beehiiv
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
beehiiv is a platform for email newsletters: you write an issue, it goes out to subscribers by email and is published on the publication's own website at the same time. The platform describes itself as a tool that lets you "create, grow, and monetize your newsletter… build email newsletters and websites without any coding".
What separates it from a classic blog host is where the center of gravity sits: on the email channel and on built-in monetization. A single interface holds the email editor, the site builder, paid subscriptions, an ad network and partner recommendations. Legally this is a US service: the terms of use are entered into with beehiiv Inc., and disputes are governed by New York State law and heard in the courts of New York City.
One more trait, rare in this reference book: pricing is published openly and with numbers, not "on request". That lets you work out the economics of a project in advance — which is what we do below.
Who's here
The platform discloses no public audience data. The homepage gives neither a number of publications, nor a number of subscribers, nor a volume of email sent. The only figure the platform states about itself is a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from 28,479 customers; that is its own aggregate of reviews, not a measurement of audience.
The interface language is English (en-us in the homepage markup). The documents we checked name no country restrictions for authors, but payouts go through Stripe, which means the effective geography is limited to the countries where Stripe accepts payment recipients (see the monetization section).
The pricing structure itself gives an indirect sense of how large these publications are: the threshold for contacting the sales team is more than 100,000 subscribers, so the platform's typical customer fits inside that range.
Getting started
Signing up is free: the entry-level Launch plan costs $0 a month and allows up to 2,500 subscribers. There is no document check at the door.
The age requirement is strict: the service is not intended for anyone under 18; if you are under 18, you may not use it.
The first practical step after signing up is the domain. Every publication gets a built-in beehiiv subdomain, so a custom domain is not mandatory. If you do connect your own, there are two routes — automatic setup through Entri (more than 40 registrars supported) or editing DNS by hand. Two conditions apply: every user on a custom domain must set up DMARC authentication, and domain verification can take up to 72 hours. A custom domain is listed in the free Launch plan — a rarity among free plans.
You can import a subscriber list, but not any list — see the section on the rules.
What you can publish
The formats named on the pricing page: email newsletters, a publication website, a podcast, surveys and polls, automations, a community, digital products (Launch and above). Audio versions of issues and dynamic content blocks are assigned to the Max plan.
The documents we checked name no limit on the length of an issue or the size of attachments. What they do name is the main quantitative concession: unlimited email sending is included on every plan, with no surcharge for volume. What is priced is the size of your list, not the number of emails.
What is prohibited is set out in the acceptable use policy. The key point for newsletters is where the addresses came from: purchased lists, rented and "co-registration" lists, and addresses harvested by scraping without direct consent are prohibited, and beehiiv may demand proof of consent. Further down the list: any bulk unsolicited mailings; pornography, escort services, sexual deepfakes, including AI-generated ones; newsletters created for the sake of affiliate revenue without substantive editorial value. List manipulation is banned separately: reinstating people who unsubscribed, "list laundering", splitting publications for the sake of monetization. A technical requirement: the standard beehiiv unsubscribe link must remain in every email; you may not change or remove it without approval.
How to grow
The platform divides its growth tools into free and paid. The recommendation network — mutual recommendations between publications — is available on every plan. Paid recommendations (formerly Boosts), where one publication pays another for a subscriber it brings in, are available on the Scale and Max plans.
The pay-per-subscriber mechanics are described this way: money is credited only for a verified subscriber — the system marks each one as pending, verified or failed verification, and payment goes through once the subscriber has passed verification and is engaging with the content. That is an anti-fraud safeguard built into the scheme itself.
Analytics: campaign analytics is included in the free plan already, with advanced analytics starting at Scale. Surveys and polls also start at Scale.
By design the platform has no ranking algorithm: an issue reaches every subscriber instead of being picked out by a feed. The only inflow mechanisms are recommendations, the referral program and outside sources.
Path to monetization
beehiiv pays authors through three built-in channels.
Paid subscriptions
The platform's own cut is stated unambiguously: "beehiiv takes no platform fee"; the author keeps 100% of subscription revenue less the standard Stripe fee. The platform states the size of that fee as well — 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction; that is Stripe's rate, not beehiiv's. The zero platform share is confirmed on the pricing page too: a 0% take rate on paid subscriptions, starting at Scale. On the free plan monetization is not included.
