Terms
Most of you know that Revue, a platform for building an audience through emails and publishing online is being shut down by the main company Twitter. Revue was established in 2015 and was bought by Twitter in 2021.
15 December 2022 just a few days after newly appointed Twitter director Elon Musk expressed an interest in buying Substack (another subscription platform), Twitter announced that they were phasing out Revue. Which newsletter platform alternatives are left?
First, what is Substack?
Substack is an application that has changed how independent authors and journalists monetize their work through the ability to write and distribute newsletters, as well as other writing content.
The substack.com home page (c) Substack
It is not the sole platform of its kind, and there are many Substack alternatives that have similar functions. In this post, we will take a closer look at some of the primary opponents to Substack and compare their features and capabilities.
We'll dive deep into various tools for newsletters in order to determine what suits your individual preferences. Also, we'll provide the cost of each software.
Substack's pricing model
It's free to post on Substack regardless of how many subscribers you have. When you enable paid subscriptions and begin charging your subscribers, Substack takes a 10% fee on each purchase and their processing platform Stripe costs 2.9% + 30C/ transaction.
Ghost - great for blogging
A alternative that is similar to Substack is Ghost the open-source blogging platform. Ghost is like Substack in the sense that it permits users to create and publish material, but Ghost has additional features that Substack does not have that could be a good choice for bloggers with a long history of independence or small publications.
The ghost.org home page (c) Ghost
One of the main distinctions in Ghost as well as Substack is the degree of control that users can exercise in their own content. Ghost permits users to perform more heavy lifting with regards to customizing with custom-designed templates and themes to alter the style and appearance of their publications, while Substack is more restricted in its selection of choices. Ghost is also able to support multi-authors and allows multiple authors to contribute to a single blog or site, making Ghost a great choice to work in teams.
Ghost's pricing strategy
Ghost prices start at $11/month, and $108/year for the Starter plan. It includes the staff member, one user, no-cost Ghost websites themes, integrated integrations that are standard, as well as the possibility of having up to 500 members. Three higher levels are available that begin with the Creator plan at $25/month for 1,000 Members plus additional functions like customized integrations.
Medium is great for publishing in a community
Medium is a different platform that offers features similar to Substack. It's a writing and blogging platform which allows users to publish stories and boasts a vast community of readers and writers. Medium is renowned for its simple, clean interface, as well as its focus on quality content. It encourages readers to discover thoughts, stories, and expertise on any topic.
medium.com home page (c) medium.com
Medium is a great platform for writers and journalists looking to reach an engaged audience, and so is easily a part of Substack's most popular competitors because it is a dependable built-in community of readers However, its readers are focused on online and the app, not in email newsletters. The membership as well as paywall features allow writers to earn money for their writing.
Medium's pricing system
There is no charge to post your story on Medium for any number of members/subscribers that you be able to. Medium earns its revenue by charging users to read your stories or other people's, for $5/month or $50/year.
In fact, writers on the Medium Partner Program can earn money through referrals. Successful referrals bring in half of a membership fee of a new member for while they're as a paid member, less the usual 2.9 percentage plus $0.30 on processing charges. So, if you got 100 readers to sign up for an annual Medium membership, you'd earn an average of $227 for each month.
ConvertKit is great for automatizing
ConvertKit is an automation and email marketing platform specifically designed to help creators like bloggers or journalists as well as podcasters. It's made to assist people build an email list, automate email sequences, and create segments for audiences to be specific marketing. ConvertKit includes features like opt-in forms, landing pages, and email comms like other Substack competitors.
The IxT1XhZ5oqe1jmreBgs The converkit.com homepage (c) ConvertKit
One of the main focuses of Convertkit is the automation of the process of connecting to new potential subscribers and nurturing their growth into loyal customers. Additionally, it has an automation tool that allows users to build intricate automation workflows without the need for programming. Additionally, it includes tools for managing affiliate relationships as well as providing exclusive content to paid subscribers.
Pricing model for ConvertKit's ConvertKit
New creators can take advantage of the free service. ConvertKit is completely free up to 300 customers. For creators with growing audiences, ConvertKit costs from $15/month or $108/year for up to 300 customers, however, it also comes with the ability to access email sequences, automation builders and third-party integrations and the addition of a team member.
