ChatGPT answers, unedited

The best software depends on whether you’re optimizing for simplicity, maximum revenue retention, growth, or owning your audience. For most paid newsletters, these are the strongest options: TierGauge TierGauge

My picks by scenario

Best if you’re just launching

Substack

• Fastest setup.
• No monthly fee to start.
• Built-in discovery through its network.
• Good for testing whether people will pay.

The downside is the ongoing 10% revenue share once you have paying subscribers. TierGauge

Best if you expect this to become a business

beehiiv

• Better growth tooling.
• Supports paid subscriptions without a platform percentage cut on eligible plans.
• Useful if you may add sponsorships, referrals, or ads later. TierGauge

Best for long-term ownership

Ghost

• Your newsletter can also be a full website.
• Strong membership/paywall features.
• You keep more control over branding and audience data. TierGauge

Best if you already have an audience

Kit

• Strong automation.
• Good for combining a paid newsletter with courses, products, and funnels. Sasanova

A simple decision rule

• 0–1,000 subscribers, validating the idea: Substack
• Building a media business: beehiiv
• Want a premium publication/site you own: Ghost
• Selling other creator products too: Kit
• Want minimal complexity: Buttondown

For a premium newsletter charging something like $5–$20/month, I’d generally compare Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost first. The biggest financial difference is whether you prefer paying a percentage of revenue (Substack) or a monthly software fee (beehiiv/Ghost). Sasanova

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content, I’d shortlist these:

Current comparisons generally put beehiiv, Ghost, and Substack at the top for a straightforward paid-newsletter business. TierGauge Sasanova

My recommendation

I'd choose beehiiv if the newsletter itself is the business. It combines paid subscriptions with subscriber growth tools, referrals/recommendations, and advertising, while taking 0% of subscription revenue on its paid plans. Gatilab Creator Economy

I'd choose Ghost if you want a premium publication you control. It's particularly good if you want your own branded website, member accounts, free/paid tiers, gated posts, and Stripe payments rather than being dependent on a social publishing network. TierGauge

I'd choose Substack if you want the absolute lowest-friction launch. You can start without a monthly platform fee, but Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, so that becomes increasingly expensive as revenue grows. Newsletter Cost Calculator Publishing House

For example, at $10,000/month in subscription revenue, a 10% platform cut means roughly $1,000/month going to Substack before payment-processing costs. A 0%-take platform can therefore become substantially more economical once you've established meaningful revenue.

If you tell me roughly (1) expected subscriber count, (2) monthly subscription price, and (3) whether you want a standalone website/paywall or just email, I can calculate the actual monthly cost of beehiiv vs Ghost vs Substack vs Stripe and tell you which is cheapest.

If your main goal is charge subscribers for premium newsletter content + handle recurring payments, I’d narrow it to four:

My recommendation: Ghost

ghost.org

Ghost is particularly attractive if you're building a real premium publication, rather than just putting a paywall on an email list. It supports memberships, paid subscriptions, member-only content, different access levels, and Stripe payments. Its model is a fixed subscription fee rather than taking a percentage of your subscription revenue. TierGauge Ghost

That becomes increasingly important as revenue grows. For example, at $10,000/month in subscription revenue, a 10% platform fee would be $1,000/month, whereas a fixed-fee platform doesn't scale its fee with your revenue.

When I'd choose the others

beehiiv — pick this if your newsletter is also a growth/monetization business. Its strengths include referral programs, recommendations, advertising, and newsletter-growth tools, alongside paid subscriptions. Current comparisons put its paid-subscription platform fee at 0% on Scale and above. TierGauge Newsletter Cost Calculator

beehiiv.com

Substack — pick this if you want to start tomorrow with almost no setup and value Substack's built-in reader/discovery network. Publishing is free, but Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, in addition to Stripe fees. Substack Support Substack Support

substack.com

Memberful — interesting if you already have a WordPress/custom website and want the newsletter to be one component of a broader membership business. It connects to Stripe and can handle membership access, rather than forcing you to move the publication onto a newsletter platform. Memberful

memberful.com

One important distinction

If by "premium newsletter content" you mean:

People pay $10/month → they get your emails + access to a private archive of premium articles

I'd choose Ghost or beehiiv.

