Terms
Most of you know that Revue is a website for building an audience through electronic newsletters as well as online publishing, has been closed and shut down by its parent company Twitter. Revue was launched in 2015 and was bought by Twitter in 2021.
15 December 2022 just days after new Twitter boss Elon Musk had expressed interest in buying Substack (another subscription platform), Twitter announced that they were phasing out Revue. Which newsletter platform alternatives do we have left?
In the beginning, what exactly is Substack?
Substack is an application that has changed the way independent writers and journalists monetize their work by allowing them to produce and distribute newsletters and other writing content.
Substack.com Home Page substack.com home page (c) Substack
However, it is certainly not the only platform with its own features, and there are many Substack alternatives that have the same features. In this article, we will take deeper review of several of the major rivals to Substack and compare their features and capabilities.
We'll dive deep into various newsletter software products, so you can best choose the one that best fits your specific preferences. In addition, we'll discuss the price of each software.
Pricing model for Substack
There is no charge to publish your content on Substack, no matter how many subscribers you've. If you activate paid subscriptions and begin charging your subscribers, Substack takes a 10 per cent fee on every transaction , and their payment processing platform Stripe costs 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per transaction.
Ghost - great for blogging
One alternative in the same space as Substack is Ghost, an open-source blogging platform. Ghost is like Substack in that it allows users to publish and create material, but Ghost has extra features Substack lacks that may provide a compelling alternative for established bloggers or publications with a small number of readers.
The ghost.org home page (c) Ghost
One of the main distinctions in Ghost and Substack is the level of control that users can exercise over their content. Ghost lets users perform more heavy lifting when it comes to customization, offering custom templates and themes that allow users to completely alter the style and appearance of their content, whereas Substack has a more limited selection of choices. Ghost is also able to support multi-authors, which allows multiple users contributing to one blog or site, making it an ideal choice for teams.
Ghost's pricing model
Ghost cost starts at just $11/month or $108/year for the Starter plan. It includes the staff member, one user, no-cost Ghost websites themes, standard built-in integrations, and a maximum of 500 members. There are three higher tiers that begin with the Creator plan, which costs $24/month for 1,000 members, with additional features like customization of 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 lets users write stories, and boasts a vast reader and writer community. Medium is known for its clear, user-friendly interface, as well as its focus on high-quality content. It encourages readers to discover ideas, thoughts and know-how on any topic.
The medium.com homepage (c) medium.com
Medium is an ideal platform for writers and journalists who want to engage an audience, and so easily qualifies as one of Substack's most popular competitors because it is a dependable readership built into the platform - but the readership is focussed online or on the app and not on emails. Medium's membership plan and paywall options allows writers to make money from their work.
Medium's pricing model
There is no charge to post your story on Medium regardless of how many members or subscribers you may be able to. Medium makes its money by charging readers to view your story and other people's stories, with a fee of $5/month, or $50/year.
In fact, writers on Medium Partner Program can earn money. Medium Partner Program can earn income by referring others. Successful referrals bring in the equivalent of half of a monthly subscription cost for a new member as long as they remain an active member. This is less the typical 2.9% + $0.30 on processing costs. If you could get 100 readers to join an annual Medium membership, you'd receive the equivalent of $227 per month.
ConvertKit is great for automating
ConvertKit is an email marketing and automation platform that is designed specifically to help creators like bloggers, journalists and podcasters. It's designed to help users build an email list and automate emails, and segment audiences for specific marketing. ConvertKit offers functionality such as the opt-in form, landing page, and email comms , just like the others Substack rivals.
The converkit.com home page (c) ConvertKit
One of the main focuses of Convertkit is the automation of the process of contacting new potential subscribers and nurturing them into customers. Additionally, it has an automation tool that allows the creation of complex automation flows without coding. Additionally, it includes tools to manage affiliate relationships and providing exclusive content to customers who pay.
The pricing model used by ConvertKit
New creators can take advantage of the free service. ConvertKit can be used for free, with the first 300 users. For creators with growing audiences, ConvertKit costs from $15/month or $108/year for 300 or more subscribers, but also with the ability to access email sequences, automation builders, and third-party integrations and an additional team members.
