Substack vs MailerLite
Side-by-side comparison of Substack and MailerLite.
Newsletter publishing and monetization in one place
Affordable email marketing built for growing 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.
MailerLite
MailerLite is an email marketing platform covering newsletters, automations, landing pages, and sign-up forms. It suits indie creators, small newsletters, and course sellers who want a clean interface without paying enterprise prices. The free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers, and paid plans start around $9 per month. Deliverability is solid, though the template editor can feel limiting compared to more design-focused competitors.
if you need hosting and monetization. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Free to start with no upfront cost
- +Built-in payment processing removes the need for a separate tool
- +Readers can comment and respond, creating light community features
if you need email marketing. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Generous free tier up to 500 subscribers with automation included
- +Clean, low-friction interface that non-technical creators can navigate quickly
- +Built-in landing page and sign-up form builder reduces need for extra tools
Which to choose
Substack and MailerLite both cover email marketing, so this is a real either-or for some teams. The right pick depends on which one's wider feature set and pricing fit how you work.
Read the full reviews for Substack and MailerLite.
Pricing checked 3 Jun 2026.