beehiiv vs Mailchimp
- ✦ Newsletter Editor
- ✦ Website Builder
- ✦ Custom Domains
- ✦ Email Campaigns
- ✦ Marketing Automation
- ✦ Landing Pages
beehiiv and Mailchimp are both Email Marketing tools. beehiiv starts at $49/mo, Mailchimp at $13/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose beehiiv vs Mailchimp
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Monetization (Boosts) gates premium content and collects recurring subscriptions natively, with a referral program reducing acquisition costs by up to 40%.
The Ad Network places relevant sponsor content inside issues, letting newsletters with 50K+ subscribers earn $2,000-$5,000 per send with full placement controls.
Audience Segmentation isolates buyers inactive 90+ days, then triggers win-back campaigns with conditional content matched to their last purchased category - lifting re-engagement.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified May 30, 2026
beehiiv Plans
Free tier available
Launch
FreeBest for: Ideal for beginners to start an email newsletter
- ✓Up to 2,500 subscribers
- ✓Unlimited email sends
- ✓Core newsletter tools
- ✓Website tools
- ✓Podcast tools
Scale
$49/user/moBest for: growing newsletters needing advanced features like custom domains and premium analytics
- ✓Monetization features
- ✓Advanced analytics
- ✓AI tools
- ✓Surveys
- ✓A/B testing
Max
$109/user/moBest for: Designed for established publishers requiring comprehensive tools for advanced segmentation, A/B testing, and API access
- ✓Remove beehiiv branding
- ✓Priority support
- ✓NewsletterXP course access
Enterprise
Contact SalesBest for: Tailored for large organizations with specific needs for high volume sending, dedicated support, and custom integrations
- ✓Custom solutions
- ✓Dedicated support
- ✓Scalability for 100k+ subscribers
Mailchimp Plans
Free tier available
Free
FreeBest for: You get 500 contacts, 1000 emails/mo, 1 audience
- ✓500 contacts limit
- ✓1,000 monthly email sends
- ✓1 audience
- ✓Basic email templates
- ✓Email support for the first 30 days
Essentials
$13/moBest for: 500 contacts, 5000 emails/mo, 3 audiences
- ✓5,000 monthly email sends
- ✓3 audiences
- ✓24/7 email and chat support
- ✓A/B testing
- ✓Basic automated customer journeys
Standard
$20/moBest for: 500 contacts, 6000 emails/mo, Automation
- ✓6,000 monthly email sends
- ✓5 audiences
- ✓Advanced customer journeys and branching points
- ✓Send-time optimization
- ✓Predictive demographics
Premium
$350/moBest for: 10K contacts, 150K emails/mo, Unlimited audiences
- ✓150,000 monthly email sends
- ✓Unlimited audiences
- ✓Phone and priority support
- ✓Multivariate testing
- ✓Advanced segmentation
Capability Breakdown
7 differences found across 18 standardized features
- •Newsletter Editor
- •Website Builder
- •Custom Domains
- •Referral Program
- •Monetization (Boosts)
- •Ad Network
- •Polls & Surveys
- •Segmentation
- •A/B Testing
- •Analytics
- •SEO
- •API
- •Custom HTML
- •Automations
- •AI Writing Assistant
- •Personalization Templates
- •Social Media Integrations
- •Email List Cleaning
- •Content Recommendation Engine
- •Email Campaigns
- •Marketing Automation
- •Landing Pages
- •Sign-up Forms
- •Audience Segmentation
- •A/B Testing
- •Analytics & Reporting
- •Social Media Posting
- •Customer Journeys
- •Dynamic Content
- •AI Content Generator
- •SMS Marketing
- •300+ Integrations
- •Templates
- •Surveys
- •Transactional Emails
- •Email Client Targeting
- •Customizable Templates
- •Advanced Filtering
- •Behavioural Triggers
- •Scoring System
- •Predictive Analytics
- •Content Optimization
- •Mobile Optimization
- •Geo Targeting
- •Time Zone Sending
- •Automated Workflows
- •Contact Tagging
- •Merge Tags
- •Spam Filter Testing
- •Email Verification
- •Bounce Management
- •Complaint Management
- •Domain Authentication
- •Click Map Tracking
- •Open Rate Tracking
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +Built-in ad network for instant newsletter monetization
- +Integrated referral program to accelerate subscriber growth
- +Generous free plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers
- +Advanced segmentation & A/B testing on paid plans
- +Native tools for paid subscriptions (no third-party plugin needed)
- −Limited visual automation builder compared to ActiveCampaign
- −No native e-commerce integrations like Shopify or WooCommerce
- −Fewer design templates than platforms like Mailchimp
- −Steep learning curve for advanced monetization features
- −API access is restricted to the highest-priced plan (Max)
- +Generous free plan for up to 500 contacts and 1,000 sends/month.
- +Excellent email editor with pre-built templates and creative assistant.
- +Strong brand recognition and a very gentle learning curve for beginners.
- +Robust A/B testing capabilities for subject lines, content, and send times.
- +All-in-one platform includes landing pages, social posts, and websites.
- −Pricing becomes expensive as your contact list grows, especially past 10k.
- −Free and Essentials plans have very limited automation and segmentation.
- −Reporting and analytics lack the depth of more specialized competitors.
- −Contact-based pricing means you pay for unsubscribed contacts unless manually archived.
- −SMS marketing is a costly add-on, not bundled into core plans.
At a Glance
Recent Price History
beehiiv lowered "Max" from $129/mo to $109/mo (-16%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
beehiiv raised "Max" from $96 to $129/mo (34%)
Price change · May 21, 2026
beehiiv raised "Scale" from $43 to $49/mo (14%)
Price change · May 21, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Data Trail · beehiiv
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-05-30)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
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Sources & Data Trail · Mailchimp
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-05-21)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.4/5 · 12,920 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.5/5
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- 7.StackShare·StackShare developer community