Substack vs WordPress: A Comparison of Pros and Cons

This article provides an in-depth comparison between Substack and WordPress, with the following sections: Overview, Subscription Platform Considerations, Ease of Use, Cost, Subscriber Growth Integrations, and Data Portability. The aim is to help readers decide which platform is better suited for their needs.

Introduction: This study provides a comparison between Substack and WordPress, two popular web-based subscription platforms. The paper begins with a brief overview of the two platforms and their unique features.

Substack is an online newsletter publishing platform that enables users to easily send newsletters to subscribers. Paid and free subscription options are available, with Substack taking a share of all paid subscription fees. In addition to newsletters, Substack also provides basic website and podcast hosting services. While Substack can be viewed as an alternative to Patreon for newsletters, it lacks the full functionality of a typical blogging platform or content management system.

On the other hand, WordPress is the most widely used website builder globally, providing users with the ability to create a wide range of websites with ease. It is compatible with most popular email newsletter services, facilitating seamless newsletter email delivery. Free and paid newsletter subscriptions are also available. Users can leverage WordPress to create podcasting websites, e-commerce stores, membership websites, and more. Notably, this study focuses exclusively on self-hosted WordPress.org websites, rather than WordPress.com. For further details, refer to our article on the difference between WordPress.org vs WordPress.com.

The selection of a suitable subscription platform constitutes a critical decision, as transitioning to a different platform post-implementation may pose difficulties and lead to loss of users. Therefore, when opting for a platform, one should assess its ease of use, costs, integrations, and data portability. This study provides an in-depth comparison of Substack and WordPress based on the aforementioned criteria.

Selecting a platform that is easy to use can enable publishers to concentrate on their core competencies and delegate technical tasks. Substack provides a simplistic editor that is user-friendly, although creativity options are limited. In contrast, WordPress necessitates installation, but provides a robust block editor that permits flexibility and multiple subscription tiers through MemberPress. To disseminate newsletters, integration with an email marketing service, such as Constant Contact, is necessary. A step-by-step guide for beginners on creating a paid newsletter in WordPress is available.

Cost of Running a Paid Subscription Service

The cost of running a paid subscription service is a crucial factor to consider as it can affect the profitability of your business and its scalability.

True Cost of Substack Paid Newsletter

Substack offers a free newsletter to attract and grow an audience. However, to generate revenue, paid subscription options are available to access exclusive content.

Substack uses Stripe to process payments and takes a 10% cut, while Stripe charges 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. For example, if you charge $10 per subscriber, Substack + Stripe fee will be $1.59, which can add up to significant costs for a large number of subscribers.

Cost of a Paid Newsletter using WordPress

WordPress allows for more flexibility in choosing website hosting, email platforms, plugins, and payment gateways. For instance, hosting through Bluehost can be as low as $2.75 per month. Pricing for email platforms varies, such as Constant Contact starting at $20 per month or Sendinblue with a free plan and a lite plan for $25 per month.

To sell subscriptions, you can use MemberPress for $179 for their basic plan, and payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net have their own fees.

Overall, WordPress offers greater control over costs and potential profitability.

Integrations for Subscriber Growth

To grow your paid newsletter business, it is important to use third-party tools. Let’s compare the integrations available for Substack and WordPress.

Substack has limited integrations, including basic SEO features, custom domain name, Google Analytics tracking ID, and social media profiles. Promotion on social media is necessary to grow your subscribers.

WordPress has thousands of third-party integrations available, with over 59,000 free plugins and numerous paid integrations. This allows for more subscriber growth tools, including All in One SEO, OptinMonster, WPForms, MonsterInsights, and SeedProd. For even more options, there are additional WordPress plugins available for new businesses.

Data Portability

Both WordPress and Substack offer data portability, allowing users to download their data and use it elsewhere.

Substack Data Portability

Substack provides an effortless way to export all posts, pages, and email list subscribers. Users can navigate to the ‘Export your data’ section on the Settings page and download all their Substack data onto their computer.

Newsletter email subscriber lists are downloadable in CSV format, which permits easy importation into other email services. However, subscribers may need to opt-in again, which could result in fewer resubscriptions.

To import post data, the Substack importer for WordPress can be used to import data into a WordPress website or blog.

WordPress Data Portability

WordPress enables the export of all data, including posts, pages, comments, users, and more using the built-in export tools. Users can download their export file by visiting the Tools » Export page.

Newsletter subscriber data is securely stored with third-party email service providers, and most reliable email companies permit easy exportation of email lists to use elsewhere.

If users import their email list into a new email service, they may need to opt-in again, potentially leading to fewer resubscriptions.

In terms of flexibility, scalability, and profitability, WordPress outperforms Substack. It offers greater freedom for newsletter growth and access to more effective tools and extensions. Furthermore, monetization options extend beyond paid subscriptions and can include selling merchandise, displaying ads, or adding paid forums.

In contrast, Substack is ideal for those who simply want to send newsletters to non-paying subscribers and host a free blog. However, switching to a paid newsletter on Substack incurs a significant fee.

For a more affordable alternative to Substack, we recommend ConvertKit, which offers powerful features without Substack’s predatory pricing that takes a 10% cut of newsletter revenue.