Substack’s newsletter platform has become a beacon in recent years thanks to its ease of use and widespread adoption by independent content providers and business owners. However, many users need help expanding their followings.

The good news is that there are plenty of alternatives for producers to consider when thinking about how to migrate their audience. More than simply cranking out material won’t fix the fact that it’s challenging to establish a feeling of community on Substack.

But we have some suggestions for alternatives to Substack to help you foster a sense of community among your fans and followers. But before we get to that, let’s quickly cover why many creators have joined Substack.

What’s the deal with Substack?

2018 Substack emerged as a viable alternative to the established social media channels where many authors had previously disseminated their work. Anyone looking to publish a newsletter to their audience may do it quickly and easily on our platform.

Substack stands out among similar services because of its focus on enabling content producers to monetize their newsletters through branding and paid subscriptions. Substack simplified the process of updating subscribers on new content, allowing them to design a channel that reflected their unique tastes.

However, many artists have discovered that even after amassing an enthusiastic fanbase, maintaining that level of enthusiasm can take time and effort. For these artists, what does this mean? They will need to continually produce new materials to maintain consumer awareness of their brand.

Best Substack Alternatives

The finest alternatives to Substack will let you carry on the excellent work you began on Substack while giving you room to expand.

#1. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is powerful cultural software that combines content, classes, community, and commerce like no other platform. And with Mighty’s flexible Spaces, you can mix your paid content with cool features like live streaming, live events, engaging classes, exciting forum conversations, messaging, and more. It lets you do more than what Substack does.

We’ve learned that the key to making your business grow is to build a community around your brand. You get a beautiful pattern that you can call your own. Additionally, we offer native mobile apps for iOS and Android, complete visibility into member data, and the flexibility to communicate with the whole user base at any time.

Try our AI-powered community name creator if you want to start a group. Mighty Co-HostTM runs on Chat GPT and can make a Big Purpose, community name, brand, home and sales pages, and more. Try it!

#2. Patreon

One of the main reasons creators and businesses liked Substack was because they could charge for their work on a subscription basis.

Patreon is a membership site that lets all content makers set up a subscription service for their work. On Substack, you charge people for entry. On the other hand, Patreon gives creators more business tools to try out different ways to offer content.

Patreon creators can offer rewards that don’t have to do with their content, which is a big part of why people like the site. On their Patreon page, an artist can set up different levels of subscription that give different perks to people who sign up. These extras could include a weekly Zoom hangout, a handmade letter, a chance to give feedback on a future piece of content, access behind-the-scenes, and more.

Patreon is an excellent place for artists who want to keep control over their work and want to try out different subscription levels. When you move to this site, your audience becomes “patrons” and can interact with you in many ways. It’s not a real society, but it does give you more choices.

#3. Medium

Medium is a well-known, free writing site that many people use to share their work and build an audience.

People have paid much attention to the site because it lets new writers and well-known media outlets use it. Medium is another easy and simple place to post your work, and you don’t need to know anything about web design to do it. Plus, people who post on Medium can get paid through a partner program that pays based on how long each story is read.

The site has also thought about what the creators have said. They just added a newsletter tool, so now you can host your work on their platform and make a newsletter to send to your growing list of subscribers. The best part is that artists don’t have to pay to use Medium’s newsletter or publishing tools.

But there are some things to consider, like Medium isn’t the best place for interaction. There aren’t many differences between “liking” content and sharing it and in the end, if your newsletter is good, it won’t help your SEO. It helps Medium.

#4. Ghost

Ghost is a tool that can also be used instead of Substack. Aside from having a cool name, they are serious about giving creators the tools they need to build a membership service for their material.

Ghost’s platform has a simple, clean look, and the same idea gives producers the tools they need to give their users a great experience. But, like Substack, they only know how to do one thing: marketing. Creators who use Ghost can focus on making great content and natural links with their audience while also charging recurring subscription fees.

On the other hand, Ghost keeps things easy by only offering a monthly recurring fee. Its base is also open-source, meaning you can change it if you know how.

#5. Buttondown

Buttondown is an alternative to Substack that says it is the easiest way to make an email.

On the Buttondown platform, creators and business owners can use a beautiful, simple interface to make powerful emails for their followers. Also, they have great editing tools that can help you with spelling, typos, broken links, bad pictures, and more. It’s like the digital helper you’ve always wanted.

The subscription widget is another exciting part of Buttondown, making it a good option for Substack. It makes it easy for people to subscribe to your content.

When you use Buttondown to make your email, the first thousand people who sign up can do so for free. This is a great way to get people to use the site and learn more about your newsletter before paying for a premium subscription.

Buttondown is a small software with many great features, but its support for building communities needs work. It’s great that you can send out good newsletters to your audience, but giving them a place to hang out around your newsletters is also essential. There is still room for improvement for Buttondown.

#6. HubSpot

If you know about marketing, sales, and CMS software, you’ve probably heard of HubSpot. If you already use HubSpot’s full-stack software for other parts of your business, it could be a good option for Substack.

The HubSpot layout looks great and is simple to use. Also, if you already use HubSpot for marketing and sales, starting your email with their content management system is very easy. Not only will it keep all of your content in one place, but it will also give you the data you need to make intelligent choices.

HubSpot will be more challenging to use than some of the other alternatives to SubStack we’ve listed, but their software is very powerful if you know how to use it.

#7. MailerLite

MailerLite is another alternative to Substack that is like HubSpot in that it is a compelling software platform that lets you make, sell, and track how well your emails convert.

With MailerLite’s platform, you get a no-code software system that can take your emailing strategy to the next level with automation, analytics, pop-ups, and much more.

MailerLite has helped many writers succeed because it has excellent templates, a stylish landing page editor, and detailed data to help you make the best business decisions.

MailerLite is a good option for Substack, but it’s not free. If you want to get the most out of the platform, you’ll need to invest time and money.

#8. Revue

Revue could be an excellent alternative to Substack if you’re a writer who wants to give newsletter subscriptions on their own or as a bonus to digital membership.

You can use Revue’s world-class email editor, which has helped many writers, journalists, and content marketing teams do well. Revue’s software stands out from the rest because of the little things it does. We like that you can get a browser extension that lets you save items you find around the web so you can add them to your newsletter later.

Revue also makes it easy to start making money from your email. When you sign up for one of their paid plans, you can start making money from your newsletters, and Revue will take 5% of what you make.

Revue has become very well-known, especially since it is linked to Twitter. Their platform looks great, is easy to use, and has excellent tools. But, just like with Buttondown, you can quickly get stuck making content to keep people interested if you need good community-building tools.

Conclusion

Substack is an excellent place to start building an audience for your brand, but the platform won’t grow with you.

Building a community is not only the key to growing a business but also the key to making the world a better place. Why choose a platform that divides your audience and doesn’t plan to give you the tools you need to make the best business decisions?

When you create a community on Mighty, your members can view your content from anywhere and have the tools to keep talking even after you leave. Refrain from settling for a newsletter when you can see much better choices.