Newsletter Experiments: Starting with beehiiv platform

I am looking for a newsletter/subscribers platform because I have some plans for 2026, and one of the platforms I will try out is BeeHiiv.

This is not a sponsored post, I will be trying out the free version of the platform to see if it can help me reach my goals.

About beehiiv

Beehiiv is a modern newsletter and content publishing platform. Who can join? creators, publishers, and brands who plan to build, grow, and monetize their audiences.

Screenshot: https://www.beehiiv.com

Beehiiv was founded and launched in 2021 by Tyler Denk, Benjamin Hargett, and Jake Hurd, who previously worked on newsletter products at Morning Brew. The goal was to make a newsletter platform that truly listens to creators and gives them ownership of their audience and revenue opportunities.
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I was going to try out substack, but then I thought to try both rivals that are considered some of the best.

In case you also consider adding to your content newsletter or other actions, you may want to check out the below table for some main differences between Substack and beehiiv

(table created by AI)

The current plans for joining beehiiv are the below, and as I am only starting and testing, I will go with the first one

Note: You will need to also verify via sms to your telephone number. I don't understand why this was necessary but I did not see a way to bypass it.

If you would like to subscribe to my newletter, you can use this link: https://katerinaramm.beehiiv.com/

This page is created automatically, and you can share it upon creating the account.

What you need to consider if you are thinking of creating a paywall for your subscribers, in that case you will need to have the paid plan of beehiiv

You do need to be on a paid beehiiv plan in order to create and offer paid subscriptions / paid newsletter tiers to your audience. The free (Launch) plan does not include the ability to activate paid subscriptions.

Here’s how it works:

📌 Free vs Paid Plans for Paid Subscriptions

• Launch (Free) Plan:
  You can build your newsletter and grow subscribers for free.
  But you cannot enable paid subscriptions on this plan. Paid subscription features are locked.

• Paid Plans (Scale / Max / Enterprise):
  These include tools to enable, configure, and manage paid subscription tiers.
  You’ll also get enhanced monetization features alongside paid subscriptions.

Note: It has an affiliate page where you can easily become partner and share commission,
If you plan on making an account (even if it is free, you can try this one: https://www.beehiiv.com?via=Katerina-Ramm)

However, you will also need to be on a paid plan to use the affiliate page
Upon signing up, you get a 14 days trial program (no CC needed)

Why beehiiv locks this behind paid plans

• beehiiv positions:

Free plan → audience building & testing

Paid plans → running a real media business

Affiliate tools are considered business infrastructure, not starter features.

So if you are looking to start a newsletter, there are a few things to consider before choosing a platform and this depends on how you have thought to grow your network and what your goal is.

I did some research on Web3 platforms that can do the same thing subscribers/newsletter, and I found that there is Paragraph (not used it yet)

Have you tried it? Do you think that emails/subscribers is now old school or will it always be relevant?

What about you?
Are you subscribed to your favorite authors? Do you check your emails often or do you consider emails as spam?

Would you / Have you tried out to grow a subscribers' network?

Let me know your thoughts!