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beehiiv vs Kit Free Plan: I Set Up Both (2026)

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Updated November 3, 2026: corrections on Kit's styling and plan details, and on beehiiv's free plan after the new plans it launched on October 1, 2026. My pick is unchanged.

You can only really judge beehiiv vs Kit by using both free plans. So I did. I set up a free account on each, imported a Mailchimp list into each, built forms and a test landing page on each, and worked through most of what each free plan offers for running an email list, apart from selling, which I haven’t tried on either. (Kit is the platform formerly called ConvertKit - it rebranded in late 2024 - so “beehiiv vs ConvertKit” is this same match-up.)

This piece is about the free plans specifically, because that’s where most people start and where the real differences show up first.

On the free plan, beehiiv vs Kit comes down to how you like to work. Kit's is bigger - up to 10,000 subscribers to beehiiv's 2,500 - and it gives you more ways to sell. Both style by clicking, but in my use beehiiv's builder goes much further; Kit also takes custom CSS. As a non-coder, my pick is beehiiv.

The two free plans, side by side

The honest head-to-head, limited to what each free plan actually gives you. I checked every spec against both vendors in September 2026 and re-checked both in November 2026, because these numbers move.

Two rows jump out. Kit’s free plan holds four times the subscribers, and it gives you far more ways to sell. beehiiv counters with an easier build and more control over your audience. The rest of this is what those trade-offs feel like once you’re actually in the account.

Ease of use: Kit is the simpler one

Kit is the easier one to find your way around. Everything sits where you’d expect: Audience, then Create for a form or landing page, the Dashboard for your email. I rarely had to hunt for anything.

beehiiv is busier. There are more options in every corner, but they’re scattered, and its create button only makes the big things - a post, a new newsletter, a podcast. For the smaller items, like a subscribe form or a plain email, you go into the section and dig. That matches what I found writing my full beehiiv review: the create flow is incomplete.

There’s a flip side, though. beehiiv gives you far more control over your actual subscribers - more ways to view, segment and manage the audience. Kit keeps that side simple: a few things, get in, build, send. If fiddling with subscriber settings isn’t your idea of a good time, Kit’s simplicity is a feature, not a gap.

Customization: beehiiv clicks further, Kit adds a CSS option

This is the clearest fork between the two, and it’s the one that decided my own pick.

beehiiv styles everything through a clickable builder - colors, layout, buttons, borders, all no-code. You never touch code, and you don’t need to. Kit styles by clicking too, on forms, landing pages and emails, but in my use its options let me change much less than beehiiv’s builder. Beyond that, Kit lets you add custom CSS; I tried it once, as a test, on an email and a form.

So the split is simple. If you don’t code, beehiiv lets you make things look the way you want. If you do code, Kit’s custom CSS sits on top of its click styling, and from what I’ve seen, a coder could get a nicer-looking result with it, though it takes more work.

One lived caveat on beehiiv: on the free plan its styling is builder-only, with no raw-CSS option. The paid plans add custom HTML, and their website HTML blocks take scoped Tailwind CSS. And when I embedded a beehiiv form on my own site, it overrode my width with its own, and the form builder’s width setting didn’t fix it. A small thing, but if pixel-level control matters to you, Kit’s form builder has a custom CSS box.

Automations (locked on both free plans)

I have not run automation sequences on either platform - both lock them behind a paid plan - so I can’t compare them hands-on.

What I can tell you is what’s true of the free plans - neither includes multi-step automations. beehiiv’s live on its paid tiers, and Kit built its name on automation, so on paper Kit is the one automation-heavy users tend to lean toward. But that’s reputation and research, not my own testing. If automation is the whole reason you’re choosing a platform, treat both of these as “try the paid trial and judge for yourself”, not “Pan tested it and here’s the winner”.

Selling on free: Kit opens the door wider

This is a real free-plan difference, of degree rather than kind. Kit lets you start selling on its free plan through Kit Commerce - digital products, paid subscriptions, tip jars - with a 0.6% Kit fee on top of card processing.

Since beehiiv launched new plans on October 1, 2026, its free plan lets you sell one digital product as a one-time purchase, with no beehiiv fee (Stripe’s card processing fee still applies). Its ad network, paid subscriptions and paid recommendations stay on the paid plans. When I set it up in September 2026, before that change, there was nothing to sample, and that was my one real frustration with beehiiv’s free plan. That one product now gives you something to try.

So if you want to sell more than one product, or a paid newsletter or tips, without spending anything, Kit is the one that opens that door on free.

Moving over from Mailchimp

I came to both from Mailchimp, so I imported a list into each. Both were easy and quick - no drama, no lost subscribers.

Kit’s import felt marginally faster and smoother; its API brought the list over cleanly, with no errors. One caveat: I already had that API set up, so some of that “faster” may be down to me rather than Kit. beehiiv’s import was just as painless in practice. If you’re leaving Mailchimp, neither one is going to trip you up.

When you outgrow free: subscriber caps and pricing

On raw capacity, Kit’s free plan wins comfortably: up to 10,000 subscribers to beehiiv’s 2,500. That’s four times the room before you pay anything. Worth saying, though - filling 10,000 slots takes good content and time, not just a bigger ceiling. For most people starting out, 2,500 is already plenty of runway.