If you mean:

People pay → they get access to a membership/community/course/website, with the newsletter being just one benefit

I'd look harder at Memberful or a broader membership platform.

If you tell me roughly (1) expected subscribers, (2) monthly price, (3) whether you already have a website, and (4) whether you want paid articles behind a web paywall or paid email only, I can calculate the actual monthly cost and recommend the cheapest/best setup for your situation.

The best software depends on whether you want the simplest way to start charging, maximum ownership/profit, or a full creator business platform. These are the strongest options for paid premium newsletters: tiergauge.comfieldwork.news

My picks by situation

1. You are launching your first paid newsletter

• Choose Substack.
• You can publish immediately, create paid tiers, and avoid technical setup. The tradeoff is giving up a percentage of subscription revenue. tiergauge.com

2. You expect this to become a serious business

• Choose Ghost.
• It gives you more control over branding, website ownership, subscriber data, and economics because it does not take a cut of subscription revenue. tiergauge.comfieldwork.news

3. You want to grow aggressively

• Choose beehiiv.
• It is built around newsletter growth: referrals, analytics, audience growth tools, and additional monetization options. stackpicks.higgsfield.app

4. You already have a website or community

• Choose Memberful + your site.
• Good if your newsletter is one part of a larger membership business. memberful.com

Payment considerations

Most of these platforms rely on Stripe for card payments. The important financial comparison is:

• Revenue-share model: easier when you are small, but can become expensive as revenue grows (e.g., Substack’s percentage model). tiergauge.com
• Flat-fee model: costs more upfront but usually leaves more revenue with you as subscriptions grow (Ghost, beehiiv). www.sasanova.com

For a premium newsletter charging something like $5–$20/month, I would generally shortlist:

1. Ghost — best long-term business asset
2. beehiiv — best growth engine
3. Substack — fastest way to validate the idea

If you tell me your expected subscriber count (e.g., 100, 1,000, 10,000+) and whether you already have a website/audience, I can narrow it down and estimate the fees.

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: beehiiv

For a premium newsletter that you expect to grow into a business, I'd choose beehiiv. It gives you:

• Paid subscription tiers
• Paywalls for premium posts
• Recurring billing through Stripe
• Major credit/debit cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Multiple subscription tiers and pricing options
• No beehiiv revenue share on subscription revenue www.beehiiv.com

That last point matters a lot. If you're doing, say, $10,000/month in subscriptions, a 10% platform cut would be $1,000/month before payment-processing costs.

When I'd choose Ghost instead

Choose Ghost if you want the newsletter to feel more like your own publication/business rather than a newsletter hosted inside someone else's ecosystem. Ghost supports paid memberships, multiple premium tiers, paywalled content, and Stripe payments without taking a percentage of your revenue. ghost.org

When Substack makes sense

Substack is the easiest choice if you want minimal setup and built-in discovery/network effects. You can connect Stripe, set monthly/yearly/founding-member prices, and start charging. support.substack.comsupport.substack.com

The tradeoff is the 10% ongoing cut, which becomes expensive as revenue grows. www.beehiiv.comsupport.substack.comsupport.substack.com

Bottom line:

• Starting from scratch + serious growth: beehiiv
• Want maximum ownership/control: Ghost
• Want simplest launch + built-in audience ecosystem: Substack

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have (or expect), your monthly price, and whether you already have a website, I can calculate the actual monthly cost of beehiiv vs. Ghost vs. Substack for your situation.

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content, I’d narrow it to three serious options:

My pick: beehiiv

For a commercial premium newsletter, I'd probably choose beehiiv.

It supports multiple paid subscription tiers, paywalls, free trials/promotions, and Stripe checkout. Most importantly, beehiiv says it takes no revenue share, so you retain subscription revenue after Stripe's processing fees. www.beehiiv.com

You can also offer different levels—for example:

• Free — weekly newsletter
• Premium — $10/month — all articles + archives
• Pro — $25/month — premium research/data + bonus content

And subscribers can pay by major cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and additional Stripe-supported methods. www.beehiiv.comghost.org

Ghost is my choice if you want more ownership

Ghost is particularly attractive if you want the newsletter to feel like your own media company rather than a newsletter hosted on someone else's network.

