Substack takes a flat 10% of everything you earn. beehiiv charges a fixed monthly plan. We worked out exactly where the line crosses, and what it costs you each year.
For a newsletter with 75,000 paid subscribers at $12/month, gross revenue is $900,000/month. Substack's 10% revenue share takes $90,000/month, while beehiiv's flat $43/month Scale plan leaves you with $899,957 net. beehiiv becomes the cheaper platform past just 36 paid subscribers, saving you $89,957/month, or $1,079,484 a year.
| Per newsletter / month | beehiiv | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly platform cost | $43 | $0 |
| Revenue share | 0% | 10% · $90k |
| Net per month | $899,957 | $810,000 |
| Net per year | $10,799,484 | $9,720,000 |
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Methodology. Substack charges a 10% revenue share on subscription income with no monthly fee. beehiiv charges a flat monthly plan ($43/mo Scale plan up to 100k subscribers, $96/mo Max plan above) with 0% revenue share. Figures assume a creator on a paid beehiiv plan and exclude Stripe payment-processing fees (~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), which apply equally to both platforms and therefore do not affect the savings difference. “Breakeven” is the paid-subscriber count at which Substack’s 10% equals beehiiv’s flat fee. Disclosure. newslettereconomics.com may earn an affiliate commission from beehiiv referrals. Pricing reflects published rates and may change. Verify current plans before deciding. Pricing data sourced from beehiiv.com/pricing and substack.com/pricing. · Privacy · Legal