Here are 10 alternatives to Substack, along with a summary of each alternative, pricing information, and their pros and cons:
1. Ghost
Summary: Ghost is a popular publishing platform that focuses on simplicity and speed. It offers a clean and customizable interface with powerful features for writers and publishers.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month for the basic plan and goes up to $199/month for the business plan.
Pros: User-friendly interface, customizable themes, built-in analytics, and membership and subscription support.
Cons: Higher pricing compared to other alternatives, limited customization options for the basic plan.
2. Revue
Summary: Revue is an email newsletter platform that was acquired by Twitter. It allows writers to curate and publish newsletters easily while offering integration with social media platforms.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month for the pro plan. Twitter recently made Revue’s Pro features available for free.
Pros: Easy-to-use interface, integration with Twitter, built-in audience growth tools, and monetization options.
Cons: Limited design customization options, fewer advanced features compared to other alternatives.
3. Mailchimp
Summary: Mailchimp is primarily known as an email marketing platform but also provides a solid option for creating and distributing newsletters. It offers various templates and features to help you reach your audience effectively.
Pricing: Offers a free plan for up to 2,000 subscribers. Paid plans start at $9.99/month for the essentials plan and go up depending on the subscriber count and features.
Pros: Robust email marketing features, pre-designed templates, automation tools, and a large user base.
Cons: Can be overwhelming for beginners, limited customization options for free and lower-tier plans.
4. Buttondown
Summary: Buttondown is a straightforward and affordable email newsletter platform designed for writers. It focuses on simplicity and offers features such as subscriber management and automation.
Pricing: Starts at $5/month for the hobbyist plan and goes up based on the subscriber count and features.
Pros: Easy-to-use interface, affordable pricing, clean design, and automation capabilities.
Cons: Limited design customization options, lacks advanced features compared to some alternatives.
5. TinyLetter
Summary: TinyLetter is a minimalist email newsletter platform that was acquired by Mailchimp. It is ideal for individuals and small-scale newsletters, offering simplicity and ease of use.
Pricing: Free to use.
Pros: User-friendly interface, simple setup process, ideal for personal newsletters, and integrates with Mailchimp.
Cons: Limited customization options, lacks advanced features, and may not scale well for larger publications.
6. ConvertKit
Summary: ConvertKit is an email marketing platform built specifically for content creators, including writers and bloggers. It provides powerful automation tools, customization options, and subscriber management features.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers and goes up based on the subscriber count and features.
Pros: Advanced automation features, customizable forms and landing pages, segmentation options, and integrations with various platforms.
Cons: Relatively higher pricing for larger subscriber counts, steeper learning curve for beginners.
7. MailerLite
Summary: MailerLite is an email marketing platform that offers a range of features including newsletter creation, automation, and landing page design. It is suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
Pricing: Offers a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers. Paid plans start at $10/month for up to 1,000 subscribers and increase based on the subscriber count and features.
Pros: Easy-to-use interface,
integration with various platforms, automation features, and affordable pricing.
Cons: Limited advanced features compared to some alternatives, email deliverability can sometimes be an issue.
8. MailPoet
Summary: MailPoet is a plugin for WordPress that turns your website into a full-featured email marketing platform. It offers newsletter creation, subscriber management, and automation tools.
Pricing: Offers a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers. Premium plans start at $13/month for up to 1,250 subscribers and increase based on the subscriber count.
Pros: Seamless integration with WordPress, easy setup process, drag-and-drop newsletter editor, and WooCommerce integration.
Cons: Limited design customization options, some features require premium plans, may not be as feature-rich as standalone platforms.
9. Sendinblue
Summary: Sendinblue is an all-in-one marketing platform that includes email marketing, SMS marketing, and more. It offers a range of features to create and distribute newsletters effectively.
Pricing: Offers a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $25/month for up to 10,000 emails per month and increase based on the features and email volume.
Pros: Multiple marketing channels in one platform, advanced automation features, A/B testing, and CRM integration.
Cons: Interface can be overwhelming for beginners, limited design customization options, and pricing can be higher for larger volumes.
10. Mailjet
Summary: Mailjet is an email marketing platform that focuses on email deliverability and scalability. It provides a user-friendly interface, collaboration features, and advanced marketing automation.
Pricing: Offers a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $9.65/month for up to 30,000 emails per month and increase based on the features and email volume.
Pros: High email deliverability rates, easy-to-use interface, collaboration tools, and advanced segmentation options.
Cons: Limited design customization options, automation features may require higher-tier plans, customer support can be slow at times.
Please note that pricing and features may change over time, so it’s always a good idea to visit the respective websites for the most up-to-date information.