Comparison — from the record, 2026-08-30
Kit vs beehiiv: both free to start, and the cheaper one is not the obvious one
OUR PICK
Our pick: Kit — cheaper at the paid step, $39 against $49, and its free plan runs to 10,000 subscribers.
Kit's first paid tier is $39 a month against beehiiv's $49, and its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers — the largest free allowance we track in email. For most people writing a newsletter alongside something else they sell, that combination is difficult to argue with.
The other way: beehiiv is worth the extra if the newsletter IS the business. Its paid step at $49 buys referral mechanics, an advertising marketplace and paid subscriptions — machinery for the list to earn on its own, which Kit does not sell.
How to read this page: every number below was read from the vendor’s own public pricing page on the date shown, and the pages are re-checked daily. Currencies differ because that is what each vendor showed an EU visitor. Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you subscribe through one we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Per
our method, that never changes a number or a verdict. Source links always point to the vendor’s plain page.
The two pricing pages, side by side
Kit — USD, read 2026-08-30
Prices as this vendor showed them to a visitor in the United States — USD. A reader elsewhere may be quoted a different figure — we publish what we were served, never a conversion.
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Free | Free | | |
| Creator | $39/mo ($32.5 annual) | | |
| Pro | $79/mo ($65.83 annual) | | |
Source: https://kit.com/pricing · read 2026-08-30 (UTC) · Paid prices shown at the 1,000-subscriber slider position (the slider's floor); annual billing saves 17% (Creator $390/yr, Pro $790/yr at 1,000). Full monthly ladder captured by driving the slider — see notes.
What this vendor quotes in each market, as its own page printed it — not one price converted three ways.
| Plan | United States
USD · 2026-08-30 | United Kingdom
USD · 2026-08-30 | EU
USD · 2026-08-30 |
|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Creator | $39 | — | $39 |
| Pro | $79 | — | $79 |
beehiiv — USD, read 2026-08-30
Prices as this vendor showed them to a visitor in the United States — USD. A reader elsewhere may be quoted a different figure — we publish what we were served, never a conversion.
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Launch | Free | | |
| Scale | $49/mo ($43.08 annual) | | |
| Max | $109/mo ($95.92 annual) | | |
Source: https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing · read 2026-08-30 (UTC) · Paid prices shown at the up-to-1,000-subscriber slider position and rise with subscriber count. Annual billing saves ~12% (Scale $517/yr, Max $1,151/yr); the annual per-month rates are shown alongside.
Try beehiiv free →
beehiiv quotes USD worldwide — identical figures from our United States, United Kingdom and EU readers, read 2026-08-30.
What the record says
Both of these publish a plan priced at zero, and that is rarer than it sounds — most of this category offers a trial instead. So the first thing to say is that you can answer this question yourself, for nothing, with your own list.
The paid step is where they separate, and not in the direction the marketing implies: Kit's is $39 against beehiiv's $49, so Kit is the cheaper of the two. What the extra buys at beehiiv is a different category of thing — referral mechanics, an advertising marketplace and paid subscriptions.
That distinction is the whole comparison. If your newsletter promotes a course, a shop or a service, Kit's shape fits: the list is a channel. If your newsletter is the business and you intend to sell ads or subscriptions inside it, beehiiv's shape fits: the list is the asset.
Both quoted the same dollar figure to every market we read, so unlike much of this category there is no local-currency advantage either way. A reader in the UK or the eurozone pays the dollar price and their bank's conversion at both vendors.
Beyond the price tag
The free tiers, which are real
Kit publishes a free plan and so does beehiiv — both priced at zero on their own pages rather than time-limited. Kit's runs to 10,000 subscribers, the largest free allowance we track in email.
The paid ladders
Kit: $39 then $79. beehiiv: $49 then $109. Both climb from a free tier rather than from nothing.
What the paid step buys
Kit adds automation, integrations and support for $39 — tooling for selling something to your list. beehiiv adds referrals, an ad marketplace and paid subscriptions for $49 — tooling for the list to earn on its own.
Currency
Both quoted the same dollar figure in the United States, the United Kingdom and the eurozone on our same-day reads, so neither offers a local-currency advantage.
Questions people actually search
Are both really free to start?
Yes. Both publish a plan priced at zero on their own pricing page — a tier, not a trial. Kit's free plan runs to 10,000 subscribers.
Which is cheaper once you pay?
Kit, at $39 against beehiiv's $49 in this market. Both figures are the first paid step above a free tier.
Which should I choose for a paid newsletter?
beehiiv, despite costing more at $49 against Kit's $39. Its paid tiers are built around monetising the list itself — referrals, advertising and paid subscriptions. Kit's are built around selling something else to the list.
Do they charge in my local currency?
No. Both quoted the same dollar figure to the United States, the United Kingdom and the eurozone in our reads, so a non-US card also pays its bank's conversion at either.
THE VERDICT, ONE MORE TIME
Our pick: Kit — cheaper at the paid step, $39 against $49, and its free plan runs to 10,000 subscribers.
Kit's first paid tier is $39 a month against beehiiv's $49, and its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers — the largest free allowance we track in email. For most people writing a newsletter alongside something else they sell, that combination is difficult to argue with.
Both ladders were read from Kit's and beehiiv's own pricing pages in the market this edition covers, on the dates shown beside each table. Nothing is converted between currencies. The method →
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