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Beehiiv vs Mautic

Beehiiv logo

Beehiiv

News

The all-in-one platform for newsletter creators

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Beehiiv platform lacks native SMS support; requires third-party integrations via API or webhooks; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: Beehiiv covers Newsletter creation, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beehiiv and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where Beehiiv and Mautic differ
AttributeBeehiivMautic
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryNewsMarketing
Founded2021Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Beehiiv

  • Newsletter creation
  • Email automation
  • Subscriber management
  • Monetization tools
  • Analytics dashboard
  • Referral program
  • A/B testing
  • Spam checking

Only in Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Beehiiv

  • Email newsletter publishingnot Mautic
  • Content monetizationnot Mautic
  • Audience buildingnot Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot Beehiiv
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot Beehiiv
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot Beehiiv
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot Beehiiv

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Beehiiv

  • Platform lacks native SMS support; requires third-party integrations via API or webhooks
  • Free Launch plan offers only read-only AI capabilities

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

Beehiiv

Free
  • LaunchFree
    • Up to 2,500 subscribers
    • Newsletters, website, podcast
    • Unlimited email sends
  • Scale$43/month
    • Up to 100,000 subscribers
    • Ad Network
    • 0% take rate on paid subscriptions
  • Max$96/month
    • Up to 100,000 subscribers
    • Remove branding, sponsorship storefront
    • Audio newsletters, RSS-to-send
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • 100K+ subscribers
    • Dedicated account manager
    • Custom publication limits

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

Which should you pick?

Choose Beehiiv if

  • You need newsletter creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want email automation.
Beehiiv review

Choose Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is Beehiiv or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. Beehiiv starts at Free and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beehiiv or Mautic?
Beehiiv starts at Free and Mautic at Free.
Does Beehiiv or Mautic run on more platforms?
Beehiiv runs on Web. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Beehiiv for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Beehiiv best used for?
Beehiiv is most often used for email newsletter publishing, content monetization, audience building. Of those, email newsletter publishing and content monetization are not what Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can Beehiiv do that Mautic cannot?
Beehiiv covers Newsletter creation, Email automation, Subscriber management, Monetization tools. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beehiiv: How much does beehiiv cost?

Launch is free for up to 2,500 subscribers. Scale plan is $43/month for up to 100,000 subscribers. Max plan is $96/month. Enterprise has custom pricing for 100,000+ subscribers.

Source
Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

Beehiiv: What does beehiiv's free Launch plan include?

Free Launch plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers and includes newsletters, website builder, podcast hosting, campaign analytics, unlimited email sends, custom domains, and API access.

Source
Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

Beehiiv: What commission does beehiiv take from subscription revenue?

beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscription revenue you collect. Only Stripe's processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) apply.

Source
Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

Beehiiv: What's the difference between beehiiv's Scale and Max plans?

Both support up to 100,000 subscribers. Scale ($43/month) includes Ad Network and 3 team seats. Max ($96/month) adds branding removal, sponsorship storefront, audio newsletters, up to 10 publications, and unlimited team seats.

Source
Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

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