Before Your beehiiv Renewal: When Pay-Per-Send Beats Pay-Per-Subscriber
Contains affiliate links; your price doesn't change · Disclosure · How we research
TL;DR
Existing beehiiv customers move to the new prices at their first renewal on or after November 1, 2026. The renewal window is open. Pay-per-send (MailCheap) is cheaper than beehiiv Lite when you send about once or twice a week at mid-size lists. At 10,000 subscribers and one issue a week, MailCheap Growth is $39/month vs beehiiv Lite $139. At the same list with one issue a day (~300,000 emails/month), MailCheap Scale is $149 and beehiiv Lite is $139, so the gap flips. Moosend and systeme.io price by contacts with unlimited sends, so frequency does not change their bill. Official prices re-checked November 2, 2026 (Taipei). Dollar figures match our October 25, 2026 check.
How this article was made: This is a research-based article. Every price comes from official pages re-checked on November 2, 2026 (Taipei, UTC+8): beehiiv pricing, beehiiv's October 2026 pricing announcement, Moosend pricing, systeme.io pricing, and MailCheap plans/help (sources at the end). Dollar figures are unchanged from our October 25, 2026 check. Prices are in USD, per month, monthly billing, before tax. We have not tested these tools hands-on. MailCheap is included for comparison only. It is not an affiliate. Your own bill may differ if you have a discount or an older plan.
Existing beehiiv customers move to the new prices at their first renewal on or after November 1, 2026. That renewal window is open.
Our earlier guide compared cost by subscriber count only. This piece adds send frequency. That is the dimension that flips the winner between pay-per-send and pay-per-subscriber.
How the four tools bill
- MailCheap prices by monthly emails sent, with a subscriber cap on each plan. Issues, tests, welcome and confirmation emails all count. There is no free trial. Official plans: MailCheap plans.
- beehiiv Lite (and Free) price by subscriber tier. Email sends are unlimited on Free and paid plans. Official: beehiiv pricing.
- Moosend Pro prices by contact count. Unlimited email campaigns and sends on Pro. Official: Moosend pricing.
- systeme.io prices by plan contact limit. Unlimited email sends on every plan. Official: systeme.io pricing.
MailCheap is not our affiliate. Links to it go to the official site only. beehiiv, Moosend and systeme.io use our registered affiliate links below.
How we estimate monthly email volume
Volume = list size × sends per subscriber per month.
We use 4.33 weeks per month for weekly schedules and 30 days for daily. Two issues a week uses 8.67× the list.
| Frequency | Multiplier | Example at 10,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| 1× per week | ~4.33× list | ~43,300 emails/month |
| 2× per week | ~8.67× list | ~86,700 emails/month |
| 1× per day | ~30× list | ~300,000 emails/month |
Real volume is higher if you also send welcome emails, tests and automations. MailCheap counts those against the same monthly email pool. Treat the tables as a floor for campaign issues only.
MailCheap plan map (official)
Re-checked November 2, 2026 on mailcheap.ai/help/plans. Unchanged vs October 25:
| Plan | Emails / month | Subscriber cap | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 20,000 | 10,000 | $19 |
| Growth | 75,000 | 40,000 | $39 |
| Pro | 200,000 | 100,000 | $79 |
| Scale | 500,000 | 250,000 | $149 |
| Max | 2,000,000 | 1,000,000 | $349 |
| Ultra | 5,000,000 | 2,500,000 | $799 |
Yearly billing is advertised as 2 months free (10 months paid). We use monthly figures below so every tool lines up.
beehiiv Lite prices at our list sizes
Monthly billing, re-checked November 2, 2026 on beehiiv.com/pricing and pricing.md. Unchanged vs October 25:
| Subscribers | beehiiv Free | beehiiv Lite (monthly) | beehiiv Lite (annual, ≈/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | $59 | $49 |
| 2,500 | $0 | $79 | $69 |
| 5,000 | - | $109 | $95 |
| 10,000 | - | $139 | $119 |
| 25,000 | - | $199 | $169 |
Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends. It does not include automations, paid subscriptions or the ad network. Renewing paid customers usually land on Lite (formerly Scale) or Pro (formerly Max). Details: beehiiv price increase for existing users.
