Substack vs MailerLite
A free publishing platform with a revenue cut vs a paid email tool with no cut — the real trade-off.
Substack and MailerLite can both send a newsletter, but they're built for different jobs. Substack is a publishing platform that only earns when you do; MailerLite is a general email marketing tool priced as a flat monthly fee, used by all kinds of businesses.
| Substack | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free at any list size | Up to 250 subscribers |
| Cost model | 10%, plus Stripe processing fees | $9–$18/month for basic tiers |
| Core focus | Newsletter publishing with built-in reader discovery | General email marketing and automation |
| Native paid-subscription tools | Yes — it's the whole model | No dedicated paid-newsletter feature |
If you want free hosting regardless of list size and value being discovered by other readers, Substack's simplicity wins despite the 10% cut. If you mainly need affordable general-purpose email marketing without a paid-subscription angle, MailerLite is cheaper at small scale — though you pay its flat fee even before you earn anything.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a paid newsletter on MailerLite?
Not as a dedicated feature — MailerLite is built for general email marketing, not for charging readers directly the way Substack is.
Does MailerLite have anything like Substack's discovery network?
No — MailerLite has no built-in audience-discovery network between publications; growth depends on your own marketing.