AudienceBench

beehiiv Paid Recommendations (Formerly Boosts): How to Earn or Grow per Subscriber

Boosts are now beehiiv paid recommendations. How earning and paying per verified subscriber works: the 20% fee, Stripe setup, deposits, verification, and plan limits.

By AudienceBench Editorial · Published · Pricing & docs checked

If you used beehiiv Boosts, you may have noticed they’re gone from the menu. They haven’t been discontinued. beehiiv renamed them paid recommendations and merged them with free recommendations into one Recommendations Network. Most of the old features carried over: cost-per-subscriber offers, verification, the Wallet, auto-accept, auto-pause, and country targeting. But a few things were retired, and a couple of settings work differently now.

This guide covers both sides. You can earn by recommending other newsletters that pay per subscriber, or you can pay other newsletters to recommend yours. It also covers the money details beehiiv spreads across several help articles: the fee, the deposit minimum, how long funds are held, and when you can withdraw.

Our sources: beehiiv’s help articles on paid outgoing and incoming recommendations, the Boosts-to-paid-recommendations change log, the Recommendations Network FAQ, free recommendations, subscriber verification, automating paid offers, inviting publications, and the beehiiv Wallet; beehiiv’s August 2026 guide to recommendations on its blog; and beehiiv’s pricing page. We checked all of them on October 30, 2026.

How we researched this: Everything below comes from beehiiv’s help center, blog, and pricing page. We haven’t run a paid offer or earned from one, so there are no dashboards, results, or earnings figures of our own here. The dollar examples are simple arithmetic using beehiiv’s stated fee, not results. Several of beehiiv’s recommendation articles carry a notice that they’re “currently being updated,” and where they disagree with each other, we say so.

About our links: beehiiv links on this page are affiliate links (/go/beehiiv). That’s the only program we earn from here. It’s a separate thing from beehiiv’s paid recommendations, which pay publishers for newsletter subscribers. Our recommendations would be the same either way.

The short version

Free recommendationsPaid recommendations (formerly Boosts)
What it isMutual cross-promotion between newsletters, no money involvedOne newsletter pays another a set amount per verified subscriber
PlansAll plans, including FreePaid plans (Lite, Pro, Enterprise); not during the free trial
Who can manage itMembers and AdminsWorkspace Admin or Owner only
Setup neededPublication must be public, have posted in the last 60 days, and have a name and logoAll of that, plus Stripe Identity Verification and a Stripe Express account
beehiiv’s cutNone20%, built into the price (a $2.50 offer pays the recommender $2.00)
Where it showsYour recommendation slots in the signup flow, and embedded in postsSame slots (up to 3 of 4 can be paid, per beehiiv’s FAQ)

Our take in one line: if you’re on a paid plan, turning on a few well-matched paid outgoing recommendations is low-effort extra income from readers who are already signing up. Paying for incoming subscribers can work too, but set auto-pause and country limits first, and treat the $20 deposit as a test budget.

Try beehiiv free

What changed from Boosts

beehiiv’s change log (updated October 20, 2026) lists the renames:

Old nameNew name
BoostsPaid recommendations
Grow BoostsIncoming recommendations
Monetize BoostsOutgoing recommendations
Boosts MarketplaceRecommendations Marketplace
Auto-cleanRemoved (replaced by verification tags)

What’s actually different:

  • One menu for free and paid. Open it from Recommendations (under Grow), which lands on Incoming recommendations, or Paid recommendations (under Monetize), which lands on Outgoing recommendations.
  • Email Boosts and Direct Links are retired. You can’t create new ones. Email boosts already running continue until they expire, and Direct Links you’ve shared keep working.
  • Auto-clean is gone. Subscribers who fail verification are no longer removed automatically. They stay on your list with a tag (more below).
  • New: auto-deposit, shareable offer links, a Marketplace with filters and bulk actions, and slot configuration for what new subscribers see.
  • Dashboard labels changed. The acquisition source shows Paid Recommendations for paid sign-ups and recommendation for free ones, instead of “boost.”

One more thing: beehiiv’s old “Setting up your Top 4 Recommendations” help article now redirects to the change-log article. The FAQ still uses the term “Top 4” for the up to four free recommendations you can feature.

How a paid recommendation works

beehiiv’s blog guide lays out the flow:

  1. A reader subscribes to Newsletter A.
  2. On the confirmation step, they see A’s recommended newsletters. If they opt into Newsletter B, they’re subscribed to B as well.
  3. If B has a paid offer that A is recommending, B’s price per subscriber (the CPA) is held while beehiiv verifies the new subscriber.
  4. If the subscriber passes, A is paid (minus beehiiv’s fee). If not, A gets nothing and B isn’t charged.

beehiiv says verification uses “email engagement, geolocation, and behavioral data,” and it doesn’t disclose the exact methods. The Wallet article says verification can take 3 to 21 days.

Side 1: Earn by recommending other newsletters (outgoing)

Before you start

  • You need a paid plan. The pricing page lists paid recommendations on Lite, Pro, and Enterprise, not Free.
  • Complete Stripe Identity Verification and connect a Stripe Express account for payouts. beehiiv says paid recommendations only work through Stripe. There’s no alternative payment method, so check that your country is on Stripe’s supported list.
  • This Stripe Express account is separate from the Stripe account you use for paid subscriptions (see our paid subscriptions setup guide).

Find offers in the Marketplace

Go to Paid recommendations (under Monetize), then Marketplace. If you haven’t joined the network yet, beehiiv asks you to click Join the Recommendation Network first.

  • Quick filters: Auto-accepts you (offers that accept you right away) and No geo limits (offers that pay for subscribers from anywhere).
  • More filters: Category, Language, Size, Last posted, Audience location, Restrictions, Type (free or paid), and CPA.
  • Sort: Best match (default), Most subscribers, Recently posted, Highest CPA, or Most funded. beehiiv points out that well-funded offers are less likely to pause because the payer ran out of money.

Each card shows the publication’s size band (Under 5K, 5K–25K, 25K–100K, 100K+) and badges for auto-accept and countries. The buttons tell you how the offer works:

  • Recommend for $X / subscriber: auto-accepts you, so it’s live the moment you click.
  • Apply for $X / subscriber: the publication reviews you first. The help article says there’s no form or message to write. (beehiiv’s August blog guide mentions adding a short note, which the newer help article doesn’t.)
  • Recommend for free: no money changes hands.

The $X shown is what you’ll actually be paid, after beehiiv’s 20% fee. You can recommend a publication for free or for pay, not both. If you select several cards and use bulk actions, beehiiv always picks the paid offer when there is one.

Set your slots

Slots control what new subscribers see after signing up. Each slot can be Shuffle (rotates through your active recommendations), Pinned (one specific publication), Smart (beehiiv fills it with a good match), Your publication (one of your other newsletters), or None. Each slot can draw from free, paid, or both.

How many can be paid? beehiiv’s FAQ (updated Oct 20, 2026) says 4 slots total, up to 3 paid. The August blog guide says “up to four active paid slots.” We’d go with the newer FAQ and check the slot editor’s live preview.

Track it and get paid

The Outgoing Overview shows Active recommendations, Subscribers driven, Total earned, and Subscribers in verification, plus a status for each partner. The blog guide lists the statuses: Active, Inactive (turned off by you), Paused (by the other publication, often because their funds ran low; you can’t resume it), Rejected, and Archived (you’d have to reapply, after a 30-day wait).

From beehiiv’s Wallet article:

  • Earnings land in your beehiiv Wallet as each subscriber passes verification.
  • You can withdraw to your bank anytime through Stripe Express. Withdrawals typically take 3–5 business days.
  • If you downgrade or close your account, pending earnings are still paid out, and you can withdraw even on the Free plan.
  • beehiiv doesn’t issue invoices for these earnings. Payout records are in Stripe Express, and the Wallet can export a CSV. Stripe issues tax forms such as a 1099-K for earnings over $5,000 in a calendar year.
  • You can move earnings into Available to spend to fund your own paid offer. That transfer can’t be reversed or withdrawn.

If withdrawals are paused, beehiiv says that can happen while your paid recommendations are under review or blocked as part of its anti-abuse system. The fix is a support ticket.

Side 2: Pay other newsletters to recommend you (incoming)

Create a paid offer

Go to Recommendations (under Grow), then Create paid offer:

  1. Offer details: enter your cost per subscriber (CPA), which is what you pay per verified subscriber. Recommenders see 20% less. beehiiv’s example is a $2.50 CPA showing as $2.00.
  2. Eligible subscriber countries (optional): you only pay for verified subscribers from the countries you pick. Leave it blank to accept all.
  3. Auto-accept (optional): a slider runs from “Highest quality subscribers, slower growth” to “Lower quality subscribers, faster growth,” with an estimate of how many publishers qualify. Advanced conditions filter by category, audience country, and language.
  4. Add funds through Stripe, optionally with auto-deposit, then Create offer. It goes live in the Marketplace.

You get one live paid offer per publication. To find partners, you can share a direct link to the offer (Paid offer tab → 3 dots → Share offer). Publishers need to be logged in to beehiiv to use it. You can also Invite publications for free or paid. Invitations expire after 7 days.

The money rules

RuleWhat beehiiv says
Minimum deposit$20 (incoming-offer article, FAQ, and blog). The Wallet article (updated Oct 1, 2026) says $50. Expect whichever Stripe checkout shows
Maximum per deposit$10,000 (Wallet article)
RefundsDeposited funds are non-refundable, and only earnings can be withdrawn
Keeping the offer liveAvailable funds must stay at or above 10× your CPA, or the offer may pause (and paused offers don’t show in the Marketplace)
HoldsFunds for subscribers still in verification are held. beehiiv’s example: $2.00 CPA × 100 pending = $200 held
Auto-depositSet a balance threshold, deposit amount, and frequency (weekly, every two weeks, monthly). It processes at most once a week

Simple math: at a $2.50 CPA, the 10× rule means keeping at least $25 available, so a $20 deposit is already below the line for that offer. And 100 verified subscribers would cost $250, with the recommending newsletters receiving $200 of it. That’s our arithmetic from beehiiv’s stated fee, not a quote. Deposit with that in mind, because unused funds can’t be refunded.

Protect subscriber quality

  • Auto-pause: pauses any partner whose subscribers’ average open rate falls below your threshold, once that partner has sent your minimum count (at least 100 verified subscribers). It applies to current and future partners.
  • Verification tags: every paid-recommendation subscriber gets Rec: Pending Verification, Rec: Verified, or Rec: Failed Verification. The blog lists custom fields too (rec_verification_status, rec_verification_date, rec_failure_reason). You can’t edit or delete the tags.
  • Failed subscribers stay on your list. You aren’t charged for them, but they do count toward your list size unless you remove them. beehiiv includes a pre-built automation template that removes failed-verification subscribers. Turn it on from the Automations dashboard, or use the tags in a segment or automation for a re-engagement email first.
  • Block or report a publisher from the 3-dots menu on Incoming recommendations. There’s no self-service dispute for a single subscriber’s verification result; beehiiv says to open a support ticket.

Why removing failed subscribers matters: beehiiv prices plans by subscriber count (see the table below), so unverified sign-ups you keep can push you toward the next tier.

