# Is beehiiv Free? Yes, to 2,500 Subscribers, Without Paid Subscriptions

> Is beehiiv free? Yes: up to 2,500 subscribers and unlimited sends, no card, no time limit. What the free plan leaves out, how the 14-day trial differs, what each upgrade costs, and how it compares with Kit and Substack.

_Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/is-beehiiv-free — The Professional's Toolkit · updated 2026-10-09_

---


Yes. beehiiv has a free plan with no time limit and no card required, and it is one of the more
generous free plans in email: up to 2,500 subscribers and unlimited sends. The vendor's own answer is
"Yes. beehiiv's Free plan is free, forever, with no credit card required." [3]. The question
people search, 90 times a month in the United States, is usually a second question in disguise:
free for what? This page answers that, from the vendor's pricing file and help centre, read on 9
October 2026.

## The short answer

The free plan is enough to write, send and grow a newsletter of up to 2,500 readers, with a
website, a podcast feed and the recommendation network. It is barely enough to earn from it: one digital product
can be sold, but paid subscriptions, the Ad Network and paid recommendations all need a paid plan. It also carries
beehiiv branding, has no automations beyond a welcome email, cannot add a custom domain, and
offers support through a chatbot only.



> 💡 **undefined:** Delete suppressed addresses to stay under 2,500.

## What the free plan includes

From the vendor's feature tables [3]:

| Area | On Free |
|---|---|
| Subscribers | Up to 2,500 |
| Email sends | Unlimited |
| Publications | 1 |
| Team seats | 1 |
| Guest authors | 1 |
| Custom pages on the website | 1 |
| Analytics lookback | 30 days |
| Podcast downloads | 5,000 a month, 1 show |
| Community notifications | 5,000 a month |
| Digital products | 1 product |
| API | Read access; no Send API |
| MCP for AI tools | Read-only |
| Support | Buzz chatbot |

The welcome email works on every plan. Everything else in automations needs Lite.

## The free plan, area by area

**Newsletter.** Unlimited posts and sends, the custom builder, email templates, custom fields, a
welcome email and one sender address. Not included: custom HTML, audience polls, A/B testing,
publishing to segments, RSS to Send and newsletter lists [3].

**Website.** The website builder and templates, hosting, subscribe forms, advanced email capture,
link-in-bio and basic analytics, with one custom page. Not included: custom domains, surveys,
redirects, custom robots.txt and AI bot control [3].

**Podcast.** One show, 5,000 downloads a month, RSS hosting and distribution, feed imports, YouTube
publishing, transcripts and basic analytics over three months. Not included: dynamic ad insertion,
programmatic advertising and private subscriber feeds [3].

**Community.** Channels, member profiles, direct messages and group chats, search, badges, invites,
moderation and the installable app, with 90 days of feed history and 5,000 notification emails a
month [3].

**Digital products.** One product with one price, one-time purchases, a customer library and refund
management [3]. This is the one way to sell on Free: a single guide, template or download. The
trial article confirms the digital product features stay on every plan after a trial ends [7].

**Data and security.** Data exports and two-factor authentication on every plan [3].



> 💡 **undefined:** Log in now and then; inactive free accounts can be closed.

## What the free plan does not include

- **Paid subscriptions.** Not on Free and not during the trial.
- **The Ad Network and paid recommendations.** Lite and above; not in the trial either [3].
- **Automations** beyond the welcome email.
- **Removing beehiiv branding.** Pro only.
- **A new custom domain.** "You can't add a new custom domain on the Free plan." [5].
- **Webhooks**, which the developer documentation reserves for paid users on Lite and above
  [55].
- **Human support.** "Customers on the Free plan outside of a trial should use Buzz as their primary
  support path." [14].

## Free against the free plans of other platforms

| Platform | Free ceiling | Sends | Sell on free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | 2,500 subscribers | Unlimited | One digital product; no subscriptions |
| Kit | 10,000 subscribers | Unlimited broadcasts | Yes [20] |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers | 2,500 a month | Limited [22] |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts | 500 a month | No [21] |
| Brevo | 100,000 contacts stored | 300 a day | No [23] |
| Substack | No plan fee | Unlimited | Yes, at 10% [18] |

beehiiv's free plan is ten times MailerLite's and Mailchimp's, with no send limit. Kit's is four times
larger and allows selling. Substack has no plan fee at all and takes 10% of what you sell.



> ⚠ **undefined:** No paid subscriptions, ads or automations on Free.

## The 14-day trial is not the free plan

New accounts start a 14-day trial of Pro features with no card [4]. During the trial the account
is technically on Free with temporary access to Pro features, and some things stay locked: paid
subscriptions, paid recommendations, custom domains, more than one publication, more than one team
seat, and posts above one a day [7]. When it ends, "If you choose not to upgrade to a paid plan
when your trial ends, your account stays on the Free plan." [7].

