Fourthwall vs Substack
Fourthwall
fourthwall.com
Substack
substack.comSide by side
| Figure | Fourthwall | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $15/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 4 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.9 (#12) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Funding news | A November 18, 2021 release announced $17 million raised from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Initialized Capital and Seven Seven Six. | On July 17, 2025, Substack announced a $100 million Series C led by BOND and The Chernin Group, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Rich Paul and Jens Grede. |
| Integrations | Official integrations include YouTube Shopping, TikTok Shop, Twitch Gifting, Instagram/Facebook Shopping, StreamElements, Streamlabs, Klaviyo, beehiiv, Laylo, ShipStation, Mailchimp, Zapier, Kit and Spotify. | Official integrations include RSS, podcast distribution to Apple and Spotify, Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, X and Facebook pixels, Google site verification, YouTube and LinkedIn account connections. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.9 out of 5 from 855 ratings | 4.9 out of 5 from 540K ratings |
| Rating on Google Play | 4.7 out of 5 from 895 reviews | 4.8 out of 5 from 319K reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 4.2 out of 5 from 387 reviews | 1.5 out of 5 from 182 reviews |
| What it does | Fourthwall is a hosted creator-commerce platform for branded storefronts, merchandise, digital products, memberships and donations. | Substack is a publishing and subscription platform for writers, podcasters, video creators and media companies, combining content creation, email distribution, payments, community and analytics. |
Plans
Substack
- Free publishingFree
- Free to startFree
- Custom domain$50, paid once
- Paid subscriptionsPrice not published
In their own words
Fourthwall
Fourthwall provides tools for designing and selling catalog products, running a customizable shop, offering memberships and using social selling integrations. Its Free plan includes those functions, and listed storefront connections include YouTube Product Shelf (Merch Shelf), TikTok Shop, Twitch Product Gifting, Facebook Shopping and Instagram Shopping. Fulfillment coverage is global, with white-label shipping and custom branding available. The service also lists design and mockup tools and API access. The Pro plan costs $15 a month and includes 100 GB of digital product storage. The listed platform is API. That platform detail may matter to sellers considering how the service connects with their store or workflow. Customer personalization is not included in the listed offering. The plan details distinguish the free shop and selling functions from Pro's stated digital product storage allowance, while both plans sit within a service that also lists social connections and global fulfillment.
Substack
Substack is a publishing platform for writers, creators, and subscribers, bringing posts, newsletters, podcasts, video, live streams, and pages into one publishing flow. Its editor supports scheduling, autosaved drafts, version history, templates, SEO metadata, and headline A/B testing. Creators can offer free or paid posts, subscriptions, trials, gifts, and group plans. Discovery tools include recommendations, Notes, leaderboards, referrals, and search; audience segmentation and email automation are also available. Podcast episodes can be distributed automatically to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, while video can go automatically to YouTube and LinkedIn. Publishing is free. When creators enable paid subscriptions, Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe charges payment processing fees. Creators own their intellectual property and mailing list and can export their data. Substack serves writers, journalists, podcasters, video creators, experts, educators, and media companies. It is available on the web, Android, and iOS. Substack directs users to its Help Center and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers.