Creator Creator ESP / automation
Strong when you need tagging, visual automations, and email around products or courses. It works as an email marketing home base for creators. Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator from $33/month billed yearly.
Kit vs Beehiiv (2026): pricing, free plans and which fits your creator business
Both are popular with creators, and they optimize for different jobs. My advice: choose the job first, then the logo. This page puts both tools' current plans, fees and limits side by side, and then walks through which one fits each kind of creator.
How I made this page: I worked from each vendor’s public pricing pages, product pages and help docs, checked on September 25, 2026 (sources at the bottom). I have not done hands-on paid testing of either tool, and I don’t claim to. Affiliate status: My Beehiiv links are partner referral links; Kit is not an affiliate, and I link to its plain official site. See the disclosure.
Quick verdict
- Pick Beehiiv if your newsletter is the product. You get a publication website, unlimited sends even on the free plan, a recommendation network, and (on paid plans) a referral program, an ad network and paid subscriptions with a 0% take rate.
- Pick Kit if email is how you sell. You get tagging, visual automations and sequences (on paid plans), and digital products, paid newsletters and tip jars that work even on the free plan, with a per-transaction fee instead of a monthly price.
- Biggest free list: Kit. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers. Beehiiv's free Launch plan covers up to 2,500 but includes more publishing tools (a website builder and podcast hosting, for example).
- Automation on a free plan: neither is generous. Kit's pricing lists visual automations and email sequences from its Creator plan. Beehiiv's free plan allows a single welcome email, and full automations start on Scale.
Newsletter growth platform
Strong when the newsletter is the product surface: web edition, referrals, recommendations, and growth tooling around issues. Free up to 2,500 subscribers; Scale from $43/month billed annually.
Kit vs Beehiiv side by side
Every row comes from the vendors' own pricing pages and docs as of September 25, 2026. "Paid" means Kit's Creator/Pro plans or Beehiiv's Scale/Max plans.
| What you're comparing | Kit | Beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0, up to 10,000 subscribers | Launch: $0, up to 2,500 subscribers |
| Sending on the free plan | Unlimited email broadcasts | Unlimited email sends |
| Entry paid plan (1,000 subscribers) | Creator: $33/month billed yearly ($390/year) | Scale: $43/month billed annually ($517/year), or $49 month to month |
| Next plan up (1,000 subscribers) | Pro: $66/month billed yearly ($790/year) | Max: $96/month billed annually ($1,151/year), or $109 month to month |
| Automations | Visual automations and email sequences on Creator and Pro | One welcome email on Launch; automations on Scale; click-triggered automations on Max |
| Paid newsletters | All plans, including Free | Scale and Max |
| Fees on paid subscriptions and products | 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction, which Kit says includes card processing ("Kit only takes 0.6%") | 0% take rate; Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction still applies |
| Digital products | All plans, including Free | Scale and Max (appointments on Max) |
| Recommendations | Free recommendations on all plans; paid recommendations on Creator and Pro (Kit's fee: 23.5% of earnings) | Free recommendations on all plans; paid recommendations on Scale and Max |
| Referral program | Pro: a free SparkLoop plan for a reward referral program | Built-in referral program on Scale and Max |
| Ads and sponsorships | Newsletter sponsorships on Creator and Pro | Ad Network on Scale and Max (not in all regions); sponsorship storefront on Max |
| Website | Newsletter feed & website, landing pages and forms on all plans; custom domain | Website builder, templates, link-in-bio and custom domains on all plans |
| Podcast hosting | Not listed on Kit's pricing page | All plans (1 episode/month on Launch, 4 on Scale, unlimited on Max) |
| RSS to email | RSS campaigns on Creator and Pro | RSS to Send on Max |
| Remove platform branding | Creator and Pro | Max |
| Team seats | 1 (Free), 2 (Creator), unlimited (Pro) | 1 (Launch), 3 (Scale), unlimited (Max) |
| Trial of paid features | 14-day free trial, no credit card | New accounts get a trial of Scale or Max, no credit card |
| Moving over | Free migration by Kit's in-house team on paid plans | CSV import on all plans; podcast import from any public RSS feed |
Sources: kit.com/pricing (plan cards and "Compare plans and features" table) and beehiiv.com/pricing (plan cards, feature comparison and FAQ), plus the Beehiiv help articles listed below, checked September 25, 2026. Prices in USD.
Pricing: what you'll actually pay (checked 2026-09-25)
Both tools price paid plans by subscriber count, so the "from" prices above only hold for small lists.
- Kit: the plan cards quote Creator at $33/month and Pro at $66/month for 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing. Kit says paying yearly saves 17%. For other list sizes, use the subscriber slider on kit.com/pricing. Kit counts a subscriber only if they're unique and active.
- Beehiiv: Scale is $49/month at up to 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing, $69 at 2,500, $89 at 5,000 and $109 at 10,000. Max is $109, $149, $169 and $219 for the same tiers. Annual billing costs less; at 1,000 subscribers that's $43/month for Scale and $96/month for Max. Tier prices come from beehiiv's pricing.md, which beehiiv says uses the same plan data as its pricing page. My Beehiiv guide has the full table up to 100,000 subscribers.
