Substack vs Competitors: Choosing the Best Newsletter Platform for Independent Creators (2025)
Are you using the right platform for what you're trying to build?
The digital publishing world is booming, and substack newsletters have become a powerful way for independent writers and independent creators to grow audiences and monetize quality content.
Substack used to dominate, but now substack competitors are challenging the status quo with lower fees, advanced features, and better automation capabilities for audience growth.
If you're wondering:
What’s the best Substack alternative?
Which newsletter platform offers the most customization options?
Who wins in Substack vs Ghost CMS?
Are there real alternatives to Substack?
You’re in the right place.
Let’s dive in — no filler content here, just a real breakdown to help you choose the best Substack alternative (or to choose Substack) based on your goals.
Note: We’ve included links to helpful resources throughout this post. Some of these may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission — if you choose to make a purchase after clicking them — at no additional cost to you.
Why Substack Still Leads (For Now)
Most of the “competitors” to Substack are either just a regular blogging platform, or they’re just a traditional newsletter tool, or CRM (Customer Relationship Management tool).
Substack isn’t just a blogging platform or newsletter tool.
It’s more like a social platform built around audience engagement through both long-form (blogs/newsletters) and short-form (social-media-style posts) content:
Notes: Short-form content that dramatically boosts discoverability, unlike typical social media.
Posts: Your traditional Substack newsletter or blog content—flexible, with email or web publishing options.
Re-Stacks: Share and amplify others' content to your followers.
Comments and Likes: Build real-time discussions around your work.
Private Chat Groups: Create exclusive communities for your subscriber list.
Private DMs: Collaborate directly with peers and fans.
Recommendations: Cross-promote and grow faster via network effects.
Best Of Lists: Spotlighted newsletters boost credibility and discoverability.
Simply put: No other Substack competitors offer the same all-in-one social publishing experience—though Ghost CMS and Beehiiv come close.
Why Creators Are Seeking Alternatives to Substack
Despite its strengths, Substack has limitations:
That’s why many are seeking alternatives to Substack with stronger monetization options, automation tools, and user friendly interfaces.
Substack vs the Top Competitors
Substack vs WordPress
Customization Options: WordPress wins with themes, plugins, and custom domains (Substack also offers custom domains… you’re on my custom domain Substack right now).
Monetization Options: With WordPress, you can sell digital products, memberships, courses— selling on WordPress goes well beyond newsletters. on Substack, you’ll have to use a third-party platform to sell anything beyond newsletter subscriptions.
Ease of Use: Substack wins for plug-and-play simplicity.
👉 Verdict: WordPress is the best Substack alternative for brand builders who need the flexibility to scale beyond written content within a single native platform. Substack is for writers who want fast results, and grow an audience.
Substack vs Ghost CMS
Ownership: With both Ghost CMS and Substack, you fully own your subscriber list.
Automation Features: Ghost offers integrations for email automation and content creation – on Substack, there is no option for things like automated email workflows, not even with a third party app like Zapier.
Advanced Analytics: Detailed insights for smarter growth strategies – on Substack, analytics are pretty minimal. However, you can integrate both Google Analytics and Google Search Console on Substack.
Customization: Total control over design, functionality, and membership platform features – Substack has limited options here.
👉 Verdict: Choose Ghost if you want full control, customization, and no revenue share.
Substack vs Beehiiv
Automation Workflows: Built-in growth-focused automations.
Advanced Features: Audience boosts, landing pages, automated workflows, referral programs.
Paid Plans: Starting at $0/month for up to 2,500 subscribers. But you won’t get their most powerful features, including their Ad Network, Boost Network, and Paid Subscription functionality unless you’re on their $49/month plan.
👉 Verdict: Beehiiv is the best Substack alternative for scaling aggressively with automation capabilities and SEO optimization, as long as you’re willing to fork over $49/mo to access the features that enable you to achieve those things.
Substack vs Buttondown
User Friendly Interface: Extremely simple.
Monetization Options: Low fees, direct subscriber payments.
Email Automation: Basic but functional.
Customization Options: Minimalist design.
👉 Verdict: Perfect for solo independent writers who value privacy, simplicity, and low overhead.
Substack vs Medium
Audience Engagement: Medium has a bigger native audience.
Subscription Model: Substack allows direct subscriptions; Medium relies on Partner Program payouts.
Content Ownership: Your list is yours on Substack, but not Medium.
👉 Verdict: Pick Substack if you care about list ownership; pick Medium if you want fast reach.
Substack vs SendFox
SendFox was built and is owned by AppSumo
User Friendly Interface: Substack is built for writers—minimal setup, ready-to-publish. SendFox offers a slightly more marketing-focused interface with a learning curve but solid for email-focused workflows.
Monetization Options: Substack includes built-in paid subscriptions with a 10% revenue cut. SendFox has no native monetization tools—users must use third-party platforms to sell products or subscriptions.
Email Automation: Substack supports basic welcome emails. SendFox offers stronger automation features, including drip campaigns and RSS-to-email capabilities.
Customization Options: Substack offers a public-facing newsletter site with limited branding. SendFox allows landing pages and forms, but email design is minimal—no images or file attachments.
👉 Verdict: Choose Substack if you're an independent writer monetizing exclusive content with community features and discoverability. Pick SendFox if you want a lightweight, low-cost email automation tool with strong automation capabilities and no need for a full newsletter platform.
Best Substack Alternatives (2025 Edition)
Here’s a quick guide:
How to Choose the Best Platform for You
✅ Choose Substack for fast, easy launches and built-in audience engagement.
✅ Choose Ghost CMS if you want complete control, scalability, and integration options.
✅ Choose Beehiiv if your focus is aggressive growth, SEO, and automated newsletters.
✅ Choose Buttondown if you're an independent creator who values minimalism and privacy.
✅ Choose WordPress for full content creation, digital products, and business building.
✅ Choose ConvertKit (Kit) if you’re combining newsletters with full membership platform funnels.
Substack vs Discontinued Platforms
The newsletter and blogging niche is highly competitive and that competition only continues to grow. As a result, not everybody “makes the cut.” Here are a few platforms that you may have considered comparing against Substack that no longer exist either due to shutting down, being acquired and absorbed, rebranded, etc.
Substack vs TinyLetter
TinyLetter was acquired by MailChimp and shutdown in 2024
User Friendly Interface: TinyLetter was known for its ultra-minimalist setup, perfect for writers who wanted zero friction. Substack is still simple, but with a few more layers (like profiles and recommendations).
Monetization Options: TinyLetter had none—no way to charge subscribers. Substack supports paid subscriptions, with a 10% revenue share.
Email Automation: TinyLetter offered no automation. Substack has basic automation, but still lags behind competitors like Beehiiv or ConvertKit.
Customization Options: Both platforms offer limited design flexibility, but Substack includes a hosted newsletter site and basic branding tools.
👉 Verdict: TinyLetter was great for sending simple updates to a list, but it’s now discontinued. Substack is the closest surviving platform for minimalist creators—offering similar ease of use plus monetization, analytics, and discovery tools.
Conclusion
The newsletter platform landscape is more competitive than ever. Whether you're a solo independent writer launching your first paid subscription or a seasoned publisher scaling a subscriber list, there's a perfect platform for your needs.
Take stock of your goals, desired automation capabilities, monetization options, and customization options before you pick a platform.
And remember: the "best Substack alternative" isn’t about which tool is objectively best—it’s about which one fits your unique path to creating quality content and building lasting relationships with your subscribers.