You can set up several subscription tiers, annual and "pay what you want" plans, trial periods and gift subscriptions — all of it is listed on the feature page.
The ad network
The ad network is available on all paid plans and requires that you are actively sending emails. It works through offers: the publisher sees a selection of proposals, reserves the ones they want and inserts them into an issue. Up to 15 offers are available at a time, the placement window is 120 hours, and the results report arrives roughly 96 hours after sending.
There are two payment models, and the platform explains them with examples: at a $5 CPM you receive $5 for every 1,000 unique opens; at a $2 CPC and 100 confirmed clicks you end up with $200. Payouts are made on the 20th of each month for the previous month. beehiiv does not disclose its own share of the ad revenue on this page — an important gap, and we flag it separately below.
Other channels
Paid plans also offer paid recommendations, digital products and, on Max, a showcase of sponsorship placements.
Tools and automation
API
The API is official and documented in detail. The platform describes its purpose this way: "enrich user records with fields from external forms, manage lists and segmentation programmatically, and tie the publication more closely to advertising platforms". API access is included in the free Launch plan already — except for the Send API, which is assigned to Enterprise.
The rate limit is given as a number: 180 requests per minute per organization; exceeding it returns a 429 code, and responses carry the RateLimit-Limit, RateLimit-Remaining and RateLimit-Reset headers.
The surface of the API is broad. The documentation index lists sections for posts, templates, authors, subscriptions, lists, bulk operations, custom fields, segments and tags, subscription tiers, the referral program, workflows and automations, publications, surveys, webhooks and OAuth2 tokens; OpenAPI specifications in JSON and YAML are published as well. Webhooks cover subscription events, the sending and scheduling of issues, tier changes and survey responses.
Ready-made integrations and MCP
Among its supported integrations the platform names Zapier, Stripe, Shopify, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Webflow and Stocktwits, plus connections to "thousands of tools through Zapier".
There is also a separate MCP server for wiring up AI tools. The terms: every user has access without moving to a paid plan, but on free plans it is read-only — create and edit operations require a paid plan. Ready-made instructions are provided for Claude, Claude Code, Cursor and Codex.
Export
You can take your data out: posts are exported as a single.csv file (including published, archived and draft ones), and subscribers in either a quick or a full format, where the full one contains custom fields and statistics. A practical detail: the download link is valid for 24 hours, after which you have to request the export again.
Limits and rules
- Plans. Launch — $0 and up to 2,500 subscribers; Scale — $43 a month ($517 a year) and up to 100,000 subscribers; Max — $96 a month ($1,151 a year); Enterprise — by agreement for lists above 100,000.
- Team. 3 seats on Scale, unlimited on Max; up to 10 publications on Max.
- API. 180 requests per minute, a 429 error when you exceed it.
- Age. 18 and over only.
- Money. Payments are not refunded, and cancelling mid-period brings no proration; price increases are announced 30 days in advance.
- Inactivity. beehiiv may close a free account after a period of dormancy, with 30 days' notice; once the agreement ends the platform is under no obligation to keep your data — a direct argument for exporting in advance.
- Content rights. Your content stays yours, but the platform receives a limited, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable license.
- The full list of documents (the terms of use, the acceptable use policy, the publisher agreement, the advertising terms, the DPA, the community terms) is gathered in a separate help article.
Who it's for
It fits if your main channel is email rather than a feed: emails reach every subscriber, and sending volume is not priced. It fits projects that want to monetize an audience with paid subscriptions: the platform's zero fee makes the economics predictable — you pay a fixed subscription fee rather than a share of revenue.
It fits developers and technical teams: the API is available on the free plan already, there is an OpenAPI specification, webhooks and MCP.
It does not fit if you need a feed and an algorithmic inflow of new readers: growth here comes from recommendations and outside sources, not from ranked distribution. It does not fit projects with a list that has already been purchased or scraped — that is an outright prohibition. And it does not fit if you need monetization right away: on the free plan it is not included.
Tools for this platform
The list is built from the tools' own facts: every line is a tool's statement that it supports the platform, with the source named. A tool missing from the list only means we have no such statement.
Other tasks:
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself this way: "Create, grow, and monetize your newsletter with easy-to-use newsletter tools. Build email newsletters and websites without any coding."
