Building a sustainable recurring revenue stream as a creator used to mean juggling 5+ tools for email, payments, and subscriber management. Today, platforms like ConvertKit and Beehiiv bundle these features into all-in-one solutions—but their approach to recurring offerings differs drastically.
According to Patreon’s 2024 Creator Economy Report, 62% of full-time creators earn most of their income from recurring subscriptions, making the choice of platform more important than ever. If you’re stuck choosing between ConvertKit vs Beehiiv Recurring for your paid newsletter, membership, or subscription product, this breakdown will cut through the noise.
We’ll focus exclusively on their recurring revenue tools, pricing, and real-world use cases to help you pick the right fit.
What Counts as "Recurring" Features Here?
For this comparison, we’re excluding one-off email blasts or basic newsletter sends. We’re focusing on tools that support ongoing, recurring revenue streams:
- Paid monthly/annual newsletter subscriptions
- Recurring membership tiers for exclusive content
- Automated billing and subscriber management for repeat customers
- Churn tracking and retention tools for recurring users
ConvertKit Recurring Features Breakdown
ConvertKit positions itself as a general email marketing platform for creators, so its recurring tools are built to support multiple revenue streams beyond just newsletters.
Recurring Memberships via ConvertKit Commerce
ConvertKit Commerce lets you create custom recurring membership tiers with monthly, quarterly, or annual billing cycles. You can bundle recurring memberships with digital products like courses or coaching calls.
All recurring transactions are processed via Stripe, and you can segment subscribers automatically based on their active recurring tier. This lets you send targeted content to paying recurring members vs free subscribers.
Free plan users pay a 3.5% + 30¢ transaction fee per recurring payment. Paid Creator and Creator Pro plan users waive ConvertKit’s fees, paying only Stripe’s standard processing costs.
Recurring Automation Workflows
ConvertKit’s drag-and-drop automation builder lets you set up custom workflows for recurring subscribers. For example, you can trigger a welcome sequence for new recurring members, or a win-back campaign for users who cancel their recurring subscription.
Beehiiv Recurring Features Breakdown
Beehiiv is built from the ground up for newsletter creators, so its recurring tools are hyper-focused on paid newsletter subscriptions and audience growth.
Native Paid Newsletter Tiers
Beehiiv lets you set up unlimited paid recurring tiers directly in the platform, no third-party membership tools required. You can add perks like ad-free content, exclusive posts, or community access to higher recurring tiers.
Beehiiv does not charge its own transaction fees on any plan—you only pay Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ per recurring payment. Free plan users have Beehiiv branding on their recurring newsletters; paid Grow and Scale plans remove this branding.
Recurring Growth and Analytics
Beehiiv includes built-in referral tools that reward subscribers for referring friends who sign up for recurring paid tiers. Its analytics dashboard tracks recurring subscriber churn, lifetime value (LTV), and average revenue per paid user (ARPU) natively.
Key Differences: ConvertKit vs Beehiiv Recurring
Not sure which platform aligns with your goals? Here are the core differences for recurring use cases:
- Core Focus: ConvertKit supports all types of creator recurring revenue (memberships, courses, newsletters). Beehiiv is newsletter-only for recurring streams.
- Setup Friction: Beehiiv’s paid tiers take 10 minutes to set up. ConvertKit Commerce requires more configuration for recurring billing.
- Growth Tools: Beehiiv has native referral and recommendation tools to grow recurring subs. ConvertKit relies on third-party integrations for similar growth.
- Customization: ConvertKit offers more email template flexibility for recurring onboarding sequences. Beehiiv has newsletter-specific design tools.
- Fees: ConvertKit charges transaction fees on free plans. Beehiiv never charges its own fees, even on free plans.
Pricing for Recurring Use Cases
We’ve broken down pricing as it relates specifically to recurring features, not general email limits.
ConvertKit Recurring Pricing
- Free: Up to 1,000 subscribers. Recurring commerce with 3.5% + 30¢ ConvertKit fees per transaction.
- Creator ($15/month for 300 subscribers): No ConvertKit recurring transaction fees. Advanced segmentation for recurring tiers.
- Creator Pro ($29/month for 300 subscribers): A/B testing for recurring offers. Automated win-back workflows for churned recurring subscribers.
Beehiiv Recurring Pricing
- Free: Up to 2,700 subscribers. Beehiiv branding on recurring newsletters. 0% Beehiiv fees (only Stripe costs).
- Grow ($49/month): No Beehiiv branding. Custom domains for recurring newsletter tiers. Referral tools to grow paid recurring subs.
- Scale ($99/month): Advanced recurring churn analytics. Priority support. Custom Stripe integration for recurring billing.
Which Should You Choose?
Pick ConvertKit for recurring revenue if:
- You sell multiple recurring products (memberships, courses, coaching) beyond a paid newsletter.
- You need advanced email automation for recurring subscriber onboarding.
- You already have an existing ConvertKit email list you want to monetize with recurring offers.
Pick Beehiiv for recurring revenue if:
- Your core recurring income is a paid newsletter.
- You want built-in tools to grow your recurring subscriber base fast.
- You prefer a newsletter-first interface with no extra marketing features you won’t use.
FAQ: ConvertKit vs Beehiiv Recurring
Q: Does ConvertKit charge fees for recurring memberships?
A: Yes, the free plan charges 3.5% + 30¢ per recurring transaction. Paid Creator and above plans waive ConvertKit’s transaction fees, so you only pay Stripe processing fees.
Q: Can I switch my recurring subscribers from ConvertKit to Beehiiv?
A: Yes, you can export your recurring subscriber list from ConvertKit (with their explicit consent) and import it to Beehiiv. You’ll need to set up new recurring tiers in Beehiiv and notify subscribers to update their billing information.
Q: Does Beehiiv support annual recurring billing for newsletters?
A: Yes, Beehiiv lets you set up monthly, annual, and custom recurring billing cycles for paid newsletter tiers, with automatic renewals and failed payment retries.
Q: Which platform has better analytics for recurring churn?
A: Beehiiv’s Scale plan includes dedicated recurring churn and LTV analytics. ConvertKit’s analytics focus on general email engagement, with limited recurring-specific metrics.
Ready to Launch Your Recurring Revenue Stream?
Test both platforms for free to see which recurring tools fit your workflow. Sign up for ConvertKit’s free plan here or start your Beehiiv free trial here to test paid newsletter tiers today.
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