Ghost connects directly to your Stripe account and supports paid memberships, multiple tiers, one-time payments, tips, gift subscriptions, and paywalled content. Ghost says it takes no transaction fee or commission on payments. ghost.org

That's a big distinction from Substack: your payment relationship is much more directly yours.

Substack wins for simplicity

If you want to launch tomorrow with minimal technical work, Substack is hard to beat. It handles publishing, subscriber accounts, paywalls and payments in one place.

The tradeoff is cost: Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction, on top of Stripe fees. support.substack.com

For example, at $10,000/month in subscription revenue, the 10% platform cut is roughly $1,000/month, before payment-processing fees. That's why I'd generally move toward beehiiv or Ghost once the newsletter has meaningful recurring revenue.

What I'd choose at different stages

Just testing the idea: Substack
Building a serious newsletter business: beehiiv
Building a premium publication/brand you want to own: Ghost
Need sophisticated custom billing beyond a newsletter platform: Stripe + your own site/app

One important point: you probably don't need to buy a separate payment system. Both beehiiv and Ghost use Stripe underneath, so the platform handles the subscription/paywall mechanics while Stripe handles payment processing. www.beehiiv.comghost.org

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you expect (e.g. 500, 5,000, or 50,000) and your planned monthly price, I can compare the actual economics of beehiiv vs. Ghost vs. Substack for you.

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content, I’d narrow it to beehiiv, Ghost, and Substack.

🥇 My pick: beehiiv

beehiiv is probably the best choice if you're building a business around a paid newsletter rather than simply experimenting.

It supports paid subscriptions, paywalls, free trials, multiple pricing options, Stripe-powered checkout, automatic renewals, and instant access. It also takes 0% of subscription revenue on its paid-subscription offering. www.beehiiv.comtiergauge.com

The other big advantage is that you can eventually monetize beyond subscriptions—beehiiv has advertising, recommendations, referrals, and sponsorship tools built into the platform. www.beehiiv.comtiergauge.com

🥈 Ghost — best if you want to own the business

Ghost is excellent if your newsletter is really becoming a membership website/publication.

You get paid memberships, member-only content, newsletters, customizable website design, and Stripe payments, without Ghost taking a percentage of your subscription revenue. Ghost is also open source and can be self-hosted, which gives you considerably more control over your publication and subscriber data. tiergauge.com

I'd choose Ghost over beehiiv if brand ownership, website/content control, and long-term independence matter more than growth/monetization features.

🥉 Substack — easiest way to get started

Substack is the simplest option if you want to publish immediately and don't want to worry about setting up infrastructure.

The tradeoff is significant: Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue, in addition to payment processing. Its advantage is the built-in discovery/recommendation ecosystem, which can help a new writer acquire readers. tiergauge.com

For example, at $10/month × 1,000 paid subscribers = $10,000/month, a 10% platform cut is $1,000/month before payment-processing costs. A 0%-revenue-share platform's fixed monthly fee can become dramatically cheaper as you grow.

What I'd choose by situation

• Starting from zero and want the easiest launch: Substack
• Want to build a serious paid newsletter business: beehiiv
• Expect significant revenue and want to minimize platform fees: beehiiv or Ghost
• Want your own branded publication/membership site: Ghost
• Newsletter + courses/digital products: Kit
• Simple, inexpensive, no-frills newsletter: Buttondown

One important distinction: if by "premium newsletter content" you mean a website where some articles are paywalled and subscribers get recurring access, I'd favor Ghost or beehiiv. If you primarily mean email newsletters with a paid tier, beehiiv is my strongest recommendation.

If you tell me roughly how many free subscribers you have, expected paid subscribers, monthly price (e.g. $10/mo), and whether you need a website/paywall, I can calculate the actual monthly/annual cost of the top 3 and tell you which one is cheapest.

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content and handling recurring payments, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Ghost

For a premium newsletter where subscriptions are the business, I'd pick Ghost.