What you built during the trial then changes. Automations turn off and stay as drafts; custom pages
unpublish but stay saved; podcast analytics prefixes added during the trial are deleted; webhooks are
disabled [7]. Nothing is charged, because no card was taken.

## Free, the trial and Lite, side by side

| | Free | Trial (14 days) | Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | 2,500 | Free plan limits | By tier, to 100,000 |
| Posts a day | Unlimited | 1 | Unlimited |
| Automations | Welcome email only | Up to 10 live | Up to 10 live |
| Custom domain | No | No | Yes |
| Paid subscriptions | No | No | Yes, 0% share |
| Ad Network | No | No | Yes |
| Digital products | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Branding removed | No | No | No |
| Support | Chatbot | Tickets | Tickets |
| Card required | No | No | Yes |

From the vendor's pricing file and trial article [3] [7]. The trial is a preview of Pro's
tools, not of Pro's monetisation.

## What upgrading costs, by list size

| Your list | Lite monthly | Lite annual | Pro monthly | Pro annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,000 | $59 | $588 | $109 | $1,140 |
| Up to 2,500 | $79 | $828 | $149 | $1,548 |
| Up to 5,000 | $109 | $1,140 | $199 | $2,028 |
| Up to 10,000 | $139 | $1,428 | $239 | $2,388 |

From the vendor's pricing file [3]. A free newsletter at 2,000 readers that upgrades for a custom
domain pays the 2,500 tier, $79 a month; one that waits until 2,600 readers pays the 5,000 tier,
$109. Upgrading before the list crosses 2,500 is $30 a month cheaper for the same plan, as long as
the list stays under the line.

## When you will need to pay

Most free beehiiv accounts upgrade for one of five reasons. Each has a price:

1. **The list passes 2,500.** The next step is Lite at the 5,000 tier: $109 a month or $1,140 a year
   [3]. (Lite at the 2,500 tier, $79, only fits lists up to 2,500.)
2. **You want a custom domain.** Lite at the 2,500 tier: $79 a month or $828 a year.
3. **You want to charge readers.** Lite, at your list size.
4. **You want automations** beyond a welcome email: Lite, up to ten live.
5. **You want the branding gone.** Pro: $109 a month or $95 a month billed annually at 1,000
   subscribers.

## What happens at 2,500 subscribers

The help centre describes limits as caps per plan type: "When your subscriber count reaches your plan
type's limit, you'll need to upgrade to the next plan type to keep growing." [4]. On paid plans,
leaving auto-upgrade off means "sends to your subscribers may be delayed when you go over your plan
limits." [5]. Imports that would push a free account over 2,500 are held whole rather than
partly accepted [9].

Suppressed addresses may still count as active [10], so a free list that looks like 2,300 deliverable
readers may already be at the limit. Deleting bounced and suppressed addresses is the free way to
stay on Free longer.

## Can a free account be closed?

Yes. The terms allow it after inactivity: "If you have a free account, we may cancel your account and
reclaim the subdomain after a period of inactivity." [15]. The same clause promises "not less
than thirty (30) days advance notice" by email. The terms also allow beehiiv to "suspend or
discontinue any free, beta, or trial features and accounts at any time" [15]. Paid accounts are
protected against material reductions in core functionality during the term; free ones are not.

**What to do:** if you park a newsletter on Free, log in now and then, and export the list
regularly. Exports are self-serve and "Download links for exported data are valid for 24 hours."
[28].

## How to stay on Free longer

1. **Delete suppressed and bounced addresses.** They may still count as active [10].
2. **Delete, do not just unsubscribe, long-inactive readers.** Inactive status can still appear in
   some counts until deletion; deletion is permanent [10].
3. **Keep one publication.** The count is per workspace [4]; a second newsletter shares the
   2,500.
4. **Use the free recommendation network** for growth instead of paid recommendations, which need a
   paid plan [3].
5. **Export monthly.** It costs nothing and protects you if the account is ever closed [28].

## The October 2026 changes to the free plan

In early October 2026 beehiiv renamed its plans, and Launch, the old free plan, became Free. One
reviewer reports that the free plan's guest author allowance dropped to one, discovered "by trying to
add someone and getting blocked" [19]. The vendor's pricing file today lists one guest author on
Free [3]. If you used an older free account with several contributors, check your limits in
Billing.

## Selling one product on Free, worked through

Suppose a free newsletter of 2,000 readers sells a $19 template. Free allows one product with one
price [3], so the template can be sold without a paid plan. Card processing applies to each
sale. Selling 50 copies brings $950 before fees; at Stripe's standard 2.9% plus $0.30 that leaves
about $908. *Our arithmetic*, assuming Stripe's standard rate applies to digital products as it does to
subscriptions [17].