MailChimp is great for emails
It is an email-marketing tool which allows organizations and businesses to develop and deliver email campaigns to (often huge) groups of. Mailchimp provides the capability to create custom email templates that can be segmented and targeted to your audiences, measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and connect with a variety of different tools and services in order to replicate the performance of a Substack rival.
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home page. The mailchimp.com home page (c) Mailchimp
With Mailchimp, you receive analytics and tracking tools to assist you to understand the effectiveness of your campaigns and take data-driven decision making. It's less focussed on publishing , and is more focused on email CRM or ecommerce; as such it provides integrations with site builders, e-commerce platforms and other tools that automate the process of creating and sending out email messages.
Pricing model for MailChimp
Mailchimp provides a no-cost plan, which allows you to access the basic features for up to 2,500 emails sent to up to 500 people using basic reporting. Plans that are paid for to have larger lists and more advanced features start from $20/month for as much as 6000 email messages for up to 500 recipients.
Patreon is a great way to support creators.
Patreon provides independent creators, such as writers and musicians to receive financial support from their audience, to fund their work and continue to create new material. Creators can create a profile through the Patreon platform, and their patrons, also known as "patrons," can choose to give them regularly scheduled monetary contributions. In return, patrons receive exclusive content and/or rewards.
The patreon.com home page (c) Patreon
Patreon is an subscription-based model. This means that users are charged a fixed amount over a regular basis (usually each month). Creators can choose to offer various levels of support, with different rewards for each level, so customers can contribute either a small or large amount according to their budgets and the degree of engagement they're hoping for. The independent creator is able to create content and not being obligated to advertising or gatekeepers.
The pricing model of Patreon
Patreon Lite costs 5% of your monthly earnings you make through Patreon as well as charges for payment processing, and comes with a creator page, communication tools, and accessibility to Patreon workshops. Patreon Pro is the most expensive plan. Patreon Pro plan takes 8 percent of your monthly earnings that you make plus processing fees and offers in additional membership tiers, analytics and data, and also a way to manage promotions.
SendFox - great for campaigns
Sendfox is a platform for software that allows users to create tracks, distribute, and monitor campaigns for email marketing. It offers a variety of tools, such as email templates as well as automation, segmentation and analytics. Sendfox is designed specifically for companies of all sizes and can be used to promote products and services, grow customers' relationships and boost sales.
0. 0yeAR0hSBm3pjHsWmX The sendfox.com homepage (c) SendFox
There's a trial version of SendFox that allows you to send emails to 1,000 contacts using SendFox-branded emails and no automations. Its Lifetime Plan costs just one payment of $49 (not recurring) and offers up to 5000 members with reduced SendFox branding, and unlimited automatizations. This could be the cheapest among all Substack competitors.
The pricing model used by SendFox
The Sendfox free program allows unlimited email sending for up 1000 members, however messages are branded with SendFox branding. This Lifetime Plan costs just $49 for a single payment - that's currently down from $480 - and allows up to 5,000 subscribers and enhanced delivery capabilities.
- great for membership
We'd be remiss in not mentioning ourselves! Membership management software lets creators manage membership programs with custom price tiers and access levels in order to make money from their content. Works well for online courses (eCourse) creators, podcast hosts, and other creators of content who wish to grow their audience.
The .com homepage
In particular, we recommend Particularly relevant is our Posts feature, which replicates Substack's "combined email and on-line' approach! allows you to publish exclusively for members in your newsletter or a hosted website. The user can include text as well as images, pick which of your members you want to reach, then create the content or schedule the post for in the future. Visit our help documents to find out more details.
Pricing model for's
The Starter plan is free and comes with a 10% fee for transactions. There are two membership plans that allow unlimited membersand web-only integrations. If you want to use Posts, our Posts option, users need the Pro plan for $25 per month (or the Premium plan at $100 per month), but the transaction cost reduces to 4.9 percent. It also grants unlimited plans and unlimited members and all integrations, along with upgrades like the possibility of selling private podcasts.
Conclusion
There's a great choice to anyone seeking Substack rivals: there's an abundance of platforms that allow you to publish and distribute email ewsletters for an audience, as well as generate revenue from doing so.
If you're interested in an application that is focused on email, or members or community publishing or some other thing, it depends on the type of content that you'd like to publish, as well as factors such as the frequency of publication and the desired degree of personalization.
We hope that this helps to make publishing more enjoyable!