Head-to-head · September 2026 snapshot

Substack vs Beehiiv

Substack leads on intent; Beehiiv owns feature and budget questions. Substack's edge comes down to one signal: when a model is asked to name a single tool, it picks Substack 39% of the time versus Beehiiv's 17%, and Claude in particular pushes that gap with a 12-point model score advantage. Beehiiv counters on feature-led and budget-framing questions, where buyers comparing specifics find it more frequently recommended, and Gemini actually scores Beehiiv marginally ahead of Substack. The overall citation rate is identical at 68%, so the real separation is positioning, not reach: Substack is the instinctive first answer, Beehiiv is the rational second look.

	Substack	Beehiiv
Visibility Score	63	57
Rank in category	#1	#3
Mention rate	68%	68%
#1 pick rate	39%	17%
Avg. position when named	1.8	2.6

Who each model prefers

ChatGPT

Substack

Beehiiv

Claude

Substack

Beehiiv

Gemini

Substack

Beehiiv

The models split: ChatGPT prefers Substack, Claude prefers Substack, Gemini prefers Beehiiv.

The shape of the fight

Each axis is one of the 8 measured buyer questions; the further out, the more of that question's answers name the brand. Hover an axis for the raw counts. Single-axis gaps ride on 9 answers each, so read the overall shape, not one spike.

SubstackBeehiiv

The fight, question by question

Mentions out of 9 answers per question. Click any question for the full transcripts.

Question	Substack	Beehiiv	Edge
Best overallWhat's the best platform for a company blog and newsletter?	9	9	even
Use-case fitWe want to launch a paid newsletter with a clean reading experience. What should we use?	9	9	even
Top tools in 2026What are the top newsletter and publishing platforms in 2026?	9	9	even
Startup & small teamWhich newsletter platform is best for a creator just starting out?	9	9	even
Enterprise pickWhich publishing platform should a large enterprise standardize on, considering security, compliance, and scale?	0	0	even
Feature-led askI want my own domain, SEO control, and subscriber management. What do you recommend?	1	7	Beehiiv
If you could pick oneIf you could only pick one publishing platform, which one and why?	9	1	Substack
Budget & alternativesWhat's the best alternative to the big newsletter platforms?	3	5	Beehiiv

Open this matchup in the compare tool → · Substack brand report · Beehiiv brand report

Measured from 72 fresh answers collected from the models' production APIs in September 2026; rankings change monthly. Neither brand can pay to appear here or to move the numbers. Full recipe on the methodology page.