The comparison is really about how you prefer to pay: a percentage of what the newsletter earns, or a flat fee for the tool that sends it. One page has no prices at all and describes fees; the other has a subscriber calculator and no revenue share.
TL;DR
Substack charges no monthly fee: publishing is free with unlimited subscribers, and paid subscriptions cost 10% of each payment to Substack plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 card fee and 0.7% recurring billing fee, with an optional custom domain at a one-time $50. MailerLite charges a fixed subscription instead: Free to 250 subscribers with 2,500 monthly emails and 2 seats, Comfort at $10.80 a month billed annually for up to 500 subscribers, Power at $22.50 a month with unlimited emails and seats, and Enterprise negotiated for 200K+ subscribers. Substack is cheaper at zero revenue and gets expensive as income grows; MailerLite costs the same whether the list earns nothing or a lot.
Substack's support article, updated in September 2026, states that publishing on Substack is free no matter how many subscribers you have, and that turning on paid subscriptions means Substack keeps 10% of each subscription payment. On top of that sits Stripe's card processing at 2.9% plus $0.30 per payment for US cards, and 0.7% for recurring billing through Stripe. Local payment methods are priced by Stripe and vary by country — the article lists iDEAL at 80 cents, Bancontact and Sofort at 1.4% plus 30 cents, and SEPA Direct Debit at 0.8% plus 30 cents capped at $6. An optional custom domain costs a one-time $50. Readers pay the price the writer sets, and the article notes that in-app purchase prices are handled separately, with the option to raise them to cover app store fees.
MailerLite's pricing page is a subscription: Free at $0 a month for up to 250 subscribers with 2,500 monthly emails, 2 user seats and community support. Comfort is $10.80 a month billed annually, shown as $129.60 a year for up to 500 subscribers, with 3 user seats, unlimited monthly emails and 24/7 live chat and email support. Power is $22.50 a month billed annually, $270.00 a year, and lifts the account to unlimited monthly emails and unlimited user seats. Enterprise is negotiated for 200,000-plus subscribers with unlimited seats, a dedicated IP and a success manager. Around the send sit automations, landing pages, signup forms, websites, digital products and paid newsletter subscriptions, with a 14-day trial that needs no credit card.
| Feature | MailerLite | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Fixed monthly subscription scaled by subscriber count | Free to publish; percentage of paid revenue |
| Free tier | $0 up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, 2 user seats | $0 with unlimited subscribers and unlimited free sends |
| Entry paid plan | Comfort at $10.80 a month billed annually, $129.60 a year | No subscription — paid plans trigger a 10% platform fee |
| Mid tier | Power at $22.50 a month billed annually, $270.00 a year, unlimited emails and seats | No tier — the 10% applies to every payment received |
| Payment fees | Not charged by the platform; payment handling depends on the checkout used | Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment, plus 0.7% for recurring billing |
| Top tier | Enterprise negotiated for 200K+ subscribers with dedicated IP and success manager | Custom domain one-time $50; local payment rates set by Stripe |
| Team seats | 2 free, 3 on Comfort, unlimited on Power | Not sold as seats; the publication account is the workspace |
| Tools included | Automations, landing pages, forms, websites, digital products, 100+ integrations | Publishing, recommendations, comments, podcasts and native subscriptions |
| Audience ownership | Exportable list in your own account | List lives on the platform; export options are limited by comparison |
| Support | Community free, 24/7 live chat and email from Comfort | Help center and community channels |
Pick MailerLite if
MailerLite costs $0, then $10.80 or $22.50 a month billed annually for up to 500 subscribers, and the number does not care whether the list earns anything. Creators and small businesses who sell products, run an agency or send mostly promotional email — and therefore do not want a platform percentage attached to revenue — should pay the flat fee.
Pick Substack if
Substack charges nothing until paid subscriptions are on, then keeps 10% of each payment alongside Stripe's 2.9% plus $0.30 and 0.7% recurring fees. Writers starting from zero who want hosting, payments, comments and recommendations bundled into one account trade a future percentage for a present cost of nothing.
No user reviews, ratings or quotes were gathered for this pair. Figures come from support.substack.com's cost article (updated 29 September 2026) and mailerlite.com/pricing as fetched for this page; Stripe fee rates are quoted as Substack states them.
Substack: publishing is free with unlimited subscribers and no monthly fee, so a free newsletter costs nothing. MailerLite's Free tier also costs nothing but stops at 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, so a list that outgrows that needs a plan from $10.80 a month billed annually.
Substack's support article lists a 10% platform fee on each subscription payment, Stripe card processing of 2.9% plus $0.30 for US cards, and 0.7% for recurring billing. Local payment methods carry separate Stripe rates, and an optional custom domain is a one-time $50.
Through the subscription rather than a revenue share: Comfort at $10.80 a month and Power at $22.50 a month billed annually, scaled by subscriber count. Payment processing fees depend on the checkout arrangement and are separate from the MailerLite subscription.
As soon as paid subscriptions earn meaningful money. A flat $270 a year for Power stays fixed while a 10% share plus roughly 3% in card fees grows with every reader. Publishers who cross into steady income usually model both numbers against their list size.
MailerLite holds the list in an account you own, with segments, forms and automations around it. Substack holds the publication on its platform, where the value comes from its recommendation network and comments rather than from portability.
In practice, exports and imports of subscriber lists are the hinge: MailerLite imports a list and lets you send immediately, while moving to Substack means rebuilding the publication there and re-activating paid readers under Substack's fee structure.
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