Exclusive: Beehiiv expands into podcasting, taking aim at Patreon

Newsletter level Beehiiv is introducing autochthonal podcast hosting, the institution told TechCrunch. With this move, creators tin present host, distribute, and monetize their podcast straight connected Beehiiv. Users volition beryllium capable to people an episode, stock it with subscribers, and way their analytics each connected the platform.

“Podcasting was an evident move,” Beehiiv co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk told TechCrunch successful an email. “Fundamentally, newsletters and podcasts person monolithic overlap. Both are typically episodic, long-form content, distributed to an owned audience, monetized via sponsorship. Our roadmap is heavy driven by our customers. They’ve told america that they truly privation to consolidate each of their tools into Beehiiv, and podcasting specifically has been requested consistently crossed customers of each sizes.”

Denk says Beehiiv already has thousands of users with podcasts hosted elsewhere, which is wherefore it makes consciousness to bring the format in-house. Of course, the determination signals Beehiiv’s continued efforts to crook its level into an all-in-one level for creators, challenging Patreon and Substack, some of which person agelong supported podcasts. The propulsion into podcasting builds connected the company’s caller motorboat of a suite of creator-focused tools covering website creation, analytics, and more.

By moving into podcasting, Beehiiv aims to pull creators to its level arsenic its rivals prosecute akin strategies. Substack has been heavy courting video and podcast creators, portion Patreon has worked to entice newsletter writers with long-awaited diagnostic upgrades.

One mode Beehiiv is convincing creators to power from rivals similar Substack and Patreon is by not taking a chopped of their revenue. Denk says creators support 100% of what they earn, and the institution does not instrumentality a share. By comparison, Substack takes a 10% chopped of gross from paid podcast subscriptions, portion Patreon takes 8%. 

Creators tin bundle a podcast with their existing subscription and connection a backstage provender to paying subscribers. They tin connection a premium acquisition with exclusive episodes, aboriginal access, and different perks. Denk notes that galore Beehiiv users already complaint for a paid newsletter, and that they tin present see a podcast arsenic portion of that subscription. Creators besides person the enactment to connection a escaped podcast.

Beehiiv plans to grow its advertizing web beyond newsletters to dynamically service ads successful podcasts arsenic well. The institution is hiring a Head of Podcasts to oversee these plans, Denk told TechCrunch.

Some of the podcasts joining Beehiiv astatine motorboat see Genshe with Avni Barman, 505 podcast with Brayden Figueroa and Kostas Garcia, The Rebooting with Brian Morrissey, Sweat Equity by Alex Garcia & Brian Blum, The Most Important Question from Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, Lunch with Jamie by Jamie Patricof, and more. 

Denk says Beehiiv anticipates dense adoption from existing users implicit the adjacent respective weeks and months, noting that determination are respective different notable podcasts that person committed to launching connected the level successful the adjacent fewer weeks.

In summation to serving radical connected Beehiiv who already person newsletters and podcasts, Denk says the caller motorboat could besides entreaty to podcasters who privation to commencement a newsletter.

“We judge a newsletter should beryllium a halfway portion of infrastructure for immoderate podcast,” Denk said. “It’s however you ain your audience, grow distribution, and make much existent property for advertisers. Podcasters who privation to motorboat a newsletter volition find a earthy location here. Growth is 1 of the biggest challenges successful podcasting. Newsletters thrust podcast downloads. Podcasts thrust newsletter signups. The 2 reenforce each other, and close present creators are managing that crossed fragmented tools. We’re fixing that.”

Creators tin upload podcasts straight to Beehiiv, and the level volition past administer them to large podcast platforms similar Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Castro, and more. The level supports MP3, M4A, and WAV files, with automatic audio normalization for accordant sound. Each occurrence besides includes a afloat transcript, improving discoverability successful hunt and LLMs. 

Each podcast occurrence gets its ain SEO-optimized webpage, Denk said. Instead of sending listeners to Apple, Spotify, oregon YouTube, Beehiiv tin support them connected the platform, wherever they tin take to perceive straight oregon prime their preferred player. 

Beehiiv’s podcast analytics are built to IAB standards and supply elaborate breakdowns by country, listening app, device, and operating system. Creators besides get insights into episode-level downloads and real-time data. 

Founded successful 2021, Beehiiv past raised a $33 cardinal Series B successful April 2024 with Lightspeed Venture Partners and NEA arsenic investors. Denk recently shared that Q1 2026 was Beehiiv’s champion 4th successful history, arsenic the institution added $4.5M ARR, sent much than 10 cardinal emails, and crossed 50,000 progressive users.