MailChimp is great for emails
It is an email-marketing service that allows businesses and organizations to design and distribute mailers to (often huge) audience. Mailchimp allows you to build custom templates for email as well as segment and focus your audiences, measure the performance of your campaigns, and also integrate with a variety of other applications and tools to create the performance of a Substack competitor.
UKDIFNRLNKNyFYFiWqHGo7 The mailchimp.com home page (c) Mailchimp
With Mailchimp You get analysis and tracking tools that help you understand the performance of your marketing campaigns and make data-driven decisions. It's not as focused on publishing , and is more focused on marketing via email or online; consequently, it integrates with site builders, platforms for e-commerce, and other software that help with the process of creating and sending out email messages.
The pricing model of MailChimp
Mailchimp offers a free planthat allows users to access the basics features, and up to 2,500 email sends for up to 500 recipients and basic reports. Pay-per-month plans that include bigger lists and advanced features begin at $20 per month for up to 6000 sends with up to 500 users.
Patreon is great for creators.
Patreon provides independent creators, like musicians and writers to get financial backing from their fans, in order to fund their work and continue creating new content. Creators set up a page in the Patreon platform and fans, or "patrons," can choose to help them by making regularly scheduled monetary contributions. In return, patrons receive unique content or other perks.
The patreon.com homepage (c) Patreon
Patreon runs on a subscription model, so customers are charged a certain amount on a recurring basis (usually monthly). Creators are able to provide diverse levels of support and various rewards at every level. This means that patrons can choose to contribute a little or a lot according to their budgets and the level of engagement they're hoping for. It allows independent creators to continue producing content without being obligated to advertising or gatekeepers.
The pricing model of Patreon
Patreon Lite costs 5% of the income per month you earn on Patreon and charges for payment processing, and comes with an artist page, communications tools and accessibility to Patreon workshops. Its Patreon Pro plan takes 8% of the monthly income you earn plus payment processing and provides additional membership tiers, analytics and insight, as well as a tool for running promotional campaigns.
SendFox - great for campaigns
Sendfox is a software platform that allows users to create tracks, distribute, and monitor campaigns for email marketing. It provides a range of options, including templates for emails, automation, segmentation, and analytics. Sendfox is designed to suit businesses of all sizes and can be used to promote products and services, grow the customer relationship, and improve the number of conversions.
The 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 branding from SendFox and no automated messages. The Lifetime Plan costs just one payment of $49 (not recurring) and provides as many as 5000 members, limited SendFox branding, and unlimited automated emails. This is possibly the least expensive among all Substack competition.
Pricing model of SendFox
The Sendfox free plan permits unlimited sending to up to 1,000 users, but the emails have SendFox branding. Its Lifetime Plan costs just $49 for a single payment - that's currently down from $480. It also allows for up to 5,000 subscribers and increased ability to deliver.
- great for membership
We'd be remiss in not mentioning ourselves! Membership management software lets creators manage membership programs that have custom price tiers and access levels to monetize their content. works well for online course (eCourse) creators as well as podcast hosts and others who are looking to grow their audience.
The .com homepage
The most relevant feature here is our Posts feature, which replicates Substack's 'combined email and online strategy! allows you to publish exclusively for members in your newsletter or a hosted website. The user can include text as well as images, pick the members you want to target, and create the content or schedule the post for later. Go to our help docs for more information.
The pricing model of's
The Starter plan is free and comes with a 10% fee on transactions. You can create two membership plans that allow unlimited membersand web-only integrations. To use the Posts service, you'll need the Pro plan which costs $25/month (or the Premium plan at $100/month but the transaction fee decreases to 4.9 percent. This also allows for unlimited membership and plans, plus all integrations as well upgrades such as the ability to sell private podcasts.
Conclusion
It's an excellent option when you're searching for Substack competitors: there's raft of platforms that allow you to send out email newsletters to an audience, and generate revenue from the process.
What you're looking for in a platform that concentrates on email or members or community publishing or another, will depend on the type of content you wish to publish, as well as factors such as the frequency of your publishing and your desired degree of personalization.
We hope that this helps with your publishing needs.