Moosend vs Substack
Moosend is a email marketing platform while Substack is a newsletter platform. Moosend has been around since 2011, giving it a 6-year head start over Substack (founded 2017). Moosend starts at $9/mo, while Substack is free. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. Substack offers a free plan (Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn), while Moosend does not. Moosend has the edge with marketing automation, A/B testing, landing pages.
Quick Verdict
Moosend wins on deliverability, rating, integrations.
Substack wins on free tier.
Best for most users: Moosend (small businesses).
Moosend
All-in-one email marketing and automation
Moosend is a budget-friendly email marketing platform that punches above its weight class. Despite its low price point, it offers solid automation, transactional emails, and landing pages. Its generous lifetime recurring affiliate program at 40% makes it attractive for affiliate marketers.
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 | Moosend | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.7/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Starting Price | $9/mo | Free |
| Free Plan | No free plan | Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn |
| Founded | 2011 | 2017 |
| Email Templates | 80 | 1 |
| Integrations | 100 | 0 |
| Deliverability Rate | 98% | 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 | Yes | No |
| API Access | Yes | No |
| Multi-Language | No | No |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | No | No |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | No |
Moosend: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Very affordable starting at $9/month
- + Unlimited emails on all plans
- + Solid automation for the price
- + 40% lifetime recurring affiliate program
- + Built-in transactional email support
Cons
- − No free plan (30-day trial only)
- − Smaller integration ecosystem
- − No SMS marketing
- − Brand less well-known
- − Enterprise pricing not transparent
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
Moosend edges ahead with a 4.7/5 rating compared to Substack's 4.4/5. The gap comes mainly from feature depth (4.6 vs 3.8) and ease of use (4.7 vs 4.3). On deliverability, Moosend reports 98% compared to 95% for Substack — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Moosend | Substack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $9/mo | Free |
| Deliverability | 25% | 98% Winner | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.7/5 Winner | 4.4/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 100 Winner | 0 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | Yes Winner |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Moosend if…
- + You need marketing automation
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You need API access for custom integrations
- + You need built-in landing pages
Choose Substack if…
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You're a independent writers and journalists
- + You're a newsletter creators monetizing through paid subscriptions