ConvertKit vs Beehiiv: Which Newsletter Platform Is Better in 2025?

If you're starting or growing a newsletter in 2025, you've probably narrowed your choices down to two platforms: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) and Beehiiv. Both are built for creators. Both have strong reputations. And both have vocal communities that swear by them.

But they're built on fundamentally different philosophies. Kit started as a tool for bloggers selling courses and ebooks — its DNA is creator commerce. Beehiiv was built by ex-Morning Brew operators — its DNA is newsletter growth and media monetization.

This comparison will help you pick the right one for how you actually work.

The Big Picture: Kit vs Beehiiv at a Glance

Pricing: Which Is Actually Cheaper?

This is where it gets interesting, because both platforms are structured differently.

Kit has the more generous free tier — up to 10,000 subscribers at no cost. But the free plan limits you to basic features: no automation, no integrations, no premium support. To unlock the good stuff (visual automations, subscriber scoring, third-party integrations), you need the Creator plan at $29/month.

Beehiiv gives you 2,500 subscribers for free, but includes features that Kit charges for — like custom domains, audience polls, and recommendations. The Scale plan ($49/mo) unlocks the ad network, referral program, and advanced analytics.

Verdict on pricing: If you're under 2,500 subs, Beehiiv's free plan is more feature-rich. If you're between 2,500 and 10,000, Kit's free plan wins on subscriber count. At scale (10K+), Beehiiv is significantly cheaper — and their ad network can offset costs.

Email Design and Templates

This is one of the biggest philosophical differences between the two platforms.

Kit embraces minimalism. The default email style looks like a personal message — plain text with maybe a header image. This isn't a bug; it's deliberate. Creators like Ali Abdaal and Tim Ferriss use this style because it feels authentic and gets higher open rates. Kit does support HTML imports, so if you want visually rich emails, you can upload custom templates from EmailKits and get the best of both worlds.

Beehiiv has a richer editor out of the box. You get more formatting options, better image handling, and a content experience that looks more like a blog post. But true custom HTML support is more limited — you can add custom code blocks within posts, but you can't completely override the email template the way you can with Kit.

Growth Tools: How They Help You Get Subscribers

This is where Beehiiv pulls ahead significantly.

Beehiiv's growth toolkit:

• Referral program: Built-in milestone rewards (refer 5 friends, get a bonus). This is the same mechanism Morning Brew used to grow to millions of subscribers.
• Recommendations: Cross-promote with other Beehiiv newsletters.
• Boosts: Get paid when you recommend other newsletters, or pay to have others recommend yours.
• SEO-optimized web archive: Your newsletter posts live on the web and can rank in Google.

Kit's growth toolkit:

• Creator Network: Recommend other Kit creators to your audience (and vice versa).
• Landing pages: Simple, high-converting landing pages for lead magnets.
• Integrations: Connect to WordPress, Teachable, Shopify, etc.

If "growing your newsletter" is your primary goal, Beehiiv's referral and boost system is genuinely powerful. Kit's growth features are more traditional — good landing pages, solid SEO, and integration-driven.

Monetization: How You Make Money

Kit shines for direct-to-audience commerce:

• Sell digital products (ebooks, courses, presets) directly from Kit
• Offer paid newsletter subscriptions
• Tip jar for reader support
• Kit takes a small transaction fee, but you keep the relationship

Beehiiv is built for media-style monetization:

• Beehiiv Ad Network: Get matched with advertisers automatically. Earnings vary, but newsletters with 10K+ active subscribers can earn $500-2,000/month.
• Paid subscriptions via Stripe
• Boosts: Earn $1-3 per subscriber when you recommend other newsletters

Verdict: If you sell your own products, Kit is better. If you want to monetize through ads and recommendations (media model), Beehiiv wins.

Automation and Segmentation

Kit has a clear advantage here. Their visual automation builder is one of the best in the industry — you can create complex workflows with conditional logic, subscriber scoring, and event triggers. This is Kit's heritage as a creator commerce tool; they know that selling digital products requires sophisticated email sequences.

Beehiiv's automation is basic by comparison. You get drip sequences and some conditional logic, but nothing close to Kit's visual workflow builder. If your strategy involves multi-step nurture sequences or complex segmentation, Kit is the better choice.

The Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

Here's the honest truth: both are excellent platforms, and neither is a wrong choice. The deciding factor is your business model. Are you a creator who sells things? Kit. Are you a media company in newsletter form? Beehiiv.

And regardless of which platform you pick, don't settle for their default templates. Both platforms benefit from custom HTML email designs that match your brand. Browse EmailKits' template library for responsive, professional designs that work across platforms.

Want help choosing the right platform and setting up your email strategy? Loki helps creators and small businesses build automated email marketing workflows from scratch.