Beehiiv

If you’re looking for an email marketing tool, you may have come across Beehiiv. Although this newsletter software is relatively new, it has a whole lot of features and possibilities. I’ve been using the tool for quite some time now, a perfect moment for a Beehiiv review.

Beehiiv: the company

Beehiiv actually originated from pure frustration – and we understand that all too well. The founders worked at Morning Brew, a successful newsletter. This is an extremely successful newsletter, but many tools they needed had to be built themselves. In 2021, they decided to take matters into their own hands and built an all-in-one platform where creators finally have everything under one roof.

And that turned out to be a bullseye. Thousands of writers and creators now use Beehiiv to send their newsletters out into the world, including well-known names like The Milk Road. The platform has raised 50 million dollars in investments and is growing like crazy. What do they do differently? They understand that modern newsletter makers need more than just a send button and a nice design – they want to grow their community, make money with their content, and know exactly how their newsletters are performing.

Who is Beehiiv actually for?

You can claim to be ‘a newsletter platform for everyone,’ but let’s be honest: not everyone has the same needs. Beehiiv primarily targets creators who want to get serious with their newsletter. Think of journalists sharing in-depth analyses, experts who want to sell their knowledge through paid newsletters, or brands that want to grow their community. It’s not a Mailchimp replacement for your local sports club, or an alternative to Klaviyo for your e-commerce newsletter.

What you’ll especially notice: the platform is built by people who understand the challenges newsletter creators face. You can easily create different types of posts (think regular updates, paid content, or special offers), automatically send emails to subscribers based on their behavior, and even build your own website. This means it’s possible to use this as a website instead of WordPress. At ToolGuide, we use Beehiiv alongside WordPress, so that’s also an option.

Features of Beehiiv

Here’s a general overview of what’s possible with Beehiiv. Of course, I’ll go into more detail further on in the review.

• Good editor (including real-time collaboration) – Perhaps the best editor for newsletters. It actually feels like an editor from WordPress, for example, where you can collaborate in real-time.
• Built-in website – You get a complete website right away. You can choose to publish all posts (newsletters) on the web as well.
• Comprehensive analytics – You don’t just see how many people open your email, but also who actually keeps reading, which links are clicked and when people drop off. They have this in a clear display.
• Automations – New subscriber? They automatically receive a welcome email. Someone clicks on a specific link? Then you can directly place them in a special group. You can basically build all the flows you want.
• Paid subscriptions – If you want to make money with your newsletter, this is also possible. Among other things, it’s possible to offer paid access to your newsletter.
• Make money with ads and boost – If you don’t want a paid newsletter, you can use ads from the network. Or Boosts, which allow you to refer people to other people’s newsletters for a fee.
• Referrals: reward readers for referrals – Beehiiv has a built-in referral system that allows you to reward loyal readers. For example, if a reader has 5 referrals, you can give them a reward (a t-shirt, free e-book or something else).
• API – Beehiiv also has an API, which allows you to integrate many external tools. This also works together with Make and Zapier, among others. As a result, you don’t need to be a developer to connect your favorite optin software to your newsletter.
• A/B testing – Unsure about your subject line? Just test two (or more) different versions. The winner is then sent to the rest of your list.
• Integrations with other tools – Whether you use Zapier or Google Analytics, Beehiiv happily talks with other popular tools. Saves you from manually typing things over again.
• Multiple publications in 1 account – In one (paid) Beehiiv account you can manage 3-10 publications. So if you have multiple sites or newsletters, it’s easy to manage them. You can also add team members with specific access rights.

There are many more possibilities and options, such as polls in your newsletter, surveys (for additional user information), segmentation, tags, and Magic links. Below, I’ll explain a few features in more detail that I consider important.

The post editor

Beehiiv’s editor is truly a breath of fresh air for anyone who has ever struggled with other newsletter tools. It’s well thought out. Additionally, everything is saved in real-time. I too have lost (parts of) newsletters more than once because this didn’t work properly.

Working with multiple people on one newsletter? Then you can simply work in the same email simultaneously, kind of like in Google Docs. You can see exactly who is writing where, leave comments, and no longer need to email back and forth with different versions. Additionally, you can also share a draft with someone via a ‘hidden’ link, without that person needing to be logged in.

It’s somewhat similar to the WordPress editor, but for newsletters. I personally find it a very pleasant editor to work in!

Automations

Automations in Beehiiv are actually quite simple: you set up the foundation once and then the platform does the work. And that’s exactly what you want to use it for – to save time. You essentially create a kind of flow chart that someone – who meets certain conditions – goes through.

In practice, you use it like this: new subscriber? They automatically receive three emails. You can set up this sequence (or automation) with wait times, branching if someone has (or hasn’t) opened, and then close it out and add a specific tag or segment. The automation is a particularly powerful feature of Beehiiv.

