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Reviews onG2
13 reviews tracked

The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free plan available, paid tiers above

Biggest pro

Completely free to start

Biggest con

10% revenue cut

TL;DR - Substack

  • Simple newsletter platform with payments
  • Built-in paid subscription model
  • Home to many popular writers
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams
4.4/5 across review platforms

What is Substack?

Editorial review
Substack powers newsletter businesses. Writing platform for paid newsletters-where independent writers build audiences. The platform defined independent newsletters. The discovery helps growth. The business model is clear. Writers building newsletter businesses often start on Substack.

Available on: Web

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Completely free to start
  • Built-in payments
  • Simple to use
  • Large network

Cons

  • 10% revenue cut
  • Limited customization
  • Basic features

Ratings Across the Web

4.4(13 reviews)

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Newsletter publishingPaid subscriptionsPodcast hostingCommunityAppRecommendationsNotesArchive

Pricing Plans

Free

Free

Free newsletters

  • Unlimited subscribers
  • Unlimited posts
  • Custom domain
  • Basic analytics

Paid newsletters

10%

Monetization

  • Paid subscriptions
  • Payment processing
  • Subscriber management
  • Community features

How Substack's pricing compares

At $10/mo, Substack is mid-range of its 5 direct competitors ($5 to $199/mo across the set).

Substack
$10
$199

Entry paid plan, monthly.

Reviews

4.4/5

Across 13 verified user reviews on G2

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Best Substack Alternatives

Top alternatives based on features, pricing, and user needs.

Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.

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Substack FAQ

Is Substack free?

Substack is free for free newsletters. For paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of revenue plus Stripe fees (~3%).

Should I use Substack or my own platform?

Substack is great for starting. Once established, consider ConvertKit or Ghost to avoid the 10% cut and have more control.

Source: substack.com