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Most of you be aware that Revue is a website for building an audience through electronic newsletters as well as online publishing was shut and shut down by its parent company Twitter. Revue was launched in 2015 before being bought by Twitter in 2021.

The 15th of December, 2022 only a few days after the new Twitter director Elon Musk expressed an desire to purchase Substack (another newsletter service), Twitter announced that they were phasing out Revue. What other options for newsletter platforms remain?

First, what is Substack?

Substack is an application that has changed the ways that independent writers and journalists earn money for their work through the ability to write and distribute newsletters, as well as other written content.

Substack.com Home Page substack.com homepage (c) Substack

But it's not the sole platform that is similar to it, as there are several Substack competitors that offer similar functions. In this post, we will take an in-depth review of several of the major rivals to Substack and then compare their features and capabilities.

In this article, we'll take a deep dive into different tools for newsletters in order to choose the one that best fits your specific preferences. In addition, we'll discuss the price of each platform.

Substack's pricing model

There's no cost to publish on Substack regardless of how many subscribers you have. When you enable paid subscriptions and start charging your audience, Substack takes a 10 per cent fee on every transaction and their payment processing platform Stripe charges 2.9 percent plus 30C/ payment.

Ghost - great for blogging

A competitor in the same space as Substack is Ghost, an open-source blogging platform. Ghost is like Substack in that it allows users to write and publish material, but Ghost has extra features Substack does not have that could make it an appealing option for bloggers with a long history of independence or publications with a small number of readers.

. ghost.org home page (c) Ghost

One of the main differences in Ghost as well as Substack is the level of control users have over their content. Ghost lets users perform more heavy lifting with regards to customizing, offering custom templates and themes to alter the style and appearance of their publications, while Substack is more restricted in its range of options. Ghost also offers multi-author support that allows several users to be able to make contributions to a single blog or site, making Ghost a great choice for teams.

Ghost's pricing strategy

Ghost cost starts at just $11/month or $108/year with the Starter plan. This includes one staff user, free Ghost web themes as well as integrated integrations that are standard, as well as a maximum of 500 members. There are three higher tiers that begin with the Creator plan, which costs $25/month for 1,000 Members plus additional functions like customization of integrations.

Medium is great for publishing in a community

Medium is a different platform that offers features similar to Substack. It's a writing and blogging platform which allows users to publish stories and boasts a vast community of readers and writers. Medium is known for its clear, user-friendly interface and the emphasis on quality content. The site encourages users to explore thoughts, stories, and know-how on any topic.

medium.com home page (c) Medium

Medium is an ideal medium for journalists and writers looking to reach an engaged audience, and so is easily a part of the top contenders to Substack, as it has a loyal readership built into the platform - but the readership is focused on online and the app and not on email newsletters. Medium's membership program and paywall option allows authors to monetize their content.

Medium's pricing strategy

There is no charge for publishing on Medium no matter how many subscribers or members that you be able to. Medium makes its money by charging users to read your stories and other people's stories, with a fee of $5/month, or $50/year.

In fact, writers on Medium Partner Program can earn money. Medium Partner Program can earn cash by referring others. Successful referrals bring in half of a membership fee of a new member for while they're a paying member, minus the usual 2.9 percentage plus $0.30 on processing costs. In other words, if you enticed 100 members to join a monthly Medium membership, you'd receive an average of $227 for each month.

ConvertKit - great for automation

ConvertKit is an email marketing and automation platform specifically designed for bloggers or journalists as well as podcasters. ConvertKit is designed to aid people build an email list to automate email sequences and create segments for audiences to be specific marketing. ConvertKit provides features such as the opt-in form, landing page and email comms , just like the others Substack competitors.

The converkit.com home page (c) ConvertKit

One of the major goals of Convertkit is the automation of the process of connecting with new potential subscribers and nurturing the process of turning them into clients. Additionally, it has an automation builder that permits users to build intricate automation workflows without the need for programming. Additionally, it includes tools for managing affiliate relationships as well as providing exclusive content to paid subscribers.

Pricing model for ConvertKit's ConvertKit

for new creators, ConvertKit can be used for free, with up to 300 subscribers. For those with a growing audience, ConvertKit costs from $15/month or $108/year. Again, with up to 300 customers, however, it also comes with the ability to access email sequences, automation builders and integrations with third party companies as well as an additional team participant.

