beehiiv
Brevo
| Feature | beehiiv | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $39/mo | Free / from $25/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | newsletter-writers, media-companies, solopreneurs, content-creators | small-businesses, startups, ecommerce, developers-needing-transactional-email |
| Founded | 2021 | 2012 |
| Newsletter Editor | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ad Network | ✓ | ✗ |
| Referral Program | ✓ | ✗ |
| Web Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Recommendations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Campaigns | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sms Marketing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Whatsapp Campaigns | ✗ | ✓ |
| Marketing Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Crm | ✗ | ✓ |
| Transactional Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ beehiiv Pros
- Built specifically for newsletters
- Ad network for monetization
- Referral program built-in
- Beautiful web hosting for newsletter archives
✗ beehiiv Cons
- Less suitable for e-commerce email
- Automations less mature than Mailchimp
- Free tier limited to 2,500 subscribers
✓ Brevo Pros
- Generous free plan with 300 emails per day
- Multi-channel: email, SMS, WhatsApp, push in one tool
- Built-in CRM included in all plans
- Transactional email/SMS API for developers
✗ Brevo Cons
- Email editor less polished than Mailchimp
- Automation features less advanced than ActiveCampaign
- Customer support can be slow on free plan
The Verdict
beehiiv is built for newsletter writers and media companies, with a focus on newsletter-editor and ad-network. Brevo targets small businesses and startups and leads with email-campaigns and sms-marketing.
On pricing, Brevo is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $25/mo compared to $39/mo for beehiiv. That $14/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Bottom line: beehiiv has a slight overall edge — but if generous free plan with 300 emails per day matters most to you, Brevo may still be the right call.