beehiiv vs Substack: Fees, API, Webhooks and Migration

newsletterapi is an independent project for Substack writers. We are not affiliated with Substack or beehiiv, and this page has no affiliate links. Every price and feature below was read on the vendor's own page on October 22, 2026.

The problem

Most beehiiv vs Substack debates are about growth. For operators, the deciding question is often different: can I plug this newsletter into the rest of my stack? People who moved say so plainly:

"The big win for me — I can BUILD on beehiiv." (Adam Schoenfeld, LinkedIn, 2026-09-09)

"Closed - no API, so its harder to build creative automations" (Alex Lindahl, LinkedIn, 2025-11-07)

"Want a list of people who unsubscribe? You can't get one." (@BelangerTrading, X, 2026-10-08)

Traffic flows the other way too: one writer posted, "I used Grok Bot to move my blog from Beehiiv to Substack" (@darrenmarble, X, 2026-10-04). Both platforms win writers. The question is which trade-off fits you.

How do beehiiv and Substack compare at a glance?

Facts as published on October 22, 2026:

	Substack	beehiiv
Cost to publish	Free at any list size (Substack)	Free plan up to 2,500 subscribers (beehiiv)
Paid plan price	None	Lite $49/mo billed yearly ($59 monthly); Pro $95/mo yearly ($109 monthly), both at up to 1,000 subscribers
Platform fee on paid subscriptions	10% of each payment	0%
Stripe fees	2.9% + $0.30 (US cards) plus 0.7% Billing	Stripe's processing fee applies
Paid subscriptions	Yes, free to turn on	From Lite
Public API	Read-only Publisher API, where enabled	API on every plan; Send API from Pro
Create subscribers by API	No	Yes ("Create subscription")
Webhooks	None	3 on Lite, unlimited on Pro
MCP for AI agents	Read-only, Bestseller publications only	Read on every plan, write from Lite
Discovery features Substack highlights	Recommendations, Notes, Chat (Substack)	Not assessed on this page
Export	Posts, subscriber list and stats as a zip	Subscribers and posts (per Substack's migration guide)

How much do fees cost on each?

Substack's pricing article says publishing is free "no matter how many subscribers you have", and that if you turn on paid subscriptions "Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe charges its own payment processing fees." beehiiv's pricing page says it takes 0% of subscription revenue, with paid subscriptions available from Lite at $49 a month billed yearly.

A quick break-even, ignoring Stripe (you pay it on both):

Monthly paid revenue	Substack's 10%	beehiiv Lite, billed yearly
$200	$20	$49
$490	$49	$49
$2,000	$200	$49
$10,000	$1,000	$49 at up to 1,000 subscribers; higher list sizes cost more

The judgement: if you earn little or nothing from subscriptions, Substack's free model is hard to beat. Once paid revenue is in the thousands, beehiiv's flat fee usually wins on cost. beehiiv prices rise with list size, so get a quote for your list before deciding.

Which has the better API, webhooks and automations?

This is beehiiv's clearest advantage, and the reason most operators in the quotes above moved.

beehiiv. Its developer docs include "Create subscription", "Bulk create subscription", "Create post", "List posts", "Add subscription to an automation" and full webhook management. Its webhooks guide lists events such as Subscription Created, Subscription Confirmed, Subscription Upgraded, Subscription Downgraded, Subscription Deleted and Post Sent. On pricing, webhooks are three on Lite and unlimited on Pro, and the beehiiv MCP is read-only on Free and read/write from Lite.

Substack. As of October 2026 there is no public write API and no webhooks. The official options are read-only:

• A Publisher API keyed per publication. According to the open-source substack-publisher-mcp wrapper, "All tools are read-only": posts, post stats, daily subscriber counts and a single-subscriber lookup. If the option doesn't appear in your dashboard, "it may not be enabled for your publication yet."
• An official MCP server that provides "read-only access" and requires "a Bestseller publication" (Substack Help).

What that means in practice:

Job	Substack (Oct 2026)	beehiiv
Add a subscriber from a form, lead ad or Stripe checkout	Not possible by API; CSV import	API
Send "new paid subscriber" to a CRM	No event; diff exports	Subscription Upgraded webhook
Start a welcome automation from another tool	Not possible	"Add subscription to an automation"
Let an AI agent draft a post	Not possible with official tools	MCP write, from Lite
Read your posts as data	RSS, export, Publisher API where enabled	API

The full map of Substack's surfaces is in our Substack API guide, and the platform-by-platform view is in newsletter platforms with an API.

Should I stay on Substack if I need integrations?

Stay if Substack's network brings you readers and your automation needs are mostly about reading your own data. The newsletterapi Posts API gives you your archive as JSON or Markdown, the MCP server lets an agent read your archive and draft in your voice, and embeds and content webhooks fire when you publish. They don't add subscribers to Substack or emit subscriber events; nothing can do that legitimately without Substack's own API. For workarounds that respect consent, see Substack webhooks and Substack integrations.

Move if you need subscriber-level events, writes from other systems, or agent-driven drafting today. That is what beehiiv sells.

How do I move from Substack to beehiiv?

1. Export from Substack. Settings → Exports → "Create new export" gives you a zip of "posts, subscriber list, and related statistics" (Substack Help). Keep it zipped.
2. Set up Stripe and paid tiers in beehiiv first. Otherwise, beehiiv warns, "all paywalled content will be fully visible on the imported posts to non paid subscribers" (beehiiv Support).
3. Import posts. Free posts come from your Substack URL and paid posts from the zip. Video and podcast posts and comments are not migrated, and "the exact paywall placement is not carried over."
4. Import subscribers. Free subscribers come from a CSV, after you confirm they "have knowingly opted in". Paid subscribers move through Stripe: beehiiv copies "the customer profiles and payment details" into your beehiiv-connected Stripe account. Comped, gifted and iOS subscribers need complimentary access by hand.
5. Keep a backup. Store the Substack zip somewhere safe; our backup guide shows a monthly routine.

How do I move from beehiiv to Substack?

Substack's beehiiv guide has you export subscribers (Settings → Export Data → "Export Subscribers (Full Version)") and posts ("Export all Posts"), then import posts with your beehiiv URL and the posts CSV. It notes "Beehiiv will only export your free posts and previews of your paid posts", so premium posts must be copied by hand or made free before import. Substack reviews list imports, and lists where "all participants did not opt in are likely to be denied" (Substack Help). If the import is held, see Substack import held for review.

Which should I choose?

If you…	Lean towards
Earn little from subscriptions and want zero cost	Substack
Grow mainly through other writers' recommendations and the app	Substack
Earn enough that 10% exceeds a flat plan fee	beehiiv
Need webhooks, an API that writes, or agent drafting	beehiiv
Want to stay on Substack but get your posts out as data	Substack plus a read-only API such as the newsletterapi Posts API