A Potions alternative for operators who want to keep editorial control

Potions manages newsletter design, writing, delivery, and list support with a hybrid AI plus human team. HeyNews gives you the drafting speed without handing the publication over. Different products for different operators.

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What it is

HeyNews is a self-serve AI newsletter writer for operators who want editorial control. It connects to beehiiv, Kit, Substack, Ghost, Mailchimp, or any newsletter with a public archive, learns your voice from past issues, monitors your sources, scores stories against your audience, and drafts your next issue. You review, edit, and send from your existing platform. The whole loop takes minutes per issue once it is set up.

Potions positions itself as a done-for-you newsletter system. Its team builds the template, writes each weekly newsletter, sends it to you for final edits and approval, and can help with list management, monetization, paid growth, drip campaigns, and strategy. Starter is $169/mo on annual billing or $299/mo monthly, Teams starts at $242/mo annual or $395/mo monthly for up to 5,000 subscribers, and Power has flexible pricing. Its list-growth service charges $2 per engaged subscriber added, with a $500/mo minimum, according to Potions' homepage (checked October 15, 2026). HeyNews and Potions sit on opposite ends of the build-vs-buy spectrum.

Honest comparison

What it does	Potions	HeyNews
Product type	Done-for-you newsletter system (humans plus AI)	Self-serve SaaS
Who writes the draft	The Potions team, using AI; sent to you for final edits and approval	AI writer trained on your archive and sources; you review before send
Voice training	Team gathers your website, blog, socials, and brand assets, and fine-tunes its models on your existing content	Voice Profile built automatically from your recent issues, ready in minutes
Source monitoring	Its team handles ideation	RSS, blogs, social profiles, Reddit, browser extension, scored against your audience
Newsletter platform integration	Starts on your platform of choice or sends from Potions' own platform	beehiiv import and unsent drafts in beehiiv (paid beehiiv plan); Kit import (OAuth); archive import for Substack, Ghost, Mailchimp, Medium
Performance learning loop	Its team optimizes each newsletter based on engagement	Automatic with beehiiv or Kit: opens and clicks feed story ranking and subject lines
Time to first draft	Onboarding, then weekly cadence	Connect your platform; first draft ready in minutes
Pricing model	Starter from $169/mo annual or $299/mo monthly; Power has flexible pricing; list-growth service: $2 per engaged subscriber added, $500/mo minimum	Flat SaaS pricing: $39, $99, $299, $499/mo

Potions details are according to Potions' homepage (checked October 15, 2026) and Potions' newsletter service page (checked October 11, 2026).

When to choose Potions over HeyNews

You want a team running your newsletter end to end and you are willing to pay done-for-you service pricing for it.
You want a team to plan, write, and send the newsletter while you approve it. In a testimonial on the Potions homepage, Donnie Hampton of Roz (Compliance) says he creates his email and LinkedIn content in about 15 minutes a week.
You want hands-on list management, paid growth, monetization help, drip campaigns, and ongoing strategy support from a service team.
You'd rather brief humans than learn an AI tool.

When to choose HeyNews over Potions

You want to keep editorial control and final say on every issue.
You want predictable flat-rate software pricing instead of a done-for-you service plan.
You publish on beehiiv, Kit, Substack, Ghost, Mailchimp, or Medium and want native or archive-based integration.
You want to set up voice training yourself from your archive in minutes, without a team onboarding.
You want the next draft informed by your last issue's performance data, automatically.

Pricing

Plan	Potions	HeyNews
Pricing model	Starter $299/mo monthly ($169/mo annual); Teams from $395/mo monthly ($242/mo annual); Power: flexible pricing; list-growth service: $2 per engaged subscriber added, $500/mo minimum	Flat SaaS, $39 / $99 / $299 / $499 per month
Time-to-value	1-1 onboarding and strategy calls, then weekly approval cadence	First draft within minutes of connecting your archive
Editorial control	Approval-based, team executes	You write the brief and review every draft
Trial or sample	14-day free trial for new users	14 days OR 5 issues, payment method required
Cancellation	Cancel any time, effective at the end of the paid term; purchases are non-refundable	Cancel from Account settings; your plan runs to the end of the billing period

Potions details are according to Potions' homepage (checked October 15, 2026) and Potions' terms and conditions (checked October 11, 2026).

Potions publishes done-for-you service pricing: Starter is $299/mo monthly or $169/mo on its annual option; Teams starts at $395/mo monthly or $242/mo annual; Power has flexible pricing. Its list-growth service costs $2 per engaged subscriber added, with a $500/mo minimum. HeyNews sells self-serve software, so the cleaner comparison is total time saved, editorial control, and whether you want a team or a tool.

Use cases

The operator who almost hired Potions

You looked at a done-for-you service because the newsletter takes too long. Hiring a team felt like overkill. HeyNews trains on your archive and cuts the drafting time without handing the publication over.

The agency owner running a client newsletter

Outsourcing a client newsletter to a third-party service usually costs margin and control. HeyNews handles drafting at flat-rate pricing so the agency keeps the relationship and the editorial layer.

The lawyer or consultant with a small list

You want a newsletter without a done-for-you service price tag. HeyNews trains on whatever archive exists, drafts from your sources, and starts at $39/mo.

The control-oriented founder

You'd rather drive the AI than review a vendor's draft every week. HeyNews keeps you in the editor instead of in a shared Slack channel with a vendor.

FAQ

Is Potions a software product like HeyNews?

Not in the same way. Potions calls itself "your newsletter platform, email consultant, and content team in one," according to Potions' newsletter platform page (checked October 11, 2026). Its team builds the template, writes your newsletter, and sends it to you for approval. HeyNews is self-serve SaaS where the AI does the drafting and you review.

Is HeyNews cheaper than Potions?

At the published entry points, yes. HeyNews starts at $39/mo. Potions Starter is $299/mo monthly or $169/mo on annual billing, and Teams starts at $395/mo monthly or $242/mo annual, according to Potions' homepage (checked October 15, 2026). The comparison is not like-for-like: Potions sells a service, while HeyNews sells software.

Can HeyNews do everything Potions does?

No. HeyNews does not handle list management, paid growth, drip campaigns, GTM coaching, or strategic branding assistance as a service. It handles drafting, sourcing, voice training, and the performance loop. Service work that humans do at Potions is out of scope.

Do I need a newsletter team to use HeyNews?

No. Most HeyNews users are solo operators or 2-to-3-person teams. Drafting, source review, and send-day approvals all run inside HeyNews and your existing platform.