See beehiiv's current plans (affiliate link)
Moosend and systeme.io at the same sizes
Unlimited sends on both. Frequency does not change these rows. Re-checked November 2, 2026. Unchanged vs October 25.
| Contacts / subscribers | Moosend Pro (monthly) | systeme.io plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $16 | Free ($0, up to 2,000) |
| 2,500 | $32* | Startup $17 (up to 5,000) |
| 5,000 | $48 | Startup $17 |
| 10,000 | $88 | Webinar $47 |
| 25,000 | $160 | Unlimited $97 |
*Moosend has no 2,500 step. A 2,500-contact list sits in the 3,000 tier ($32/month).
Try Moosend free for 30 days (affiliate link)
Start systeme.io's free plan (affiliate link)
Cross table: 1× per week
Approx volume = list × 4.33. USD/month, monthly billing.
| Subscribers | ~Emails / mo | MailCheap | beehiiv Lite | Moosend Pro | systeme.io |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 4,330 | Starter $19 | Free $0 / Lite $59 | $16 | Free $0 |
| 2,500 | 10,825 | Starter $19 | Free $0 / Lite $79 | $32* | Startup $17 |
| 5,000 | 21,650 | Growth $39 | Lite $109 | $48 | Startup $17 |
| 10,000 | 43,300 | Growth $39 | Lite $139 | $88 | Webinar $47 |
| 25,000 | 108,250 | Pro $79 | Lite $199 | $160 | Unlimited $97 |
At weekly send, MailCheap undercuts beehiiv Lite at every paid size in this table. systeme.io is still the cheapest once you sell funnels or courses. Moosend sits between them for email-only teams.
Cross table: 2× per week
Approx volume = list × 8.67.
| Subscribers | ~Emails / mo | MailCheap | beehiiv Lite | Moosend Pro | systeme.io |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 8,670 | Starter $19 | Free $0 / Lite $59 | $16 | Free $0 |
| 2,500 | 21,675 | Growth $39 | Free $0 / Lite $79 | $32* | Startup $17 |
| 5,000 | 43,350 | Growth $39 | Lite $109 | $48 | Startup $17 |
| 10,000 | 86,700 | Pro $79 | Lite $139 | $88 | Webinar $47 |
| 25,000 | 216,750 | Scale $149 | Lite $199 | $160 | Unlimited $97 |
Twice a week still favors MailCheap over beehiiv Lite at 5,000 and 10,000. At 25,000, MailCheap Scale ($149) is still under Lite ($199), but Moosend ($160) and systeme.io ($97) are close or cheaper without a send cap.
Cross table: 1× per day (the flip)
Approx volume = list × 30.
| Subscribers | ~Emails / mo | MailCheap | beehiiv Lite | Moosend Pro | systeme.io |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 30,000 | Growth $39 | Free $0 / Lite $59 | $16 | Free $0 |
| 2,500 | 75,000 | Growth $39 | Free $0 / Lite $79 | $32* | Startup $17 |
| 5,000 | 150,000 | Pro $79 | Lite $109 | $48 | Startup $17 |
| 10,000 | 300,000 | Scale $149 | Lite $139 | $88 | Webinar $47 |
| 25,000 | 750,000 | Max $349 | Lite $199 | $160 | Unlimited $97 |
This is the flip the weekly tables hide.
At 10,000 subscribers and one issue a day, MailCheap Scale is $149 and beehiiv Lite is $139. Pay-per-send loses on sticker price.
At 25,000 and one issue a day, MailCheap Max is $349 and beehiiv Lite is $199. The gap is $150 a month.
Moosend and systeme.io stay flat because sends are unlimited. At daily volume they are the price winners if you do not need beehiiv's publishing stack or MailCheap's per-send model.
Post-November 1 renewal checklist
Use this on or after your first renewal date in the new-price window.
- Scrub your list tier. Remove bounced, unsubscribed and long-cold contacts if that drops you into a lower beehiiv subscriber bucket. beehiiv prices paid plans by subscriber tier.
- Pick Free, Lite, Pro, or leave. Free still covers up to 2,500 with unlimited sends but without automations, paid subscriptions or the ad network. Lite is the Scale successor for most renewing newsletters. Pro adds higher limits and tools (up to 250,000 self-serve). Leave only if the tables below show a cheaper fit and you do not need beehiiv monetization.
- Estimate monthly emails. List size × issues per month, then add welcome, test and automation volume if you use them.
- Compare send-heavy vs contact-priced tools. Drop that volume into the cross tables. MailCheap moves with send volume. beehiiv Lite, Moosend and systeme.io do not.
- Add beehiiv income to the stay case. Ad network, paid recommendations and paid subscriptions (0% platform take rate on Lite/Pro) do not exist on Moosend, systeme.io or MailCheap.