It gives you:

• Paid monthly/annual memberships
• Multiple pricing tiers
• Premium/gated posts
• Free trials and discounts
• Subscriber/member management
• Email newsletter delivery
• Your own website and domain
• Stripe billing
• 0% Ghost transaction/commission fee — Stripe's payment-processing fee still applies. ghost.org
• Gift subscriptions and one-time payments as well. ghost.org

The particularly important part is that your Stripe account is yours. Ghost connects directly to it rather than sitting between you and your customers. ghost.org

When I'd choose something else

Choose beehiiv if you're thinking of the newsletter as a larger media business. It combines paid subscriptions with advertising, referrals, recommendations, and other monetization tools. tiergauge.com

Choose Substack if your priority is "I want to start publishing and charging people today with almost no setup." The downside is the 10% ongoing cut of paid subscription revenue, which becomes significant once you're making real money. ghost.orgtiergauge.comtiergauge.com

For example, at $10,000/month in subscriber revenue, a 10% platform cut is $1,000/month before payment-processing costs. A 0%-take platform such as Ghost or beehiiv instead charges its software fee plus payment processing.

One important distinction

If you already have a website/newsletter system and you're mainly looking for the payment/subscription infrastructure, rather than a complete newsletter platform, I'd look at Stripe Billing directly. Ghost, for example, essentially uses Stripe as the underlying billing system while providing the subscriber/content layer on top.

Bottom line:
Ghost + Stripe → best if you want to build a durable premium publication and keep more of the revenue.
beehiiv → best if growth, ads, referrals, and multiple revenue streams matter.
Substack → best if minimizing setup is more important than minimizing fees.

For a premium newsletter with paid subscribers, the best software depends on whether you prioritize simplicity, growth, ownership, or keeping more revenue. The strongest options are:

My picks by situation

1. “I want to start tomorrow with minimal tech” → Substack

• Best if you are a solo writer.
• Handles hosting, email delivery, paywalls, and subscriptions.
• Good for essays, commentary, analysis, and niche publications.
• The downside is the ongoing revenue share. support.substack.com

2. “I want to build a real newsletter business” → beehiiv

• Better if you plan to grow an email list, run referral programs, add sponsorships, or have multiple subscription tiers.
• Good fit for media-style newsletters. www.beehiiv.com

3. “I want maximum control and ownership” → Ghost

• Best if the newsletter is part of a broader brand/site.
• You control the website, membership experience, and customer relationship more directly. ghost.org

Payment stack

Most professional setups use:

• Stripe for recurring credit-card billing
• Newsletter platform for paywalls, email delivery, and subscriber management
• Optional tools for:
  • CRM/automation
  • referral programs
  • analytics
  • community access

A practical recommendation

• Under ~1,000 paying subscribers: Substack is usually the fastest path.
• Growing toward a business: beehiiv is often the better long-term fit.
• High-value publication with a brand/site: Ghost is worth considering.

If you tell me your expected subscriber count, price point (e.g., $5/mo vs $20/mo), and whether you already have an email list, I can recommend the most cost-effective setup.

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content and automatically handling payments, renewals, and access, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: beehiiv

For most people starting a serious paid newsletter, I'd choose beehiiv. It combines:

• Paid subscription tiers
• Stripe-powered checkout
• Automatic recurring billing
• Paywalls for premium posts
• Free trials/promotions
• Subscriber management
• Referral/growth tools
• Analytics
• 0% platform revenue share on subscriptions

beehiiv explicitly says it handles the payment infrastructure while Stripe processes payments, and it takes no revenue share from subscription earnings. www.beehiiv.com

The big advantage over Substack is economics: Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue, whereas beehiiv and Ghost use a flat software fee rather than taking a percentage of subscription revenue. tiergauge.com

When I'd choose something else

Choose Substack if you're primarily a writer and want the easiest possible launch plus Substack's built-in discovery/recommendation ecosystem. The tradeoff is the recurring 10% cut. publishinghouse.org

Choose Ghost if you want the newsletter to become a larger publication/site that you own and control. Ghost connects directly to a Stripe account you own and supports paid memberships, member-only content, and newsletters. ghost.org

Choose Buttondown if you want something deliberately simple and don't need sophisticated growth/monetization machinery.

Rough economics

Suppose you charge $10/month and eventually have 1,000 paying subscribers:

• Revenue: $10,000/month
• Substack's 10% platform cut: $1,000/month, before payment processing
• A 0%-take platform: you pay its monthly software cost + payment processing instead

So once you're generating meaningful recurring revenue, a 0%-take platform like beehiiv or Ghost can be dramatically cheaper. tiergauge.com

Bottom line:
Starting from zero and want simplicity/discovery → Substack.
Building a business and want the best combination of payments + paywalls + growth → beehiiv.
Want maximum ownership and a publication website → Ghost.

