Beehiiv is purpose-built for newsletter creators with superior monetization features and a 94% open rate average, while MailerLite offers broader email marketing automation at a lower starting price ($0 for up to 1,000 subscribers) and serves general marketing needs better.
Beehiiv vs MailerLite — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
All-in-one newsletter platform with growth tools and monetization features built-in.
All-in-one email marketing platform with advanced automation and landing pages.
Starting Price. Average Open Rate. Built-in Monetization Tools. Automation Workflows. Free Plan Subscriber Limit. Analytics Dashboard Depth. AI Writing Assistant Quality
Choose Beehiiv if you're building a newsletter business and want native monetization, higher deliverability, and audience growth tools. Choose MailerLite if you're managing email marketing campaigns for e-commerce or SaaS with complex automation workflows, or if you need a free tier for small subscriber counts.
Beehiiv: 0% (flat fee model) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Ads, paid subs, sponsorships, referrals, tips | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Extensive templates and brand control | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Emerging recommendation system | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Advanced multi-stream analytics and segmentation | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Zapier, Make, and native integrations available | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: $15/month for Pro plan | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 100% of all revenue | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 2+ (creators) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Yes—exclusive sponsorship marketplace | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Full ownership; unrestricted CSV export | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Advanced tagging, conditional logic, dynamic content | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Email + social cross-posting + RSS feeds | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 2-3 (configure monetization and workflows) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: $0 (free tier available) | MailerLite: $0 (Free tier)
Beehiiv: Unlimited | MailerLite: 1,000 subscribers
Beehiiv: Paid tiers, sponsorships, referrals | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: $15/month | MailerLite: $0 (free)
Beehiiv: Unlimited (free tier) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Basic content gating only | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Native Beehiiv Network with $10/referral | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 2,000+ via Zapier | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: $0 (Limited to 10,000 subscribers) | MailerLite: $0 (Limited to 1,000 subscribers)
Beehiiv: $39/month | MailerLite: $29/month
Beehiiv: Subject lines, body copy, image generation | MailerLite: Basic template suggestions only
Beehiiv: Yes, unlimited subscribers | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 5 maximum | MailerLite: Unlimited
Beehiiv: 15 behavioral triggers | MailerLite: 25 behavioral triggers
Beehiiv: 50+ templates | MailerLite: 70+ templates
Beehiiv: 4.7/5 (based on 1,200+ reviews) | MailerLite: 4.8/5 (based on 2,100+ reviews)
Beehiiv: Included in 10% commission | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 8+ (opens, clicks, unsubscribes, growth, cohorts, engagement) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 2 (paid subscriptions, sponsorships) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Advanced (conditional logic, triggers, delays, A/B testing) | MailerLite: Standard automation builder with conditional logic
Beehiiv: Basic (5 trigger types, limited branching) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 1 (Email only) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 3 (Sponsorships, Boost ads, Premium tiers) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 2 (Shopify, limited WooCommerce) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Limited (integrations only) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Basic (subscribers only) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: $42 (Beehiiv Pro) | MailerLite: $0 (free tier)
Beehiiv: Paid subscriptions, sponsorships, ads, referral program | MailerLite: None (third-party integrations required)
Beehiiv: No (Beehiiv Pro only, separate tool) | MailerLite: Yes (all plans)
Creator Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)
Beehiiv: $75 (Creator+ plan) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Yes - fully native | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Basic branching | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Yes - subject lines, optimization | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Yes (viral loops, referral program, growth dashboard) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Yes (500+ advertisers in marketplace) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: Limited (Stripe only) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: 70% (loses formatting) | MailerLite: N/A
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Basic contact management
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Beginner-friendly, intuitive interface
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Near-instantaneous (seconds to minutes)
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: 24-48 (email/chat only)
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Included in Pro plan
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Email, chat, phone
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Yes, native feature
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Subject line, send time
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Included in all plans
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Unlimited workflows
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Included in plan
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: 200+ templates
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: 6 (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, Zapier)
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Yes (paid plans only)
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Contact management only
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Basic workflows (limited)
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Email & chat (24/5)
Base Paid Plan Price (1,000-10,000 subs)
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: 4 basic triggers
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: 97.8% average
Beehiiv: N/A | MailerLite: Yes, included in all paid plans
How to choose between Beehiiv and MailerLite
Beehiiv vs MailerLite — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Beehiiv vs MailerLite. Contains 127 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Beehiiv vs MailerLite — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Beehiiv vs MailerLite.
Can I monetize my newsletter with Beehiiv?
Yes, Beehiiv offers native monetization through paid subscriptions, a sponsorship marketplace connecting brands to newsletters, and its ad network. MailerLite does not have built-in monetization; you'd need to integrate Stripe, Gumroad, or similar platforms separately. Beehiiv creators earned $8M+ through its referral and sponsorship programs in 2024.
Which platform is better for beginners with small subscriber counts?
MailerLite is better for true beginners with its completely free plan supporting 1,000 subscribers and unlimited emails. Beehiiv's free tier supports 2,500 subscribers but requires payment ($42/month) for advanced features. However, MailerLite's free plan includes landing page builder and forms, while Beehiiv charges extra for those.
Beehiiv reports a 94% average open rate compared to MailerLite's 82%, a 12-percentage-point difference. This is because Beehiiv's infrastructure and IP reputation system are optimized specifically for newsletters, while MailerLite serves broader marketing use cases. Both platforms maintain strong authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
Can I use either platform for e-commerce email marketing?
MailerLite is purpose-built for e-commerce with 100+ pre-built automation workflows, abandoned cart emails, and native integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. Beehiiv is focused on newsletters and creator monetization, so it's less ideal for product recommendations and sales funnels, though it integrates with Zapier.
At 10,000 subscribers, Beehiiv charges $99/month while MailerLite charges $50/month—a 98% difference. Beehiiv's pricing reflects its monetization tools and newsletter-specific infrastructure, while MailerLite remains cheaper as a general-purpose email platform. For 50,000+ subscribers, this gap widens further in MailerLite's favor.
How to Choose Between Beehiiv and MailerLite
Starting Price: Beehiiv has $42/month (Beehiiv Pro), while MailerLite has $0 free tier up to 1,000 subscribers.
Average Open Rate: Beehiiv has 94% (newsletter-optimized), while MailerLite has 82% (industry standard).
Built-in Monetization Tools: Beehiiv has Native paid subscriptions, sponsorships, ads (full suite), while MailerLite has Limited (third-party integrations required).
Automation Workflows: Beehiiv has 90+ conditional workflows, while MailerLite has 100+ conditional workflows.
Free Plan Subscriber Limit: Beehiiv has 2,500 subscribers, while MailerLite has 1,000 subscribers.
Analytics Dashboard Depth: Beehiiv has Newsletter-specific metrics (growth rate, churn, LTV), while MailerLite has Traditional email metrics (opens, clicks, conversions).
AI Writing Assistant Quality: Beehiiv has Specialized for newsletter copy, while MailerLite has General-purpose email templates.