Terms

Many of you will know the news that Revue an online platform that focuses on creating an audience via emails and publishing online, has been closed down by its owner company Twitter. Revue was founded in the year 2015 and was purchased by Twitter in 2021.

On 15 December 2022, only a few days after the new Twitter chief Elon Musk indicated desire to purchase Substack (another newsletter platform), Twitter announced that they were phasing out Revue. What other options for newsletter platforms are left?

First, what is Substack?

Substack is an online platform that revolutionized how independent authors and journalists monetize their work through the ability to write and distribute newsletters as well as other written material.

substack.com home page (c) Substack

It is not the sole platform of its kind, and there are a number of Substack competitors that offer the same features. In this piece, we will take deeper look at some of the main rivals to Substack and then compare their features and capabilities.

We'll dive deep into various email software options to help you decide which one best suits your personal needs. Also, we'll provide the cost for each one.

Pricing model for Substack

It's free to post through Substack regardless of how many subscribers you have. If you choose to activate subscriptions paid for and begin charging your subscribers, Substack takes a 10% fee on each transaction , and their payment processing platform Stripe costs 2.9% + 30C/ per transaction.

Ghost - great for blogging

Another alternative to Substack is Ghost the open-source blogging platform. Ghost is comparable to Substack by allowing users to write and publish material, but Ghost has extra features Substack does not have that could make it an appealing option for bloggers with a long history of independence or smaller publications.

. ghost.org homepage (c) Ghost

One of the primary differences in Ghost as well as Substack is the amount of control that users can exercise in their own content. Ghost permits users to do more 'heavy lifting' in terms of customization, offering custom templates and themes that allow users to completely modify the appearance and style of their publications, while Substack is more restricted in its range of options. 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 for teams.

Ghost's pricing system

Ghost costs from $11/month and $108/year for the Starter plan. It includes the staff member, one user, no-cost Ghost web themes as well as standard built-in integrations, and up to 500 users. There are three different tiers beginning at the creator plan which is $25/month for 1,000 Members and extra functionality such as customized integrations.

Medium is great to publish in the community

Medium is another platform which offers similar features to Substack. It's a writing and blogging platform that allows users to share stories, and it boasts a vast audience of writers and readers. Medium is well-known for its simple, clean interface, as well as its focus on quality content. The website encourages its users to find thoughts, stories, and knowledge on any subject.

medium.com homepage (c) Medium

Medium is the ideal platform for writers and journalists looking to reach an engaged crowd, and thus can easily be considered one of the top contenders to Substack, as it has a loyal audience of its own however, the audience is focused on online and the app, not in the form of email newsletters. Medium's membership plan and paywall options allows writers to make money from their work.

Medium's pricing model

It's free to publish on Medium, for any number of members/subscribers that you be able to. Medium earns its revenue by charging readers to view your story and other people's stories, at $5/month or $50/year.

Indeed, members of Medium Partner Program can earn money. Medium Partner Program can earn money by referring others. Successful referrals bring in the equivalent of half of a new member's subscription fee for while they're a paying member, minus the usual 2.9% + $0.30 on processing costs. If you could get 100 people to sign up for a monthly Medium membership, you'd receive the equivalent of $227 per month.

ConvertKit - great for automation

ConvertKit is an automated and marketing email platform that is designed specifically for bloggers as well as journalists, podcasters and bloggers. It's made to assist people build an email list, automate email sequences, and create segments for audiences to be targeted marketing. ConvertKit includes features like opt-in forms, landing pages, as well as email communications, similar to others Substack competitors.

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One of the primary goals of Convertkit is automatizing the process of connecting to prospective subscribers, and then nurturing the process of turning them into clients. Additionally, it has an automation builder that permits you to create complex automation flows without coding. The software also has tools to manage affiliate relationships and providing exclusive content to paid subscribers.

Pricing model for ConvertKit's ConvertKit

New creators can take advantage of the free service. ConvertKit is free for up to 300 subscribers. For creators with growing audiences, ConvertKit costs from $15/month or $108/year for 300 or more users, and also includes the ability to access email sequences, automation builders and integrations with third party companies and the addition of a team member.

