Substack helps anyone set up a blog and email newsletter and publish directly to their audience and get paid through subscriptions. No tech knowledge is required. It’s free to get started on Substack. If you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack will keep a 10% cut of revenues.

Ghost is a platform built for blogs but great for newsletters as well. You can publish posts, send newsletters, grow your audience, sell premium subscriptions, and more.

Feature Comparison

Substack and Ghost both have great feature sets so the right tool for you really depends on your needs.

FeaturesSubstackGhost
πŸ’Έ Paid Subscriptions

Accept paid subscriptions

βœ…βœ…
βž— Segmentation

Create segments of subscribers

❌❌
πŸ€– Automation

Automate actions based on behaviors

❌❌
πŸ“© Embeddable Forms

Embeddable subscription forms

βœ…βŒ
πŸ“„ Landing Pages

Create landing pages for your newsletter

βœ…βœ…
πŸ”Œ 3rd Party Integrations

Connect to other services

βŒβœ…
πŸ–ŠοΈ Visual Editor

Drag and drop email editor

βœ…βœ…
πŸ“ Markdown Editor

Write emails in markdown

βŒβœ…
πŸ‘©β€πŸ’» HTML

Design emails with HTML text

βŒβœ…
βš’οΈ API

Integrate with the platform's API

βŒβœ…
πŸ“ˆ Analytics

Get data on your emails' performance

βœ…βœ…
🌍 Custom Domain

Use a custom domain for your page

βœ…βœ…
πŸ—£οΈ Referrals

Setup a referral program

βœ…βŒ
πŸ’½ Self Hosting

Host on your own server

βŒβœ…
πŸ“’ Recommendations

Recommend and be recommended by other newsletters

βœ…βœ…

Price Comparison

Substack is free to use but takes a 10% cut of paid subscriptions.

Ghost starts at $11 for up to 500 subscribers. Pricing can go up to $2,394 for up to 385K subscribers.

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Compare Substack to other tools

See how Substack stacks up to these other services.

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Substack vs Mailchimp

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Substack vs beehiiv

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Substack vs Sendy

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Substack vs EmailOctopus

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Substack vs MailerLite

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Substack vs Kit (ConvertKit)

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Substack vs AWeber

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Substack vs Curated

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Substack vs Buttondown

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Substack vs MailPoet

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Substack vs Goodbits

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Substack vs Mailtrain

The Easiest Way to Monetize Your Newsletter

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