Beehiiv adds webinars, customizable paywalls, and new podcast analytics

In short: Beehiiv announced new tools that let creators run webinars, set flexible paywalls, offer paid trials, and analyze podcasts with optional AI help.

What happened

Beehiiv, a Los Angeles based company known for newsletter publishing, rolled out several new creator features. The biggest addition is a built-in webinar tool. A webinar is a live online event with video, like an interactive class or presentation.

Creators can now host live events for up to 10,000 people inside Beehiiv. The webinars include video, screen sharing, and chat. Hosts can charge for access in multiple currencies, or make events free to attract new readers.

Beehiiv also introduced “metered paywalls.” Think of this like a magazine sample rack (you can read a few articles before you have to subscribe). Creators can choose how many posts someone can read before being asked to pay, and how often that limit resets.

On top of that, Beehiiv added paid trials. Creators can set the trial length and price, for example $1 for 30 days.

For podcasts, Beehiiv is adding AI analytics. This means creators can ask questions about their audience data in plain language, instead of digging through charts and menus. Users must opt in, and they can choose which AI tools to connect, including Claude and ChatGPT.

Beehiiv told TechCrunch it plans to add video support for podcasts in Q2, and advertising tools later this year. The company also shared business results, including 50,000 active users and more than $28 million in annual recurring revenue.

Why it matters

More creators now try to run newsletters, podcasts, and paid communities at the same time. Beehiiv is betting that offering more of these tools in one place can reduce the need to juggle multiple services.

Source: TechCrunch AI