If you tell me your expected subscriber count, monthly price, and whether you already have an email list, I can calculate the actual monthly/annual cost of each option and tell you which is cheapest.

If your main goal is charging subscribers for premium newsletter content + handling recurring payments, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Ghost

For a serious premium newsletter, Ghost is probably the strongest choice. It combines:

• Newsletter publishing
• Free and paid memberships
• Multiple subscription tiers
• Paywalled content
• Recurring subscriptions
• Stripe payments
• Member management
• Your own website/domain
• No percentage cut of your subscription revenue

Ghost's Stripe integration sends subscription revenue directly to you, with Ghost taking no transaction commission. ghost.org

beehiiv is better if growth is the priority

I'd choose beehiiv if you care heavily about newsletter-growth features, referral programs, advertising, analytics, and monetization alongside subscriptions. It supports multiple paid tiers, paywalls, trials, and Stripe checkout, and currently advertises no platform revenue share on paid subscriptions. www.beehiiv.com

One important detail: beehiiv's paid-subscription functionality requires a paid beehiiv plan and a connected Stripe account. www.beehiiv.comwww.beehiiv.com

Memberful if you already have a site

If you already have a WordPress/custom website and don't want to move the publication itself, Memberful is attractive. It supports newsletters, dynamic paywalls, recurring billing, one-time payments, trials, coupons, gifts, and multiple subscription schedules. Its current Standard pricing is $49/month + 4.9% transaction fee. memberful.com

Bottom line:

• Starting a premium publication from scratch → Ghost
• Newsletter-first business focused on growth → beehiiv
• Existing website + sophisticated membership system → Memberful
• Want the absolute simplest setup and don't mind revenue sharing → Substack

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you expect (e.g. 500, 5,000, 50,000) and your planned monthly price, I can calculate the actual monthly cost of each and tell you which is cheapest.

If your goal is a premium newsletter where readers pay recurring subscriptions and automatically get access to premium content, I’d shortlist these:

1. Ghost — my top pick

Ghost is particularly good if you're building a business around the newsletter rather than simply publishing one.

It gives you:

• Free and paid members
• Multiple paid tiers
• Paywalls/premium posts
• Monthly and annual subscriptions
• Free trials and discounts
• Gift subscriptions
• Stripe-powered payments
• Your own website/domain and branding
• No Ghost transaction fee — payments go through your Stripe account. ghost.orgghost.org

Ghost's current managed hosting starts at $18/month, while paid subscriptions are available on its paid plans. ghost.orgghost.org

Why I'd choose it: If you're expecting meaningful subscription revenue, avoiding a perpetual 10% platform cut is valuable.

2. beehiiv — best if growth is the priority

beehiiv combines newsletter publishing with sophisticated growth/monetization tools.

Its paid-subscription system supports multiple tiers, paywalls, free trials and customizable payment options. beehiiv takes 0% of subscription revenue, with Stripe processing fees still applying. www.beehiiv.com

It's especially compelling if you want to combine:

newsletter → subscriber growth → paid subscriptions → advertising → referrals

rather than having the newsletter itself be the entire product.

3. Substack — easiest

Substack is probably the fastest way to launch.

You can create monthly, annual and founding-member plans, offer free trials, coupons and gift subscriptions, and Substack handles the payment infrastructure through Stripe. substack.com

The tradeoff is substantial: Substack takes 10% of each paid transaction, in addition to Stripe fees. substack.comsupport.substack.com

For example, at $10,000/month in subscription revenue, that 10% platform fee alone is roughly $1,000/month.

What I'd pick

Starting from scratch and testing the idea:
→ Substack

Building a serious independent publication:
→ Ghost

Planning aggressive subscriber growth + ads + referrals:
→ beehiiv

Want maximum control over the customer relationship and economics:
→ Ghost + Stripe

One important distinction: you probably don't need to build your own payment system with Stripe. Ghost and beehiiv can use Stripe underneath the hood while handling subscriptions, access control, paywalls, and member management for you. ghost.org

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now (or expect), your monthly subscription price, and whether you already have a website/newsletter platform, I can calculate the actual monthly/annual cost of Ghost vs. beehiiv vs. Substack for your situation.