This is the platform's statement about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
Who's here
the platform reports a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from 28,479 customers
This is an aggregate of reviews, not a measurement of audience; the platform does not publish numbers of publications or subscribers
source, checked 2026-07-28
Account and access
every publication gets a built-in beehiiv subdomain; when connecting a custom domain, DMARC authentication is mandatory and domain verification takes up to 72 hours
Setup through Entri (more than 40 registrars) or by hand
source, checked 2026-07-28
Business terms
among its supported integrations the platform names Zapier, Stripe, Shopify, Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Webflow and Stocktwits, plus connections to thousands of tools through Zapier
The list is from the official integrations page
source, checked 2026-07-28
Content
posts are exported as a single .csv file (published, archived and drafts), subscribers in either a quick or a full format; the download link is valid for 24 hours
The full subscriber export includes custom fields and statistics
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
Five ways for the author of a newsletter to earn. beehiiv Ad Network is an advertising network: "beehiiv handles everything — from sourcing advertisers, offering ad opportunities, delivering ad creatives (images, copy, links), and presenting performance reports, to managing payments". Direct sponsorships — the direct sale of advertising through one's own storefront, "available to anyone on a Max or Enterprise plan". Paid subscriptions — a paid subscription to the newsletter. Recommendations / Boosts — a network of recommendations: "Earn money by recommending other newsletters", payment for each confirmed subscriber. Digital products — the sale of digital goods and webinars. Separately from them there is the beehiiv Partner Program — an affiliate programme: the creator brings new clients to beehiiv itself
The "Monetization" section of the help centre is divided into exactly these groups: Digital Products, Advertiser Resources, Direct Sponsorships, beehiiv Wallet, Partner Program, Paid Subscriptions, Ad Network. beehiiv's robots.txt permits the mirrors of the pages in markdown markup (.md is appended to any address), and it was these that were read
source, checked 2026-08-04
Who is admitted. The threshold is not the audience but a paid plan. The advertising network: "The Ad Network is available to anyone on the Scale plan or above, who is actively sending on beehiiv"; to receive offers one has to choose up to three thematic labels and fill in the description of the publication. Direct sponsorships — the Max and Enterprise plans. Paid recommendations — Scale and Max, free recommendations on all plans. The wallet and the withdrawal of money are available on the paid Scale, Max and Enterprise plans, and before withdrawal one has to pass Stripe Identity Verification and connect a Stripe Express account. The newsletter must be sent through beehiiv: "Can I use the Ad Network without sending my newsletter on beehiiv? No"
There is no minimum of subscribers, of opens or of age in the help centre articles that were read. The conditions of the recommendations are from the page https://www.beehiiv.com/features/boosts-earn
source, checked 2026-08-04
Creator's share. There is no single share, each program has its own model. Paid subscriptions: "beehiiv takes zero revenue share, so you keep 100% of your subscription earnings (minus Stripe's industry-standard processing fee)", while "our payment partner, Stripe, charges an industry-standard 2.9% fee + $0.30/transaction". The advertising network — payment not by a share but at the advertiser's rate: "beehiiv ad campaign payouts are based on CPM or CPC"; an example from the help centre: "with a $5 CPM, you'll earn $5 for every 1,000 unique opens you deliver in a single send", for CPC "if the CPC for a campaign is $2 and you include an ad in your newsletter that receives 100 verified unique clicks, your payout would be 100 x $2, or $200". The affiliate programme: "you'll earn a whopping 50% commission for 12-months", a cookie window of 60 days, credit on the first click
The CPM and CPC rates are set by the advertiser for each offer, the creator cannot choose the model: "The payout model is set by the advertiser for each ad opportunity". The share of 50% and the cookie are from https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23352219299095-getting-started-with-the-beehiiv-partner-program, the zero commission on subscriptions is from https://www.beehiiv.com/features/premium-subscriptions
source, checked 2026-08-04
When they pay. Withdrawal at the creator's demand, not on a schedule: the earnings of the advertising network and of the recommendations fall automatically into the beehiiv wallet, and can be withdrawn at any moment, "Deposits typically take 3-5 business days to appear in your account". The report on an advertising placement and the final sum appear 96 hours after the issue is sent: "You'll receive a detailed performance report 96 hours after the ad has been sent". The affiliate programme has a rigid schedule: "Payouts are processed on the 15th of each month, covering commissionable earnings from the previous month", and if it coincides with a US holiday it is moved to the next working day; before that the client brought in passes 14 days of a trial period and a mandatory window of 30 days
