If you want my advice, go with ConvertKit (Kit). It’s purpose built for creators and has everything you need (from landing pages to sequences and e-commerce features) to quickly grow, segment, and sell to your audience.
Need A Better Alternative To Substack?
Substack is great if you want to do newsletters on easy-mode. Need more features and customization? Here’s the best alternatives for creators right now
Substack is simple to get started with, free, and has a great editor and its own native discovery engine powered by its 30+ million users. It also supports paid subscriptions.
For writers, researchers, reviewers, and freelancers, it’s a great jumping off point.
But if you need more advanced features (things like audience segmentation, landing pages, sequences, automations) what’re the best alternatives right now?
I use a variety of newsletter platforms for various projects and sites. I have a Substack but I also use Kit for this site.
And on other projects, I’ve used Squarespace (which I really, really like) and Beehiiv as well as Mailer Lite and WordPress-specific options like FluentCRM.
Top-Rated Substack Alternatives For Creators That Sell Digital Products & Courses
1. Kit (formerly ConvertKit) 🥇
The Best Overall Substack Alternative for Serious Creators
Free Plan IncludesWhy It Beats Substack10,000 subscribers & unlimited emailsWay more generous than Substack’s free tier.Landing pages & formsYou can collect subscribers anywhere — no site required.Sell digital products & membershipsBuilt-in tools for courses, eBooks, and paid newsletters.Tagging & segmentationLaser-target your audience with tags and automations.
I’ve used Kit for years — both here and across other projects — and it’s the best Substack alternative by a long shot.
You can build a full publishing business here: newsletters, paid subscriptions, digital products, even private communities.
Kit’s biggest advantage is control. You’re not stuck with Substack’s rigid layout or its 10% revenue cut.
You can brand everything, automate sequences, and integrate your store or website.
It’s easy to create high-converting landing pages and lead magnets, plus the tagging system is perfect for keeping your audience organized.
Subscribers only get the emails they actually want, which keeps unsubscribe rates low.
Once you understand the automation builder and tagging system, Kit basically runs your business for you. It’s that efficient.
Drawback: The free plan limits you to one automation and one email sequence, and you’ll need to display other recommended newsletters (the Creator Network).
- Best for: Creators who want to monetize with full ownership and avoid Substack’s revenue cut.
2. Beehiiv
The Best Substack Alternative for Growth & Monetization
Free Plan IncludesWhy It Beats Substack2,500 subscribers & unlimited emailsStrong starter tier with generous limits.Website builder & custom domainGet a branded web home for your newsletter.3 publications per accountGreat if you run multiple niche newsletters.Audience growth toolsIncludes referral systems and paid cross-promotion.
Built by the team behind Morning Brew, Beehiiv is one of the most hyped Substack alternatives right now — and for good reason. It’s fast-growing, feature-rich, and purpose-built for newsletter businesses.
You get integrated growth tools, a clean writing experience, and 0% fees on paid subscriptions. That alone makes it a better long-term platform than Substack if you plan to charge for access.
Beehiiv also has its own Ad Network and referral marketplace, letting you monetize via sponsorships or paid boosts from day one. You can grow and monetize directly inside the platform.
However, it’s not perfect. I’ve used Beehiiv personally and professionally, and while I love what it can do, I’m not a fan of its backend. It feels busy and cluttered, and updates sometimes roll out before they’re fully tested, which can mess up templates or layouts.
And while its free plan is solid, the tools that make Beehiiv special — ads, boosts, and automations — are locked behind paid plans.
LimitationImpact on Free UsersNo monetization toolsYou can’t earn via paid newsletters or ads.No automationYou lose welcome sequences and funnels.Design restrictionsLimited branding unless you upgrade.
- Best for: Creators who want Substack’s simplicity with better monetization and growth tools.
3. Ghost
The Best Open-Source Substack Alternative
Free Plan (Self-Hosted) IncludesWhy It Beats Substack100% ownershipYou host everything yourself — no platform fees.Full website + membership systemBuild a full media site with paywalls and posts.Advanced SEO + custom domainsGhost doubles as a blog and newsletter in one.0% platform feesKeep all your revenue; only pay Stripe’s processing costs.
If you’re serious about ownership and flexibility, Ghost is the most powerful Substack alternative out there. It’s open-source, meaning you own your site and your data entirely.
If you’re not technical, it is a bit of a struggle to set up. You need to be comfortable with a bit of code, DNS settings, and have a few hours to dedicate to it.
A simpler, no-code alternative would be Squarespace.
I’ve worked with Squarespace on a few consulting projects and it’s always dead simple to work with. I’m a big fan of the platform.
Out of the box, it matches Ghost on all counts. You get support for paid memberships, courses, newsletter, and a blog and full site.
It isn’t free, but it is well worth the asking price if Ghost is too much for your current skillset.
Ghost looks and feels professional. You can run a full-fledged publication, sell memberships, publish SEO-optimized blog posts, and send newsletters — all from the same dashboard.
There’s no algorithm, no platform branding, and no random recommendations. Your content is your content.
The trade-off? It’s a bit more technical to set up, especially if you self-host. But Ghost(Pro) offers a fully managed version that’s beginner-friendly.
- Best for: Writers, media brands, and creators who want total control and 0% platform fees.
4. MailerLite
The Best Substack Alternative for Simplicity & Automation
Free Plan IncludesWhy It Beats Substack500 subscribers & 12,000 emails p/mPlenty for small or early-stage newsletters.Basic automationAutomate welcomes or sequences right away.Reports & landing pagesSee what’s working and capture more leads.
MailerLite is a simple, no-fuss Substack alternative. It’s not built for creators specifically, but it handles email campaigns, automations, and forms better than Substack’s basic editor.
It’s easy to set up, connects with WordPress or Shopify, and gives you enough tools to test and grow without paying anything.
That said, it’s not ideal for scaling. The free tier feels limited once your list grows, and design options are basic. But for testing ideas or running early newsletters, it’s perfect.
- Best for: Small creators who want basic automation and landing pages without the Substack clutter.
5. EmailOctopus
The Best Substack Alternative for Lean, No-Nonsense Newsletters
Free Plan IncludesWhy It Beats Substack2,500 subscribers & 10,000 emails p/mGenerous limit for early growth.Affiliate-friendly policiesGreat for creators in niche markets.Lightweight interfaceEasy to use and quick to learn.
EmailOctopus is ideal for anyone who wants a simple, reliable way to send newsletters without paying platform fees or dealing with complicated dashboards.
It’s fast, works right out of the box, and has a clean interface that lets you build landing pages, set up sequences, and send campaigns easily.
Deliverability is strong thanks to Amazon SES integration, and you get generous free limits.
Its downside is limited automation and older templates, but if you’re running a small list or validating a new project, it’s a solid alternative to Substack that doesn’t get in your way.
- Best for: Cost-conscious creators or affiliate marketers who need flexibility.
If you’re just starting out, Beehiiv or Kit will feel most familiar — both combine Substack’s simplicity with modern creator tools and better monetization.
If you want total ownership and the ability to scale into a media brand, go with Ghost.
For smaller lists, MailerLite and EmailOctopus keep things affordable and easy while you grow.
But if you’re serious about building an audience that earns money (not just subscribers) Kit is the best Substack alternative overall. I’ve used all of the platforms above (and still use Substack too) but I use Kit on all my sites and projects.
It has everything that I need to run my businesses, it’s simple enough to use that a beginner could pick it up right away, and it makes selling and segmenting your audience extremely simple.
For this reason, it’s what I tend to recommend to most creators.
