Beehiiv
Beehiiv positions itself as the newsletter platform built for monetization from day one, not an email tool that bolted on paid subscriptions later. For a content-driven solo site, that matters if the plan is to eventually charge for premium content or sell sponsorships.
Beehiiv is one of the only newsletter platforms with a built-in ad marketplace and payout tracking baked into the same dashboard that shows your open rate — most competitors require bolting on a separate sponsorship platform to monetize a list.
Example from beehiiv.com — not independently tested by Solos Gems.Pricing breakdown
- Launch (Free) — $0; up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends
- Scale — from $43–49/month billed annually; adds monetization tools, surveys, A/B testing, and AI features
- Max — from $96–109/month billed annually; removes Beehiiv branding, adds priority support and their NewsletterXP course
- Enterprise — custom, above 100,000 subscribers
Both Scale and Max scale in price with your subscriber count — a newsletter with 50,000 subscribers pays roughly 5x the sticker price shown above, so the entry price isn't what you'll pay once you've grown.
The monetization math
Beehiiv charges 0% platform commission on paid subscription revenue across all plans — you only pay Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Compared to platforms that take a revenue cut on top of payment processing, that's a meaningfully better deal once a newsletter starts generating real subscription income.
Pros
- Free tier supports up to 2,500 subscribers — enough to validate an audience before paying
- 0% commission on paid subscriptions keeps more revenue for the creator
- Built-in growth tools (referral programs, recommendations network) not bolted on as an afterthought
Cons
- Pricing scales with subscriber count, so costs aren't predictable long-term
- AI features are gated behind the Scale tier, not available free
- Removing Beehiiv branding requires the more expensive Max tier