 20% off your first 3 months on Scale and Max. Verified September 2026.

20OFF2026
Go to beehiiv

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