Substack vs Flodesk
Side-by-side comparison of Substack and Flodesk for content creators.
Newsletter publishing and monetization in one place
Flat-rate email marketing built for visual creators
What they are
Substack
Substack is a publishing platform where writers host email newsletters and charge subscribers a recurring fee. Independent journalists, essayists, and niche experts use it to build direct audiences without relying on ad revenue. The platform handles payments, delivery, and a basic website automatically. Substack takes a 10% cut of paid subscription revenue on top of stripe fees, which becomes a real cost as an audience grows.
Flodesk
Flodesk is an email marketing platform focused on design-first newsletters and automated workflows. It attracts independent creators, photographers, and small-business owners who prioritize aesthetics over deep segmentation. The flat monthly rate has been abandoned, pricing is now subscriber-based and scales with list size ($19 is the starting price at 1,000 subs) so the price scales as the list grows. The trade-off is a thinner feature set compared to platforms like Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign.
Which to choose
Full editorial comparison coming soon. For now, check the side-by-side data above and read the individual reviews for Substack and Flodesk.