Mailchimp vs Substack
Mailchimp is a all-in-one marketing platform while Substack is a newsletter platform. Mailchimp has been around since 2001, giving it a 16-year head start over Substack (founded 2017). Substack starts at free versus $13/mo for Mailchimp. Both offer free plans to get started. Mailchimp has the edge with marketing automation, A/B testing, landing pages.
Quick Verdict
Mailchimp wins on deliverability, integrations.
Substack wins on price, rating.
Best for most users: Substack (independent writers and journalists).
Mailchimp
Turn emails into revenue
Mailchimp is the most widely recognized email marketing platform, used by millions of businesses worldwide. Acquired by Intuit in 2021, it offers a full suite of marketing tools but has become increasingly expensive compared to alternatives.
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 | Mailchimp | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Starting Price | $13/mo | Free |
| Free Plan | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn |
| Founded | 2001 | 2017 |
| Email Templates | 100 | 1 |
| Integrations | 300 | 0 |
| Deliverability Rate | 96% | 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 | ✓ | ✕ |
Mailchimp: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Most recognized brand in email marketing
- +Excellent drag-and-drop editor
- +300+ integrations with third-party tools
- +Strong analytics and reporting
- +Good for beginners with guided setup
Cons
- −Free plan severely limited (500 contacts, 1,000 sends)
- −Premium plan is expensive ($350/mo)
- −Charges for unsubscribed contacts
- −Affiliate marketing restricted
- −Deliverability has declined in recent years
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
Mailchimp 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, Mailchimp reports 96% compared to 95% for Substack — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Mailchimp | Substack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $13/mo | Free |
| Deliverability | 25% | 96% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 300 | 0 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Mailchimp if…
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You need marketing automation
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You need API access for custom integrations
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