A storyarb alternative for teams who want to keep editorial in-house

storyarb is a B2B content marketing agency that runs your newsletter, social, and long-form for $9,999-$13,999/mo on 6-12 month contracts. HeyNews is self-serve newsletter AI at $39-499/mo flat. Build the engine yourself instead of renting it.

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What it is

HeyNews is a self-serve AI newsletter writer for creators, operators, and B2B marketing teams. 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.

storyarb is a B2B content marketing agency. A team of strategists and writers runs an always-on content program across social, email newsletters, and long-form, interviewing your SMEs, drafting for your ICP, and reporting on attributable pipeline. Pricing starts at $9,999/mo (Essentials, 6-month minimum), $13,999/mo for Scale (12-month minimum), or custom for Premium. Different category from HeyNews: services vs software.

Honest comparison

What it does	storyarb	HeyNews
Product type	Done-for-you B2B content agency (humans plus AI)	Self-serve SaaS
Scope	Multi-channel content program: social, newsletters, long-form, lead magnets, campaign assets	Newsletter drafting only (AI layer; you send from your ESP)
Who writes the draft	storyarb team writes; SME interviews, monthly strategy sessions	AI writer trained on your archive and sources; you review
Voice training	Team learns your brand and your SMEs over an onboarding period; SME interviews drive the content	Voice Profile built automatically from every past issue, ready in minutes
Source ingestion	Done by storyarb's team; SMEs are the primary input	RSS, blogs, social profiles, Reddit, browser extension, with relevance scoring
Newsletter platform integration	Whatever platform you use, the team handles it	Native beehiiv (API), Kit (OAuth); archive imports for Substack, Ghost, Mailchimp, Medium
Reporting	Quarterly attributable-pipeline reporting tied to your CRM	Open rate, CTR, unsubscribe rate dashboard; signal feeds back into next draft
Time to first draft	Onboarding period plus the agency cadence	Connect your platform; first draft within minutes
Contract length	6-month minimum (Essentials) or 12-month minimum (Scale, Premium)	Monthly subscription; cancel anytime
Pricing model	$9,999-$13,999/mo, custom for Premium	Flat SaaS: $99 / $299 / $499 per month

When to choose storyarb over HeyNews

You want a senior content team running social plus newsletter plus long-form as one connected program, not just newsletter drafting.
Your B2B marketing team is 1-15 people and you need outside firepower for SME-driven content at scale.
You want quarterly attributable-pipeline reporting tied to your CRM as part of the deliverable.
You can commit to a 6-12 month contract and a $9,999-$13,999/mo budget.
You explicitly want humans interviewing your SMEs, not an AI summarizing what they already wrote.

When to choose HeyNews over storyarb

You only need newsletter drafting, not a multi-channel content program.
You want flat monthly SaaS pricing ($39-499/mo) instead of a service retainer ($9,999-13,999/mo).
You want to keep editorial in-house and use AI as a force-multiplier, not outsource the work.
You publish on beehiiv, Kit, Substack, Ghost, Mailchimp, or Medium and want native or archive-based integration.
You want monthly billing with no contract minimum, not a 6-12 month commitment.

Pricing

Plan	storyarb	HeyNews
Pricing model	Service retainer with contract minimum	Flat SaaS, monthly billing, cancel anytime
Entry tier	$9,999/mo Essentials (newsletter nurture engine; 6-month minimum)	$39/mo Hobbyist (5 issues/mo, 1 publication)
Mid tier	$13,999/mo Scale (multi-channel: social, newsletter, long-form; 12-month minimum)	$99/mo Starter (15 issues/mo, 2 publications)
Top tier	Premium: custom pricing, 12-month minimum, fully custom partner	$499/mo Team (90 issues/mo, 10 publications, 100 AI revisions per draft)
Free trial	Sales call required	14 days OR 5 issues, payment method required
Scope	Social + email newsletters + long-form + lead magnets + reporting	Newsletter drafting only (you keep your ESP, social, and long-form workflow)

storyarb's lowest tier is roughly 100x HeyNews's lowest tier per month, but they are not the same product. storyarb sells a multi-channel content program with humans; HeyNews sells AI drafting software. The right comparison is build vs buy and scope.

Use cases

The B2B marketing team that almost hired storyarb

You looked at storyarb because the content backlog is crushing your team of 3. The retainer math did not work. HeyNews trains on your past newsletter issues at $39-499/mo and gives back the time without the agency commitment. You still write the briefs; HeyNews does the drafting.

The startup that wants to keep content in-house

Outsourcing voice to an agency feels like outsourcing your brand. HeyNews keeps editorial inside your team and uses AI as the force-multiplier. The Voice Profile trains on issues your team has already written.

The agency owner running client newsletters

You cannot outsource a client newsletter to a third-party agency without losing margin and control. HeyNews gives you flat-rate AI drafting per publication, so you keep the client relationship and the editorial layer.

The B2B founder who needs newsletter content but not full agency scope

storyarb wraps newsletter, social, and long-form into one $9,999/mo program. If you only need the newsletter slice, HeyNews handles that from $39/mo, and you can layer in social and long-form yourself when ready.

FAQ

Is storyarb a software product like HeyNews?

No. storyarb is a B2B content marketing agency. A team of strategists and writers runs your content program: SME interviews, social posts, newsletters, long-form, lead magnets, and reporting. HeyNews is self-serve AI software for newsletter drafting.

Is HeyNews cheaper than storyarb?

Yes, by roughly two orders of magnitude per month. storyarb starts at $9,999/mo with a 6-month minimum. HeyNews starts at $39/mo with monthly billing. But the comparison is not really apples-to-apples. storyarb sells a multi-channel content program with humans; HeyNews sells newsletter AI software.

Can HeyNews do everything storyarb does?

No. HeyNews does newsletter drafting (sourcing, voice, drafts, performance loop). storyarb covers social posts, SME-driven long-form content, lead magnets, campaign assets, and quarterly attributable-pipeline reporting tied to your CRM. Multi-channel content programs and human SME interviews are out of HeyNews scope.

Do I need a content team to use HeyNews?

No. Most HeyNews users are solo operators or 2-5-person teams. Drafting, source review, and send-day approvals run inside HeyNews and your existing platform. You do still need someone to brief, review, and approve drafts before they go out.

What if I need newsletter AND social AND long-form?

Then a service like storyarb may be a better fit if budget allows, because they run all three as a connected program. Or you can use HeyNews for the newsletter slice ($39-499/mo) and handle social and long-form with your existing tools or hires. Different shapes for different teams.

How long does it take to get going with HeyNews?

Connect your platform or paste your archive URL, and the first Voice Profile is ready in minutes. You can generate your first draft the same day. No onboarding period, no SME interviews required.