Beehiiv vs Mailchimp

Beehiiv's free Launch plan includes 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, a custom newsletter website, and basic automation. Mailchimp's free plan has been cut to just 250 contacts and 500 emails per month — a fraction of what it used to offer.

On paid plans, Beehiiv Scale at $49/month supports up to 100,000 subscribers with ad network access, the Boost referral system, and 0% platform fee on paid subscriptions. Mailchimp at 10,000 contacts costs over $100/month with fewer newsletter-specific features.

Beehiiv and Mailchimp serve fundamentally different use cases. Beehiiv is built for newsletters AS a business — with growth tools, monetization, and audience building baked in. Mailchimp is built for businesses that USE email as a marketing channel.

Beehiiv offers a newsletter website, recommendation network, referral program, ad network, and paid subscriptions. Mailchimp offers a broader template library, website builder, social media tools, and 300+ integrations. The right choice depends on whether the newsletter is your product or supports a product.

Beehiiv's editor is modern and blog-like — closer to writing in Notion or Medium than in a traditional email builder. Rich formatting, image embedding, interactive blocks (polls, CTAs), and a clean writing experience make it a joy for newsletter creators.

Mailchimp's drag-and-drop editor is polished and familiar. It's designed for marketing campaigns with templates, design blocks, and social integration. Both are beginner-friendly but optimized for different workflows.

Beehiiv includes basic automation on the free plan and advanced automation on Scale — welcome sequences, conditional logic, and subscriber journey mapping. It's designed for newsletter workflows: onboarding new subscribers, nurturing engaged readers, and monetization funnels.

Mailchimp's Customer Journeys handle traditional marketing automation: welcome series, abandoned carts, date-based triggers. Both are adequate for their respective use cases but neither matches ActiveCampaign for automation depth.

Beehiiv achieves deliverability rates of 95%+ thanks to its newsletter-focused infrastructure and engaged user base. Its analytics dashboard shows subscriber growth, engagement trends, revenue metrics, and referral program performance.

Mailchimp's deliverability has been less consistent at 85-90%. Its larger, more diverse user base (including free-tier spam) impacts shared IP reputation. For newsletter-specific metrics, Beehiiv's reporting is more relevant and actionable.

Choose Beehiiv if the newsletter is your primary product — whether through sponsorships, paid subscriptions, or the Boost network. Its growth tools, modern editor, and monetization features are unmatched for newsletter-first creators.

Choose Mailchimp if you're running a business that sends email campaigns (not a newsletter). If you need ecommerce integrations, a broad template library, and maximum third-party connections, Mailchimp is more versatile.

If the newsletter IS the product, choose Beehiiv. If email supports a different product, choose Mailchimp. It's that simple.

Beehiiv's growth tools (Boost, referral program, ad network) and 0% subscription revenue fees give newsletter creators an unfair advantage. Mailchimp's integration ecosystem and design tools serve traditional businesses better.