Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv

Choosing a newsletter platform may feel like finding a needle in a haystack, with systems such as Substack, MailerLite, and beehiiv being among the most popular - but what are the key differences between these platforms? 

The main differences are that Substack is a one-stop shop for publishing a newsletter and a blog in one place with its popular free-forever plan, whereas Mailerlite offers more templates and customization. Beehiiv on the other hand is one of the newer entries into the email marketing space, but excels in its easy to use platform, and a focus on helping brands grow their mailing lists and analyze results.

Key Takeaways

In this guide we’ll explore the key differences between Substack, MailerLite, and beehiiv to help you decide which email marketing platform would work best for your brand. We’ll discuss the features and usability of each system, and cover some key points such as monetization, reporting, analytics, and pricing.

Table of Contents

• Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv at a Glance

• beehiiv Overview

  • Advanced Analytics and Subscriber Insights

  • Seamless Integration with Other Tools

  • Innovative Monetization Options

• Substack Overview

  • Substack Features

• MailerLite Overview

  • MailerLite Features

• Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Ease of Use and User Experience

• Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Audience Engagement and Analytics

• Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Integration and Scalability

• Final Thoughts

• Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Frequently Asked Questions

  • What are the Main Differences Between Substack, Mailerlite, and beehiiv?

  • Can I Monetize My Newsletter on All Three Platforms: Substack, Mailerlite, and beehiiv?

  • What are the Pricing Models for Substack, Mailerlite, and beehiiv?

Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv at a Glance

beehiiv Overview

beehiiv is one of the newer entrants into the email newsletter platform market, launching in 2021. It allows creators to create customizable newsletters and blogs in one place, with an easy-to-use system and no-code platform.

beehiiv’s mission is to help its customers grow their mailing list and offer monetizing opportunities within email marketing. The beehiiv system is highly versatile and suitable for creators, brands, and publishers alike.

A key feature of beehiiv that separates it from other email platforms is its focus on advanced analytics and reporting. This allows creators to segment audiences and provide more niche content to drive conversions.

Advanced Analytics and Subscriber Insights

beehiiv’s advanced analytics and subscriber insights make it easy for creators to understand their audience better, and therefore provide more relevant content.

Creators can use analytics to see how users interact with their newsletters in real-time. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as click rates, open rates, and engagement tracking are crucial in determining the success of email marketing.

beehiiv’s real-time analytics are easy to analyze and use to improve results.

While Substack and MailerLite offer analytics too, analytics cannot be viewed in real-time. This prevents these systems from being able to offer on-the-spot data, which is essential in determining how your audience is interacting with your content.

You can also see which channels your subscribers are coming from, such as Social Media, paid advertising, your website, etc. This is a unique advantage that can help determine which of your marketing channels is working for you.

beehiiv’s 3D analytics allows you to view different data charts with subscriber metrics in just one click, including the following:

• Subscriber demographics

• Subscribers by source/channel

• Filtered results by individual campaigns

• KPIs such as open rate, CTR, number of emails sent, etc.

• Different time periods

Seamless Integration with Other Tools

beehiiv integrates seamlessly with other marketing tools, making it easy for creators to add an email marketing system into their current mix of platforms.

Emails can be collected using a range of website providers such as WordPress and Wix. It also pairs well with eCommerce tools such as WooCommerce and Shopify, and content from beehiiv can be pushed to CMS systems such as Webflow and via the beehiiv RSS feed feature.

beehiiv can also integrate with automation tools like Zapier to set up processes that improve the reliability and performance of your email marketing. 

Together, these integrations can help to streamline workflows, improve audience targeting, and potentially increase the reach and therefore effectiveness of a newsletter.

In comparison with beehiiv, Substack and MailerLite do not offer as thorough integrations. It isn’t possible to link Substack with an automation tool such as Zapier - Substack can integrate with payment options for subscription services but is limited with other tools. MailerLite has some integration capabilities with CRMs and e-commerce tools, but doesn’t offer more advanced integrations with Google Analytics or Webflow. 

Innovative Monetization Options

There’s a growing interest in the monetization of newsletters, and beehiiv is known for this. 

It offers a subscription model whereby creators can ‘gate-keep’ email content by giving people the option of paying for a newsletter subscription. This is a great option if you want to make content exclusive and earn revenue from newsletter subscriptions.

You can also promote sponsored content in your email marketing using the beehiiv Ad Network. This allows creators to include well-known brands within their newsletters and earn money when emails are viewed.

There are other monetization methods such as the beehiiv Partner Program. With this, creators can earn a 50% commission from every sale made during the first year for referring new paid customers to beehiiv.

Another great monetization feature in beehiiv is Boosts. beehiiv customers can use Boosts to help other creators build their mailing lists and get paid for it via Stripe. Boosts also allows creators to feature other brands’ newsletters in their email marketing and earn money from these creators.