Paid newsletter fees, in plain math. On Kit, a paid newsletter or product sale costs 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction, and Kit says that figure already includes card processing, so Kit's own share is 0.6%. On Beehiiv, you need Scale or Max, and then Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 applies with no platform cut. Put simply, Beehiiv's extra cost is the plan fee, while Kit's extra cost is 0.6% of revenue. At Beehiiv Scale's $49/month (1,000-subscriber tier, monthly billing), 0.6% of revenue matches that fee at about $8,170 a month in sales. Below that, Kit's per-transaction model costs less in fees if you'd otherwise stay on Kit's free plan. If you need Kit Creator for automations anyway, compare the plan prices plus fees at your own list size. Card fees vary by country and card type, so treat this as a rough guide.
Which fits your kind of creator?
Newsletter writers growing a free list
Lean Beehiiv. The free Launch plan gives you a hosted website, custom domain and unlimited sends for up to 2,500 subscribers. Beehiiv's growth tools are built around the publication: free recommendations on every plan, and a referral program and paid recommendations on Scale. Kit is a reasonable choice too, especially if your list might pass 2,500 before you're ready to pay, because Kit's free plan goes to 10,000.
Course, coaching and digital product sellers
Lean Kit. Kit's plans are built around tagging, segmentation, visual automations and sequences, which is what launches and evergreen funnels need. Digital products, recurring subscriptions and tip jars are available on every Kit plan. Beehiiv sells digital products too (Scale and up, 0% commission), but its automation depth sits behind Scale and Max, and click-triggered automations are Max-only.
Paid newsletter writers
It depends on revenue. Kit lets you start charging on the free plan and pay only per transaction. Beehiiv needs a paid plan but takes 0% of subscription revenue, so it gets relatively cheaper as revenue grows (see the math above). If you're weighing Substack as well, its help center says publishing is free and Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction, plus Stripe's fees.
Podcasters
Lean Beehiiv. Beehiiv hosts podcasts on every plan, distributes to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other apps, and can import an existing show from any host with a public RSS feed while keeping episode GUIDs. Watch the episode limits: 1 per month on Launch, 4 on Scale, unlimited on Max. Kit has a podcaster use-case page, but its pricing page doesn't list podcast hosting, so you'd keep your current host and use Kit for email.
YouTubers and social-first creators
Either works; it depends on what the list is for. If you want a big free list to announce videos and sell a product later, Kit's 10,000-subscriber free plan with unlimited landing pages and forms is hard to beat. If you want a newsletter that stands on its own with a website and link-in-bio, Beehiiv's free plan covers that. Kit also has a YouTuber use-case page.
Bloggers who want new posts emailed automatically
Lean Kit on price. RSS campaigns start on Kit's Creator plan, while Beehiiv's RSS to Send is a Max feature.
Not a winner declaration. Many creators use one as the system of record. Switching later is possible but painful, so start with the workflow you'll use every week.
Honest trade-offs
- Kit's free plan is big but manual. 10,000 subscribers and unlimited broadcasts, but visual automations and sequences are listed from Creator.
- Beehiiv's free plan is smaller but more complete as a publication: a website, podcast hosting and a recommendation network, with no automations beyond one welcome email and no monetization until Scale.
- Transaction fees vs plan fees. Kit charges per sale (3.5% + 30¢ including card processing). Beehiiv charges a plan fee, and Stripe's fees apply on top.
- Branding removal starts on Kit Creator but needs Beehiiv Max.
FAQ
Is Kit the same as ConvertKit?
Yes. Kit's site describes itself as "formerly ConvertKit".
Is Kit free?
Yes. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, audience tagging and segmentation, and selling digital products and subscriptions (per kit.com/pricing, checked September 25, 2026). Visual automations and sequences are listed from the Creator plan.
How much is Kit?
For 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing, Creator is $33/month ($390/year) and Pro is $66/month ($790/year). Paying yearly saves 17%, per Kit. There's a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
Is Beehiiv free?
Yes. Beehiiv's Launch plan is $0 for up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and no credit card. Automations, paid subscriptions and the Ad Network need Scale or Max. See my Beehiiv guide for everything the free plan includes.
Beehiiv or Kit for a paid newsletter?
Kit lets you charge on the free plan for 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction (card processing included). Beehiiv needs Scale or Max but takes 0% of subscription revenue, leaving Stripe's standard fee. Small or early paid newsletters often pay less in fees on Kit, and bigger ones on Beehiiv. The break-even math is above.
Which is better for automations?
On paid plans, Kit's plans are built around visual automations, tagging and sequences. Beehiiv includes automations on Scale and adds click-triggered automations and dynamic content on Max. On the free plans, Kit's pricing lists no visual automations and Beehiiv allows one welcome email.
See beehiiv's plans See Kit's plans
Related
- Beehiiv for creators: pricing, free plan limits and setup
- Beehiiv vs MailerLite
- Beehiiv vs Substack
- MailerLite for newsletter creators
- Flodesk for newsletter creators
- GetResponse for newsletter creators
- How to choose a newsletter tool
- Full shortlist
- All comparisons
- Stack layers
Sources (checked September 25, 2026)
- https://kit.com/pricing: Kit plans, prices, feature comparison, transaction and paid-recommendation fees
- https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing: Beehiiv plans, feature comparison, pricing FAQ
- https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing.md: Beehiiv price by subscriber tier
- https://www.beehiiv.com/features/automations: welcome email on all plans
- https://www.beehiiv.com/features/digital-products: 0% commission
- https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23874462928663-plan-types-and-subscriber-plan-tier-pricing: trial of Scale or Max
- https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/39460221594647-importing-your-podcast-to-beehiiv
- https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost: Substack fees
Kit and beehiiv are trademarks of their respective owners. I run Creator Mail Stack independently, and neither company endorses it. Found something out of date? Tell me.