Beehiiv vs Buttondown Pricing (2026)

How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.

Beehiiv Buttondown
Starts at $43/mo Custom
Number of plans 4 1
Free plan
Free trial
Pricing model hybrid usage-based

Launch

$0/mo
  • Newsletters, Website, and Podcast
  • Campaign Analytics
  • Unlimited Email Sends
  • Recommendation Network
  • Optimized Deliverability
  • Custom Domains
  • Link-in-Bio
  • AI Website Builder
  • API Access (excluding Send API)
  • beehiiv MCP (Read Access)
  • beehiiv Agent (Read Access)

Scale

Popular
$43/mo
  • Ad Network
  • Recommendations
  • 0% Take Rate on Paid Subscriptions
  • Digital Products
  • Community (New)
  • Email Automations
  • Surveys & Polls
  • Advanced Website Analytics
  • Webhooks
  • beehiiv MCP (Write Access)
  • beehiiv Agent (Write Access) (New)
  • Teams (3 Seats)
  • Slack Community Access
  • Human Support

Max

$96/mo
  • Remove beehiiv Branding
  • Sponsorship Storefront
  • Audio Newsletters
  • Digital Products (Appointments)
  • RSS to Send
  • Up to 10 Publications
  • Teams (Unlimited Seats)
  • Priority Human Support
  • Getty Image Credits
  • Dynamic Content
  • AI Bot Control
  • Send API
  • Group Subscriptions
  • Click-Triggered Automations

Enterprise

Custom
  • Concierge Onboarding
  • Dedicated Account Manager
  • Dedicated IP Addresses
  • Random Cohort Sends
  • Custom Publication Limits
  • Invite-Only Webinars with our CEO
  • VIP Human Support
  • Deliverability Reports (coming soon)
  • SSO

Buttondown

$0/mo
  • Rich text or markdown editor
  • Send from a custom domain
  • Hosted newsletter archives
  • Privacy-first

Beehiiv vs Buttondown FAQ

Which one is cheaper?
One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
Can I use either one for free?
Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
How do they charge?
Different approach here. Beehiiv uses hybrid pricing, while Buttondown goes with usage-based. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
Which one is a better deal?
Depends on what you need. Beehiiv: Beehiiv sits mid-market against ConvertKit and Substack — not the cheapest (Substack takes a revenue cut instead of charging upfront, which can undercut Beehiiv at low volumes), but it undercuts Mailchimp-style legacy platforms while offering more monetization infrastructure. They're clearly chasing creators who want to own their audience and revenue streams without paying a percentage cut like Substack.

Still deciding? See the best Beehiiv alternatives or the best Buttondown alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.

Keep tabs on both.

We'll monitor pricing changes for Beehiiv and Buttondown and let you know when something moves. See how competitor pricing monitoring works.

Track both free »