beehiiv Free vs Kit Free (2026): every limit side by side
Facts checked 21 October 2026 on beehiiv's and Kit's own pages · source keys at the bottom
Disclosure: links to beehiiv and systeme.io on this page are affiliate links; if you sign up for a paid plan through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Kit links are plain links for now. Commissions never change the facts below. Details.
Both beehiiv and Kit have a forever-free plan aimed at newsletters. The short version: Kit Free allows four times as many subscribers (10,000 vs 2,500) and includes A/B tests and selling, while beehiiv Free includes a website, a welcome email and a path to paid subscriptions with a 0% take rate once you upgrade. Neither free plan includes automation sequences.
Side by side
| Feature | beehiiv Free | Kit Free |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0, no credit card required [bh] | $0 per month while you stay under 10,000 subscribers [kh] |
| Subscribers | Up to 2,500 [bh] | Up to 10,000 [kh] |
| Email sends | Unlimited [bh] | Unlimited broadcasts [kh] |
| Automations / sequences | Not on Free (Lite: up to 10 live custom automations) [bh] | Not on Free (visual automations, email sequences, rules and RSS campaigns need a paid plan) [kh] |
| Welcome email | Included [bh] | Not listed on the Free plan page (sequences are paid) [kh] |
| Segmentation | 3 segments [bh] | Audience tagging and segmentation [kh] |
| A/B testing | Lite and up [bh] | Included on broadcasts [kh] |
| Forms and pages | Subscribe forms; website builder with 1 custom page [bh] | Unlimited forms and landing pages [kh] |
| Selling digital products | 1 product, one-time purchases (per the comparison table; the plan summary lists Digital Products under Lite, so confirm in your account) [bh] | Digital products and subscriptions included; Kit lists a 3.5% + 30¢ transaction fee [kh] [kp] |
| Paid newsletter | Needs Lite (0% beehiiv take rate; Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) [bh] | Subscriptions included on Free (same 3.5% + 30¢ fee) [kp] |
| Recommendations | Recommendation Network included; paid recommendations need Lite [bh] | Creator Network with 5 Smart Recommendation slots; Paid Recommendations need a paid plan (Kit fee 23.5%) [kh] [kp] |
| Analytics history | 30-day lookback [bh] | Not stated on the Free plan page [kh] |
| Support | beehiiv Agent (AI assistant) [bh] | Answered within 24 hours, in order received [kh] |
| API | Yes (excluding Send API) [bh] | Yes [kh] |
| When you pass the free limit | Not stated on the pricing page [bh] | You need a paid plan to keep sending; everything you built stays [kh] |
| First paid step | Lite: $49/mo billed yearly ($588/yr) or $59 month-to-month, up to 1,000 subscribers [bh] | Creator: $33/mo billed yearly ($390/yr) at 1,000 subscribers [kp] |
Checked 21 October 2026. USD as shown. beehiiv's page is inconsistent on custom domains for Free (listed under "What's included" in Free, but marked as Lite and up in the comparison table), so we left that row out: check before you rely on it.
Which one should you start on?
- Choose Kit Free if you expect your list to pass 2,500 before you are ready to pay, or you want to sell a product or subscription from day one.
- Choose beehiiv Free if you want your newsletter and website in one place, a welcome email without paying, and a planned move to paid subscriptions or the Ad Network on Lite.
- Either way, if a multi-email welcome sequence is essential, budget for a paid plan (beehiiv Lite or Kit Creator), or look at systeme.io, whose Free plan includes 1 automation rule (systeme.io, see our three-way comparison).
Starting from zero? Our step-by-step guide to starting a newsletter for free covers consent, the welcome email and growth.
What we use ourselves: we publish NewsletterBench Weekly on beehiiv's Free plan (since 17 October 2026) and also have an account on Kit's Free plan. That is too little sending history to judge deliverability or support, so this page compares published limits only.
How this page was made: facts come from each platform's own pricing and help pages, read on 21 October 2026 (sources numbered in every row). We have not yet run a newsletter on each of these platforms, so we make no claims about deliverability or ease of use. We plan to run our own newsletter on a free plan and will report what we actually observe, with dates.
Source keys: [bh] www.beehiiv.com · [kh] help.kit.com · [kp] kit.com · [sy] systeme.io · [ml] www.mailerlite.com · [ss] support.substack.com · [ftc] www.ftc.gov · [gdpr] eur-lex.europa.eu
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