What the same newsletter cannot do on Free is sell a second product, a subscription, or a coupon:
discount codes, pay-what-you-want pricing and product reviews start on Lite [3].

## Free accounts and deliverability

A free account sends from beehiiv's shared infrastructure, like every account below Enterprise
[3]. The rules that protect that infrastructure apply equally to free senders. beehiiv publishes
its complaint thresholds: a feedback-loop complaint rate of 0.10% or lower is acceptable, and 0.30% or
higher is problematic [41]. Complaints sent through its report-abuse form weigh more: "Direct
abuse desk complaints often lead to quicker enforcement actions, including suspensions or account
deactivations" [41].

For a free newsletter, the practical rule is the same as for a paid one: send only to people who
asked, and remove readers who have stopped opening.

## Is the free plan good enough?

**Yes, if** you are writing a free newsletter to fewer than 2,500 people, are happy with a
beehiiv.com address and beehiiv branding, and do not need automations or human support.

**No, if** you plan to charge readers soon, need a custom domain, or expect to pass 2,500 within a
few months. In that case compare Kit's free plan, which goes to 10,000 and allows selling [20],
or Substack, which has no plan fee [18].

## Three free-plan scenarios

**A local history newsletter, 900 readers, monthly.** Free covers it indefinitely. Cost: $0. Risk:
the inactivity clause if the writer stops logging in.

**A hobby newsletter growing 200 a month from 1,500.** It passes 2,500 in month six. From then, Lite
at the 5,000 tier: $109 a month or $1,140 a year. *Our arithmetic.* Planning for that in month five,
by pruning inactive readers or budgeting, avoids a surprise.

**A writer who wants a custom domain on day one.** Free will not do it. Lite at the 2,500 tier,
$828 a year billed annually, is the cheapest way.



## FAQ

**Is beehiiv free forever?**

Yes, the free plan has no time limit and needs no card, up to 2,500 subscribers. Inactive free accounts can be cancelled with at least 30 days' notice.

**Can I make money on beehiiv's free plan?**

Only a little: one digital product can be sold on Free. Paid subscriptions, the Ad Network and paid recommendations require Lite or above.

## How beehiiv's free plan scores with us

Our composite score for beehiiv is 3.61, fourth of seven in the email category. The free plan is one
of the reasons its value score is 3.4 rather than lower: for anyone who will never charge readers,
Free is the best part of beehiiv's offer, and Lite is expensive by comparison.




## Sources

[1] beehiiv vendor pricing page — https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing (2026-10)
[2] beehiiv machine-readable pricing file — https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing.md (2026-10)
[3] beehiiv help: plan types and tier pricing — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23874462928663.md (2026-10)
[4] beehiiv help: change plan type and tier — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/13092031997847.md (2026-10)
[5] beehiiv help: refund eligibility — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/13092084756631.md (2026-10)
[6] beehiiv help: what the free trial includes — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/22101553752471.md (2026-10)
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[8] beehiiv help: importing subscribers — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/4412705350679.md (2026-10)
[9] beehiiv help: how subscribers are counted — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/42699429776279.md (2026-10)
[10] beehiiv help: Ad Network FAQ — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/17507491038231.md (2026-10)
[11] beehiiv help: the beehiiv Wallet — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/14194157250583.md (2026-10)
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[13] beehiiv help: ways to contact support — https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/18621437457303.md (2026-10)
[14] beehiiv Terms of Use — https://www.beehiiv.com/tou.md (2026-10)
[15] beehiiv comparison page against Substack — https://www.beehiiv.com/comparisons/substack.md (2026-10)
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[17] Substack, going paid — https://substack.com/going-paid (2026-10)
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[20] Mailchimp vendor pricing page — https://mailchimp.com/pricing/ (2026-09)
[21] MailerLite vendor pricing page — https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing (2026-10)
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[48] beehiiv comparison page against Mailchimp — https://www.beehiiv.com/comparisons/mailchimp.md (2026-10)
[49] beehiiv comparison page against Ghost — https://www.beehiiv.com/comparisons/ghost.md (2026-10)
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[54] beehiiv developer docs: webhooks — https://developers.beehiiv.com/webhooks.md (2026-10)
[55] beehiiv developer docs: OAuth2 — https://developers.beehiiv.com/oauth2.md (2026-10)
[56] beehiiv Trust Center — https://security.beehiiv.com/ (2026-10)
[57] beehiiv MCP feature page — https://www.beehiiv.com/features/mcp.md (2026-10)
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[61] beehiiv developer docs index — https://developers.beehiiv.com/llms.txt (2026-10)