EXCLUSIVE: Beehiiv is expanding into podcasting, targeting Patreon

Newsletter platform Beehiiv offers native podcast hosting, the company told TechCrunch. With this move, creators can now host, distribute and monetize their podcasts directly on Beehiiv. Users will be able to publish an episode, share it with subscribers, and track their analytics, all on the platform.

“Podcasting was an obvious step,” Tyler Denk, co-founder and CEO of Beehiiv, told TechCrunch in an email. “Basically, newsletters and podcasts have tremendous overlap. Both are typically episodic and long-form content, distributed to an owned audience, and monetized through sponsorships. Our roadmap is largely driven by our customers. They’ve told us they really want all of their tools integrated into Beehiiv, and podcasting specifically has been consistently requested across customers of all sizes.”

Beehiiv already has thousands of users with podcasts hosted elsewhere, which is why it makes sense to bring this format in-house, Dink says. Of course, the move signals Beehiiv’s ongoing efforts to transform its platform into an all-in-one platform for creators, posing a challenge to Patreon and Substack, both of which have long supported podcasts. The move toward podcasting is based on the company’s recent launch of a suite of creator-focused tools that cover website creation, analytics, and more.

By moving into podcasting, Beehiiv aims to attract creators to its platform as its competitors follow similar strategies. Substack is aggressively courting video and podcast creators, while Patreon is luring newsletter writers with long-awaited feature upgrades.

One way Beehiiv convinces creators to switch from competitors like Substack and Patreon is by not taking a cut of their revenue. Creators keep 100% of what they earn, Dink says, and the company takes no cut. By comparison, Substack takes a 10% cut of revenue from paid podcast subscriptions, while Patreon takes 8%.

Creators can bundle podcasts with their existing subscription and offer a special feed to paying subscribers. They can offer a premium experience with exclusive episodes, early access, and other perks. Dink points out that many Beehiiv users charge for a paid newsletter, and can now include a podcast as part of that subscription. Creators also have the option to offer a free podcast.

Beehiiv plans to expand its advertising network beyond newsletters to dynamically serve ads in podcasts as well. Dink told TechCrunch that the company is hiring a head of podcasting to oversee these plans.

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

Beehiiv expects heavy adoption from existing users over the next few weeks and months, Dink says, noting that there are several other notable podcasts that have committed to launching on the platform in the next few weeks.

In addition to serving people on Beehiiv who already have newsletters and podcasts, Dink says the new launch may also appeal to podcasters who want to start a newsletter.

“We believe a newsletter should be an essential part of any podcast infrastructure,” Dink said. “It’s how you own your audience, expand distribution, and create more real estate for advertisers. Podcasters who want to launch a newsletter will find a natural home here. Growth is one of the biggest challenges in podcasting. Newsletters drive podcast downloads. Podcasts drive newsletter signups. They reinforce each other, and creators currently manage that through fragmented tools. We’re working to fix that.”

Creators can upload podcasts directly to Beehiiv, and the platform will then distribute them to major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Castro, and more. The platform supports MP3, M4A, and WAV files, with automatic audio normalization for consistent sound. Each episode also includes a full transcript, improving discoverability in research and LLMs.

Each podcast episode gets its own SEO-optimized web page, Dink said. Instead of sending listeners to Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, Beehiiv can keep them on the platform, where they can choose to listen live or choose their preferred player.

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

Founded in 2021, Beehiiv last raised a $33 million Series B in April 2024 with Lightspeed Venture Partners and NEA as investors. Denk recently shared that Q1 2026 was Beehiiv’s best quarter in history, as the company added $4.5 million ARR, sent more than 10 billion emails, and surpassed 50,000 active users.