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). Benchmark Email starts at $19/mo, while Substack is free. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. 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 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 | $19/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 | Yes | No |
| A/B Testing | Yes | No |
| Landing Pages | Yes | No |
| Segmentation | Yes | No |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | No |
| SMS Marketing | No | No |
| Ecommerce Features | No | No |
| API Access | Yes | No |
| Multi-Language | Yes | No |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | Yes | No |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | No |
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% | $19/mo | Free |
| Deliverability | 25% | 47.1% | 95% Winner |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 Winner |
| Integrations | 10% | 1500 Winner | 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're a independent writers and journalists
- + You're a newsletter creators monetizing through paid subscriptions
- + Completely free to start with no upfront costs — zero barrier to entry with all core publishing features available immediately