Kit vs beehiiv in 2026: prices, features, and which to pick
Kit vs beehiiv compared: prices at 1,000, 10,000, and 25,000 subscribers, automations, selling fees, and growth tools. Checked on both sites in October 2026.
Pick Kit if you're a creator who sells products and wants the biggest free plan: free up to 10,000 subscribers, with visual automations from $33 a month. Pick beehiiv if your newsletter is the business: it has an ad network, a referral program, and 0% fees on paid subscriptions and digital products, but automations start at $59 a month. At 10,000 subscribers, Kit Creator is $116 a month and beehiiv Lite is $139 ($119 billed yearly).
Full disclosure: we make Eden, a creator store with email built in, and it connects to both Kit and beehiiv. We cover where Eden fits at the end. Prices were checked on each company's site in October 2026.
Kit and beehiiv in one line each
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is an email tool built for creators who sell: forms, landing pages, tags, visual automations, and a way to sell digital products and paid newsletters.
beehiiv is a newsletter platform built to grow and earn from the list itself: a website, a recommendation network, referrals, an ad network, and paid subscriptions.
Both send unlimited email on every plan, and both price by how many subscribers you have.
Price: Kit vs beehiiv at 1,000, 10,000, and 25,000 subscribers
| Subscribers | Kit Free | Kit Creator | Kit Pro | beehiiv Free | beehiiv Lite | beehiiv Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | $33/mo ($390/yr) | $66/mo ($790/yr) | $0 | $59/mo ($49 yearly) | $109/mo ($95 yearly) |
| 10,000 | $0 | $116/mo ($1,390/yr) | $158/mo ($1,890/yr) | Not available | $139/mo ($119 yearly) | $239/mo ($199 yearly) |
| 25,000 | Not available | $166/mo ($1,990/yr) | $233/mo ($2,790/yr) | Not available | $199/mo ($169 yearly) | $349/mo ($299 yearly) |
beehiiv's yearly prices are per month, billed once a year. Kit's yearly prices are the full year.
What the table says:
- Small list, tight budget: Kit wins. Its free plan goes to 10,000 subscribers. beehiiv's free plan stops at 2,500.
- You need automations: Kit Creator is cheaper at every size here. At 1,000 subscribers it's $33 a month against beehiiv Lite's $59.
- Yearly billing: both save money. Kit saves about 17%. beehiiv saves up to 20%.
Both raise your price on their own when your list grows into the next tier. Kit counts unique, active subscribers. beehiiv counts unique subscribed email addresses.
Features side by side
| Feature | Kit | beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Up to 10,000 subscribers | Up to 2,500 subscribers |
| Sequences and automations | Creator and up | Lite and up (10 live on Lite, unlimited on Pro) |
| A/B tests | Subject lines on every plan, content tests on Pro | Lite and up |
| Landing pages and forms | Unlimited on every plan | Website and landing pages on every plan |
| Seats | 1 on Free, 2 on Creator, unlimited on Pro | 1 on Free, 2 on Lite, 10 on Pro |
| API | Every plan | Every plan |
| Sends | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Automations
This is the biggest practical difference. On Kit, sequences and visual automations start on Creator. On beehiiv, automations start on Lite, with 10 live automations on Lite and unlimited on Pro. beehiiv's automations can start on "Product purchased" and "Paid subscription purchased".
If you want a welcome sequence and nothing else, Kit Creator gets you there for less.
Testing
Kit lets you test two subject lines on Free and Creator, and up to five plus content tests on Pro. beehiiv's A/B tests start on Lite.
Selling: products and paid newsletters
| Selling | Kit | beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Digital products | Every plan | 1 on Free, 3 on Lite, unlimited on Pro |
| Paid newsletter | Every plan | Lite and up (1 tier on Lite, unlimited on Pro) |
| Fee per sale | 3.5% + 30¢, card processing included | 0% to beehiiv, Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ applies |
| Order bumps and upsells | Not on the pricing page | Pro |
| Abandoned checkout | Creator and up, for Shopify, Fourthwall, and Wix stores | Not on the pricing page |
On fees, beehiiv is cheaper per sale. On a $100 product, Kit's fee is $3.80 with card processing included. beehiiv takes nothing, and Stripe takes about $3.20. The gap is small on one sale and grows with volume.
beehiiv Pro also adds webinars and coaching. Kit lets you sell on its free plan, which beehiiv only does for one product.
