NovelPad vs Substack
NovelPad
novelpad.co
Substack
substack.comSide by side
| Figure | NovelPad | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12.50/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 4 |
| Spec score · Writing Apps | 8.6 (#28) | 9.4 (#4) |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Import and export | NovelPad supports DOCX import and exports chapters, subplots, or outlines to DOCX; pricing also states novels can be exported to .docx. | Substack can import posts or subscribers from WordPress, Ghost, Medium, Beehiiv, Mailchimp, Tumblr, Webflow, Sanity, Seeking Alpha, Bulletin, TinyLetter, Blogspot and RSS, and lets creators export publication data. |
| Privacy | The maker says it does not read, sell, or share users’ writing or use it to train AI models; cloud and web users’ content is stored on its servers. | Substack's privacy policy says it endeavors to protect personal information but cannot guarantee complete security. |
| Purpose | NovelPad is an all-in-one novel-writing application for professional and aspiring novelists. | Substack is a publishing platform for writers, creators, and subscribers. |
| Writing tools | Features include writing goals, adaptive schedules, sprints, focus modes, and locale-aware smart quotes in more than 20 locales. | The editor supports scheduling, autosaved drafts, version history, templates, SEO metadata, and headline A/B testing. |
Plans
NovelPad
- Pro Cloud Monthly$15 a month
- Pro Cloud Annual$150 a year
- Desktop Only$89 a month
- Lifetime$349 a month
- Pro Cloud — monthly$15 a month
- Desktop$89, paid once
- Pro Cloud — annual$150 a year
- Lifetime$349, paid once
Substack
- Free publishingFree
- Free to startFree
- Custom domain$50, paid once
- Paid subscriptionsPrice not published
In their own words
NovelPad
NovelPad is a novel-writing application for professional and aspiring novelists, available on desktop and the web. Writers can arrange scenes as cards across boards for chapters, subplots, characters, timelines, and outlines. Its Codex tracks characters, locations, and items across scenes, with profiles, aliases, co-mention rankings, and chapter presence. Writing aids include goals, adaptive schedules, sprints, focus modes, and smart quotes that account for more than 20 locales. For revision, NovelPad offers scene revisions, snapshots, structural and text diffs, and recovery of deleted scenes. The desktop app works offline; cloud sync can reconcile changes across devices when connected. NovelPad imports DOCX and exports chapters, subplots, or outlines to DOCX. Beta readers can join by email with viewer, commenter, or editor roles and use threaded comments. ProWritingAid is named as an integration. The 14-day trial requires no card. Pro Cloud costs $15 a month or $150 a year. The Desktop license costs $89.00 USD once and has no sync or sharing.
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.