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Substack alternatives: cheaper options at 1k–25k subscribers (2026)
Last verified against official pricing pages · USD, monthly billing, excluding tax
Prices change often. Every price here was checked against the platform's official pricing page on the date shown, but plans, promos and taxes vary. Always confirm on the official site before you buy or switch. Not financial advice.
Substack is free to start, but it keeps 10% of every paid subscription. Once a paid newsletter grows, that cut usually costs more than a flat-priced platform, and Substack has no automation builder in our data.
Short answer
- Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included), 5,000 subscribers: Substack Free + 10% of paid revenue costs $347/mo. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $145/mo (saves $202/mo, $2,424/yr).
- Basic newsletter, 5,000 subscribers: Substack Free + 10% of paid revenue costs $0/mo. No tracked platform is cheaper.
- With automations, 5,000 subscribers: Substack has no option in our verified data. Cheapest alternative: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo.
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Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)
All alternatives at 5,000 subscribers (paid newsletter)
Substack Free + 10% of paid revenue: $347/mo. Cheapest fitting plan on each platform, monthly billing. Diff = monthly cost compared with Substack (− = cheaper).
| # | Alternative and plan | Total /mo | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kit Free Visit site · vs Substack | $145 | −$202 |
| 2 | Buttondown Paid (usage-based) Visit site | $176 | −$171 |
| 3 | MailerLite Comfort Visit site · vs Substack | $196 | −$151 |
| 4 | Ghost Publisher Visit site · vs Substack | $222 | −$125 |
| 5 | AWeber Lite Visit site (paid link) · vs Substack | $227 | −$120 |
| 6 | GetResponse Creator Visit site | $242 | −$105 |
| 7 | beehiiv Lite Visit site (paid link) · vs Substack | $256 | −$91 |
Not available or not verified for this scenario: EmailOctopus, Brevo, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign.
Cheapest alternative at each list size
Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included)
Substack plan used: Free + 10% of paid revenue.
| Subscribers | Substack | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $69.40 | Kit $29 Free | $40.40 |
| 2,500 | $173.50 | Kit $72.50 Free | $101 |
| 5,000 | $347 | Kit $145 Free | $202 |
| 10,000 | $694 | Kit $290 Free | $404 |
| 25,000 | $1,735 | Ghost $904 Publisher | $831 |
Basic newsletter
Substack plan used: Free + 10% of paid revenue.
| Subscribers | Substack | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 2,500 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 5,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 10,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
| 25,000 | $0 | none cheaper | — |
With automations
Substack has no option for this in our verified data (n/a).
| Subscribers | Substack | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | n/a | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | n/a |
| 2,500 | n/a | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | n/a |
| 5,000 | n/a | Buttondown $29 Paid (usage-based) | n/a |
| 10,000 | n/a | EmailOctopus $44.50 Pro | n/a |
| 25,000 | n/a | Brevo $82 Starter, limited | n/a |
Cheapest plan on each platform that covers the list size and needs. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack and AWeber); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees. "limited" = feature capped on that plan.
Switching? Substack → Kit cost · Substack → Buttondown cost · Rank all platforms for your needs · Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost: real cost at 1k, 10k and 50k subscribers · Substack to beehiiv migration: steps, paid subscribers and cost before/after
What you'd give up
Cost isn't everything. What Substack does well, from its official pages: Writers starting from zero who want $0 upfront cost and Substack's built-in network, and are fine giving up 10% of paid revenue.
- Free to use at any list size; Substack keeps 10% of paid-subscription revenue, plus Stripe fees. source
- A custom domain is a one-time $50 fee. source
- No automation builder in our data; your publication lives inside Substack's network and app. source
FAQ
What is the cheapest Substack alternative?
Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included) at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $145/mo vs Substack $347/mo. Basic newsletter at 5,000 subscribers: none cheaper vs Substack $0/mo. With automations at 5,000 subscribers: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo. Monthly billing, prices verified 2026-10-20.
Is Substack more expensive than the alternatives?
For a paid newsletter, at least one tracked platform is cheaper than Substack at 5 of the 5 list sizes we checked (1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000). Cheaper is not always better: check the features you need on each platform page.
How much would I save by switching from Substack?
Use the migration cost calculator with your own list size. At 5,000 subscribers (paid newsletter), the cheapest alternative saves $202 a month.
Sources
- beehiiv pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Kit pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- MailerLite pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Ghost pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Buttondown pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Substack pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- EmailOctopus pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Brevo pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Mailchimp pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- AWeber pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Constant Contact pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- ActiveCampaign pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- GetResponse pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Stripe pricing (card-fee estimate)
- Stripe Billing pricing (0.7% on recurring payments)
More: Mailchimp alternatives · beehiiv alternatives · Kit alternatives · Substack pricing · best platform by use case · cheapest by list size