What is the difference between Mailchimp and Substack?

Mailchimp is best for Small businesses getting started with email marketing, while Substack is best for Writers who want to monetize with paid subscriptions. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo and Substack starts at Free.

Is Mailchimp or Substack cheaper?

Mailchimp starts at $13/mo with a free tier. Substack starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Substack?

Both Mailchimp and Substack offer free tiers.

Mailchimp vs Substack

Mailchimp is email marketing platform with campaigns, automation, landing pages, and audience management, while Substack is newsletter and publishing platform with built-in paid subscriptions. The biggest difference up front: Substack is free, while Mailchimp starts at $13/mo. Mailchimp is built for small businesses getting started with email marketing, whereas Substack targets writers who want to monetize with paid subscriptions.

At a glance

	Mailchimp	Substack
Best for	Small businesses getting started with email marketing	Writers who want to monetize with paid subscriptions
Starting price	$13/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Automations	✓	—
Campaigns	✓	—
Community	—	✓
Discovery Network	—	✓
Landing Pages	✓	—
Mobile App	—	✓
Paid Subscriptions	—	✓
Podcasts	—	✓
Segmentation	✓	—
Templates	✓	—

Mailchimp

Strengths

Easy to use for beginners
Good template library and drag-and-drop editor
Built-in landing pages and basic CRM
Brand recognition — customers trust Mailchimp emails

Weaknesses

Pricing has increased significantly
Free tier now limited to 500 contacts
Automation is basic compared to dedicated tools
Charges for unsubscribed contacts on some plans

Try Mailchimp → Full review

Substack

Strengths

Free to use — takes 10% of paid subscriber revenue
Built-in discovery and recommendation network
Simple, distraction-free writing experience
Mobile app for readers

Weaknesses

10% revenue cut is steep at scale
Very limited customization
Basic analytics
No automation or segmentation

Try Substack → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Substack is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo, but Free for up to 500 contacts. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Mailchimp offers Automations, Campaigns and Landing Pages that Substack lacks. Substack brings Community, Discovery Network and Mobile App that Mailchimp does not have.

Team fit: Mailchimp is geared toward any size teams, while Substack is aimed at individual users and small setups. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Mailchimp's biggest strengths are: easy to use for beginners. good template library and drag-and-drop editor. Substack's biggest strengths are: free to use — takes 10% of paid subscriber revenue. built-in discovery and recommendation network.

Watch out for: With Mailchimp, users commonly note that pricing has increased significantly. With Substack, the main complaint is that 10% revenue cut is steep at scale.