The newsletter economy is booming. Both Beehiiv and Substack offer ways to monetize written content via paid subscriptions โ€” but their business models differ fundamentally, with significant implications for how much you actually keep.

The Fee Structures

Substack: 0% platform fee on free newsletters. 10% on paid subscription revenue. Simple, but expensive as you scale. On $10,000/month in subscriptions: $1,000 goes to Substack. Beehiiv: Free plan, Scale plan ($39/month), Max plan ($99/month). 0% fee on paid subscriptions on Scale and Max. Plus: advertising network (Boosts) where you earn $1โ€“$3 per new subscriber referred by advertisers. On $10,000/month in subscriptions: $0โ€“$99 goes to Beehiiv.

Beehiiv’s Monetization Advantages

The Boosts network pays you to grow your list โ€” advertisers pay $1โ€“$3 per subscriber they send to you. A newsletter growing 500 subscribers/month via Boosts earns $500โ€“$1,500/month just from subscriber acquisition. This is unique to Beehiiv. Plus: their ad network lets you sell sponsorships directly through their platform, with CPMs reported at $30โ€“$50.

Substack’s Advantages

Built-in discovery: Substack actively promotes newsletters on their platform. Larger existing audience for cross-promotion. Notes feature (like Twitter/X within Substack) drives organic discovery. Community trust: readers know what Substack is and trust paid subscriptions. Better for writers who want to focus entirely on writing, not platform optimization.

Which to Choose

Under 1,000 subscribers: Either works, try Substack for the discovery advantage. 1,000โ€“10,000 subscribers earning $1,000โ€“$5,000/month: Beehiiv wins on economics. Over $5,000/month: Beehiiv saves you $400โ€“$600/month vs Substack. Growth-focused creator: Beehiiv’s Boosts and ad network provide additional income streams unavailable on Substack.

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The Newsletter Acquisition Strategy
Earn: Buy subscribers, not ads
Beehiiv’s Boost network lets you buy engaged subscribers at $1โ€“$3 each. For a finance newsletter, a subscriber worth $5โ€“$15/year in subscription revenue justifies paying $3 to acquire them. This paid growth strategy is unavailable on Substack โ€” a fundamental competitive advantage for Beehiiv.