Substack is an option for publishing a newsletter and charging for access without an upfront software subscription. It takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, with applicable Stripe charges on top. Free publishing does not mean fee-free monetization.
Compare that revenue share with a list-based platform cost. Consider Kit when your main need is building email journeys and selling offers around a newsletter. Substack remains an option when access to the publication is the main product.
Practical uses
Publish an independent newsletter and monetize it.
Start a blogOptional paid premium content.
Build a subscriber base for your ideas or expertise.
Publish articles and grow a direct audience.
Features & use cases
Blog
Editeur email
Liste abonnes
Monetisation newsletter
The case for and against. What Substack does well, and when it costs too much.
For. What works in its favour.
Free publishing without an upfront software subscription.
Integrated paid subscriptions.
You want free publishing with built-in paid subscriptions.
You don't need complex marketing automation.
Against. What to plan for.
10% of paid subscription revenue plus Stripe charges.
Choose around the publication model rather than marketing automation needs.
You're doing B2B marketing for a company.
You want omnichannel marketing (SMS, ads, social).
Pricing. What does Substack cost ?
Free
$0
Free publishing; 10% on paid subscriptions plus Stripe charges.
Substack added writing-assistance tools, but its value remains the combination of newsletter + subscription monetization + portable audience — a business model, not a problem AI solves by generating text.
Can AI replace it?
Replace Substack with an AI? No: subscription monetization and owning your email list remain a business model the platform enables, not a generation task. AI helps write faster, but the audience and paid subscriptions stay on Substack. Verdict: AI augments writing, the subscription model remains the product.
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