Let’s also talk about making money with Beehiiv

Making money with Beehiiv can be done in roughly three ways: paid newsletter, boosts, and ads.

The most obvious option is a paid newsletter. You can set that up within a few minutes: choose your price, determine what premium content is (for example, in-depth analyses or exclusive interviews), and you’re done. Beehiiv handles payments through Stripe and automatically tracks who has access to which content. In the editor, you simply put a lock on the sections that are only for paying members.

But there’s more. With the proprietary ad network, you earn from advertisements without having to find advertisers yourself. Beehiiv guarantees 1 ad opportunity per month for your newsletter (you do need a paid subscription). It’s up to you whether you accept it. You then simply place it in your newsletter. Keep in mind that these ads are often in English.

And then there’s Boost – a kind of advertising system between newsletters at the bottom. Other writers pay to promote their newsletter to your readers, and you get a portion of that money. The nice thing is: you can choose which newsletters you want to ‘boost’, so it remains relevant to your readers. This generates an amount per subscriber, ranging from $ 0,60 to $ 4.

Of course, you can also combine these options. I also use Boosts, especially to give people after signing up for ToolGuide, the opportunity to subscribe to other newsletters as well.

Integrations and API

Let’s be honest: when it comes to ready-made integrations, Beehiiv is still somewhat sparse. Don’t expect a list of 50 apps you can connect with one click. The basics are there, but there are few external tools that offer support.

But there’s a catch: through Zapier and Make (formerly Integromat), you can still accomplish a lot. Because Beehiiv has an API, you can for example:

• Automatically add new subscribers from your website or optin tool
• Synchronize your member list with other tools
• Update tags based on what people do on your site

An important thing to know: with the API you can’t just create and send newsletters. That’s only available in the Enterprise package. What you can do: manage everything with your subscribers. Think of adding new people, updating data, or checking who’s subscribed.

So if you’re somewhat handy with no-code tools, you can set up a connection (often via a webhook) fairly easily. As a non-developer, I managed it fairly easily with Make. That’s how I connected Beehiiv with GetSiteControl.

Of course, you can also create your own forms, which you can embed on your own website, for example.

Beehiiv alternatives

Looking for an alternative to Beehiiv? There are various tools that are structured a bit differently. Some more focused on design, others specifically on automation. These are the main alternatives you should know:

• Kit – Comprehensive platform for creators with strong automation capabilities and an impressive number of integrations. Unique is the Creator Network for cross-pollination between newsletters, plus extensive API capabilities even in the free package.
• Substack – Platform specifically for writers who want to make money with a paid newsletter. Has a large discovery network and a built-in community, but does charge 10% commission on your revenue and is limited in technical capabilities.
• Ghost – Open-source platform that combines a blog and newsletter with paid content capabilities. You have complete control over your platform and data, but you do need to host yourself and be technically proficient.
• MailerLite – Accessible and affordable tool with all the basic features you need. Has a good price-quality ratio, but lacks the advanced monetization features that Beehiiv does have.

Are there also downsides to Beehiiv? Yes…

No tool is perfect, Beehiiv isn’t either. For example, there’s no support for the Dutch language. Not a problem for most people in the dashboard and editor, but a minor frustration: you can’t customize the unsubscribe button below each email. It always says unsubscribe.

Additionally, you can’t always view all statistics comfortably on mobile. The website is quite responsive, but when there’s a lot of data, it’s often a bit fiddly on a small screen.

As mentioned earlier, the default integrations are also very limited. The biggest competitor, Kit (formerly Convertkit), has this much better organized. There are a lot of integrations available out-of-the-box. But if you don’t need this, or can work with no-code tools, it can be solved.

My Beehiiv review final verdict

Let’s not beat around the bush: Beehiiv is really great for creators who want to get serious with their newsletter. The platform excels if you:

• You write regularly and want to grow your newsletter
• You want the ability to make money with your content
• You’re looking for an all-in-one solution without hassle with different tools
• You also want to publish your content directly (and thus also get search traffic)

But there are also people who should look elsewhere:

• Do you want very specific integrations? Kit (formerly Convertkit) is a better choice then
• If you have a webshop, then Beehiiv is not the best choice.

Beehiiv is well priced, competitive with other tools. Of course you can start for free, but if you want to get a bit more serious, you’ll see that upgrading becomes desirable quickly. Kit is the biggest competitor (I used it before Beehiiv), with more integrations but a less pleasant editor. Substack is popular among writers, but is mainly focused on paid newsletters. Ghost is a good option if you’re looking for more of a complete publishing platform. But honestly? For pure newsletters, Beehiiv is currently one of the best choices. I’m a fan!