Substack alternatives
Substack is publish and charge, with no monthly fee. These are the other newsletters & publishing tools in the index, with what each one charges.
4 with a free plan
| Tool | What it is | Pricing | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substackthe one you asked about | Publish and charge, with no monthly fee | Custom | Yes |
| beehiivbeehiiv.com | Newsletter platform built to monetise | from $49/mo | Yes |
| Ghostghost.org | Open-source publishing with memberships | from $18/mo | Free trial |
| Newsletnewslet.ai | Writes and sends your weekly newsletter from your website | from $69/mo | Free trial |
| Flodeskflodesk.com | Email marketing built around design | from $25/mo | Free trial |
| Buttondownbuttondown.com | A small, quiet newsletter tool | from $9/mo | Yes |
| EmailOctopusemailoctopus.com | Cheap sending on top of Amazon SES | from $9/mo | Yes |
| Sendysendy.co | Self-hosted newsletters sent through Amazon SES | Custom | Paid |
| Paragraphparagraph.com | Publishing and newsletters for early-stage startups | from $16/mo | Yes |
6 of these 7 prices were read from the vendor's own pricing page, most recently on 21 Sept 2026; the rest are indicative. Entry tier only — vendors change pricing without notice.
- Buttondown$9*
- EmailOctopus$9
- Paragraph$16
- Ghost$18
- Flodesk$25
- beehiiv$49
- Newslet$69
6 of these 7 prices were read from the vendor's own pricing page; the rest are marked * and are indicative. The median is across these 6, not the whole category. 2 of them do not publish an entry price and are not plotted.
Switching from Substack
- What is the cheapest alternative to Substack?
- Of the 7 alternatives here that publish an entry price, Buttondown is the lowest at $9 a month.
- Is there a free alternative to Substack?
- 4 of these publish an ongoing free plan: beehiiv, Buttondown, EmailOctopus, Paragraph. A free plan is not a trial — it stays free, with limits set by the vendor.
- What can I use instead of Substack?
- The closest matches in the index are beehiiv, Ghost, Newslet, Flodesk, Buttondown. They sit in the same category and cover overlapping ground; the table above puts each one's entry price beside Substack's.
Head to head
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