beehiiv vs Letterhead: Which Newsletter Platform Is Right for You?

beehiiv and Letterhead both power newsletter publishing, but they are built for very different stages of scale.

beehiiv is an all-in-one newsletter platform designed for creators and small media teams managing up to 10 newsletters.
Letterhead is enterprise-grade newsletter infrastructure for publishers running complex, multi-newsletter operations across teams, brands, and regions.

If you are deciding between beehiiv and Letterhead, the right choice depends less on features and more on operational complexity.

Why publishers choose different newsletter platforms

For solo creators and small teams (1–2 newsletters): beehiiv

beehiiv is built for speed and simplicity. It combines newsletter creation, website publishing, audience growth, and monetization into a single platform with minimal setup.

Creators can write, design, publish, and monetize newsletters without relying on external tools or engineering support. Built-in ad networks, referral programs, AI writing tools, and paid subscriptions allow creators to generate revenue quickly.

beehiiv is best suited for:

• Independent journalists

• Solo creators

• Creator-led media brands

• Small teams prioritizing velocity over formal workflows

For newsrooms and multi-newsletter programs (10–100+ newsletters): Letterhead

Letterhead is designed for publishers whose newsletters are no longer side projects, but core media products requiring coordination across teams.

As organizations scale, newsletters introduce operational challenges:

• Multiple editors and producers

• Shared templates and brand standards

• CMS and RSS ingestion

• Editorial calendars across brands and regions

• Sponsorship fulfillment across dozens of newsletters

• Portfolio-level performance visibility

Letterhead provides workflow orchestration, portfolio analytics, and the flexibility to work with existing ESPs, allowing publishers to scale without rebuilding their infrastructure.

For teams scaling from creator to publisher (5–15 newsletters): evaluate both

Teams in this transition phase should evaluate which constraint matters more:

• Single user simplicity (beehiiv)

• Operational coordination and visibility (Letterhead)

beehiiv’s Max plan ($96/month) supports up to 10 publications with built-in monetization.
Letterhead’s enterprise pricing becomes compelling when coordination across teams, standardized workflows, and portfolio-level insights materially impact performance.

beehiiv vs Letterhead: feature comparison

Both platforms support newsletter publishing, but they optimize for different outcomes.

Key differences explained

Content creation and publishing model

beehiiv provides an integrated editor with AI assistance, templates, and automatic website publishing. Creators write and publish in a single workflow without switching tools.

Letterhead ingests content from CMS platforms and RSS feeds into centralized production queues. Teams work from shared components and locked templates to maintain consistency across dozens of newsletters.

Audience growth and monetization

beehiiv includes built-in tools for growing individual publications:

• Recommendation network for cross-promotion

• Referral programs

• Integrated ad network

• Paid subscriptions with 0% platform fees

• Digital products marketplace

Letterhead focuses on enterprise-scale revenue operations:

• Sponsorship campaign coordination

• Placement tracking across newsletters

• Performance reporting for advertisers

• Structured workflows for revenue teams

Analytics and performance visibility

beehiiv provides publication-level metrics such as opens, clicks, subscribers, and revenue. Analytics are designed to optimize individual newsletter performance.

Letterhead offers portfolio-level dashboards that roll up performance across all newsletters by title, region, team, or segment. Publishers benchmark newsletters against each other and allocate resources based on comparative performance.

Workflow and team coordination

beehiiv offers basic team permissions suitable for small, informal teams.

Letterhead provides enterprise workflow orchestration, including:

• Role-based permissions

• Multi-step approvals

• Audit trails

• Standardized production processes

Built for organizations where newsletters move through editors, producers, designers, and revenue teams before publication.

Technical infrastructure and ESP flexibility

beehiiv is a standalone platform handling delivery, subscriber management, and hosting. Publishers adopt beehiiv’s infrastructure end-to-end. Letterhead supports two deployment models, with a focus on teams wanting to keep their existing ESP. 

How to choose between beehiiv and Letterhead

Choose beehiiv if you:

• Manage 1–2 newsletters

• Are a creator or small brand

• Want an all-in-one platform

• Need built-in monetization immediately

• Operate without formal approval workflows

• Prefer transparent, self-serve pricing

Choose Letterhead if you:

• Manage 10+ newsletters

• Coordinate across teams, brands, or regions

• Need standardized workflows and approvals

• Require portfolio-level analytics

• Sell sponsorships across multiple newsletters

• Want to retain your existing ESP

Most publishers start on beehiiv and transition to Letterhead when operational complexity becomes the limiting factor, not features.

Frequently asked questions

Can beehiiv support multiple newsletters?
Yes. beehiiv supports up to 10 publications on the Max plan ($96/month).

Does Letterhead replace my ESP?
No! Letterhead Studio works alongside existing ESPs. 

Which platform is better for paid subscriptions?
beehiiv includes subscription infrastructure with 0% platform fees. Letterhead focuses on sponsorship-driven revenue models.

Can I migrate from beehiiv to Letterhead?
Yes. Publishers typically migrate when managing 8–15+ newsletters and needing enterprise workflows.

Does beehiiv support editorial approvals?
beehiiv offers basic permissions, but not formal enterprise approval chains.

Curious to learn more? 

If you're managing a growing portfolio of newsletters and need enterprise-grade workflow orchestration, analytics, and sponsorship operations, talk to the Letterhead team today!