Benchmark Email vs Substack
Benchmark Email is a email marketing platform while Substack is a newsletter platform. Benchmark Email has been around since 2004, giving it a 13-year head start over Substack (founded 2017). Substack starts at free versus $27/mo for Benchmark Email. Both offer free plans to get started. Benchmark Email has the edge with marketing automation, A/B testing, landing pages.
Quick Verdict
Benchmark Email wins on integrations.
Substack wins on price, deliverability, rating.
Best for most users: Substack (independent writers and journalists).
Benchmark Email
Straightforward email marketing with all features on every plan
Benchmark Email is a multilingual email marketing platform founded in 2004 that takes an all-features-included approach, giving every user access to automation, A/B testing, and analytics regardless of plan tier. Available in 9 languages with global support, it appeals to international teams and nonprofits, though its significantly below-average deliverability rate (47.1% in third-party testing) is a serious concern that undermines its otherwise user-friendly design.
Substack
The newsletter platform where writers build independent media businesses
Substack is the dominant newsletter platform that uniquely combines free publishing tools with a 10% revenue-share model, letting writers launch subscription-based media businesses with zero upfront cost. Beyond newsletters, it has evolved into a full creator ecosystem with podcasts, video, livestreaming, Notes (microblogging), and community Chat, backed by a powerful built-in discovery network that helps writers find audiences organically.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Benchmark Email | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Starting Price | $27/mo | Free |
| Free Plan | 500 contacts, 2,500 emails/month, 1 user | Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn |
| Founded | 2004 | 2017 |
| Email Templates | 200 | 1 |
| Integrations | 1,500 | 0 |
| Deliverability Rate | 47.1% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ | ✕ |
| A/B Testing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✕ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✕ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✕ |
| SMS Marketing | ✕ | ✕ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✕ | ✕ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✕ |
| Multi-Language | ✓ | ✕ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✕ | ✕ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✕ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✕ |
Benchmark Email: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +All features included on every plan including free -- no feature gating between tiers
- +Available in 9 languages with live customer support in each, making it ideal for international teams
- +Intuitive drag-and-drop editor with mobile-optimized templates and device previews
- +Generous free plan with 500 contacts and 2,500 emails per month including AI content generation
- +Simple contact-based pricing that scales predictably without hidden charges for features
Cons
- −Extremely poor deliverability rate of 47.1% in EmailToolTester's January 2024 independent test, consistently ranking near the bottom
- −Segmentation is limited to within individual lists only -- cannot create cross-list segments for flexible targeting
- −Fewer than 30 pre-designed email templates despite marketing claims of 200+, limiting design variety
- −Slow product development cycle with features lagging behind competitors in automation and ecommerce capabilities
- −No migration support for non-enterprise customers when switching from another email platform
Substack: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Completely free to start with no upfront costs — zero barrier to entry with all core publishing features available immediately
- +Built-in audience discovery network with Recommendations and Notes driving organic subscriber growth (users report gaining 1,000+ subscribers through Recommendations alone)
- +True content ownership: creators can export their full subscriber list and content at any time to migrate elsewhere
- +Multimedia platform supporting newsletters, podcasts, video, livestreaming, Notes, and Chat communities in a single integrated experience
- +Strong reader engagement with genuine community interaction through comments, Chat, and Notes — higher engagement rates than typical social media platforms
Cons
- −The 10% platform fee plus Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction creates a 13-16% total take rate that becomes very expensive at scale (e.g., $1,300-$1,600/month on $10K revenue)
- −No email marketing automation, segmentation, A/B testing, or advanced personalization — all subscribers receive identical emails with no conditional logic
- −No public API and zero native third-party integrations — cannot connect to CRMs, e-commerce platforms, Zapier, or other marketing tools
- −Limited design customization with a single standardized template — no drag-and-drop editor, no custom HTML, and minimal branding options
- −Platform can remove content or delete accounts without notice, and customer support is difficult to reach for issue resolution
The Verdict
Benchmark Email and Substack are closely matched — both score within 0.1 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, Substack reports 95% compared to 47.1% for Benchmark Email — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Benchmark Email | Substack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $27/mo | Free |
| Deliverability | 25% | 47.1% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 1500 | 0 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Benchmark Email if…
- + You need marketing automation
- + You need API access for custom integrations
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You need A/B testing
Choose Substack if…
- + You want lower starting costs (Free)
- + You're a independent writers and journalists
- + You're a newsletter creators monetizing through paid subscriptions