- If you stay, price annual Lite. It is cheaper than monthly Lite at every size here. Do not assume annual locks the old Scale price. Ask support first.
- If you leave, export subscribers and set up your sending domain in the new tool before the bill that uses the new price.
Stay, switch, or pick MailCheap
Stay on beehiiv (or move to annual Lite) when:
- You earn from the ad network, paid recommendations or paid subscriptions (0% platform take rate on Lite/Pro). Those do not exist on Moosend, systeme.io or MailCheap.
- You send often enough that MailCheap's tier catches up to or passes Lite (see the daily table at 10,000+).
- You need the newsletter website, podcast tools or community in one login. See beehiiv review.
- Your list is 2,500 or under and Free already covers you.
Pick MailCheap when:
- You mainly send issues a few times a week, not every day.
- You are fine without beehiiv ads, recommendations and built-in monetization.
- Your monthly volume fits Starter, Growth or Pro. Example: 10,000 subscribers, one issue a week → Growth $39 vs Lite $139.
- You accept no free trial and that tests plus welcome emails count toward the send pool.
Switch to Moosend when:
- You want unlimited sends at a fixed contact price and a general email/automation tool.
- Frequency is high or unpredictable, so pay-per-send would keep climbing.
- You do not need beehiiv's ad or recommendation network. See Moosend review.
Switch to systeme.io when:
- You sell courses, coaching or digital products and want funnels plus email in one account.
- Contact count, not send volume, is what you pay for. See systeme.io review.
Soft compare: Ghost(Pro). If you want a membership CMS with 0% Ghost fee on paid subscriptions and unlimited email sends on managed hosting, see Ghost(Pro) pricing (2026). Ghost is not a pay-per-send tool and is not in the cross tables above.
Related reading
- beehiiv price increase for existing users (Nov 1, 2026)
- beehiiv review (2026)
- Moosend review (2026)
- systeme.io review (2026)
- beehiiv free plan explained
- Ghost(Pro) pricing (2026)
Sources (re-checked November 2, 2026, Taipei)
- https://www.beehiiv.com/blog/beehiiv-pricing-2026
- https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing · https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing.md
- https://moosend.com/pricing/
- https://systeme.io/pricing
- https://mailcheap.ai/pricing
- https://mailcheap.ai/help/plans
FAQ
When do existing beehiiv customers pay the new prices?
At their first renewal on or after November 1, 2026. Monthly customers get at least 30 days' notice. Annual customers keep the current price until the current annual term ends. New customers have paid the new prices since October 1, 2026.
Did beehiiv, Moosend, systeme.io or MailCheap change list prices after October 25, 2026?
No, for the plan rows in this article. We re-fetched the official pages on November 2, 2026 (Taipei). beehiiv Lite, Moosend Pro, systeme.io Free/Startup/Webinar/Unlimited and MailCheap Starter through Ultra matched the October 25 figures.
When is MailCheap cheaper than beehiiv Lite?
When monthly email volume fits a lower MailCheap tier and you do not need beehiiv's ad network, paid subscriptions or website stack. Example: 10,000 subscribers and one issue a week (~43,300 emails/month) is MailCheap Growth at $39 vs beehiiv Lite at $139 on monthly billing (re-checked November 2, 2026).
When does beehiiv Lite beat MailCheap on price alone?
When you send often enough to push MailCheap into a higher send tier. At 10,000 subscribers and one issue a day (~300,000 emails/month), MailCheap Scale is $149 and beehiiv Lite is $139. At 25,000 subscribers and one issue a day (~750,000 emails/month), MailCheap Max is $349 and beehiiv Lite is $199.
Do Moosend and systeme.io care about send frequency?
Not for the base plan price. Both include unlimited email sends on the plans in this article. You pay by contact count (Moosend) or plan contact limit (systeme.io).
Can I lock the old beehiiv price by switching to annual before or during renewal?
beehiiv's announcement does not say that switching to annual locks the old Scale price. Ask beehiiv support before you count on it. Annual Lite is still cheaper than monthly Lite at every size we checked.
Key takeaways
- Existing beehiiv customers move to the new prices at their first renewal on or after November 1, 2026.
- The renewal window is open.
- Pay-per-send (MailCheap) is cheaper than beehiiv Lite when you send about once or twice a week at mid-size lists.
SourcesMailCheap plans · beehiiv pricing · Moosend pricing · systeme.io pricing
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