I’ve run my newsletter on Substack, then migrated to Beehiiv, then tested Kit (formerly ConvertKit), and looked seriously at Ghost. Two years of doing this gave me a clear opinion on which one wins at different stages.

This is what I’d tell you based on where you actually are.

The 30-second answer

• Just starting (0-100 subs): Substack for the built-in audience network and zero setup.
• Building toward business (100-10,000 subs): Beehiiv for the analytics, monetization tools, and free up to 2,500.
• Solo creator who wants ownership (any size, especially 5,000+): Kit for the tagging system, automations, and the most generous free tier (10,000 subs).
• Tech-comfortable, want full ownership: Ghost for the self-hosted control.

Pricing (June 2026)

Platform	Free tier	Paid entry	Take rate
Substack	Unlimited subs, free posts	$0 setup	10% of paid subscriptions
Beehiiv	2,500 subs	$39/mo (Scale)	0% on subscriptions
Kit	10,000 subs (limited features)	$25/mo (Creator)	0%
Ghost	Trial only	$9/mo (Starter)	0%

The “take rate” is the big one for paid newsletters. Substack takes 10% of every paid sub forever. Beehiiv and Kit take 0%. That’s $1,000/mo gone if you have $10k/mo in paid subscriptions on Substack.

Where Substack wins

Built-in discovery. Substack’s recommendation engine and category pages drive real new subscriber acquisition. I gained 600+ subscribers in the first 6 months purely from Substack-internal traffic. Other platforms have nothing like this.

Zero setup friction. Create account, write first post, publish. 30 minutes from idea to first published post. No CSS to configure, no template to choose. Just type.

Reader app is excellent. Subscribers can read in the Substack app — better mobile experience than email for many.

Notes (Twitter-like feed). The native short-form posting feature drives traffic to your full posts.

Where Substack loses

10% take rate forever. Compounds painfully as you scale.

Limited customization. Your posts look like every other Substack. Branding is weak.

Email deliverability concerns. Substack uses SendGrid in bulk mode. Some users report Gmail spam folder placement. Not catastrophic but noticeable.

No segmentation. You can’t easily send different content to different subscriber groups. Everyone gets everything.

You don’t own the relationship. If Substack changes policies, raises rates, or you decide to leave, exporting is possible but the audience relationship is lost. The Substack recommendation engine doesn’t follow you out.

Where Beehiiv wins

Best-in-class analytics. Open rates, click-throughs, A/B testing, audience segments, RPM (revenue per mille for ads). Looking at Beehiiv’s dashboard makes Substack’s look like a toy.

Built-in monetization beyond paid subscriptions. Ad network revenue sharing, referral programs, paid recommendations from other newsletters. I made $200 in my second month from the ad network alone.

Generous free tier. 2,500 subs is enough to test the product seriously without paying.

Bulk import + custom domain on paid plans. Real ownership.

Best deliverability in my testing. I A/B tested same content from Substack and Beehiiv to the same Gmail inbox. Beehiiv landed in primary inbox 30% more often.

Where Beehiiv loses

No built-in audience network. Beehiiv has the “Boosts” paid recommendation system but it costs money and isn’t the same as Substack’s free discovery.

Steeper learning curve. More features = more decisions. Casual creators may find it overwhelming.

Mobile reading experience isn’t as polished as Substack’s app.

Paid plans get expensive fast. Scale plan jumps to $39/mo, then keeps climbing. For 10,000 subs, you’ll be at $99+/mo.

Where Kit wins

The free tier lasts. 10,000 subscribers free (with limited automation and forms) is unmatched. You can grow significantly before paying.

Tagging system is the best. Tag subscribers based on what they clicked, signed up for, purchased. Send different content to different segments. This becomes essential past ~500 subscribers.

Automations are clean. Set up sequences (drip series, welcome flows) without complexity.

Maker-focused community. Kit’s audience is creator-friendly. Templates and examples lean toward what solo creators actually need.

Multi-purpose. Can send broadcasts (one-time emails), sequences (automated series), and now manage paid subscriptions. Replaces multiple tools.

Where Kit loses

No native discovery network. Like Beehiiv, no Substack-equivalent free traffic source.

Older interface in places. Kit (formerly ConvertKit) carries some legacy UI patterns that feel dated next to newer tools.

Visual builder is functional but plain. Emails won’t look as designed as Beehiiv’s possibilities.

Where Ghost wins

You own everything. Self-hosted or managed. Your subscribers are yours. Your data is yours. No platform risk.

Stunning design defaults. Out of the box, Ghost newsletters look like premium publications.

Built-in paid subscriptions. Stripe integration is clean.

No vendor lock-in. Export anytime, take it with you.

Where Ghost loses

Higher initial setup effort. Even Ghost Pro (managed) takes more setup than Substack/Beehiiv/Kit. Self-hosted is much more.

Smaller ecosystem. Fewer integrations, fewer templates, smaller community.

Newsletter discovery is non-existent. You build your own audience entirely.

Mobile app is improving but not at Substack’s level.

What I actually use

Right now: Beehiiv at the $39/mo Scale tier.

Why I migrated from Substack:

1. The 10% take rate was costing me real money at $300/mo MRR.
2. Beehiiv’s analytics let me actually understand which posts converted.
3. I gained $200/mo from the ad network in month 2 — that alone paid for the platform fee 5x over.

Why I haven’t migrated to Kit:

1. Beehiiv’s analytics and monetization tools are better for my use case.
2. Migration friction.

Why I’m not on Ghost:

1. I want to spend time writing, not managing software.

How to decide for yourself

If you have <100 subscribers and zero idea if anyone will care: Start on Substack. Use their free discovery. If you reach 1,000 subscribers in 6 months and want more control, migrate.

If you know you’ll write seriously for 2+ years and want to maximize revenue retention: Start on Beehiiv. The 0% take rate and analytics pay back the setup time fast.

If your priority is the email list as a long-term owned asset (not a publication): Start on Kit. The free tier carries you to 10,000 subs.

If you’re technically comfortable and value full ownership above all: Ghost. Either Ghost(Pro) managed at $9/mo or self-host on a $5 DigitalOcean droplet.

The mistake I see solo creators make

Picking based on which platform their favorite creator uses. Don’t. Their stage and yours are different. The right platform at 100 subs is wrong at 10,000.

Pick based on your honest assessment of where you’ll be in 18 months. Then migrate if needed — yes, it’s friction, but it’s nothing compared to the cumulative cost of being on the wrong platform.

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