When you do outgrow free, both charge by list size. Kit’s paid Creator plan starts around $33/mo billed annually (about $39 month-to-month) at 1,000 subscribers, and climbs as your list grows [Verified via Kit, November 2026]. beehiiv’s paid plans add automations, monetization and higher caps; I’d check its current pricing directly rather than trust a number that may have moved since. Both vendors change prices, so compare the live pages for your own list size before deciding; which is cheaper depends on your subscriber count and the month you look.

Integrations and API

This one is close to a tie. Both free plans include API access. Kit’s pricing page puts the 100-plus direct app integrations on a Creator plan (its help centre adds that free apps in its App Store still work on free), and beehiiv’s webhooks and Send API need a paid tier. So on the free plans, neither gives you its full set of built-in integrations. Don’t pick either free plan expecting to wire it into your whole stack - that’s mostly a paid feature on both sides.

What I have not tested

Here’s exactly where my first-hand experience stops:

• Automation sequences - paid on both, so I’ve tested them on neither. Research and reputation only.
• Selling on free - Kit Commerce, and beehiiv’s one digital product since its October 1, 2026 plans; I have not used either yet.
• Paid tiers - I’ve run both only on their free plans.
• Deliverability at scale - my sends worked fine on both, but only on a small list, so I can’t speak to big-list deliverability.

Everything else here - the setup, the Mailchimp import, forms, landing pages, the interfaces, subscriber management and customization with the built-in options, plus one test of Kit’s custom CSS - is from actually doing it on both free plans.

Who each one is for

FAQ

Which has a better free plan, beehiiv or Kit?

Kit’s is bigger and more capable - up to 10,000 subscribers and broader selling options - while beehiiv’s is smaller at 2,500, but easier to style without code. For raw value, Kit; for ease as a non-coder, beehiiv. It depends what “better” means to you - I use beehiiv myself.

Is beehiiv or Kit better for beginners and non-coders?

For a non-coder, I found beehiiv easier. It styles everything through a clickable builder, so you never touch code. Kit is simple to navigate and has click styling too, but its options felt much more limited to me; going further means custom CSS. If you’d rather not write code, beehiiv fits better - that’s exactly why it’s my pick.

Can you sell or monetize on each free plan?

Kit lets you start selling on its free plan through Kit Commerce - digital products, paid subscriptions and tip jars, at 3.5% + 30c per sale with card processing included (Kit’s own share is 0.6%), as of November 2026. beehiiv’s free plan can sell one digital product as a one-time purchase, with no beehiiv fee (Stripe’s processing fee applies); its paid subscriptions, ad network and paid recommendations need a paid plan. Kit’s free plan opens selling much wider.

Does each free plan include automations?

No, and it’s the same on both. Multi-step automation sequences are a paid feature on beehiiv and on Kit alike; neither free plan includes them. I have not tested automations on either, since both are locked behind a paid tier. If automations are essential to you, plan to pay on whichever platform you choose.

What’s the subscriber limit on each free plan?

beehiiv’s free plan (Free) allows up to 2,500 subscribers; Kit’s free plan (Free) allows up to 10,000 - four times as many. Both include unlimited sends. Numbers verified November 2026, but check current pricing, since these limits change. Filling 10,000 still takes good content, not just the bigger ceiling.

Can you add your own CSS on beehiiv or Kit?

On Kit, yes: its free plan lets you build custom HTML/CSS email templates (Kit’s pricing page, November 2026), and its form and landing-page builders have a custom CSS box. CSS is optional, though - Kit also styles by clicking. beehiiv’s free plan doesn’t take raw CSS; it’s builder-only, all no-code. On the paid plans, beehiiv adds custom HTML, including website HTML blocks that take scoped Tailwind CSS. If you code, Kit’s CSS route is the extra; if you don’t, beehiiv’s builder goes further.

Which is easier to use, with cleaner navigation?

Kit, in my experience. Everything sits where you expect - Audience to create a form or landing page, the Dashboard for email - so I rarely hunted. beehiiv has more options, but they’re scattered, and its create button only covers the big items. Kit is cleaner; beehiiv is more capable but busier.

Can you migrate from Mailchimp to each easily?

Yes, both were easy for me coming from Mailchimp - I imported a list into each with no lost subscribers. Kit’s import felt marginally faster and cleaner via its API, though I’d already set that API up, so some of that may be me rather than Kit. Neither will trip you up.

Which is cheaper when you outgrow the free plan?

It depends on your list size and when you look. Both charge by subscriber count. Kit’s paid Creator starts around $33/mo billed annually (about $39 monthly) at 1,000 subscribers; beehiiv’s paid pricing you should check directly. Compare the live pages for your list size - prices move.

Is Kit the same as ConvertKit?

Yes. Kit is ConvertKit - the company rebranded from ConvertKit to Kit in late 2024. If you’re searching “beehiiv vs ConvertKit”, it’s the same comparison as “beehiiv vs Kit”. Same platform, same free plan, new name. Everything I’ve said about Kit here applies to what you may know as ConvertKit.

Pan Blake

Founder of H28. I test the tools myself and tell you the good and the bad. More about me →