beehiiv alternative: sell your products by newsletter, with no commission
Smartletter is a beehiiv alternative for creators and store owners who make money selling their products or affiliate links. Smartletter takes 0% of those sales, and the Pro plan that unlocks them costs €49/month excl. VAT, versus $109/month for beehiiv Pro. The limit: no paid subscriptions, and beehiiv's free plan goes up to 2,500 subscribers, versus 500 with us.
Your list grows, and so does your bill. What you really want is to sell your products and affiliate links. Paid subscriptions don't interest you.
| Criteria | Smartletter | beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | €0 (Free). Starter €19/month. Pro €49/month. Scale €99/month. Excl. VAT. | $0 (Free). Lite from $59/month (1,000 subscribers). Pro from $109/month. |
| Free plan | 500 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month. Hard cap. Sent from @mail.smartletter.ai. | Up to 2,500 subscribers. |
| Quotas | Starter: 5,000 subscribers, 10,000 emails/month. Pro: 25,000 subscribers, 50,000 emails/month. Scale: 100,000 subscribers, 200,000 emails/month. Past that: €1 per 1,000 emails, never blocked. | Price depends on subscriber count. |
| Where emails are sent from | Sent through Amazon SES in Paris (eu-west-3). | Not checked for this comparison. |
| Key features | AI writing, selling your products, affiliate catalog, Shopify and WooCommerce stores (Pro), beehiiv CSV import. | Paid subscriptions. Ad network from Lite. |
| Commission on your sales | 0% on your product sales and on your own affiliate links. No paid subscriptions. | 0% on paid subscriptions, plus Stripe fees. |
Sources: https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing. Prices checked on Oct 17, 2026. Smartletter: prices in euros, excluding VAT. beehiiv: prices in dollars, as on its site.
What you get
- AI writes a first draft from your site and your products, which means you start from a text, not a blank page.
- 0% commission on your sales, which means what you sell stays yours.
- Connected Shopify and WooCommerce stores (Pro), which means buyers who agree join your list on their own.
- CSV import that reads the beehiiv export, which means you switch tools without rebuilding your list.
The platform's deliverability stats are public and live. See the live stats
How long it takes to switch
- 01You export your list from beehiiv as a CSV.
- 02You import it into Smartletter. The beehiiv columns are detected on their own.
- 03The opens and clicks in the export are kept.
- 04You confirm your subscribers gave their consent. Depending on the list, the import may go through a check before the first send.
Choose beehiiv if…
- You want to sell paid subscriptions.
- You want to earn money from an ad network.
- You have between 500 and 2,500 subscribers and don't want to pay.
Choose Smartletter if…
- You sell your own products or affiliate links.
- You run a Shopify or WooCommerce store.
- You want AI to write the first draft.
- You want your emails to go out from Paris.
FAQ
- What's a good beehiiv alternative to sell products by newsletter?
- Smartletter. You sell your products and affiliate links in your emails, with 0% commission. These features are in the Pro plan, at €49/month excl. VAT.
- Does Smartletter take a cut of my sales?
- No. Smartletter takes 0% of your product sales and of your own affiliate links. You pay your plan, plus extra emails if you go over your quota.
- Can I import my beehiiv list into Smartletter?
- Yes. You import your beehiiv CSV export as is. The columns are detected on their own.
- Does Smartletter support paid subscriptions like beehiiv?
- No, not today. If you want to live off paid subscriptions, beehiiv is a better pick.
- How much does Smartletter cost compared to beehiiv?
- Smartletter: €0, then €19, €49 or €99/month excl. VAT. beehiiv: $0, then Lite from $59/month and Pro from $109/month. Prices checked on Oct 17, 2026.
Sell your products. Keep your sales.
0% commission on what you sell by email.
Launch offer: the first 25 signups get 40% off paid plans, for life.