beehiiv vs Brevo
Both are on our shortlist for course creators. They part company on several things that matter more than the monthly price.
beehiiv
BrevoWhich one, for whom
- Starting out with no budgetBrevoBrevo can run an automated welcome sequence on its free plan. beehiiv cannot, so a new subscriber hears nothing from you until you pay.Start free on Brevo
- A list already in the thousandsbeehiivbeehiiv stays free to 2,500 subscribers and can email all of them at once. Brevo stores 100,000 free but sends only 300 emails a day.Start free on beehiiv
- Worried about being locked inbeehiivbeehiiv keeps your subscribers and automations when you cancel, rather than deleting them.
- Selling the course from the same toolbeehiivbeehiiv can take the payment itself, so you do not need a separate checkout.
Side by side
| beehiiv | Brevo | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2,500 subscribers | 100,000 subscribers |
| Free sends | Unlimited sends | 300 emails/day |
| Welcome sequence on free | No | Yes |
| Connects to Teachable | Not listed | Not listed |
| Connects to Kajabi | Not listed | Not listed |
| Connects to Podia | Not listed | Not listed |
| Connects to Thinkific | Not listed | Through Zapier |
| Paid from | $43/mo | $9/mo |
| At 5,000 subscribers | $78 | Not published |
| At 25,000 subscribers | $149 | Not published |
| The catch | You cannot sell anything from the free plan: paid subscriptions and digital products both need a paid plan. | Sending is the limit, not your list. The free plan stops at 300 emails a day, so a campaign to more than 300 people has to be resent by hand, 300 a day, and free emails always carry the Sent with Brevo logo. On its three smallest paid tiers, passing 500, 1,500 or 2,500 contacts moves you up a tier automatically and the price rises. |
| G2 score | 4.5 out of 5, from 40 reviews | Could not be read |
| Trustpilot score | 4.0 out of 5, from 386 reviews | 4.0 out of 5, from 7,204 reviews |
Figures read off each vendor's own pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026. Where a row says not published, that vendor does not state a price at that list size and we will not invent one.
The last two rows are other people's scores, not ours, read between 6 and 12 September 2026. Check them yourself:beehiiv on G2, beehiiv on Trustpilot, Brevo on Trustpilot.
- beehiiv: The G2 score rests on 40 reviews, which is a small enough number that a handful of unhappy or delighted people can move it.
- Brevo: G2 refused to load its Brevo reviews page for us on 12 September 2026, in two separate browser attempts, so there is no G2 score to show. Missing is not the same as low.
Getting your list back out
beehiivEasy to leave
Cancelling a paid plan alone does not delete anything: downgrading to the free Launch plan "keeps your account and all your content intact," per their own help centre. Data is destroyed only if you take the separate, explicit step of deleting the publication or workspace, which their docs call irreversible and warn will delete any subscribers and segments tied to it. Their terms also disclaim any general duty to preserve data after cancellation, so exporting your list is worth doing as routine practice either way. Source
Brevo
Cancelling is self-serve from the My plan page and moves you to the Free plan at the end of the billing period. Their help page says cancelling does not delete any data, though automations drop back to the 2,000-contact limit. The catch comes later: their help page says you have to log in every four months, or the Free account is deleted automatically. Their terms of service give six months instead, so Brevo's own pages disagree. Plan around the shorter one. Source
beehiiv vs Brevo, answered
- Is beehiiv or Brevo better for an online course?
- Neither is better outright, and anyone who says so is guessing on your behalf. Brevo if you are starting out with no budget. beehiiv if you are a list already in the thousands. beehiiv if you are worried about being locked in. beehiiv if you are selling the course from the same tool.
- Which of beehiiv and Brevo has the better free plan?
- Brevo allows more free subscribers (100,000 against 2,500). A bigger allowance is not automatically the better plan: check the welcome sequence row above, because that is where the two usually part company. Brevo's free plan also sends at most 300 emails a day, so check the free sends row too.
- Can I move from beehiiv to Brevo later?
- Yes, and you should assume you will. Export your list before you cancel anything, and keep whatever marks who bought from you. We wrote the whole running order up separately.
Try either one
beehiivBest if the course sits beside a newsletter
$43/mopaid plans start here. Free up to 2,500. Read off their pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026.
Start free on beehiivRead the full beehiiv breakdownBrevoStores a big free list, but sends only 300 emails a day
$9/mopaid plans start here. Free up to 100,000. Read off their pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026.
Start free on BrevoRead the full Brevo breakdownMoving between them? Read the switching guide first, or answer 5 questions to check neither of these is the wrong shortlist.
Neither of these? See all 14, including which ones connect straight to Teachable, Kajabi, Podia or Thinkific, or compare what they cost as your list grows.