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Updated for 2025

7 Best Beehiiv Alternatives

Beehiiv is popular—but it’s not for everyone. Whether you’re frustrated by escalating pricing, worried about deliverability on shared infrastructure, tired of vendor lock-in, or hitting feature limitations, there are strong alternatives worth considering.

Try Broadcast — $150 One-Time Calculate Savings

Quick Comparison

How the top Beehiiv alternatives stack up at a glance

Platform Pricing Subscribers Automations Self-Hosted Best For
Broadcast $150 one-time Unlimited Yes Yes Data ownership & cost savings
ConvertKit (Kit) $0–129+/mo Tiered Yes No Creators
Mailchimp $0–350+/mo Tiered Yes No All-in-one marketing
Substack Free (10% cut) Unlimited Limited No Writer-first newsletters
Ghost $0–199+/mo Unlimited Yes Yes (open source) Content-first publishers
Buttondown $0–79+/mo Tiered Limited No Simple newsletters
MailerLite $0–159+/mo Tiered Yes No Budget-friendly
Top Pick

1. Broadcast — Self-Hosted Email Marketing

Broadcast is a self-hosted email marketing platform you buy once for $150 and install on your own Ubuntu server. It gives you unlimited subscribers, full automation, dedicated IP reputation, and complete data ownership—with no recurring software fees.

Pros

  • One-time $150 purchase—no recurring fees
  • 100% data ownership on your server
  • Dedicated IP for better deliverability
  • Unlimited subscribers and email sends

Cons

  • Requires a server (Ubuntu VPS, ~$6–20/mo)
  • Initial setup time (~15 minutes with automated installer)

Best for: Anyone who wants to own their email marketing platform and stop paying escalating monthly fees. Calculate your savings to see how much you’d save switching from Beehiiv.

2. ConvertKit (Kit) — Creator-Focused Email

ConvertKit, now rebranded as Kit, is built specifically for creators. It offers a solid visual automation builder, landing pages, and a growing commerce suite for selling digital products. It’s a popular choice among bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers.

Pros

  • Creator-focused features and workflows
  • Visual automation builder
  • Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers

Cons

  • Expensive at scale with per-subscriber pricing
  • Costs grow as your list grows
  • Vendor lock-in—your data lives on their servers

Best for: Content creators who prioritize ease of use and want built-in landing pages and digital product sales.

3. Mailchimp — All-in-One Marketing Platform

Mailchimp is the most well-known email marketing platform with a massive template library, hundreds of integrations, and a broad feature set that covers everything from email to social ads and postcards. However, its pricing has become increasingly complex and expensive.

Pros

  • Huge template library with drag-and-drop editor
  • Extensive third-party integrations
  • Broad feature set beyond just email

Cons

  • Expensive—pricing tiers add up fast
  • Confusing pricing that counts unsubscribed contacts
  • Feature bloat can overwhelm if you just need email

Best for: Businesses needing a broad marketing platform with email, social, and advertising tools in one place.

4. Substack — Writer-First Newsletter Platform

Substack is free to use and lets writers publish newsletters and charge for paid subscriptions. It takes a 10% cut of paid subscription revenue. Its simplicity is both its strength and its limitation—great for writers, but lacking for marketers.

Pros

  • Zero upfront cost to start
  • Built-in audience discovery and recommendation network
  • Dead simple to use—just write and publish

Cons

  • 10% revenue share on all paid subscriptions
  • Very limited customization and branding options
  • Limited automation—no drip campaigns or advanced flows

Best for: Independent writers focused on building a paid subscription newsletter without worrying about technical setup.

5. Ghost — Open-Source CMS with Email

Ghost is an open-source content management system that includes email newsletter functionality. It shines as a publishing platform with beautiful, customizable themes and membership support. Email is a feature of Ghost, not its core focus.

Pros

  • Open source—free to self-host
  • Beautiful design and customizable themes
  • Built-in membership and subscription support

Cons

  • Primarily a CMS—email is a secondary feature
  • Email features are limited compared to dedicated platforms
  • Self-hosting requires technical knowledge (Node.js stack)

Best for: Content publishers who want an integrated website and email platform with beautiful design and membership monetization.

6. Buttondown — Simple, Minimal Newsletters

Buttondown is an intentionally simple newsletter tool built by a solo developer. It appeals to developers and minimalists who want a clean, no-nonsense way to send newsletters without the bloat of larger platforms.

Pros

  • Clean, distraction-free interface
  • Developer-friendly with good API and Markdown support
  • Affordable pricing tiers

Cons

  • Limited automation capabilities
  • Smaller ecosystem and fewer integrations
  • Basic analytics compared to larger platforms

Best for: Developers and minimalists who want a simple, well-crafted newsletter tool without unnecessary complexity.

7. MailerLite — Budget-Friendly Email Marketing

MailerLite offers a generous free tier and affordable paid plans that include automation, landing pages, and a website builder. It’s a solid middle ground between simplicity and features, making it popular with small businesses and startups.

Pros

  • Affordable pricing with a generous free plan
  • Good automation features for the price
  • Landing page and website builder included

Cons

  • Advanced features locked behind higher tiers
  • Email editor can feel limiting for complex designs
  • Some users report deliverability concerns on shared IPs

Best for: Small businesses and startups on a budget who need solid email marketing features without breaking the bank.

Which Alternative Is Right for You?

Use this quick decision guide to find your best fit

Want to own everything and pay once?

Broadcast

Need built-in ad monetization?

Stay with Beehiiv

Are you a content creator selling digital products?

ConvertKit (Kit)

Need all-in-one marketing beyond email?

Mailchimp

Writing paid newsletters?

Substack

Running a publication with a website?

Ghost

Want something simple and cheap?

Buttondown or MailerLite

Frequently Asked Questions

Substack is free to use (though it takes a 10% cut of paid subscriptions), making it the easiest free alternative to get started with. Ghost is also free if you self-host it on your own server, though it requires more technical setup. For a one-time investment, Broadcast at $150 eliminates recurring fees entirely.
Broadcast and Ghost (when self-hosted) both give you a dedicated IP address, meaning your sender reputation is entirely your own. With SaaS platforms like Beehiiv, Mailchimp, or ConvertKit, you share IP reputation with other senders—if someone else on the same infrastructure sends spam, it can affect your deliverability.
Yes. All seven alternatives support CSV import, so you can export your subscriber list from Beehiiv and import it into any of these platforms. The migration process is straightforward: export from Beehiiv, clean up the CSV if needed, and import into your new platform.
Broadcast is the best choice for a growing newsletter because it has no per-subscriber fees. With platforms like ConvertKit, Mailchimp, and MailerLite, your costs increase as your list grows. With Broadcast, you pay $150 once for the software and only pay low hosting and email sending costs (e.g., ~$0.10 per 1,000 emails via Amazon SES). As your list grows from 1,000 to 100,000 subscribers, your software cost stays the same.

Ready to try the best Beehiiv alternative?

Stop paying monthly fees that scale with your list. Buy Broadcast once and own your email marketing forever.

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Related Pages

All Comparisons
See all Broadcast comparison pages
Beehiiv Pricing Breakdown
Hidden costs and tier limitations
Self-Hosted Alternative
Why self-hosting beats SaaS for email