What the Free plan includes
beehiiv's pricing page describes Free as free forever with no credit card required. Its plan data lists newsletters, a website and a podcast, campaign analytics, unlimited email sends, the recommendation network, optimized deliverability, link-in-bio, an AI website builder, and API access excluding the Send API. The pricing FAQ adds that website, podcast, community and digital products are included on every plan, and that what changes between plans is limits, support and advanced features.
Free recommendations, where publications recommend each other without payment, are available on all plans, according to beehiiv's help article on the change from Boosts. That makes Free a workable place to start a publication and swap free recommendations before you have anything to sell.
Free, Lite and Pro limits compared
The table uses beehiiv's published plan limits. Prices are the ones the page shows for a 1,000-subscriber list; larger lists cost more on Lite and Pro.
| Limit or feature | Free | Lite | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | Up to 2,500 | Up to 100,000 | Up to 250,000 |
| Email sends | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Publications | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Team seats | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Guest authors | 1 | 3 | Unlimited |
| Analytics lookback | 30 days | 12 months | Unlimited |
| Paid subscriptions (0% take rate) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ad Network | No | Yes | Yes |
| Paid recommendations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Email automations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Remove beehiiv branding | No | No | Yes |
| Send API | No | No | Yes |
| Price at 1,000 subscribers | $0 | $49/mo yearly or $59 monthly | $95/mo yearly or $109 monthly |
What is missing, and why it matters
The most consequential gap is automation. Without email automations, a new subscriber gets no welcome email or onboarding series unless you send one by hand. The second gap is revenue: paid subscriptions, the Ad Network and paid recommendations all need a paid plan. The beehiiv Ad Network FAQ says the network is available to anyone on a paid plan who is actively sending on beehiiv.
Smaller gaps catch teams later. One seat means co-editors share a login, which is poor practice. A 30-day analytics window means you cannot compare this quarter's open rates with last year's inside beehiiv, so export reports monthly if that comparison matters. beehiiv branding remains until Pro, so Lite does not remove it.
Signs it is time to upgrade
Upgrade when one of these is true and the cost check below passes. Do not upgrade just because a trial of paid features is available. The pricing FAQ says Lite and Pro include a free trial that ends when you upgrade.
- Your list is above about 2,000 and growing, so the 2,500 cap is a few weeks away.
- You want a welcome or onboarding sequence to run without manual sends.
- You have readers asking to pay, or a clear plan to launch a paid tier.
- You want income from the Ad Network or from paid recommendations.
- A second person needs their own login to write or edit.
- You need more than 30 days of analytics history inside the platform.
Cost check at the first paid tier
At the 1,000-subscriber price, Lite costs $588 a year billed yearly versus $708 a year at $59 monthly, a $120 difference. Pro costs $1,140 a year billed yearly versus $1,308 monthly. Price your actual list size on the page slider, since both paid plans rise with subscriber count.
Worked example for a paid tier: beehiiv says it takes 0 percent of paid subscription revenue and that Stripe's standard fee of 2.9 percent plus $0.30 applies. A $5 monthly subscription therefore nets about $4.56 per reader per month ($5 minus $0.145 minus $0.30). Covering Lite's $49 monthly equivalent needs 11 paying readers (49 / 4.555 = 10.8, rounded up). If you cannot name 11 readers likely to pay within a few months, the paid tier alone does not justify Lite yet.
If automation is the reason to upgrade, compare against the cost of doing it by hand. If one weekly manual welcome send costs an hour of your time, Lite at $49 a month is the same as paying yourself about $11 an hour for that work (49 / 4.3 weeks). Decide whether that hour is worth more to you.
Before you upgrade: a short checklist
Run these checks so the first paid month is not wasted.
- Count unique subscribers today and estimate the count in three months.
- Choose Lite or Pro based on the feature you need, especially branding removal, which is Pro only.
- Decide between monthly and yearly billing; yearly saves up to 20 percent according to the FAQ.
- Connect Stripe before launching a paid tier and price the offer with the fee arithmetic above.
- Export analytics you want to keep before relying on a longer lookback.
- Write down which Free limit triggered the upgrade so you can judge later whether it paid off.
Questions before you decide
How does beehiiv count subscribers on the Free plan?
beehiiv's pricing FAQ says it counts unique email addresses subscribed to your publication. Free includes up to 2,500, Lite up to 100,000 and Pro up to 250,000.
Is there a monthly send limit on beehiiv Free?
No. The pricing FAQ says every plan includes unlimited email sends.
Can I charge for a newsletter on the Free plan?
Not through beehiiv's paid subscriptions. The pricing page lists paid subscriptions with a 0 percent take rate under Lite, and its structured plan data shows paid subscriptions, the Ad Network and email automations as Lite additions.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- beehiiv pricing, plan comparison and FAQ Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- beehiiv: Ad Network FAQ Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- beehiiv: Boosts to paid recommendations, what changed Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.