Growth tools
| Growth tool | Kit | beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendations | Free on every plan | Every plan |
| Paid recommendations | Creator and up (Kit takes 23.5%) | Lite and up |
| Sponsorships or ads | Newsletter sponsorships, Creator and up | Ad network, Lite and up |
| Referral program | Pro only (free SparkLoop plan) | Lite and up |
| Custom domains | Not on the pricing page | Lite and up |
beehiiv wins here. A referral program is on Lite, not just the top plan, and the ad network is built in. If you plan to grow by readers sharing your newsletter, beehiiv makes it cheaper to start.
Who should pick which
- Pick Kit if you sell products, want automations on a budget, or have up to 10,000 subscribers and want to pay nothing.
- Pick beehiiv if your newsletter is the business and you want ads, a referral program, and paid subscriptions with no platform fee.
- Pick Kit Pro over beehiiv Pro if you want unlimited seats and a lower top-plan price ($158 against $239 at 10,000 subscribers).
- Pick beehiiv Pro over Kit Pro if you want order bumps, upsells, webinars, and coaching in your email tool.
Full breakdowns: Eden vs Kit and Eden vs beehiiv.
Where Eden fits
Kit and beehiiv are email tools that can sell. Eden is a store that can email. If most of your emails exist to sell your own courses, coaching, downloads, or memberships, that difference matters:
- Sequences start from your store. When someone buys or claims a product, signs up on your page, starts checkout but doesn't buy, gets a tag from a form, or when a membership ends.
- Buyers leave the pitch. Give a sequence a product to sell. Anyone who buys it leaves the sequence, so they stop getting pitched.
- Checkout recovery on Eden's own checkout, on Pro.
- Money per email. Each broadcast and sequence email shows money earned, not just opens and clicks.
And you don't have to choose. Eden connects to both Kit and beehiiv (and GoHighLevel and Substack), so signups and buyers can flow into either. Keep your newsletter where it is and run sales emails from your store.
Eden's price: Starter $29/mo has broadcasts and 250 contacts. Pro $79/mo adds sequences and checkout recovery. A list size add-on covers bigger lists: $15/mo for 1,000 contacts, $79 for 10,000. Eden takes 5% per product sale and nothing extra on email.
How to use Eden with Kit or beehiiv
- 01
Connect your email tool
In Eden, open Your store → Integrations and connect Kit or beehiiv. Buyers and signups from your store go to your list there.
- 02
Keep your newsletter where it is
Write and send your weekly issue in Kit or beehiiv, like you do now.
- 03
Run sales emails from your store
On Pro, open Your store → Email marketing, click New sequence, pick a start (like a purchase or checkout started), and pick what it sells.
More in connect your email list and the Email marketing help article. Working with AI agents? See Kit MCP and beehiiv MCP.
Where Eden falls short
Eden can sell a paid newsletter for 5% (2% on Max), but it isn't a full newsletter platform. It has no public web archive of issues, no ad network, and no referral or recommendation network. It has no A/B tests and no visual branching builder. It sends from Eden's address, not your own domain. If growing a newsletter is the goal, use Kit or beehiiv for that.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kit or beehiiv cheaper?
Kit is cheaper for most creators. Its free plan covers 10,000 subscribers, and Creator costs less than beehiiv Lite at every list size we checked. beehiiv is cheaper per sale, since it takes 0% of product and paid subscription sales.
Is ConvertKit the same as Kit?
Yes. ConvertKit renamed itself Kit. Same product, same company.
Which is better for making money from a newsletter?
beehiiv, if the money comes from the newsletter itself: ads, paid subscriptions, and paid recommendations, all from Lite. Kit has sponsorships and paid recommendations on Creator, and charges 3.5% + 30¢ on its own sales.
Can I move from Kit to beehiiv?
Yes. beehiiv's help center walks through it: export your subscribers from Kit as a CSV (tags and custom fields come with them), then import the file into beehiiv. Your automations and forms don't move, so plan time to rebuild them.
Can I use Kit or beehiiv with Eden?
Yes. Eden connects to both, so buyers and signups from your store go to your list. See our best email marketing tools for creators.
Want sales emails that know who bought? Start Eden free, connect Kit or beehiiv, and set up your store.