If you’ve decided to monetize a newsletter, two names come up again and again: ConvertKit and Substack. Both let you send emails and charge subscribers, but they work very differently under the hood. Choosing the wrong one early can cost you time, money, and flexibility later. Here’s a straightforward look at how the two platforms compare so you can pick the one that fits your business.
How Each Platform Makes Money — and How That Affects You
Substack is free to start. There are no monthly fees, and you can publish as long as you like at no cost. The catch is that Substack takes a 10% cut of every paid subscription you sell, on top of Stripe’s processing fees. That’s a meaningful chunk once your revenue grows. If you earn $5,000 a month from subscribers, Substack keeps $500 of it.
ConvertKit charges a flat monthly fee based on your subscriber count. The entry-level paid plan starts around $25 per month, and the platform takes no percentage of your sales. For creators earning consistent revenue, this usually works out cheaper. However, if you’re just starting out and not yet earning anything, paying a monthly fee before your first dollar arrives can feel like a risk.
Features: Building an Audience vs. Running a Business
Substack is built around simplicity. You get a publication page, a post editor, and a subscription paywall — all ready in minutes. That’s great for writers who want to focus on content, not settings. But the tools stop there. You have limited control over design, automation, and how you segment your readers. You also can’t easily sell anything other than a recurring subscription.
ConvertKit is built for creators who want more control. You can design landing pages, set up automated email sequences, tag subscribers based on their behavior, and sell digital products, courses, or one-time offers alongside your newsletter. It’s a more complex tool, but that complexity gives you real options for growing revenue beyond a simple subscription model.
Ownership and Portability of Your Audience
One of the most important — and often overlooked — questions is: who actually owns your subscriber list? With ConvertKit, your list is yours. You can export it any time and move to another platform without friction.
Substack gives you access to your subscriber data, but your audience also has a relationship with the Substack platform itself. Readers can discover your newsletter through Substack’s network, which helps growth, but it also means you’re partly dependent on their ecosystem. If Substack changes its policies or fees, your options are more limited.
For long-term business health, owning your list outright matters more than most people realize.
The bottom line: Choose Substack if you want the fastest, simplest way to start publishing and don’t yet have consistent revenue. Choose ConvertKit if you’re ready to build a more flexible, scalable business around your newsletter and want to keep more of what you earn. Either way, starting is more important than perfecting — pick one and go.