Substack
Free
Free to use$0.00
Per year
$0
Free to start
Substack vs Mailchimp
Compare with for .
Substack
71%
match · $0/yr
Mailchimp
62%
match · $156/yr
What matters most?
Fine-tune
What you'd pay
Entry plan for 10 people, billed yearly where offered. Prices checked Oct 2026.
Smaller bill
Mailchimp
Essentials
Flat price, whole team$13.00
× 12 months$156.00
Per year
$1.30 per person / mo
$156
Rises with contacts
Substack
From FreeFree plan
Writers who want to start free, grow through Substack's apps and recommendations, and accept a 10% cut of paid revenue.
vs
Mailchimp
From $13Free plan
G2 4.3 · 12,993 reviewsCreators whose newsletter is part of a store or service business and who need Mailchimp's integrations more than creator monetization tools.
Side by side
| Substack |  Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free; Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue (plus Stripe fees) | Free up to 250 contacts; paid from $13/month (Essentials, 500 contacts, monthly) |
| G2 Rating | Not yet verified | 4.3 (12,993 reviews) |
| Best For | Writers who want to start free, grow through Substack's apps and recommendations, and accept a 10% cut of paid revenue. | Creators whose newsletter is part of a store or service business and who need Mailchimp's integrations more than creator monetization tools. |
Pros and cons
Substack
Pros
- $0 at any subscriber count
- Discovery through reader apps, Notes and recommendations
- Podcast, video and live streaming built in
- Full export of posts and subscribers at any time
Cons
- 10% of paid revenue forever, with no flat-fee plan
- Emails send from an @substack.com address even with a custom domain
- No public API and no visual automation builder
- Apple in-app subscribers cannot be moved to another platform
Mailchimp
Pros
- 300+ integrations, the most here
- SMS add-on in the same account
- Standard allows up to 200 automation flows
- Landing pages and pop-up forms included
Cons
- No paid subscriptions, recommendations or ad network in its listed plan features
- Free plan allows only 500 emails a month
- Costs $385/month at 50,000 contacts on Essentials (monthly)
Marcus Williams