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beehiiv to Substack migration: steps, paid subscribers and cost before/after
Last verified against official pricing pages · published 28 Oct 2026
Prices change often. Each price was checked on the platform's official pricing page on the date shown; plans, promos and taxes vary. Confirm on the official site before you buy. Not financial advice.
Substack has a built-in importer for beehiiv posts and takes your beehiiv subscriber CSV, so a free newsletter moves with two files and one URL. Paid subscribers are the hard part: they arrive as free subscribers, and Substack's documented route is to comp them and ask them to subscribe again. On cost, Substack is $0 for a free newsletter at any size (beehiiv is $109/mo from 2,501 subscribers), but it keeps 10% of paid revenue. Example: 5,000 subscribers, 5% paying $8 ($2,000/mo revenue) costs $256/mo on beehiiv vs $347/mo on Substack, about $91/mo more on Substack, card fees included.
Prices from beehiiv and Substack (checked 2026-10-27), monthly billing. Steps from Substack's beehiiv moving guide and beehiiv's export help (checked 2026-10-28). We earn a commission from beehiiv sign-ups through some links on this site; Substack has no affiliate deal with us. The numbers are the same either way.
Cost before and after
Free newsletter
| Subscribers | beehiiv, cheapest plan | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 (Free) | $0 |
| 2,500 | $0 (Free) | $0 |
| 2,501 | $109 (Lite) | $0 |
| 5,000 | $109 (Lite) | $0 |
| 10,000 | $139 (Lite) | $0 |
| 25,000 | $199 (Lite) | $0 |
Per month, monthly billing. beehiiv Free covers 2,500 subscribers with no custom domain or automations; Substack has no automation sequences, so if you rely on beehiiv automations, plan to replace them with welcome emails or drop them. Substack's optional custom domain is a one-time $50.
Paid newsletter
| Subscribers (5% pay $8) | beehiiv | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $88.40 (Lite) | $69.40 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) |
| 2,500 | $152.50 (Lite) | $173.50 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) |
| 5,000 | $256 (Lite) | $347 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) |
| 10,000 | $433 (Lite) | $694 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) |
| 25,000 | $934 (Lite) | $1,735 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) |
Per month, monthly billing. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack, AWeber and Flodesk); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees.
Break-even: when Substack stops being cheaper
| Subscribers | beehiiv Lite /mo | Paid revenue where 10% = Lite price | Paid subs at $8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $59 ($49 yearly) | $590 | 74 |
| 2,500 | $79 ($69 yearly) | $790 | 99 |
| 5,000 | $109 ($95 yearly) | $1,090 | 137 |
| 10,000 | $139 ($119 yearly) | $1,390 | 174 |
| 25,000 | $199 ($169 yearly) | $1,990 | 249 |
Below the break-even revenue Substack's 10% costs less than beehiiv Lite; above it beehiiv costs less. Yearly beehiiv billing lowers the bar. Stripe's card fee and Billing fee apply on both, so they don't change the comparison.
Calculate your exact beehiiv → Substack switching cost →
Step 1: export from beehiiv
- Subscribers: beehiiv Settings → Export Data → Export All Subscribers (the full version, as Substack's guide asks). beehiiv emails you a download link when it's ready, and the file also appears under Historical Exports. Download links are valid for 24 hours.
- Posts: on the same page, Export All Posts. The file covers published, archived and draft posts.
- Your beehiiv URL: Settings → Domains, copy the Web URL. If you use a custom domain, take the beehiiv address (yourname.beehiiv.com), as Substack asks.
Step 2: import posts into Substack
- Create your Substack publication, then Settings → Import/Export → Import posts.
- Enter your beehiiv URL and upload the posts CSV. If payments are on in Substack, you can import the posts as paid posts.
- Premium posts don't come across in full: Substack says beehiiv only exports free posts and previews of paid posts. Copy premium posts by hand (audience "Paid subscribers only", untick email delivery, then set the displayed publication date), or make them free on beehiiv before the import and paywall the archive on Substack afterwards.
- Imported posts may carry beehiiv subscribe boxes or banners at the bottom; Substack says to remove them from the Posts page (three dots → edit). Imported posts can also be emailed to subscribers, so check the audience and delivery choice before you confirm.
Step 3: import subscribers
- Substack Dashboard → Subscribers → Add subscribers → Add subscribers by upload, and drop in the beehiiv CSV (CSV, XLSX or ODS).
- Confirm everyone opted in. Substack recommends not sending a welcome email to an imported list until your publication is ready.
- Duplicates and invalid addresses are skipped; refresh to see how many were added. Everyone arrives as a free subscriber.
Step 4: paid subscribers
Substack's beehiiv guide doesn't cover paid subscribers. Its general guide for moving from another platform does:
- Before you switch: make sure your export has each paid member's email and renewal or expiration date, and stop billing on the old platform. On beehiiv that means Stripe: beehiiv says turning off a tier in beehiiv does not stop Stripe from billing, and cancellations must be processed in your connected Stripe account (beehiiv help).