The periods of the affiliate programme are from https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23352840006167-partner-program-faq; the 96 hours are from https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/17507491038231-ad-network-faq
source, checked 2026-08-04
How they pay. A bank account through Stripe: "Withdrawals are sent to the bank account linked to your Stripe Express account". A separate Stripe Express account is needed for each publication: "Since each publication requires a separate Stripe Express account, you cannot use the same account across multiple publications". The money from paid subscriptions goes not into the beehiiv wallet but to the creator's ordinary Stripe account. The payouts of the affiliate programme go through another intermediary: "All payments for the Partner Program are facilitated through Dub.co, so it is also required to have a Dub.co account to receive payouts"
The Stripe Express account is from https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/30065237532823-how-to-set-up-a-stripe-express-account-for-monetization, Dub.co is from https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23352840006167-partner-program-faq
source, checked 2026-08-04
Affiliate links in newsletters are allowed, but with reservations as to the subject matter. The acceptable use policy forbids "participation in affiliate or referral programs that direct users to non-compliant or unlawful products"; in the section on betting and gambling it is forbidden to have "Affiliate or sponsored Content that lacks required disclosures or responsible gaming measures", while "Affiliate links or sponsored partnerships with licensed gambling operators may be permitted if they comply with applicable law". The general frame: newsletters "that occasionally send standalone marketing emails, feature product recommendations, sponsorships, or AI-assisted writing" are admissible, "provided these elements are secondary to the creator's original voice and value-driven Content". For its own affiliate link beehiiv separately forbids search advertising: "Running search engine ads, especially on branded terms or domain names, is strictly prohibited", advertising in social networks is allowed
The rule about search advertising relates only to the promotion of beehiiv's own affiliate link, the source is https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23352840006167-partner-program-faq. Registration through one's own affiliate link is forbidden, and the commission in that case is withdrawn
source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. Disclosure is obligatory. The acceptable use policy: "All promotional mentions should align with the publication's theme, be clearly disclosed, and avoid disrupting the reader experience". On the creator's own deals: "If you independently sell or include sponsorships outside the Ad Network, you are responsible for ensuring those placements are clearly disclosed as paid or sponsored Content. All promotions must comply with applicable advertising laws". For advertising from the network the platform puts the label itself: "Ads served through the Ad Network include an automatic "Sponsored" or "Ad" label to ensure transparency with readers. Creators may not alter, obscure, or surround these placements with misleading text or design that implies the ad is part of editorial Content"
In the same place false clicks are forbidden: "Offering rewards, giveaways, or misleading context that pressures readers into clicking ads is prohibited"
source, checked 2026-08-04
the platform takes no fee on paid subscriptions: the author keeps 100% of subscription revenue less the Stripe fee
On the pricing page this is confirmed as a 0% take rate starting at Scale
source, checked 2026-07-28
the Stripe fee stated by the platform is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction
This is Stripe's rate, not beehiiv's
source, checked 2026-07-28
the ad network works on CPM and CPC; the platform's examples: $5 for 1,000 unique opens at a $5 CPM; $200 at a $2 CPC and 100 confirmed clicks
The page does not disclose the platform's share of the ad revenue
source, checked 2026-07-28
ad network payouts are made on the 20th of each month for the previous month; the placement report arrives roughly 96 hours after sending
Access to the network is on all paid plans, provided emails are being sent actively
source, checked 2026-07-28
up to 15 ad offers are available at a time, with a 120-hour window for placement
The publisher can decline offers
source, checked 2026-07-28
paid recommendations are available on the Scale and Max plans; payment is credited only for a subscriber who has passed verification and engages with the content
Neither the rates nor the platform's fee are named on the page
source, checked 2026-07-28
Payout minimum. No minimum sum for withdrawal is named in the articles read: "You can withdraw these funds to your bank account at any time". There is a threshold in the opposite direction, on topping up the wallet to buy recommendations: "The minimum deposit is $50", the maximum of a single operation is 10,000 US dollars. What has been earned and what has been paid in are kept apart: "Available to spend funds are non-refundable. Only earnings can be withdrawn"
