Tool Choices
beehiiv vs Kit (ConvertKit) for a new newsletter
How beehiiv and Kit compare for a first newsletter: free-plan limits, the 1 Oct 2026 beehiiv prices, and what each tool takes when a reader pays.
The flow
- Check your list size
- Compare the free-plan limits
- Read the yearly price at 1,000 subscribers
- Check the fee when a reader pays
- Start on the free plan that fits
beehiiv and Kit (formerly ConvertKit) both send a newsletter. The useful difference is what you can do before you pay, and what each one takes when a reader pays you.
Prices checked 12 Oct 2026 on beehiiv.com/pricing and kit.com/pricing, in US dollars. Both pages were on yearly billing, at the 1,000-subscriber setting. Month-to-month prices were not on screen.
Some links to tools are affiliate links: if you sign up or buy through one, Slizzy OS may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Neither beehiiv nor Kit has an affiliate link on its tool page. That doesn't change the advice here. Read the affiliate disclosure for details.
What changed at beehiiv
On 1 Oct 2026 beehiiv renamed its plans. Launch is now Free, Scale is now Lite, and Max is now Pro. New prices apply to new customers from that date. If you already pay, your price stays until your first renewal on or after 1 Nov 2026. An annual plan keeps its price until that term ends.
The label on this site, "Free / US$43/mo Scale (annual)", is the old Scale plan. It is not today's Lite price.
Pricing at a glance
| beehiiv | Kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | US$0, up to 2,500 subscribers | US$0, up to 10,000 subscribers |
| First paid plan, yearly, at 1,000 subscribers | Lite: US$49 a month. Rises with list size, up to 100,000 subscribers. | Creator: US$33 a month, US$390 for the year (the page says save US$78) |
| Next plan, same setting | Pro: US$95 a month, yearly, up to 250,000 subscribers | Regular price labelled US$66 a month. First year shown as US$50 a month, US$593 billed. |
| Cut when a reader pays | 0% on Lite and Pro. beehiiv says Stripe still charges 2.9% + US$0.30. | 3.5% + 30¢ on every plan. Kit says that includes card fees, and that Kit keeps 0.6% of the fee. |
| Included before you pay | Unlimited sends, landing pages, a recommendation network, 30-day analytics. Website, podcast, community and digital products are on every plan, including Free. | Unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited broadcasts, tagging, and selling products or subscriptions. |
| Starts on a paid plan | Paid subscriptions, ads, automations and A/B tests | Email sequences and visual automations. Creator has a 14-day trial, no card. |
Kit says the Pro discount applies only to the first year. beehiiv says yearly billing saves up to 20%.
What drives the cost
beehiiv's paid price follows your subscriber count. US$49 and US$95 are only the 1,000-subscriber yearly setting. Free stops at 2,500.
Kit Free runs to 10,000 subscribers. At 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing, Creator (US$33 a month) is less than beehiiv Lite (US$49). Automations are not on Kit Free. Do not treat Kit Pro's first-year US$50 as the lasting price. The card labels US$66 a month as the regular price.
A cost check at 1,000 subscribers
These are the published yearly prices, not a bill from a real account.
- Sending only, list under 2,500: beehiiv Free, US$0.
- Sending only, list under 10,000: Kit Free, US$0.
- Automations, yearly: Kit Creator US$33 a month, or beehiiv Lite US$49 a month.
- A paid newsletter with no platform cut: beehiiv Lite. Kit still charges 3.5% + 30¢ on Free.
Pick beehiiv if
- You want a newsletter, a site, a podcast and a community in one login, including on Free.
- Your test list will stay under 2,500 subscribers.
- You would rather pay a plan than a cut of each payment.
- You set the subscriber slider to your own list size before you upgrade.
beehiiv is the sending tool in the Automated Newsletter Engine blueprint.
Pick Kit if
- You want the longer free list, up to 10,000 subscribers.
- You want to sell from the free plan, and 3.5% + 30¢ is acceptable.
- You need sequences, and Creator's yearly price is one you can pay.
- You already have a site, and you do not need a podcast or community in the same tool.
What would change my mind
- A bigger list on beehiiv. If Lite at your real size costs more than Kit at that size, the US$49 comparison no longer holds.
- Paying month to month. Open that toggle. It was not the view checked here.
- A second year on Kit Pro. The lower price is marked as the first year only.
- You already pay beehiiv. The new price waits until the first renewal on or after 1 Nov 2026.
If you only need checkout for one download, see systeme.io vs Podia.