MailChimp - great for email

The Mailchimp email marketing platform which allows organizations and businesses to create and send emails to (often huge) audience. Mailchimp provides the capability to design custom email templates as well as segment and focus your target audience, monitor the results of your campaigns and connect with various other tools and services for a replica of a Substack rival.

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home page. The mailchimp.com home page (c) Mailchimp

With Mailchimp You get analysis and tracking tools that assist you to understand the performance of your marketing campaigns and take data-driven decision making. It's less focussed in publishing and more geared towards marketing via email or online; consequently, it integrates to website builders, e-commerce platforms, and other tools that automate making and sending emails.

Pricing model for MailChimp

Mailchimp provides a no-cost package that allows you to access the fundamental features as little as 2,500 emails at up to 500 users using basic reporting. Paid plans for bigger lists and advanced features start from $20/month for as much as 6000 email messages for up to 500 recipients.

Patreon is a great way to support creators.

Patreon provides independent creators, such as writers and musicians to get financial backing from their audience, to finance their efforts and creating fresh content. Creators create a page in the Patreon platform, and their fans, or "patrons," can choose to support them with a regular monetary contribution. In return, patrons receive exclusive content and/or benefits.

The patreon.com homepage (c) Patreon

Patreon is an subscription-based model. This means that patrons are charged a set amount that is recurring (usually every month). Creators are able to provide diverse levels of support and various rewards at every level. This means that patrons can choose to contribute to a modest or substantial amount according to their budgets and the degree of engagement they're hoping for. It allows independent creators to keep producing content, without having to rely on advertising or gatekeepers.

Patreon's pricing model

Patreon Lite costs 5% of your monthly earnings that you make on Patreon, plus charges for payment processing, and comes with a creator page, communication tools and the ability to attend Patreon workshops. Its Patreon Pro plan takes 8 percent of the income that you make plus processing fees and provides more membership levels, analytic and insights and a tool for running promotional campaigns.

SendFox - great for campaigns

Sendfox is a software platform that allows users to create email marketing campaigns, track, and send email marketing campaigns. It provides a range of tools, such as email templates, automation, segmentation, and analytics. Sendfox is designed for businesses that are of any size. It can be utilized to advertise the products and services of your business, increase the customer relationship, and improve the number of conversions.

The sendfox.com home page (c) SendFox

There's a trial version of SendFox that allows you to send emails to 1,000 contacts using branding from SendFox and no automated messages. Lifetime Plan Lifetime Plan costs just one payment of $49 (not recurring) and provides as many as 5000 members, less SendFox branding, and unlimited automatizations. It could be the most affordable of the Substack competitors.

Pricing model of SendFox

The Sendfox free plan allows for unlimited emails 1000 members, however emails have SendFox branding. This Lifetime Plan costs just $49 for a single payment - it's currently reduced from $480 - and allows up to 5,000 members and increased deliverability.

- great for membership

It would be remiss of us not to mention us! This software for managing memberships lets creators manage membership programs that have custom price tiers as well as access levels to monetize their content. Works well for online courses (eCourse) creators as well as podcast hosts and other creators of content who wish to grow their audience.

The .com home page

Particularly relevant here is our Posts feature that replicates Substack's "combined email and on-line method! lets you publish exclusive only to members via newsletters as well as a -hosted website. It is possible to add text or images, pick who you wish are to be targeted, and then either publish the post or schedule the post for in the future. Visit our help documents for more information.

's pricing model

The Starter plan is free with a 10% fee for transactions. It allows you to create two membership plans that allow no limit on members, as well as website-only integrations. For access to the Posts option, users need the Pro plan at $25/month (or premium plan which costs $100 per month, but the fee for transactions reduces to 4.9 percent. The plan also provides unlimited membership and plans and all integrations, as well upgrades such as selling private podcasts.

Conclusion

It's an excellent option when you're looking for Substack competition: there's a plethora of platform options that permit you to send out email newsletters to a large audience and to create revenue for doing so.

Whether you're more interested in a platform that concentrates on email, members or community publishing or some other thing, it will depend on the type of content that you'd like to publish along with other aspects such as the frequency of publication and the desired level of customization.

Hope this will help with your publishing needs.