Alternatives to Substack for your email newsletter

You have big thoughts and/or lovely words that you want to share with the world, I know, and you should! But here’s a question: How should you do it? Which tool should you use?

Unlike some other forms of media, the email newsletter is an interesting tool because, at its barest form, it is truly just an email. You could theoretically host your own newsletter all by yourself, by creating a subscriber list in your email host and sending the email. That’s really all a lot of these tools are doing, but dressed up with a nice UI and some analytics tools. So yes, you could literally do it yourself. But, to be honest, I’m not sure I’d recommend that, especially not with all the useful (and often free) options available these days.

If you do a google search for “best email newsletter tools,” you will find countless options…most of which are not for you. They’re geared towards businesses sending out the marketing emails that clog your inbox every day. There is some overlap between the tools, but what this article addresses are the tools for individuals looking to share their writing, art, criticism and more.

Substack is arguably the most well-known tool when it comes to email newsletters, but there are many other options, most of which don’t have as much drama associated with them. Choosing the best tool will largely come down to your goals and the size of your audience. I’m separating them here based on the two main goals I hear the most: sharing with followers or supporting paid subscriptions.

Sharing with followers

If your goal is purely sharing your work with followers, in the form of a free newsletter with no paid subscriptions, there are few main alternatives to consider, depending on what feels like the best vibe for you.

TinyLetter

TinyLetter is ideal for a free newsletter with under 5,000 subscribers. This is the best option if you’re looking for newsletter only, and aren’t as concerned with the blog/archive aspect of Substack. TinyLetter is not what you want if you currently have paying subscribers or ever hope to in the future.

Bear Blog

Bear Blog is a super simple, unadorned blogging interface. This is for you if you really don’t care about Substack’s bells and whistles. You don’t need a newsletter, you don’t need analytics, you just want a place to collect your writing without giving anyone your credit card info. Bear Blog places a lot of emphasis on privacy, which is worth noting in the age of constant website surveillance. No tracking, no fancy designs, just words.

Medium

This is the choice for you if you want to collect all your work in one place and want a certain degree of discoverability. Using their newsletter feature, you can communicate with your subscribers, while also hosting your writing somewhere where it can be found based on similar reads and such. I’d recommend it for people early on in building a platform, as it will be more difficult for those looking to migrate a large subscriber list/database of content. On the flipside of that, Medium does have a feature for monetizing your work, but it’s not going to be lucrative unless your work is getting really high engagement.

Supporting paid subscriptions

If paid subscriptions are at all part of your plan, now or in the future, there are a few great options.

Buttondown

This one is for you if you want to build or already have a small subscriber base and you want a simple, lightweight option. It does have an option for paid subscribers through Stripe, which makes migration from Substack pretty simple. It also integrates well with other services, like Squarespace and Medium. The pricing starts to rise as you get more subscribers or there’s a Buttondown for Professionals level that has more robust reporting and API support.

Ghost

If you already have a large subscriber base or you make more than $3.5k annually on subscriptions, Ghost is ideal the option for you. You have to pay up front, but Ghost provides concierge services to get you set up and transfer your paid Substack (or other) subscribers easily. Ghost is not only open source, but also a nonprofit with good transparency, something Substack has been criticized for lacking in the past.

Gumroad or Patreon

These options are for you if you want to earn income off of your work and either have loyal subscribers who will make the switch to a new platform or you are just starting out. These options are ideal if you work in multiple mediums or what freedom to share things other than words with your subscribers.

How to choose what’s right for you

This isn’t a comprehensive list of course, I just tried to focus on “best” alternatives for specific needs. And “best” here is not a truly objective best, but a “based on the information and reviews I could find this seemed like the most top choice.” But there are truly so many options out there. There are newsletters as a part of other tools, DIY options, countless comparable competitors of the above options, and new ones appearing regularly. There might be more that have appeared since I wrote this, who knows!

When it comes to making your decision, the biggest thing to consider are your goals. Why do you want to start this newsletter? What’s the dream result? Are you trying to catch the eye of an agent or publisher? Build up your portfolio? Do you want to grow your newsletter an income source? Do you want to use the newsletter to market yourself or your small business/side hustle? Once you’re clear on your short- and long-term goals, the best option will likely become clear.

AND. Your choice doesn’t have to be forever. Unlike some media platforms, sending an email is far from a proprietary idea. Most of these tools make it so you can easily export your subscriber list and migrate to another tool, so if the one you choose doesn’t fit the bill, you can likely change everything over with just a little bit of work.

Ed. Note: This article is an adaptation of a Twitter thread I did in early 2021, in reaction to the move by many to leave Substack.