Kit vs Substack
Kit
kit.com
Substack
substack.comSide by side
| Figure | Kit | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $32.50/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 4 |
| Spec score · Email marketing tools | 9.2 (#7) | 9.2 (#8) |
| Spec score · Email Marketing Software | 8.9 (#13) | 8.6 (#41) |
| Spec score · Newsletter Platforms | 8.9 (#4) | 8.5 (#11) |
| Audience growth | Kit offers landing pages, newsletter sites, forms, and creator recommendations to help creators attract subscribers. | Discovery tools include recommendations, Notes, leaderboards, referrals, and search. |
| Company legal name | The legal entity is Kit, Inc., with Nathan Barry listed as CEO and a Boise, Idaho mailing address. | Crunchbase lists the legal name as Substack Inc. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Kit has an App Store where community developers publish integrations, installed through API authorization or third-party OAuth flows. | 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. |
| Monetization | Kit supports selling digital products and subscriptions, and its site promotes paid newsletters and sponsorships. | Creators can offer free and paid posts, subscriptions, trials, gifts, and group plans. |
| Rating on Capterra | Capterra lists Kit at 4.6 out of 5 from 244 reviews. | 0 out of 5 from 0 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | G2 lists Kit with 4.4 out of 5 stars from 236 reviews. | 4.3 out of 5 from 17 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | GetApp lists Kit at 4.6 out of 5 from 244 verified reviews. | 0 out of 5 from 0 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | Trustpilot lists Kit at 4.0 out of 5 from 160 reviews. | 1.5 out of 5 from 182 reviews |
| Rating on TrustRadius | TrustRadius gives ConvertKit 8.3 out of 10 from 40 reviews and ratings. | 9.2 out of 10 from 13 reviews |
| Support | Free-plan support is available with requests answered in received order within 24 hours; paid plans advertise email and chat support. | Substack directs users to its Help Center for FAQs and walkthroughs and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers. |
| What it does | Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is an email marketing and newsletter platform for creators that combines audience insights, automation, landing pages and digital-product sales. | 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
Kit
- NewsletterFree
- Creator$33 a month
- Creator$390 a year
- Pro$66 a month
- Pro$593 a year
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
Substack
- Free publishingFree
- Free to startFree
- Custom domain$50, paid once
- Paid subscriptionsPrice not published
In their own words
Kit
Kit is an email-first operating system for creators, combining audience growth, email publishing, automation, and monetization. Landing pages, newsletter sites, forms, and creator recommendations help attract subscribers. Users can tag and segment subscribers by interests or behavior and personalize messages. A visual automation builder maps audience journeys, although several automation features are excluded from the free plan. Kit supports digital products, subscriptions, paid newsletters, and sponsorships. Its App Store groups integrations for e-commerce, memberships and courses, analytics, CRM, and workflows. API access is available on the Free plan, with API V4 for workflow automation and third-party connections. Kit lists a newsletter website, custom domains, paid subscriptions, unlimited email sending, and a sponsor marketplace. Plans include Free at free, Creator at $33 a month, and Pro at $66 a month. The Free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers and one basic Visual Automation. A 14-day trial is also listed.
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.