Our verdict
beehiiv's workflow builder covers what most newsletters need: a welcome series, a paid-upgrade sequence, re-engagement for unengaged readers, and hand-offs to other tools by webhook. The limits are on quantity, not capability. Lite gives you 10 live automations counted across every publication in the workspace; Pro and Enterprise remove the cap and add click-triggered automations and A/B testing. [1] [5]
If you run one publication with a welcome series, a paid onboarding flow and a win-back flow, Lite is enough. If you run several publications in one workspace or want to test subject lines inside automations, look at Pro. [1]
The triggers beehiiv documents
A workflow can have up to three triggers, joined with OR. Triggers can carry optional conditions. Two behaviors matter for planning: the Signed up trigger does not capture imported subscribers by default, and the Segment action trigger only enrolls people who newly enter or exit an active dynamic segment after you activate it. [1] [2] [4]
| Trigger | Fires when | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Signed up | A new subscriber joins | Imports not captured by default |
| Email submitted | Someone submits any or a specific subscribe form | Existing subscribers can enter if re-entry is on |
| Survey submitted | A beehiiv survey is submitted | Any or a specific survey |
| Poll submitted | A poll response comes in | |
| Referral action | A referral count or milestone is reached | |
| Segment action | A subscriber enters or exits a segment | Active dynamic segments only |
| Upgraded | A paid subscription is purchased | |
| Downgraded | A paid subscription is cancelled but the reader stays free | |
| Product purchased | A digital product is bought | |
| Added by API | A subscriber is added through the API | |
| Manual | You enroll people from a segment, or link a Website Builder form block | Bypasses other triggers and conditions |
| Unengaged | No opens or clicks for a set period | Checked once daily at 6:00 AM UTC |
| Podcast episode published | A podcast episode goes live |
The steps you can add
Steps fall into messages, data, delays and flow control. A workflow needs at least one trigger and one action before Publish becomes available, and Publish stays greyed out while any step is incomplete or a required field is blank. [1] [4]
| Step | What it does | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Send email | Sends an email at that point | A/B testing up to 3 variants (Pro and Enterprise) |
| Update subscription | Changes status, custom fields or tags | Optional conditions |
| Send webhook | Posts a payload to an external URL | Optional conditions |
| Time delay | Waits minutes, hours or days | Relative to when the subscriber reached the step |
| Wait until | Waits for a specific day and time | Same moment for everyone |
| True/false branch | Two paths by condition | Tags, custom fields, paid vs free, engagement |
| Multi-split branch | Up to 5 ordered paths plus All others | First matching path wins; can use segment membership |
| Random cohort branch | 2 to 5 paths by percentage | Lockable percentages for holdout groups |
| Enroll in automation | Moves the subscriber into another live workflow | Bypasses that workflow's triggers |
| Exit automation | Ends the journey on a branch path | Otherwise branch paths rejoin |
Re-entry: decide before you publish
Allow re-entry is a required field. No re-entry means each subscriber goes through once. Unlimited re-entry lets anyone re-enter whenever they meet the trigger again. Conditional re-entry adds extra conditions and requires a maximum number of re-entries per subscriber and a cooldown period. beehiiv's Welcome email template uses re-entry after one day. [2]
For a welcome series, No re-entry is the safer default: a reader who resubscribes through a second form would otherwise get the whole series again. Use conditional re-entry for flows that should repeat on a schedule, such as a quarterly win-back. Note that the Enroll in automation action bypasses the receiving workflow's triggers and conditions, but beehiiv says any re-entry conditions on that workflow still apply. [2] [4]
Walkthrough: a three-email welcome series with one branch
Goal: welcome new readers, point engaged ones to your best archive posts, and give quiet readers a simpler nudge. Before building, create a dynamic segment named Welcome clickers with the condition Email data, Automation Email, was clicked. [6] Multi-split branches can route on segment membership, and dynamic segments refresh daily, so the branch below sits after a delay long enough for at least one refresh. [3]
This plan uses 1 of Lite's 10 live automations and needs only documented steps. The delays are a starting point, not a benchmark.
| Step | Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Signed up (plus Email submitted for a lead-magnet form if needed); re-entry off | Every new subscriber enters once |
| 1. Send email | Welcome: what to expect, sending day, one reply prompt | Sets expectations and invites a first reply |
| 2. Time delay | 2 days | Space between emails |
| 3. Send email | Best of the archive: three links | Gives readers something to click |
| 4. Time delay | 2 days | Allows at least one daily segment refresh |
| 5. Multi-split branch | Path 1: in segment Welcome clickers; All others | Separate engaged and quiet readers |
| 5a. Path 1 send email | Deeper offer: referral program, paid tier or survey | Engaged readers get the bigger ask |
| 5b. All others send email | Short check-in: confirm they want to stay, plain text | Quiet readers get a light nudge |
| 6. Update subscription | Add tag welcome-complete | Lets later segments exclude new readers |
How to test it before it goes live
- Subscribe with two addresses you control through the exact form the trigger uses.
- For the test run only, shorten both delays to minutes, then restore them before publishing for real.
- On one test address, click a link in email 2; leave the other untouched. After the delay, recalculate the Welcome clickers segment and confirm each address took the expected path.
- Open the Activity tab on each step to see who is waiting there; beehiiv recommends checking it before you change a step so nobody is stranded.
- When you edit after launch, choose deliberately whether the change applies to current subscribers or only new ones.
- Remove the test addresses from your list afterward so they do not skew engagement numbers.
Who should build automations on beehiiv, and who should skip
- Good fit: newsletters on Lite or Pro that need a welcome series, upgrade and downgrade flows for paid tiers, or webhook hand-offs.
- Good fit: publishers who want branching by paid vs free or by segment without a separate automation tool.
- Skip for now: Free plan users, since automations require a paid plan or the trial.
- Look elsewhere if you need many live automations per publication across several publications on Lite; the cap of 10 is workspace-wide.
Questions before you decide
Are beehiiv automations available on the Free plan?
No. beehiiv lists automations under all paid plans and also makes them available during the free trial. The pricing page shows no live custom automations on Free, 10 on Lite and unlimited on Pro and Enterprise.
Does the Signed up trigger catch imported subscribers?
Not by default. beehiiv says imported subscribers are not captured by the Signed up trigger by default, so plan a separate enrollment, such as the Manual trigger with a segment, for an imported list.
How many triggers can one beehiiv automation have?
Up to three, combined with OR logic, so a subscriber who meets any one of them enters. beehiiv also notes that triggers sit at the start of the workflow and cannot be added later in the flow.
What happens to people already in a workflow when I edit it?
beehiiv shows an Unpublished changes badge, and when you publish you choose whether the update applies to current subscribers or only new ones. Steps added later only reach subscribers still in progress or newly enrolled.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- beehiiv Support: Using automations, overview of triggers and actions Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: How to create automation workflows for your subscribers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: Using branches in automation workflows Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: Enrolling subscribers in automations Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv: Pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- beehiiv Support: Segment conditions chart and use cases Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.