Substack
The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.
A newsletter platform with payments and a network attached: you write, readers subscribe free or paid, and the app and recommendation system put you in front of other writers' audiences.
Build the publishing half. Understand that the network is what you are leaving. SAY IT PLAINLY - Substack costs nothing until you charge, and takes 10% after. Leaving is about ownership and the cut, not a monthly bill - The recommendation engine is not reproducible. Budget for slower growth STACK - Astro for the site, Postgres for subscribers, SES or Postmark for sending, Stripe for payments PUBLISHING - Posts in Markdown with front matter, rendered to the site and to email from one source - Paid posts truncate at a marker for free readers SUBSCRIPTIONS - Free: double opt-in - Paid: Stripe Checkout and the customer portal; entitlement comes from the Stripe subscription status by webhook, never from a local flag SENDING - Batch with a rate cap, plain-text part always, one-click unsubscribe with the POST header MIGRATING - Import the CSV export, and keep every old post URL alive with a redirect map Include the schema, the Stripe webhook and the redirect map.
What you lose
- Recommendations from other writers, which is where a large share of new subscribers actually comes from
- Payments, tax handling and payouts for paid subscriptions without you touching Stripe
- The app, the reader and the notes feed, which keep an audience returning between issues
- Deliverability at scale on a platform that publishers already trust
If you would rather not build
- Beehiiv, if you want the network without the cut
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Ghost
$0Publishing with paid memberships and Stripe built in, self-hostable.
TryGhost/Ghostfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
30/100
Verdict no at 30 for the reason a writer cares about: the software is replaceable, the discovery is not. If your subscribers arrive through recommendations, leaving costs growth.
History
tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about Substack
answered from the record above
Is Substack free?
No — the plan we track is $0 a month. Free to publish; Substack takes 10% of any paid subscription revenue, so the cost is a share of income rather than a monthly fee.
Can you replace Substack by building your own?
KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 30 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Substack cost?
$0 a month on Free to publish — $0 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Substack?
Recommendations from other writers, which is where a large share of new subscribers actually comes from; Payments, tax handling and payouts for paid subscriptions without you touching Stripe; The app, the reader and the notes feed, which keep an audience returning between issues; Deliverability at scale on a platform that publishers already trust. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Substack?
Yes: Ghost, Listmonk. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
Related entries
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WiseStamp
Mailtrack
CuratedEvery week, something stops being worth paying for.
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free forever · no tracking pixel · every prompt stays free on the site