If your goal is a premium newsletter where subscribers pay recurring fees and automatically get access to paid content, I’d narrow it to these:

🥇 My pick: Ghost

Ghost is particularly attractive if you're serious about building a premium publication as a business.

It gives you:

• Free and paid members
• Multiple paid subscription tiers
• Monthly/yearly billing
• Stripe payment processing
• Premium-content access control
• Free trials and discounts
• Gift subscriptions
• Member management
• Your own website/domain and branding

Most importantly, Ghost doesn't take a percentage of your subscription revenue; you pay Stripe's processing fees instead. ghost.orgghost.org

That becomes significant once you're making real money. For example, at $10,000/month in subscriptions, a 10% platform fee would be $1,000/month before payment processing.

🥈 Substack — easiest

Substack is probably the easiest way to get started.

It handles the publication, subscriber accounts, paywalls, billing, payments, free/paid tiers, trials, coupons, gifts, etc. substack.com

The tradeoff is economics: Substack currently takes 10% of paid transactions, in addition to Stripe/payment fees. support.substack.com

So I'd choose Substack if simplicity and Substack's built-in discovery/network are more important than maximizing margins.

🥉 beehiiv — best if you're building a media business

beehiiv makes more sense if you expect to monetize through paid subscriptions + advertising + referrals/sponsorships, rather than subscriptions alone. Current comparisons put its paid-subscription functionality on the Scale tier, with a 0% platform take. tiergauge.com

One important distinction

If by "premium newsletter content" you mean:

Newsletter → subscriber pays → automatically receives premium emails/content

then use Ghost, Substack, or beehiiv.

If you mean:

Newsletter → subscriber pays → gets access to a larger paid content library/community/course

then I'd lean Ghost, because it behaves more like a membership website as well as a newsletter. Ghost supports multiple membership products and paid-content access levels. ghost.org

Bottom line:

• Starting from zero and want easiest: Substack
• Want the best long-term business economics: Ghost
• Want newsletter + ads/growth engine: beehiiv
• Want newsletter + courses/digital products: Kit

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you expect (e.g. 500, 5,000, 50,000) and your planned monthly price, I can calculate the actual monthly fees and take-home revenue for each.

If your main goal is a premium newsletter with recurring subscriptions, paywalled content, and reliable payment handling, I’d narrow it to three:

My pick: Ghost

For a business where premium content is the product, I'd choose Ghost.

Ghost gives you:

• Free and paid membership tiers
• Monthly and annual subscriptions
• Content restricted to paid members
• Stripe checkout and recurring billing
• Member management
• Email newsletters
• Free trials, discounts, and gift subscriptions
• Your own website/brand rather than being primarily inside a social publishing network
• 0% Ghost transaction/revenue cut; you pay Stripe's normal processing fees. ghost.org

That's particularly attractive once revenue becomes meaningful. For example, at $10,000/month in subscription revenue, a 10% platform fee would be $1,000/month before payment processing.

When I'd pick Substack instead

Choose Substack if you want the fastest, least technical launch and potentially want exposure to Substack's reader network.

It handles monthly/annual subscriptions, founding-member tiers, trials, coupons, gifts, and payment processing through Stripe. substack.com

The tradeoff is substantial: Substack takes 10% of every paid transaction, on top of Stripe fees. substack.comsupport.substack.combeehiivhelp.zendesk.com

So I'd view Substack as:

Great for validating a newsletter; less attractive for maximizing long-term subscription economics.

When I'd pick beehiiv

I'd choose beehiiv if you're thinking of the newsletter as a media/growth business, rather than simply a paid publication.

It supports paid subscription tiers through Stripe and lets you offer multiple membership levels. Stripe can also handle cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and additional payment methods. beehiivhelp.zendesk.com

Its broader monetization and growth tooling can make it particularly compelling if you expect to combine paid subscriptions + advertising + referral/growth mechanisms.

A simple decision

Solo writer / premium publication: → Ghost

"I want to start tomorrow with zero technical hassle": → Substack

Newsletter business with aggressive growth + multiple monetization channels: → beehiiv

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you expect (e.g. 500, 5,000, or 50,000) and your planned monthly price ($5/$10/$20/etc.), I can also compare the actual economics of Ghost vs. Substack vs. beehiiv at that scale.