Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Community member roles and permissions
Community Beta Disclaimer: The community feature is launching in a beta state, available to all paid beehiiv plans. During this time, we will be prioritizing user feedback and making frequent updates that may cause some images or details in this article to differ slightly from what you see in the app.
Roles control who can do what in your community. Most people never need a role: everyone who joins is a member and can participate fully. You grant Moderator or Admin to the people who help you run the community.
Community member role permissions
Tech Note: In order to use the full permission set of Moderator or Admin roles, your Moderators or Admins must also have a seat in your publication. For more information, read Workspace user roles and permissions overview.
| Member | Moderator | Admin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post, comment, and react | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit and delete their own posts and comments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create and manage channels | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Pin and unpin any post | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Close or hide comments on any post | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Remove any post or comment | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Review and act on reported content | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Configure newsletter and podcast sync | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Remove members | ✓ | ||
| Manage member roles | ✓ |
A few details worth knowing:
- Member is the default: Everyone who joins your community participates as a member. No setup needed.
- You are an admin from day one: When your community is created, you and your workspace team are added as its first members with matching roles.
- Banned members aren’t deleted: Banned members remain in your member list but lose the ability to post, comment, or react. Read Managing your community members for more info.
Assign or change a role
- In your beehiiv dashboard, open Community from the left navigation, then select Members.
- Find the member and open the 3 dots menu.
- Select Manage roles.
- Switch on the role you want to grant:
Admin: Full control over community settings, members, and content.
Moderator: Can moderate posts, comments, and members.
- Select Save.
Tech Note: Role changes take effect immediately.
Who should get which role
- Moderators are your day-to-day stewards: they keep conversations healthy, pin what matters, and remove what doesn't belong. Give this to trusted, active members as your community grows.
- Admins can remove members and change roles, so keep this list short: you and anyone who truly co-runs the community.
For a framework on recruiting and empowering your first moderators, check out these resources from beehiiv's head of community.
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