- Connect Stripe on Substack: Settings → Payments → Connect with Stripe, then set up your paid plans.
- Comp your paid members: in All Subscribers select them, three dots → Comp, for the time they have left (7 days, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, 1 year or forever). Annual subscribers need their renewal dates.
- Tell them what's next: publish a free post explaining the move and asking paid readers to subscribe on Substack before their comp ends. When it ends, Substack asks them to enter payment details to keep paid access.
Substack also has a one-click route that connects the previous platform's Stripe account and imports paid subscriptions, but it documents it for Ghost only. beehiiv publications use their own connected Stripe account, so ask Substack support (help widget, human specialist) whether that route works for you before choosing the comp route.
What you give up and gain
- Gone after the move: beehiiv automations, its Ad Network, referral program and recommendation network, and your beehiiv analytics history (export what you need first).
- New on Substack: Recommendations, Notes, Chat and the Substack app.
- Links: both platforms use
/p/post-namepost URLs, so moving a custom domain keeps most old post links working; links on a yourname.beehiiv.com address stay with beehiiv.
Related: beehiiv vs Substack · Substack fees explained · Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost cost · the other way: Substack to beehiiv · beehiiv to Kit · beehiiv to MailerLite · all beehiiv alternatives
Sources
- Substack help: How do I move from Beehiiv to Substack? (updated Oct 27, 2026; checked 2026-10-28)
- Substack help: How do I move from my current platform to Substack? (checked 2026-10-28)
- Substack help: Import a mailing list from another platform (checked 2026-10-28)
- Substack help: Import posts from another platform (checked 2026-10-28)
- Substack help: How do I move from Ghost to Substack? (checked 2026-10-28)
- beehiiv help: Exporting post content or subscriber data (checked 2026-10-28)
- beehiiv help: Troubleshooting paid subscription issues (checked 2026-10-20)
- beehiiv pricing and Substack: How much does Substack cost? (checked 2026-10-27)
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See Substack plans See beehiiv plans paid link
Links marked “paid link” earn us a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. They never change our numbers or rankings. Disclosure.
Tip: before you import, leave out unsubscribed and bounced contacts. Most platforms bill by list size, so a cleaner list can keep you on a lower tier. How to clean your list before switching
FAQ
Can I move from beehiiv to Substack?
Yes. Substack's post importer supports beehiiv: in Substack Settings → Import/Export → Import posts, enter your beehiiv web URL and upload the posts CSV from beehiiv (Settings → Export Data → Export All Posts). Subscribers move as a CSV from beehiiv's Export Data page, imported in Substack as free subscribers.
Do my paid beehiiv subscribers move to Substack automatically?
No. Substack's beehiiv guide only covers posts and free subscribers; imported subscribers arrive with a "free" status. For paid members from another platform, Substack's general moving guide says to comp them (give free paid access) on Substack until their renewal date and then ask them to subscribe on Substack, so they enter their card again. A one-click Stripe transfer is documented by Substack only for Ghost; ask Substack support whether it works with your beehiiv-connected Stripe account before you promise readers anything.
Will paid subscribers be charged twice?
They can be if you forget the old billing. beehiiv says turning off a tier in beehiiv does not stop Stripe from billing and that cancellations must be processed in your connected Stripe account. Cancel or stop the old beehiiv subscriptions in Stripe before readers subscribe again on Substack.
Do beehiiv paid posts import to Substack?
Not in full. Substack says beehiiv only exports your free posts and previews of paid posts. Either copy premium posts into Substack by hand (audience "Paid subscribers only", email delivery unticked, then set the original date), or make them free on beehiiv before importing and paywall the archive on Substack afterwards.
Is Substack cheaper than beehiiv?
For a free newsletter, yes once you pass 2,500 subscribers: Substack is $0 at any size, beehiiv Free stops at 2,500 and Lite is $109/mo just above. For a paid newsletter Substack keeps 10% of revenue while beehiiv takes 0% but charges a plan fee, so Substack is cheaper while 10% of your monthly paid revenue is below the Lite price for your list size ($1,090/mo of paid revenue at 5,000 subscribers).
Does Substack charge for a custom domain?
Substack lists a one-time $50 fee for a custom domain (optional). On beehiiv a custom domain needs Lite or higher.
Related guides: Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost · Substack to beehiiv migration · Substack fees (2026) · Substack to Ghost migration · beehiiv price increase 2026 · beehiiv vs Kit vs Substack (2026) · Is beehiiv worth it in 2026? Break-even vs Substack, Kit and MailerLite · How newsletter platform prices changed 2023–2026 (from archived pricing pages) · all guides
Comparisons: beehiiv vs Substack · Cheapest for 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 subscribers
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