While Substack offers a subscription model for monetization purposes, there aren’t other ways in which creators can earn money from their newsletters, and subscriptions don’t work for every creator. Like Substack, MailerLite offers newsletter subscription services. In addition, MailerLite enables its customers to sell digital products, such as e-books or online courses, to their newsletter subscribers, providing a seamless commerce experience within the newsletter platform.

Substack Overview

Substack is an online newsletter platform launched in 2017 focusing on helping creators distribute newsletters. Its system is designed to promote text-based content, podcasts, video content, and discussion threads.

Like beehiiv, it combines a blog and email newsletter to provide mainly written content to its audience. It is easy to use without any coding knowledge, and integrates content creation, distribution, and monetization all in one place.

Substack Features

Some key features of Substack include the following:

• Subscription-based model: Substack offers subscription options to help creators monetize their newsletter via paid subscriptions. This helps creators earn money from their email marketing without relying on ads.

• Simple content management system: The content management system is easy to use, and doesn’t need you to code for the set up and distribution of content.

• Build-in payment processing: Substack uses Stripe as its inbuilt payment processor, making payments secure and reliable for its customers.

If you currently use the Substack platform and want to migrate to beehiiv, follow this help guide.

MailerLite Overview

Of the three platforms under comparison, MailerLite is the oldest, launching in 2010. This makes it a well-established player in the email marketing space. 

It's a comprehensive, user-friendly email marketing solution that can help businesses and creators of all sizes to improve their email newsletters.

MailerLite is known as one of the most affordable email marketing platforms with generous features included in its free plan such as automation workflows, A/B testing, and up to 12,000 monthly sends to a maximum subscriber list of 1,000 users.

With its intuitive design interface, MailerLite is designed to help its customers create, send, and track email campaigns with ease.

MailerLite Features

Core features of MailerLite include the following:

• Drag-and-Drop Email Builder: MailerLite has an intuitive drag-and-drop email builder, making it easy to create regular newsletters regardless of whether you have coding knowledge or not. It also has advanced widgets for customers to use including surveys, quizzes, and countdowns to make emails more interactive.

• Extensive Template Library: There are a range of templates available to MailerLite customers suited to websites, landing pages, campaigns, and forms to make crafting the perfect user journey simple.

• Advanced Automation Capabilities: MailerLite offers advanced automation capabilities that are even accessible via its free plan. Emails can automatically be triggered based on different events such as when a subscriber joins a group or completes a form. This helps to streamline marketing and improve conversion/customer retention.

• Detailed Analytics: Creators can compare campaigns via time period using MailerLite, producing reports that analyze unsubscribe counts, campaign activity, subscriber engagement, and bounces.

• Subscriber Growth: MailerLite lets its customers create landing pages, pop-ups, and embedded forms to collect emails and ultimately grow subscriber lists.

If MailerLite is your current email marketing system but you’d like to change to beehiiv, check out this blog.

Why Listen to Me? I’ve been working in the digital marketing space for nearly 10 years, predominantly helping brands with their email marketing and online presence. I now specialize in creating great content for beehiiv to help people nail their email strategies!

Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Ease of Use and User Experience

Substack, MailerLite, and beehiiv are all designed with the user in mind. The result is three systems that don’t require coding experience, and are relatively intuitive.

MailerLite has a drag and drop editor making it easy to use, while Substack is more simplified requiring no design or technical skills. beehiiv has a clean interface where you build the newsletter using buttons to drop different elements into the newsletter design. It also makes managing the growth and management of subscriber lists simple, with a straightforward mailing list dashboard that imports emails from other systems.

Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Audience Engagement and Analytics

The three platforms vary when it comes to audience engagement and analytics.

The beehiiv system is the most in depth when it comes to these features. beehiiv offers an advanced 3D analytics dashboard, subscriber data by source, A/B testing, and audience segmentation to help creators better understand their audience and ultimately improve conversion rates by serving them more relevant content. beehiiv customers can also drop interactive elements, such as polls and comments, into newsletters with ease, making content more engaging.

MailerLite offers some features here including audience segmentation, allowing its customers to send different emails based on their audience’s interests. Customers also have access to an analytics dashboard reporting on KPIs such as bounce rate, click rate, open rate, and a comparison of data on different devices.

Substack also offers an analytics dashboard which reports quick subscriber statistics such as paid subscribers, 30 day views, and 30 day open rates. This allows creators to delve deeper into KPIs for their emails and website to better understand traffic levels, open rates, and subscriber retention rates.

Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Integration and Scalability

Substack has basic integration capabilities, focusing mainly on payment options for subscription services via Stripe. CRM integration is limited, making it difficult for enterprises to integrate Substack into their marketing mix. It can also be difficult to scale, as Substack takes a 10% cut on their paid plans, plus Stripe’s additional 3% fee.

MailerLite offers over 1,000 integration options including e-commerce, CRM systems, and web services to improve campaign functionality. These include WooCommerce, Stripe, Canva, and WordPress to name a few. It offers a free plan up to 1,000 subscribers, however, it’s difficult to scale without spending significantly as the price increases for every few thousand subscribers. For example, the monthly cost for 10,000 subscribers is $99 per month.

beehiiv integrates with many key systems such as WordPress, Wix, Webflow, and Privy. It also links with analytics and automation tools such as Zapier to further optimize newsletter performance and subscriber growth. While it matches MailerLite’s fee of $99 per month for 10,000 subscribers, it also opens up many monetization options such as its referral program, Ad Network, and Boost Network which can help to improve the scalability of a brand.

Final Thoughts

We hope that having read this article you’ll have found the best email marketing platform for your business.

You may be attracted to the simplicity and direct monetization features of Substack. Perhaps the comprehensive and user-friendly email marketing toolkit of MailerLite has struck a chord with your brand. Or maybe you just can’t be without beehiiv’s focus on growth, engagement, and advanced analytics. 

Whichever email newsletter system you choose, it needs to suit your business to a T, so choose wisely!

If hearing about the beehiiv system has left you wanting more, sign up for a free 30-day trial today. Beehiiv has been designed for the future of newsletter publishing, with advanced tools made to help understand and better engage your audience. Our free trial will allow you to test out beehiiv with up to 2,500 subscribers, and you can test out some of our best features including beehiiv AI, email automations, premium subscriptions, and monetization techniques. 

Start your free trial today to get started!

Substack vs MailerLite vs beehiiv: Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Main Differences Between Substack, Mailerlite, and beehiiv?

The main differences between Substack, MailerLite, and beehiiv are as follows:

• Substack has a simple, direct-to-reader subscription model, with a user-friendly approach and focus on monetization.

• MailerLite offers a comprehensive toolkit with a range of templates to choose from, making email marketing easy for businesses of all sizes. 

• beehiiv focuses on advanced analytics, segmentation capabilities, and a focus on growth within its blog/newsletter hybrid platform.

Alternatives to Substack and MailerLite can be found via our blog here and here.

Can I Monetize My Newsletter on All Three Platforms: Substack, Mailerlite, and beehiiv?

Monetization is possible with Substack, MailerLite, and beehiiv.

Substack takes a recurring fee from subscribers (either monthly or annually), and the cost of a subscription varies as it's set by the content creator. This facilitates direct earnings from subscribers, however, Substack takes a 10% fee for paid subscriptions, plus Stripe’s fee of 3%.

MailerLite allows creators to monetize their newsletters by offering paid subscriptions, as well as assisting in promoting products and services within its newsletters.

Beehiiv has a wide variety of monetization methods available to its customers, including subscription options, advertising space, sponsored content, its Ad Network and Boost Network.

What are the Pricing Models for Substack, Mailerlite, and beehiiv?

The pricing models vary for Substack, MailerLite, and beehiiv.

Substack offers a free platform whereby creators can publish to anyone without charge. However, if you enable paid subscriptions the following fees apply:

• 10% fee per transaction

• Credit card fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction fee

• Billing fee for recurring subscriptions of 0.7%

MailerLite works differently by having subscriber-based pricing tiers. These tiers are as follows:

• Free plan: up to 1,000 subscribers and basic features such drag and drop editor, 10 landing pages, and comparative reporting

• Growing Business plan: $9 per month for 500 subscribers and a range of increased features such as unlimited templates and auto resend campaigns

• Advanced plan: $18 per month for 500 subscribers and extra features such as advanced integrations and automations

The Growing Business plan and the Advanced plan then increase in price incrementally depending on subscriber numbers. E.g. The Growing Business plan is $65.70 per month for 10,000 subscribers, whereas the Advanced plan is $99 per month for the same number of subscribers.

beehiiv’s pricing strategy focuses on scalability, with different features unlocked at different pricing tiers. These tiers are as follows:

• Launch: Free plan up to 2,500 subscribers with features including custom website/newsletters, campaign analytics, and unlimited email sending

• Scale: $39 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, with extra features including Ad Network, Boost Network, and premium subscriptions

• Max: $99 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, with advanced features such as customizable branding and priority support

• Enterprise: Custom pricing, top features such as dedicated IP address, designated account manager and infinite subscribers

Subscriber numbers can be upgraded in the Scale and Max platforms for an additional monthly cost, e.g. 10,000 subscribers would cost $99 per month on the Scale plan and $199 per month on the Max plan.