If you’re going to spend hours creating content, growing an audience, and publishing regularly, you might as well get paid for it.
Choosing the right blogging platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a creator.
Why? Because not all platforms are built for monetization.
Some lock your content into walled gardens.
Others take big platform fees.
And a few? They’re just plain outdated.
This guide walks through what features matter, the platforms that deliver (and those that don’t), and why beehiiv is the best blogging platform to make money in 2025, whether you’re starting out or scaling fast.
3 Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Blogging Platform for Monetization
Before we get into the platform battle royale, let’s align on what actually matters when you’re trying to monetize a blog.
1. Flexibility in Monetization Options
The best platforms give you options. Think:
Paid subscriptions
One-time content purchases
Affiliate links and sponsored posts
Merchandise or digital product sales
If a platform limits you to just one or two revenue streams, you’ll quickly hit a ceiling. The blogging platform you choose should give you multiple monetization levers to pull, without needing dozens of third-party tools.
2. Support for Paid Subscriptions
Recurring revenue is the gold standard. And no monetization model does this better than paid subscriptions.
The best blogging platforms make this easy:
Intuitive paywall settings
Simple upgrade flows for readers
Subscriber segmentation
Payment processor integrations
3. User Base and Audience Reach
Some platforms have massive built-in audiences (like Medium), while others focus on helping creators build their own.
Ask yourself:
Do I want my audience to be mine or rented from the platform?
How discoverable is my content on Google and social?
Do I have access to first-party data like email and engagement?
5 Reasons beehiiv Is the Best Platform to Make Money Blogging
Now let’s break down exactly why beehiiv dominates when it comes to blog monetization.
1. Built-In Subscription and Monetization Tools
Unlike platforms that rely on integrations or plugins, beehiiv has native tools to:
Sell paid subscriptions
Offer exclusive content
Promote upsells and premium tiers
2. Optimized for Audience Growth and Retention
beehiiv has growth baked in.
Features like:
Referral programs to incentivize sharing
Recommendations to attract engaged subscribers
Magic links for seamless login and sharing
Paired with automated email flows and segmentation, beehiiv helps you grow faster and retain better.
3. Flexible Pricing for Multiple Revenue Streams
You’re not locked into one business model. You can:
Start free, grow to paid
Offer both free and premium content
Test pricing tiers and bundled offers
4. High-Level Analytics for Revenue Tracking
You can’t grow what you can’t measure.
beehiiv gives you:
Revenue by product or post
Subscriber churn rates
Open/click heatmaps
List growth from each source
No need to patch together tools, it’s all there, out of the box.
5. Robust Email Marketing Capabilities
This one’s a game-changer.
With beehiiv, your blog is your newsletter, and vice versa.
You get:
Drag-and-drop editor
Automated campaigns
Segmentation by engagement, location, and subscriber type
A/B testing for subject lines and CTAs
Website builder
4 Comparisons of beehiiv, Substack, and Medium for Earning Potential
Let’s put the top three platforms head to head.
1. Monetization Tools and Customization
beehiiv allows full monetization stack flexibility:
Tiered paid plans
Drip content
Gated newsletters
Add-on offers and sponsorships
Substack and Medium? Not so much.
2. Ease of Reaching Paid Subscribers
beehiiv makes it easy to:
Upgrade free readers with in-email CTAs
Promote upsells with automations
Use engagement scores to convert lurkers
Substack has fewer segmentation tools. Medium doesn’t let you build an email list at all.
3. Platform Fees and Profit Margins
Profit margins matter. Here’s what you pay:
beehiiv: 0% on free plans, small fee for premium tiers
Substack: 10% flat fee on paid subscriptions
Medium: You don’t set the rate — they do
beehiiv gives you more profit per post, plain and simple.
4. Supporting Long-Term Revenue Growth
Medium’s partner model is unpredictable. Substack growth is flat without virality.
beehiiv is built to scale:
SEO optimization
Multi-author support
Internal growth loops (recommendations, referrals)
Paid newsletter funnels
In other words, it grows with you.
3 Monetization Mistakes to Avoid on Blogging Platforms
Now that we’ve covered the tools — let’s talk strategy. These are the most common traps bloggers fall into:
1. Neglecting Email Subscriber Lists
Biggest mistake? Relying on readers who never opt in.
If you’re not:
Capturing emails
Nurturing subscribers
Sending weekly value
…you’re losing revenue. beehiiv keeps your email and blog in sync, so your list grows alongside your content.
2. Relying Solely on Platform Ads
Ads ≠ sustainable income.
They’re:
Low-paying
Out of your control
Irrelevant to most readers
Instead, focus on:
Direct subscriptions
Product sales
Affiliate marketing
Ads can be part of the mix, but shouldn’t be the whole plan.
3. Ignoring Audience Engagement
Want more subscribers? Start conversations.
Too many bloggers ignore:
Polls
Feedback forms
Comments
Q&As
beehiiv lets you build a two-way relationship with your audience — and that’s where conversion happens.
Final Thoughts: Choose the Platform That Pays Long-Term
If your goal is to make money blogging — don’t pick based on popularity.
Pick the platform that gives you:
Ownership over your audience
Flexibility in how you earn
Tools to grow and retain subscribers
Data to improve and optimize
That’s beehiiv. It’s built for bloggers who are building real businesses, not just publishing online diaries.
Ready to Launch or Migrate?
Start blogging smarter with a platform that turns readers into revenue.
💸 Start earning. Keep more of your money. Grow on your terms.