There is no minimum for withdrawal in the articles "Using the beehiiv Wallet" and "Understanding your beehiiv Wallet dashboard"; it may be set on Stripe's side, but it is not stated on beehiiv's pages
source, checked 2026-08-04
Where it is available. beehiiv itself has no list of countries: the geography of the payouts is given over entirely to Stripe. The help centre: "Stripe has restrictions on certain countries and currencies. Check Stripe's global availability and contact Stripe support for more information on your eligibility", and separately "In rare cases, certain currencies may not be supported by Stripe due to country restrictions. This is outside of beehiiv's control". When the account is set up, the country is chosen from a Stripe drop-down list
There is no list of countries on beehiiv's pages, the platform refers to https://stripe.com/global — that is no longer its own page, and so the list is not carried over here
source, checked 2026-08-04
Pricing
the Launch plan — $0 a month, up to 2,500 subscribers; includes the newsletter, the website, a podcast, campaign analytics, unlimited sending, the recommendation network, a custom domain and API access (except the Send API)
Monetization is not included on the free plan
source, checked 2026-07-28
the Scale plan — $43 a month or $517 a year, up to 100,000 subscribers; adds the ad network, paid recommendations, paid subscriptions with a zero fee, digital products, automations, surveys, advanced analytics, 3 team seats
The annual price is stated on the pricing page
source, checked 2026-07-28
the Max plan — $96 a month or $1,151 a year; adds removal of beehiiv branding, a showcase of sponsorship placements, audio issues, up to 10 publications, unlimited team seats, dynamic content
The subscriber limit is the same as on Scale
source, checked 2026-07-28
the Enterprise plan — price by agreement for lists above 100,000 subscribers; adds the Send API, SSO, dedicated IP addresses, a personal manager
The Send API is available only on this plan
source, checked 2026-07-28
unlimited email sending is included on every plan, with no surcharge for volume
What is priced is the size of the list, not the number of emails
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
the service is not intended for anyone under 18; people under 18 may not use it
Terms of use
source, checked 2026-07-28
purchased, rented and "co-registration" lists are prohibited, as are addresses harvested by scraping without direct consent; the platform may demand proof of consent
Acceptable use policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
the standard beehiiv unsubscribe link must remain in every email; it may not be changed or removed without approval
Acceptable use policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
newsletters created primarily for affiliate revenue without substantive editorial value are prohibited, as is manipulation of the subscriber list
Acceptable use policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
Legal
the terms of use are entered into with beehiiv Inc.; disputes are governed by New York State law and heard in the courts of New York City
Terms of use
source, checked 2026-07-28
payments are not refunded, and cancelling mid-period brings no proration; price increases are announced 30 days in advance
Terms of use
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform may close a free account after a period of dormancy, with 30 days' notice; once the agreement ends the platform is under no obligation to keep the user's data
A direct argument for exporting in advance
source, checked 2026-07-28
the full list of documents: terms of use, acceptable use policy, privacy policy, publisher agreement, community terms, DPA, advertising terms
An index of legal documents in the help centre
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
the homepage carries a link to developer documentation: https://developers.beehiiv.com — the page opens and shows the marks of documentation
CORRECTED the previous version declared any address containing the word api or dev found on the home page to be a developer section. All 57 such records were checked by opening the address: 24 turned out to be documentation. See data/technical/dev-links-verified.tsv and docs/research/S195-догадка-по-адресу.md
source, checked 2026-07-28
the limit is 180 requests per minute per organization; exceeding it returns a 429 code, and responses carry the RateLimit-Limit, RateLimit-Remaining and RateLimit-Reset headers
The documentation names no different limits by plan
source, checked 2026-07-28
the API covers posts, templates, authors, subscriptions, lists, bulk operations, custom fields, segments and tags, subscription tiers, the referral program, workflows and automations, publications, surveys, webhooks and OAuth2 tokens; OpenAPI specifications in JSON and YAML are published
A machine-readable documentation index
source, checked 2026-07-28
the MCP server is available to every user without moving to a paid plan, but on free plans it works read-only; create and edit operations require a paid plan
Ready-made instructions are for Claude, Claude Code, Cursor and Codex
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en-us
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
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