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SaaSScored
Updated March 2026

beehiiv vs AWeber

For newsletter creators, beehiiv wins on every metric that matters. beehiiv's free plan covers 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends versus AWeber's 500. beehiiv offers a content-first editor, referral programs, recommendation network, built-in ad network, and paid subscriptions. AWeber offers basic email campaigns and 24/7 live support. The only scenario for AWeber: if you're running a traditional small business (not a newsletter) and need the simplest possible email tool with human support always available.

Our pick: beehiiv (7/10 vs 6.2/10)

beehiiv wins 1 out of 6 categories. AWeber is better for: non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages.

Try beehiiv

beehiiv

7/10
beehiiv
vs
AWeber

AWeber

6.2/10
2/5
Automation
2/5
3/5
Deliverability
3/5
4/5
Ease of Use
4/5
3/5
Templates & Design
3/5
3/5
Analytics
2/5
3/5
Customer Support
5/5

At a Glance

FeaturebeehiivAWeber
Free PlanYesYes
Starting Price$43/mo$15/mo
Automation2/52/5
Deliverability3/53/5
Ease of Use4/54/5
Templates & Design3/53/5
Analytics3/52/5
Customer Support3/55/5
Overall7/106.2/10

Pricing Comparison

beehiiv

Free Plan

Paid plans from $43/mo

View Pricing

AWeber

Free Plan

Paid plans from $15/mo

View Pricing

Pros & Cons

beehiiv

Outstanding monetisation tools: built-in ad network, Boosts (paid cross-promotions), paid subscriptions with 0% take rate, and referral program. No other newsletter platform offers this full combination
Free plan includes up to 2,500 subscribers — generous for newsletter creators just starting out
November 2025 Winter Release was massive: AI website builder, digital products, podcast hosting, website analytics. Covered by TechCrunch as a significant platform evolution
Automation is the #1 weakness — basic compared to Kit, ActiveCampaign, or even MailerLite. No tags or lists system. This is the biggest reason creators leave beehiiv
No independent deliverability data exists — beehiiv is excluded from EmailToolTester benchmarks. Their self-reported 98.9% delivery rate cannot be externally verified, which is a red flag for a review site
Trustpilot rating of 4.2/5 but 23% of reviews are one-star — a bimodal love-it-or-hate-it distribution. Billing complaints include being charged after deactivation and difficulty finding the cancellation button
Full beehiiv review →

AWeber

Customer support is consistently rated 4.5/5 on Capterra — 24/7 live chat and phone support (8AM-8PM EST). Phone support is rare in this space and really valuable for non-technical users
Smart Designer auto-generates branded email templates from your website URL — enter your domain and it pulls your colours, fonts, and logo. Clever and really time-saving for small businesses
Web push notifications built in — send browser notifications to re-engage visitors. Most email marketing competitors don't offer this at all
December 2024 price hike eliminated ALL grandfathered pricing and hit users with 50-150% increases. Real examples: users paying $29/month saw bills jump to $70+. One user with fewer than 1,000 subscribers went from legacy rate to $55/month overnight
Trustpilot rating of 2.5/5 with 33% one-star reviews — dominated by the price hike backlash and reports of list deletions in January 2025 shortly after the increase
Deliverability is mediocre — EmailToolTester ranked it 11th of 15 platforms at 83.1%. The claim of 'great deliverability' is outdated. MailerLite (94.41%) and ActiveCampaign (94.2%) significantly outperform it
Full AWeber review →

The Bottom Line

Choose beehiiv if: Newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion. It wins 1 of 6 categories in our scoring.

Choose AWeber if: Non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages. It offers better value for its specific use case.

Price comparison: AWeber starts at $15/mo (free plan available) vs beehiiv at $43/mo (free plan available).

Who Should Pick Which?

Pick beehiiv if…

  • You need a tool best for newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion
  • Outstanding monetisation tools: built-in ad network, Boosts (paid cross-promotions), paid subscriptions with 0% take rate, and referral program. No other newsletter platform offers this full combination
  • Free plan includes up to 2,500 subscribers — generous for newsletter creators just starting out
Try beehiiv

Pick AWeber if…

  • You need a tool best for non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages
  • Customer support is consistently rated 4.5/5 on Capterra — 24/7 live chat and phone support (8AM-8PM EST). Phone support is rare in this space and really valuable for non-technical users
  • Smart Designer auto-generates branded email templates from your website URL — enter your domain and it pulls your colours, fonts, and logo. Clever and really time-saving for small businesses
Try AWeber

Frequently Asked Questions

Is beehiiv or AWeber better?

beehiiv scores higher overall (7/10 vs 6.2/10). beehiiv is best for newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion. AWeber is better if you need non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages.

Which is cheaper, beehiiv or AWeber?

AWeber is cheaper, starting at $15/mo with a free plan. beehiiv starts at $43/mo (also has a free plan).

What is beehiiv best for?

beehiiv is best for newsletter creators and media companies who want to monetise their audience through ads, paid subscriptions, and cross-promotion. It scores highest in ease of use.

How we compared these tools

We research every tool using real user reviews from Reddit, G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot — then verify current pricing and cross-reference independent deliverability data. No paid placements, no sponsored rankings.

Read our full methodologyLast updated: March 2026

Transparency note: We earn affiliate commissions from some tools on this page. This never influences our scores. Our methodology