beehiiv vs Campaign Monitor
beehiiv
The newsletter-first operating system for modern media brands, creators, and digital publishers.
Publishers using it: 17 · incl. TechCrunch, The Texas Tribune, Almost Friday
Campaign Monitor
Professional email marketing and automation platform featuring designer-grade templates and visual journeys
Publishers using it: 8 · incl. BuzzFeed, Penguin Random House, ADA Meeting News
Last verified Oct 19, 2026
At a glance
- beehiiv scores 4.2/5 and Campaign Monitor scores 3.1/5 in Benchmark Grid's independent email newsletter platforms benchmark, both assessed on the same 10 criteria.
- The widest gaps are monetisation (beehiiv 4.8, Campaign Monitor 0.8) and audience growth tools (beehiiv 4.8, Campaign Monitor 2.8); they are within 0.3 on 4 of 10 criteria.
- Both are built for small and mid-market publishers.
- On total cost of ownership beehiiv scores 4.5 and Campaign Monitor 3.6 (higher means better value, not a lower price).
- In our tracking 17 publishers use beehiiv and 8 use Campaign Monitor.
- Scores last verified 19 Oct 2026. Vendors cannot pay for a score or a position.
Where they differ
beehiiv is stronger on monetisation (4.8 vs 0.8), audience growth tools (4.8 vs 2.8) and analytics after Apple Mail Privacy Protection (3.5 vs 2.8).
Campaign Monitor is stronger on compliance & list hygiene (3.5 vs 3.0).
Which one fits
Choose beehiiv if…
- You publish at small and mid-market scale.
- You weight monetisation, audience growth tools and analytics after Apple Mail Privacy Protection heavily — beehiiv leads on those in this benchmark.
Choose Campaign Monitor if…
- You publish at small and mid-market scale.
- You weight compliance & list hygiene, segmentation & automation and integrations & API heavily — Campaign Monitor leads on those in this benchmark.
Who uses them
Publishers we have detected running each tool, from ads.txt, site code and published case studies. Agencies, brands and vendors are excluded.
Head to head
| Criterion | beehiiv | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Deliverability & inbox placement16% of capability | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Audience growth tools12% of capability | 4.8 | 2.8 |
| Monetisation12% of capability | 4.8 | 0.8 |
| Segmentation & automation12% of capability | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Analytics after Apple Mail Privacy Protection10% of capability | 3.5 | 2.8 |
| Editor & template design10% of capability | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| Integrations & API8% of capability | 2.8 | 3.0 |
| Subscriber management & data portability8% of capability | 3.5 | 3.2 |
| Compliance & list hygiene6% of capability | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| Sending performance at scale6% of capability | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Capability45% of composite | 3.9 | 3.1 |
| Publisher fit40% of composite | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Total cost of ownership15% of composite | 4.5 | 3.6 |
Cost of ownership
| Sub-score | beehiiv | Campaign Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| Entry cost | 4.7 | 4.3 |
| Implementation cost | 4.6 | 4.0 |
| Hidden-fee risk | 4.5 | 3.1 |
| Ongoing cost | 3.8 | 2.7 |
beehiiv pricing
Free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers; Lite from $49/month (up to 100,000 subscribers) and Pro from $95/month (up to 250,000), billed annually; custom Enterprise pricing.
Campaign Monitor pricing
Free plan for up to 500 contacts and 500 emails, with a 30-day free trial; paid plans start at $13/mo (Lite), $31/mo (Essentials), and $171/mo (Premier) for up to 500 contacts; Enterprise custom.
What users say
beehiiv
69 positive · 27 neutral · 16 negative
Campaign Monitor
25 positive · 16 neutral · 8 negative
Mentions we could not tie to a real user, and those flagged as promotional, are excluded. Sentiment is opinion, and is independent of the verified publisher adoptions above.
beehiiv scores 4.2 and Campaign Monitor scores 3.1 in Benchmark Grid's independent Best Email Newsletter Platforms benchmark (benchmarkgrid.com/vs/beehiiv/campaign-monitor, verified Oct 19, 2026)
Common questions
How do beehiiv and Campaign Monitor differ?
beehiiv is stronger on monetisation (4.8 vs 0.8), audience growth tools (4.8 vs 2.8) and analytics after Apple Mail Privacy Protection (3.5 vs 2.8). Campaign Monitor is stronger on compliance & list hygiene (3.5 vs 3.0). Neither is better in the abstract — which one suits you depends on which of those dimensions carries the most weight in your operation.
Which is cheaper, beehiiv or Campaign Monitor?
On total cost of ownership — pricing transparency, entry cost, implementation, hidden-fee risk and ongoing cost — beehiiv scores 4.5/5 and Campaign Monitor scores 3.6/5. A higher score means better value, not a lower sticker price.
How are these scores calculated?
Each tool is assessed against its category's published criteria (10 in this benchmark), which make up Capability (45% of the composite), Publisher fit (40%) and Total cost of ownership (15%). Assessment is carried out by SODP's editorial team against a published methodology. Vendors cannot pay for inclusion, scores or positions.
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