Free recommendations still matter

Free recommendations work on every plan, including Free, and they can run alongside paid ones. Your free picks show in your signup flow (if enabled) and can be embedded in posts. Two things to know:

  • You can’t opt out of the network. beehiiv’s FAQ says there’s currently no way to stop appearing in it. Use Block publication for specific publishers you don’t want recommending you.
  • Recommendations aren’t the Referral Program. Recommendations are publisher-to-publisher. The Referral Program rewards your own readers for sharing, and the pricing page lists it on Lite and up (3 milestones on Lite, unlimited on Pro). Setup guide: beehiiv referral program.

Recommendations aren’t the only way to earn

If you’d rather run ads than swap subscribers, beehiiv’s Ad Network is a separate marketplace of CPM and CPC campaigns paid through the same Wallet. How it works, the payout timeline, and where beehiiv’s pages disagree: beehiiv Ad Network explained.

Is it worth it?

  • Earning side: if you’re already paying for Lite or Pro, outgoing paid recommendations cost you nothing extra to set up beyond Stripe. The trade-off is that your new readers see other newsletters right after subscribing. Use Pinned or Your publication slots if you have a sister newsletter you’d rather promote, and stick to publications your readers would actually like.
  • Paying side: you only pay for verified subscribers, and the auto-pause, country, and auto-accept controls are real protections. But verification takes up to three weeks, deposits are non-refundable, and failed sign-ups stay on your list until you remove them. Start with a small deposit and a moderate CPA, turn on auto-pause and the removal automation, and check the open rates of recommendation subscribers before adding more.

What it costs

Free recommendations are on all plans. Paid recommendations need Lite or higher. Prices from beehiiv’s pricing page, checked October 30, 2026:

SubscribersLite (billed yearly / monthly)Pro (billed yearly / monthly)
1,000$49 / $59 per month$95 / $109 per month
2,500$69 / $79 per month$129 / $149 per month
5,000$95 / $109 per month$169 / $199 per month
10,000$119 / $139 per month$199 / $239 per month

Pro doesn’t add anything for paid recommendations specifically. Both Lite and Pro show “Yes” on the pricing page. beehiiv’s free trial is 14 days of Pro with no credit card, but its trial article (updated Oct 19, 2026) lists paid recommendations among the features held back until you upgrade: you can’t apply to offers or create your own during the trial. Free recommendations work on any plan. Full breakdown: beehiiv pricing explained.

Where beehiiv’s docs disagree or leave gaps

  • Minimum deposit: $20 in the incoming-offer article, FAQ, and blog; $50 in the Wallet article.
  • Paid slots: up to 3 of 4 (FAQ) vs “up to four active paid slots” (blog).
  • Applying: “no message to write” (help article) vs “add a short note” (August blog).
  • Who can use it: the article headers say “Members and Admins,” but the text says only a workspace Admin or Owner can access paid recommendations.
  • Several recommendation articles are flagged as “currently being updated to reflect recent releases.”

Checklist

  • Confirm you’re on Lite or higher (not the free trial) and are a workspace Admin or Owner
  • Publication is public, has a name and logo, and has posted in the last 60 days
  • Complete Stripe Identity Verification and connect Stripe Express (separate from your paid-subscriptions Stripe account)
  • Earning: browse the Marketplace (try Auto-accepts you and Most funded), recommend a few good fits, then set your slots
  • Paying: set CPA and countries, deposit a test budget, keep funds above 10× CPA, turn on auto-pause
  • Turn on the pre-built automation that removes Rec: Failed Verification subscribers (or build your own)
  • Check Wallet earnings and withdraw. Remember transfers to Available to spend can’t be undone

Our take

The rename from Boosts is mostly housekeeping. The bigger changes are that failed-verification subscribers now stay on your list and that free and paid recommendations share one set of slots. For most paid-plan newsletters, the earning side is worth switching on with a few well-chosen partners. The paying side can be a sensible growth channel if you treat the first deposit as a test, watch open rates, and clean out failed sign-ups so they don’t inflate your plan price.

Try beehiiv · beehiiv pricing explained · beehiiv paid subscriptions setup · beehiiv automation workflows

Sources

All sources below were checked October 30, 2026.