October 22, 2026
beehiiv website builder · what you get free, and when you pay
The beehiiv website builder is on every plan, including Free. Your own domain starts on Lite, at $49 a month billed yearly, and removing beehiiv’s logo starts on Pro.
beehiiv is a newsletter platform, and every beehiiv plan comes with a website. On Free, the site lives on a beehiiv web address with one custom page. Your own domain starts on Lite, at $49 a month billed yearly for up to 1,000 subscribers.
The short answer
Pick beehiiv Free if a beehiiv web address is fine for your site. It costs $0 for up to 2,500 subscribers.
Pick beehiiv Lite if you want the site on your own domain. Lite is $49 a month billed yearly, or $59 billed monthly, for up to 1,000 subscribers.
Pick beehiiv Pro if you want beehiiv’s logo off your site. Pro is $95 a month billed yearly, or $109 billed monthly, for up to 1,000 subscribers.
Pick Ghost Starter if all you want is a site on your own domain for the lowest price. It is $15 a month billed yearly, or $18 billed monthly, for up to 1,000 members, and it can’t sell paid subscriptions.
What the builder does on each plan
A custom domain is a web address you own, like yourname.com. A subdomain is an address that sits under someone else’s, like a beehiiv address. A custom page is a page you add beyond your posts, like an About page. Branding here means beehiiv’s logo on your site.
| What you get | Free | Lite | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website builder and templates | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced website builder | No | Yes | Yes |
| Custom domain | No | Yes | Yes |
| Custom pages | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Website analytics | Basic | All data | All data with filters |
| Site redirects | No | 10 | Unlimited |
| Remove beehiiv branding | No | No | Yes |
A redirect sends visitors from an old page address to a new one. The advanced website builder is beehiiv’s name for the builder on paid plans.
beehiiv’s pricing FAQ says the website, podcast, community and digital products are included on every plan.
The domain is the step you pay for
On Free you get the builder, the templates and one custom page, on a beehiiv address. The first paid step, Lite, adds your own domain and lifts the page count to 5.
The math: on October 22, 2026 prices, Lite for up to 1,000 subscribers is $49 a month billed yearly, which is $588 a year. Billed monthly, it is $59 × 12 = $708 a year.
Taking the logo off costs almost double
Removing beehiiv’s branding is a Pro feature. Lite doesn’t include it.
The math: on October 22, 2026 prices, at up to 1,000 subscribers, Pro is $95 a month billed yearly and Lite is $49. So $95 minus $49 = $46 a month more to take the logo off a site on your own domain.
What beehiiv’s MCP can and can’t do
beehiiv’s MCP server is a small add-on that lets an AI assistant like Claude use your beehiiv account. beehiiv says it can analyze your content, audience and performance, and one of its examples asks it to analyze your website for SEO fixes. SEO means getting your pages found on Google.
It can’t edit the website builder. Read access is on every plan, and write access starts on Lite.
Nic Conley (@niconley) asked beehiiv on X on October 4, 2026: “when can we get the MCP to write/build on the website builder? it would make the website builder 50X better.” To build pages with AI today, use the builder’s own AI tool, which beehiiv lists as AI Website Builder.
Ghost costs less for a plain site on your own domain
Ghost is another newsletter platform. Ghost Starter includes your own website and supports your own domain, and it comes with a free .link domain for the first year, which renews at standard rates after that.
The math: on October 22, 2026 prices, for 1,000 members on your own domain, Ghost Starter is $15 a month billed yearly and beehiiv Lite is $49 a month billed yearly.
Ghost Starter can’t sell paid subscriptions, and it allows 1 staff user. beehiiv Lite sells paid subscriptions with no beehiiv cut, and adds beehiiv’s ad network, which places paid ads in your newsletter, in some regions. If you plan to earn from the newsletter, compare those before you compare prices.
What readers ask about SEO
Dave Murphy (@SaaS_Stars) asked beehiiv on X on May 5, 2026: “are you planning to improve SEO for website builder or should i switch my website to another platform?”
Pro adds a custom robots.txt file, which tells search engines what they may read. Free and Lite don’t have it.
What to do this week
Open beehiiv Free and build your homepage on a beehiiv address. It costs nothing.
When you want your own domain, move to Lite. If you only need a plain site and won’t sell subscriptions, price Ghost Starter first.
Next · beehiiv vs Ghost compares the two platforms in full · beehiiv pricing covers every list size · Newsletter platforms ranks the main options.
Sources · beehiiv pricing and its plan table, beehiiv MCP and Ghost pricing, all checked October 22, 2026 · X posts from October 4, 2026 and May 5, 2026.