MailChimp is great for emails

Mailchimp is an email marketing tool that allows businesses and organizations to create and send email campaigns to (often massive) audiences. Mailchimp offers the ability to create custom email templates that can be segmented and targeted to your target audience, monitor the results of your campaigns, and also integrate with other applications and tools to create the performance of a Substack competitor.

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With Mailchimp You get statistics and trackers to assist you to understand the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions. The company is less focused on publishing and more for email CRM or ecommerce; therefore, it offers integrations to website builders, e-commerce platforms as well as other tools to automate the process of creating and sending out email messages.

The pricing model of MailChimp

Mailchimp provides a no-cost package that allows you to utilize the majority of their basic features for as little as 2,500 emails for up to 500 recipients with 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 with up to 500 users.

Patreon - great for creators

Patreon lets independent creators such as writers and musicians to gain financial assistance from their fans, in order to help them continue to create fresh content. Creators create a page through the Patreon platform, and their followers, known as "patrons," can choose to support them with a regular monetary contribution. Patrons in return receive special content or rewards.

The patreon.com homepage (c) Patreon

Patreon operates on an subscription-based model. This means that users are charged a fixed amount on a recurring basis (usually every month). Creators may choose to offer different levels of support with various rewards at the different levels, meaning that patrons can choose to contribute to a modest or substantial amount according to their budgets and the level of engagement they're looking for. The independent creator is able to create content and not having to rely on the traditional gatekeepers or advertisers.

Patreon's pricing model

Patreon Lite costs 5% of the income per month you earn on Patreon as well as the cost of processing payments, and includes the creator's page, social media tools and accessibility to Patreon workshops. The Patreon Pro plan takes 8 percent of the income you earn , plus processing and includes additional membership tiers, analytics and data, and also a way to manage promotions.

SendFox - great for campaigns

Sendfox is a program in software that allows users to create, send, and track campaigns for email marketing. The platform offers many tools, such as email templates and automation as well as segmentation, segmentation and analytics. Sendfox is designed specifically for companies that are of any size. It can be used to promote goods and services, build customers' relationships and boost sales.

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. Its Lifetime Plan costs just one payment of $49 (not per-month) and provides up to 5000 members and a limited SendFox branding and unlimited automations. It could be the most affordable of all Substack rivals.

Pricing model of SendFox

The Sendfox free program allows unlimited sending to up to 1,000 users, but the messages are branded with SendFox branding. This Lifetime Plan costs just $49 for a single payment - which is currently lower than $480. It also allows for up to 5,000 members and enhanced deliverability.

- great for membership

We would be remiss in not mentioning ourselves! Membership management software lets creators manage membership programs that have custom price tiers as well as access levels to make their content monetizable. Works well for online courses (eCourse) creators, podcast hosts, and other creators of content who wish to expand their audiences.

The .com homepage

In particular, we recommend our Posts feature that replicates Substack's "combined email and on-line method! allows you to publish only to members via newsletters and a hosted website. The user can include text as well as images, choose which of your members you want to reach, then create the content or schedule it for in the future. Go to our help docs for more information.

The pricing model of's

The Starter plan is completely free, with an additional 10% cost on all transactions. There are two membership plans with unlimited membersand web-only integrations. If you want to use the Posts feature, you'll require the Pro plan at $25/month (or you can choose the premium option which costs $100/month but the transaction fee is reduced to 4.9%. This also allows for unlimited membership and plans along with all integrations and upgrades, including the possibility of selling private podcasts.

Conclusion

This is a fantastic option for someone seeking Substack competition: there's a plethora of platfroms that let you send out email newsletters for an audience, as well as earn revenue creating revenue from it.

If you're interested in a platform that concentrates on email, members or community publishing or something else, depends on the type of content you want to publish along with other aspects like the frequency of your publishing and your desired level of customization.

We'd like to thank you for this. - happy publishing!